Trademark Infringement / /Copyright / VERO Issues - Cease & Desist letters.

[jollybee]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am not familiar with Vero--esp. imitation(counterfeit)Vero so I appreciate the thoughts to pass on to her. I am finding it seems 90% of anything sold on ebay is reproduction.

I sell primitive/country household decorations, so I am the farthest from understanding the proceedings.

ebayhateluv--totally understand what you are saying about bluffing. I think she is taking this more serious than it needs to be, but I guess if it were happening to me, I would be over-paranoid too. She seems to think even with cancelling the email add., he can somehow contact ebay and get the customers info. because their username and items they bought are all right out in the open in her feedback. Never thought about that cc being used to get the info--good one!! Not one buyer has ever contacted to her to say--hey, this investigator contacted me--blah blah, or I want my money back, this stuff is "imitation". I would think the paypal disputes would be rolling in.

Never saw a cease and desist letter--or heard of one that asked for customers to be contacted and refunded or Homeland Security, etc. would be involved--Geez!! It's Crazy!!!

[imjustme]

I'm always amazed how some people want to pay $10 for something that costs $100 retail and then also expect it to be authentic. I had a buyer ask me once if I could sell him an iPod for $99. I didn't even sell iPod's (and never will), just other electronics. But from what I understand they usually go for $500-$600 retail.

[ebayaintstupid]

Stolen goods are much cheaper.

[ebayaintstupid]

Modee. Just in general.

[2006bmr]

just did the on my last account that was suspended.. let's see what happens.. Also, right before my account was suspended, I had some unpaid auctions I needed to take care of and did not risk sending in money because account was closed, and sellers might just not send me my items.. I recieved three unpaid item strikes in 8 days while account is in process of being reinstated... will it still get reinstated even though i recieved three unpaid item strikes/?? anyway to appeal that??

[alarmo549]

just found this site.
absolutely awesome.dam ive been looking for answers and find so many people in my shoes.
to be honest,i was! trying to cash in on the china replica items.
so was my best friend,60 sales,all 100 % fb,and my sister lol who is also ruined
she had 280 fb at 99.8%
all legit items
so i check out this china site.
i check ebay
compare the 2
i find MY GOD!
this is sick
wtf
everythings a copy on ebay!

you may dispute this if you will but its true(not everything but cmon so so many)
so we all start out with reebok jerseys,the day after favre retired
guess what
every seller had the same story
2-3 weeks to ship blah blah blah
also
every seller had the same exact pictures from the chinese site lmao
so i catch on
slowly i start to check a ton of items
from golf clubs to (sick $$ GUITARS)
OK GUITARS FIRST
i find that so many exact copys are sold every day,most sellers about 2-3 a day. for
gulp
2-5000 dollars
cost
$300 shipped
to make sure these are from china
i took a month or 2 researching this
i found out to sell these with no probs
list as used,slight scratches nicks but near new mint condition
lol
i see the same sellers using this story for anything from dvds to guitars and it works
they are cleaning up!
so we go into the dvd set market
before you say anything
go to ebay
how can so many people be allowed to sell the sets
that dont exist here and say asian version english.
its a joke
all with the china site pictures!
from ed hardy to guitars to golf clubs to almost anything
there is ridiculous amounts of chinese exact copies on ebay
anyway
i went too fast i think
opened 1 account and after i was limited in amounts i could sell i opened 2 more,same name and paypal
i should add i listed i dvd set
and at most 1 more of the same when the other ended or was nearly over
crazy thing
ebay would remove the new one for trademark probs
but leave the active 1 up with bids of $200 and up! go figure
so i never was suspended but all of a sudden 1 by 1 my sopranos dvd sets and star treks all were hit with copyright.(by ebay not vero)
on my main acct,i had to take the tutorial.
then the second 1 same thing
so after this
i take my own pictures of the sopranos set,on my wood floor
use my own short description,simple and short
all the while we would use the stock pic and description provided by ebay)
you know the rest
my best friend,same thing,he listed a real lion king dvd set
upc and all
same thing
i might add his and my sister got the threat letter from adidas
so my point and question
i have no problem if ebay removes my ad for copyright
but cmon
go see how many dvds are sold with the this is the asian version
pictures show chinese letters lol
why not all the same ads like mine?
it makes you sick!
so the question
i am not suspended
although i have been told by ebay i am limited for now pending my future positive feedback and can ask in the future to have it lifted
i am at 6
all 100%
i know now i should have gone slow and sure
but i didnt
so what can i do now?
should i list things?
will it help?
am i marked for life?
is there any point going on?
and to make matters worse
all 3 of us routinely checked into each others accounts
posted ads
and
gulp
bought bs items,bid items up and left bs good fb
never a word on any of that from ebay however
thanks in advance
i got so many questions
but this will do for now
whats the best way to get these accounts able to sell any items and free from the ebay eye!

[GreenBean]

alarmo549, Geeze, that is a long alarming story. Welcome and here's my quick tip

eBay Stealth - Suspended eBay and Paypal Account Guide Buy this book and read it. It explains ALL. Just for the next post, not as much of the life story, please.
Good Luck

[2eXclusiive]

you should buy eBay Stealth ebook, its amazing, and you'll be surprised, btw if you logged into all your ebay accounts even your sisters,friends..etc.
they are all linked FOREVA
its because you used the same ip address, unless you have aol and use dialup which changes the ip address
but if you didnt change your ip address your account(s) have been linked,
and btw i know which website your talking about

[jscan]

You have quite a bit to learn, read around the forums, or as greenbean said buy the ebay Stealth Book. The information on this forum is priceless.

[alarmo549]

thanks to all
sorry for writing my own book lol
yes i do have alot to learn
bought the ebook
awesome book
i still am confused on alot of thing so please cut me some slack
questions
i thought google check out was no longer allowed by ebay? is it and if so any special way to use it?
2-ive briefly read the book.downloaded it at a friends and just found out cant get a copy here
so -merchant account
its ok to use your real name or no?
wont ebay know who i really am?
confused about merchant account and multiple ebay accounts?
can i use 1 for many and how exactly do i change a DBA's name on the paperwork?
its ok to use your real name for merchant account? and send it to ebay?
any help on the merchant acount part for many ebay new ⊗⊗⊗⊗ name accounts is appreciated in advance
enough
FOR NOW
thanks

[jollybee]

Just to let everyone know, IF--heaven forbid any of you are ever in this same situation.....

To date, my friend has tried to shut down her paypal acct.--there was a chargeback on there so it would not allow it to close until the balance was not in the negative--she satisfied it.

She closed the Ebay acct. even though it had 0 negs., and was in 100% good standing in all areas. Even though she "closed" the account. Ebay stated they leave all info. and username on record and searchable for at least 180 days--even though she closed it.

As far as the Vero problems with the "questionable" goods....the company made good on its word as is actively contacting all past customers and they are filing "significantly not as described" chargebacks. As the paypal acct. is now closed, Paypal will be stuck with those chargebacks--temporarily! Positive, they will personally be coming after her financially as they have all her "real" info.--right down to the drivers license and SS# via the Credit Bureau if needed. There just went a lifetime of PERFECT credit, not even ever late on a bill. And of course, she and her husband separated months ago--hence why she thought she could make some "quick" money.

Just letting everyone know... If you are selling any "⊗⊗⊗⊗" Chinese Vero, do so at your own risk--especially if your "real" details are attached to it. Myself, never, but wanting to share this experience with you should it pertain to anyone in this forum. Just a few months of selling items is sure not worth what she has to go through now. This is not at all a company that just wanted her to cease and desist, scare her or make idol threats--they are contacting customers personally and regularly. Who knows their next move.

Hope it helps someone...if your actively selling "questionable" stuff...or considering it at all. There's too many legit items out there, even if the profits aren't as great, it's certainly better than this result.

[ebayhateluv]

JOLLY:
I have a feeling, your friend didnt share everything with you, Or something is missing from the Puzzle here..
-- I Cannot imagine how you/her are supposed to take back now used mdse from what 3-4 months ago- just because the mfgr says so??
__ I sublet my goods during the Holidays out to 10 Power Sellers-some had Questionable goods, but had massive volume.
--I saw ⊗⊗⊗⊗ Montblanc Pens Galore, ⊗⊗⊗⊗ Leather goods from Designers, ⊗⊗⊗⊗ perfumes, ⊗⊗⊗⊗ Cartier items, etc....
--These guys werent moving 1 or 2/day either--more like 15-20.
--- I Personally Pushed Rolex Usa to the point of them having to answer a Federal Court Subpeona filed by my Lawyer, in Baltimore Federal COurt.
--Rolex is very Very BIG.. they backed down, when my Lawyer showed to do the Preliminary, they had 3 Lawyers present.They Use Gibney & Assoc on line, and then, wherever a suit is filed against them, they hire the Largest Law Firm in the Metropolitan area.
ALL my listings were Reinstated/ the Vero Remarks pulled.
** AND, my Rolex Volume was not the bulk of my sales,either..

**I am not doubting you at all-- it just seems way way out of line- for a Company to invest all that Manpower into a small time seller for peanuts???
_-There are folks in Brooklyn NY right now peddling products I sell, that are ⊗⊗⊗⊗,, theyve been doing it for years, and moving massive volumes,,
Companies like Montblanc, Germany based, subsidiary right in new jersey, Cartier, from France, offices in NYC.
** Please search Cartier Pen--you will see the Vendome models selling for as cheap as $65.. these are $400-900 pens..

[jollybee]

Ebayhateluv--

I know it seems unreasonable for all of this to turn out like this over a small, short-time seller. Unfortunatley, it is. All the company had to do was contact her past buyers, have them send the merchandise they purchased in to the company, check it for authenticity, verify it wasn't and tell the buyers to file with Paypal a significantly not as described case to refund their money.

She has not received any mail--certified or otherwise from the company--just the email I posted that she ignored as never received. It seems the company is not interested in a settlement from her, but would rather have her offer to refund all her buyers and tell them the items she was selling were not authentic. They seem to be making it their mission to use her feedback and transaction history to contact the customers. To date, she has refunded the few of the customers that did contact her but it seems now, there are alot contacting her and she has no way to cover all these refunds. Hard lesson learned for a short amount of time. Paypal will just end up filing with the credit bureau against her by the time all this is said and done.

I know there are TONS of people selling all kinds of non-authentic goods. Why they leave them alone, not sure. There are sellers in here category that have sold over 30,000 of these exact items and there is NO WAY they are authentic--as an authorized dealer even, with company personal use discounts, you can't even purchase the merchandise that low, much less sell 35 items a day. They don't bother them though--that's the BIG FISH. It really seems they just want to make an example out of her.

It really is a mess and doesn't go away as easily as just to stop when items are found to be non-authentic--at least not for her, no matter how short of a time she sold it for.

[ovidiu]

Jollybee, was your friend actually selling ⊗⊗⊗⊗ items, and how much did she make? If it was only an email, you can safely ignore it. To make a good impression in a court of law, they should really send a letter, preferably certified. If there were no images in the email they sent her, they don't even have proof she ever opened it. Plus, is anyone else feeling a little dubious about the "contacting department of homeland security" bit?

[jollybee]

Hi, Yes--they were replica items. At first, she didn't know that though as she was told they were "originals". They were rather expensive items--over $500 each, but she paid over $400.00 for them. Another reason why it wasn't obvious they were not the real deal as the prices were not dirt cheap like you expect to pay for replicas. They were purchased from a US seller--the distributor sells their products on ebay as well. She sold them for only about 2 months. When first contacted by the company, she was dumbfounded and even told them by email the ebay username of the person she bought them from to resell. Obviously, they didn't careless to look into them who has sold 1000's because all their auctions are still up and running to this day.

She didn't say anything about pictures in the email--she only forwarded to my email what I posted here so I don't think so. Not sure how far they will persue her, but contacting the customers is enough of a problem.

Not sure if anyone in this forum intentionally sells replicas or not but just wanted to caution anyone who does or is thinking about it as to the ramifications she suffering just from a short time and bad decision. What a way to start and end being new to ebay.

[MOBSTER]

wait a second, did i read that right? they have her social and drivers license from the credit buraeu?? dont they need a court order to get that info? and so far all she got was an email? not even a certified letter through snail mail? are you sure her ex hubby isnt pulling a fast one on her? this doesnt sound right, but maybe i miss understood.

[GreenBean]

Yep, I am with mobster. This is a complete contradiction of how Vero owners act. Whatever the reason, it appears that your friend is a victim of a scam. Can she get
legal advise from an attorney?

[jollybee]

Exactly--all her real info. is right there on file with PP and ebay. Easily discovered. As well, the first buyer already sent the company all of her real info. from the transaction he had with her--name, address, etc.

And No, it is definately not a scam or stunt from the ex--they sent a letter of documentation with the first returned item she had from a buyer--- the Company has supplied her with the investigators name, address phone#, etc--it's all legit and all coming directly from the company. Wish it were even a possibility it were a scam--unfortunatley, it's not.

This is why it is so weird. I agree. Although, this is my very first experience in hearing about something like this first hand other than what I read in the forum here and it does not seem typical. With the antiques and primitives I sell, I don't think i'll ever have to face something like this, so I really never looked into Vero much--until now.

This is exactly to me why it seems the Company itself is really not that hell-bent on going after her personally, probably because she sold for such a very short time, she told him when this all began she had no knowledge of these items being "conterfeit", and once he told her they were, she told him via; email response she was not wanting any involvement with such items and would never sell them again--and didn't. I think if the Company really pushed it, in the end, they would have a very hard time "proving" she intended and knowingly sold ⊗⊗⊗⊗ items. I think they are trying to financially damage her by contacting her past buyers and having them do chargebacks.

I will update to let everyone know if she hears or receives something further. But that's the jist of all of it for now. Until she receives more, she just acts as though she's received nothing. Kind of scarey that with all the diverse people in this forum and all of the situations with PP, Ebay and Vero you all have been through, no one seems to have ever had it get this far or the series of events/behavoir from Vero. etc., appear strange and not typical. Maybe this situation will shed some light for everyone on a different circumstance that can happen.

[MOBSTER]

so do they just have her name and address? or social security and drivers license? if they do have the drivers license and social, how did they get it? i would think they would need a court order to get that info.. if any jo blow could call up claiming to be someone from some company and demanding such personal info, idenity theft would be super easy. Perhaps she could sue for revealing this to buyers (if they did, you're saying its there on paypal and ebay easily to discover) when she hasnt even been proven guilty. Also, isnt bidding names disquised? how are they contacting her buyers to get them to do chargebacks? anybody could contact anybody saying "hey, i noticed you bought an nfl jersey, well.. its ⊗⊗⊗⊗.. so do a chargebacK"???
this is a very strange situation.. keeps us posted!

[flash2782]

E BAY KICKED ME OFF TWICE FROM TWO DIFF ACOUNTS BEFORE I KNEW ALL ABOUT THIS WEBSIGHT I MADE ABOUT 5 DIFF ACOUNTS AND THEY CLOSED THEM ALL DOWN I HAD NO IDEA THEY TRACK YOU LIKE IF I HAD JUST BROKE OUT OF JAIL NOW I HAVE TO FIND A WAY BACK IN I HAVE FIVE PCs AND I USED THEM ALL ON ALL MY ACOUNTS. NO I HAVE NO ACOUNTS . I HAVE A PROBLEM I HAVE TRIED CHANGEING MY IP ADRESS I DID EVERY THING ON THIS WEBSIGHT AND IT WILL NOT CHANGE . I HAVE MEDIACOM CABLE WITH A LINKSYS WRT54G ROUTER .IF SOME ONE CAN HELP ME OUT ?

[yogarelax]

Vero, is this for new items only, IE: i want to sell gap jeans, one pair I wore... 1 pair are new with the tag. I paid for both of these with my money. Now who owns these ??? me or Gap? and if I own can I not sell them?
Thanks

[jollybee]

Hi--Ebay and Paypal have all her identifying info--real name, license and ss on file--had to submit it to lift the limations, etc. So, it would not at all be hard for the Vero Companies Legal Dept. to demand any info. they want from ebay--it's in the user agreement they will release your info. if fraud, etc., is believed.

As far as how the company contacts the buyers, it wasn't private auctions, so the company looked at her feedback--got the buyers names and it also showed each item in the feedback that she sold. The company has at least contacted a few of the buyers so far and they just don't email or call them and say we think you bought a ⊗⊗⊗⊗/replica item, they tell the buyer it's a possibility and they ask them to send the item into the company to be tested if it is their actual item or a replica. She had a buyer email her and tell her that out of the blue, the company contacted them and said it is believed that this user you bought an item from is selling replicas on ebay and you may hae purchased one--would you be willing to send it in. The buyer did, then when told it was a replica, filed a significantly not as described for a refund thru paypal.

Actually, who really knows, maybe they are really not ⊗⊗⊗⊗/replica's--mabey the company is sick of losing so many sales to ebay sellers and taking money away from their franchisers. Maybe they just say to the buyer it is ⊗⊗⊗⊗--or even switch the items with ⊗⊗⊗⊗ ones--it's a real longshot--but maybe