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

[DogFacedBoy]

Originally Posted by stealthdog

I started off selling Beatle albums...no problem with Vero there. Then I got a Louis Vuittion Hand bag from my mom...sold it for a good price. So I began selling them...in all honesty some where reall and some were not. Long story short I received four 3-day suspensins and then two 14-day suspension and one 30-day suspension and finally the big boot was given to me. I had another account at the same time selling the same item...but it was shut down first warning. why one account was given so many chances whilw another wasn't...I still can't figure out.

Man, I can't believe the one account got so many second chances.

I was selling some knockoff lighters and cut and pasted from another lister who was running 3 or 4 a week, because I figured he was able to fly under the radar. I eventually got VERO'd after a couple of them.
Of course EB is so vague (for security reasons) and after reading the policy I couldn't figure out if the listing was pulled because of VERO or because I lifted the other guy's description.
Long story short, after the second one my account was suspended under I did the online tutorial. The third one got me booted for good and for some reason last week my acount with 100%/100+ FBs got hit for (almost a year later) being associated.

What happened to the good ol' days when a guy could buy a genuine "replica" Rolex on ebay? Described as such.

[stealthdog]

Originally Posted by DogFacedBoy

Man, I can't believe the one account got so many second chances.

You sound a tad bit jealous there dogfacedboy..:D Seriously though I was always on the edge of my seat just waiting for it to be over. I can't explain why my one account got so much grace when the other one was kicked to the ground and immediately stomped. But then I have always wondered why some accounts get away with half the sh*t they do and others get away with nothing. Forget eBay being fair...they aren't even logical.

[DogFacedBoy]

My account last year got Vero'd for selling knockoffs.
The first time it got hit it just said for violating ebay's "intellectual properties" policy.
Well I was new to selling and saw so many listings for what I was selling that looked nearly identical so I kept an eye on them to see which ones brought the highest prices and didn't get removed. When it came time to list my item, I took the pics and then cut and pasted (now I know that was wrong, but at the time it sure seemed like that was what everyone was doing to list this item) the text from another listing that had appeared several times. Just a few hours before the end of the auction the listing was removed.
The problem at the time was that ebay was so vague (for security reasons...LOL) in telling me why it was removed that I didn't know how I had offended and what to change for the next time I listed. Another one (removal) came along and then I had to do the "tutorial"
I let things cool off for a while, listed the same item (with a carefully thought out description) and listed the item again on a Saturday night. By the time I got home that night, the item was off and so was that account forever..3 strikes and I was out.
Since the last strike came late at night on a weekend I am almost certain that in both cases I was "reported" by another seller (competitor). He only sold the item that I was selling (about 30 at that point) he described it as "authentic" when it was clearly a ⊗⊗⊗⊗...even had a feedback saying that he sold a ⊗⊗⊗⊗.
He is still an active user, but hasn't done a transaction (at least through that acount) in a while.

My question is how is it that the other seller clearly skated through the whole time (30 or more to be exact) and I got clobbered?

[JackNoMore]

Does emailing the owner of the IPR to ask the reason for the report and to request a dismissal

a) help often
b) hurt matters by bringing it to their attention (just in case it's all automated)
c) doesn't do anything. They ignore you.

[Goods on the shelf:(]

Hi all

Hope you can give me some advice so i can actually avoid getting suspended!

I was selling a tangible (physical) product on ebay for 3 months without any issues until i got VERO'd

I have perfect feedback and looked after all my bidders! if the product didnt work i refunded, if they needed tech support i gave it. This was all going well until one guy had problems paying me. He was an ebay newbie and i was his first ebay auction! He contacted ebay for help because he sent me an email explaining that he talked to a nice lady called X in ebay customer care who sorted his payment problem and just after i came home and got his email in my inbox I then got another one from ebay saying i'd got VERO'D!!!!

What gets me about this sequence of events is that the ebay person knew she was going to VERO my auction so did she

a) Tell the person he should not bid on the item cause she was going to VERO it cause she thought the seller should not be listing such an item and thereore the user should not be bidding on it so thereore dissapoint the biddder or

b) Sort out the users payment problem so she doesnt have to tell any bad news to the bidder or get into a tricky situation of a user calling for help actually goes away empty handed, then half an hour later VERO's the auction for the future. B What else!!

In case your wondering my items is legitimate and legal to sell but we all know how it is impossible to challenge these spot decisions of ebay people.

So Some Questions!

1) I've waited 3 months now without setting up any other account or relisting anything at all on my account and the VERO email has dropped off the radar on my inbox so should i start listing again on the same account? How many VERO strikes before I'm out?

2) If i list with the same title am i going to get hit with an instant VERO? Are accounts monitored that have had a VERO on them for a relisting of same item? Fortunatley my item is not one that would have a third party constantly bothered or on the look out for any such listings to contact ebay when they appear it was just by chance i got VERO'd.

3) Should i change the auction listing? I was thinking instead of text having a picture alone as my main auction listing which i can resize and rename and rehost on a different site everytime i setup an auction. Therefore they cannot scan the text (if they do that) on my listing if its just a picture, the name, size and location of which will be changing between auctions so they have nothing other than title to get me on.

3) All problems seem to stem from getting suspended.(which i haven't got yet) If i play safe and just move on when i get a VERO on an ebay account and ditch it for another one can i use the same paypal email address with each of these new ebay accounts to collect payments? I.E. If i set up a new ebay account and after a month building up the feedback start selling at which point i add my old pay pal email address as the payment method (but not linked) to an account which had an item which was VERO'd but wasn't itself suspended am i going to get VERO'd or suspended in this new ebay account?

4) Will i probably get suspended rather than VERO'd on a newer account? If i build my new account up over a month buying stuff (tangiable stuff) and with a perfect feedback rating then list 1 item becuase my account is only a month old will i probably get suspended rather than VERO'd or will VERO still come first if i do look like a genuine newbie account listing something i shouldn't?

Thanks again

[aspkin]

Too much thinking right now (my morning), I'll come back to this.

[Goods on the shelf:(]

Thanks Any Help Appreciated. Morpheus ....I mean Aspkin. And thanks for setting up such a great resource.

[aspkin]

1) I've waited 3 months now without setting up any other account or relisting anything at all on my account and the VERO email has dropped off the radar on my inbox so should i start listing again on the same account? How many VERO strikes before I'm out?

You can't compete with VeRO's, you'll eventually be suspended permanently if you continue selling.

2) If i list with the same title am i going to get hit with an instant VERO? Are accounts monitored that have had a VERO on them for a relisting of same item? Fortunatley my item is not one that would have a third party constantly bothered or on the look out for any such listings to contact ebay when they appear it was just by chance i got VERO'd.

If that's the case, then it wouldn't matter. It could help that you change the title, but if they're not looking for you, then what's the point.

3) Should i change the auction listing? I was thinking instead of text having a picture alone as my main auction listing which i can resize and rename and rehost on a different site everytime i setup an auction. Therefore they cannot scan the text (if they do that) on my listing if its just a picture, the name, size and location of which will be changing between auctions so they have nothing other than title to get me on.

The only problem with that is, eBay doesn't allow image only auctions. You'll have to have some text in there.

4) All problems seem to stem from getting suspended.(which i haven't got yet) If i play safe and just move on when i get a VERO on an ebay account and ditch it for another one can i use the same paypal email address with each of these new ebay accounts to collect payments? I.E. If i set up a new ebay account and after a month building up the feedback start selling at which point i add my old pay pal email address as the payment method (but not linked) to an account which had an item which was VERO'd but wasn't itself suspended am i going to get VERO'd or suspended in this new ebay account?

You'll need to add a different email to your Paypal account and use that for your eBay account if you go this route. If you use the same email used on your other account, you'll be linked.

5) Will i probably get suspended rather than VERO'd on a newer account? If i build my new account up over a month buying stuff (tangiable stuff) and with a perfect feedback rating then list 1 item becuase my account is only a month old will i probably get suspended rather than VERO'd or will VERO still come first if i do look like a genuine newbie account listing something i shouldn't?

Probably VERO first.

[Chris Hanson]

hey, with the vero I'm believe that if you wait about a month or so you can begain listing the same products again but I wouldnt chance a good account with that. I would rather start a whole new account

[Chris Hanson]

Dog Face, was the other seller a power seller?

[DogFacedBoy]

He is (surprise, surprise) no longer a registered user, but I am 99.9% certain that he was not a power seller.

Excuse my ignorance (I am still learning) why would that allow him to break the rules so blatantly?

What is involved to obtain this seemingly "untouchable" status?

[Chris Hanson]

Because he is making Ebay more money

[Goods on the shelf:(]

Thanks for the Advice Aspkin. I've got some more thoughts not just about ebay so I've submited another message thread to the forum.

[Capt Quahog]

What does VERO (VERO-ed) mean? Can't recall hearing that term before. Read your post twice and don't understand it. Have actually three eBay accounts since 1999 and 2000. Unless things have changed, I don't think eBay cares about multiple accounts at the same location. That's if the Users at the mutual ISP address aren't bidding among themselves. Do know that new software used by eBay can instantly track the ISP and will suspend all the accounts assigned to that Internet address whether involved in a VIOLATION or not.

[DogFacedBoy]

Originally Posted by Capt Quahog

Have actually three eBay accounts since 1999 and 2000. Unless things have changed, I don't think eBay cares about multiple accounts at the same location. That's if the Users at the mutual ISP address aren't bidding among themselves. Do know that new software used by eBay can instantly track the ISP and will suspend all the accounts assigned to that Internet address whether involved in a VIOLATION or not.

I don't understand... you say that you have had three accounts dating back as far as 1999 and ebay doesn't care that they are at the same location (do you mean email and/or street...IP address)

Is the software you are talking about is only used to check the IP address (not ISP) of the bidder against that of the seller? If it is indeed the ISP that would unfairly knock out almost everyone. A Roadrunner subscriber in California couldn't bid on another auction in California who had RR?

I think you must mean IP address...
I sure hope so.
Easy enough getting around if you have the ability to reset IP addresses and cookies between every login.

BTW, I believe VeRO stands for Verified Rights Owner (correct me if I am wrong)
So if you sell ⊗⊗⊗⊗ Rolexes, Oakleys, Prada purses basically anything that someone other than you hold a trademark or copyright on you will get a VeRO warning.

The way it went for me was:
first warning...listing removed
second warning, listing removed and account suspended until completing the online tutorial
third violation...GOODBYE FOREVER

I have read here though about people getting tossed forever on their first infraction to people getting away with several...just spaced out quite a bit.

Just be prepared if you are selling any items like these they will eventually get you.

[imjustme]

i have a few authentic items (i buy wholesale, then sell more expensive) listed on one ebay account, no counterfeits. today ebay pulled one of my listings for 'trademark violation - unauthorized item'.

i used the company's logo on the listing in addition to photos - could that be the reason for it being pulled? i wrote to ebay and naturally, the response i got, was only that they didnt have any more information.

[aspkin]

i used the company's logo on the listing in addition to photos - could that be the reason for it being pulled?

That'll do it and more.

[imjustme]

i guess i'm gonna try listing it again ...without the logo to spice up the listing. if the account gets killed i'll move to the next one till i have it figured out :D

[arysmith]

what item were you selling? I know of a recent crackdwon regarding Reebok jerseys.

[imjustme]

i just talked to them again through live help and they did say i was indeed allowed to list the item, but the trademark owner complained that i had used their logo outside of the photo and therefor violated their trademark. go figure.

[Chris Hanson]

They actually told you that??? I'm surprised they gave up the info

[DogFacedBoy]

Wow, I consider that a moral victory.
It's usually the fact that they don't tell you what you did wrong and that leaves you trying to find out through trial and error and after the third strike, you're gone for good, forever.

Unless you find Aspkin's site :D