My listing and photos are being used by another seller

[aj111003]

I listed my item on Gumtree and then went to place it here also on Ebay (on a different ID than this one).  I happen to do a search before hand and found that another seller in Qld had copied my exact listing word for word and used my photos from my gumtree ad. I ended up putting up my own listing anyway on Ebay and then contacted Ebay customer service immediately to let them know what had happened. That was Monday and I have been calling them everyday to try and get this other sellers listing pulled down, but I just can't seem to get anywhere with Ebay customer service. I keep getting told the matter has been escalated to the specialized department to take appropriate action on the listing and they can't give me a timeframe. They advised me not to contact the other seller direct, but I'm getting pretty frustrated and thinking of contacting them through ebay messages.  I haven't to date as I wanted to go through the correct procedures and was mindful my name and contact number was listed on Gumtree for the ad and other ads I have.   I would appreciate any advice? And what others have done in the past when this has happened to them. thanks.

[thecatspjs]

Gosh yes definitely time in west for happy hour to be well underway ...

My rule is that if you missed any happy hours during the week, you can add them to Friday if you like, to experience a higher level happiness hours

OP sorry if it seems off topic, but happy hour regularly does help me deal with eBay matters in a more subdued, relaxed manner than I might otherwise

[digital*ghost]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

Can DG or CQ please post to make my day (in the nicest way of course)

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This is what I know for sure...

I kinda thought it was a board furphy for ages, everytime someone cited the policy, I asked for a link to it and no one provided one, nor could I find it anywhere onsite.

Then one day foxette posted a link to the policy, and there it was, in black and white, stating explicitly that an item can not be listed elsewhere if listed on eBay. That thread is still on the boards, with foxette saying that she's sure eBay move that policy around to different pages, the link to the policy and my response confirming that I did indeed witness said policy with my own eyes.

-But-

If you click the link, the page - while it still exists - no longer contains the policy.

So.... not a myth, as such, but I can't confirm one way or another if the policy is still in place.

It's worth noting, however, that advertising an item elsewhere isn't the same as offering an item for sale elsewhere. One just shows an item for sale without the option for creating a contract, and eBay can't dictate where and how you let people know you have an item for sale. The other, with or without policy restricting it, has the potential to create all sorts of problems, and the policy re: stock availability is still very much in place.

[thecatspjs]

bout how long ago do ya reckon that your own eyes witnessed that said policy ???

do you recall if it was in the fee circumvention policy, thats where I thought it lived ??

The sad thing is I cannot even ring the fools to check quickly.

Now I need to compose an email requesting advice from the relevant area of eBay and make several phone calls to follow up ... gggrrrrrr....

I would not be surprised if they removed it, it is / was a very contentious policy in Oz, that has clear rules about restricting trade.

[digital*ghost]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

bout how long ago do ya reckon that your own eyes witnessed that said policy ???

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Even longer than I thought. 😮

January, 2013 - http://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Buying/Can-seller-quot-reserve-the-right-quot-to-offer-items-elsewhe...

[thecatspjs]

The site map is pretty farked up at the moment.

For seller performance standards the link in the A to Z  is  Seller, Non-Selling (Policy)

I only clicked it as I thought "what the ....*

Who would ever think that seller performance standards information is under non-selling ??

Fools that is who, same as the fools that create these ridiculous links to hide and bury this information.

[aj111003]

Just to clarify, my item on ebay is listed as "buy it now" and I always check ebay before committing to selling to someone else on gumtree, so I've never had an issue.  As for being against ebay policy, (listing it on ebay and gumtree) well if that's the case, it would be an honest mistake on my part as I've never been aware of such a policy.  These days I have seen lots of sellers do it. When I spoke to Ebay Customer Service, I clearly explained what I had done and they didn't mention anything about it not being allowed, but on the same note, it's like talking to a bunch of robots there. In any case, thank you DG for your explanation.

Now getting back to the original question, DG I would really like to hear your opinion, would you contact the other seller and ask them to take down the photos? 

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

.*

Who would ever think that seller performance standards information is under non-selling ??

Fools that is who, same as the fools that create these ridiculous links to hide and bury this information.

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And Billy the puppet.

I imagine him sitting at the helm saying "I want to play a game...." every time I land on the help page looking for something.

AJ - yes, I would contact them, more particularly because a lot of my products are my own design, and/or it takes me a long time to take / edit my photos of products. Some of my wholesalers provide stock images, but I prefer my own for a variety of reasons and I don't take that care and spend all that time doing it so that someone else can profit or have an easier time to list an item. 😉

I would be nice, and polite, but let them know I'd also be prepared to play hardball if I had to. (i.e. polite request, 'so that we can avoid time and expense of making this a legal matter' or some such. 😉

[aj111003]

Well, I've decided to contact the seller and will see how things go. Thank you DG and everyone else here for your input.

[dithommo]

Being reasonably new at this selling thing on eBay, however when I was listing an item the other day (a book I think) and the eBay selling tool prompted me with a "would you like to sell one like this" or similar words. The listing tool would have unless I edited the item virtually put someone elses pictures and wording in my item details. I may be wrong but I feel unless I edited that is what would have happened? Or have I got it wrong??

[digital*ghost]

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@dithommo wrote:

Being reasonably new at this selling thing on eBay, however when I was listing an item the other day (a book I think) and the eBay selling tool prompted me with a "would you like to sell one like this" or similar words. The listing tool would have unless I edited the item virtually put someone elses pictures and wording in my item details. I may be wrong but I feel unless I edited that is what would have happened? Or have I got it wrong??

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That option actually pre-fills all info, item specifics from the listing you select, except the seller's description and images (a stock image may be pre-loaded, though).