posted on January 29, 2001 06:36:38 AM new
I am so mad right now! I caught another seller copying my description and terms! I use the same terms in EVERY one of my auctions. This seller had these terms only in this auction.
Anyway, I sent a very polite email asking them to not copy my description again. Here's a copy:
I was just checking the feedback of the winner of my *****************, and I stumbled upon your recent auction of the same item. I see that you are relatively new to eBay, so you may not know that it is not only against the rules of eBay to copy auction descriptions and/or terms, but item descriptions and auction terms are Copyrighted material. I see that my description and terms were copied by you for this auction almost word for word. Although it is somewhat flattering to see someone so impressed with my work that they plagiarize, It is also a disappointment. As a regular eBay seller, I have worked very hard on my auction descriptions and my terms.
If you plan to list another of these steering wheels, you will need to rewrite your description. Otherwise, I will report this to eBay SafeHarbor. I do believe that copying another sellers' description is grounds for suspension from eBay.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Dani Lynn
This is the reply that I got:
You must be mistaken with someone else or you just don't know what you're
talking about..........for your information my auction ENDED on the 16th of
this month, so it must be YOU who copied my auction. And I was not
"impressed" by your so call auction so you NOTHING to be "flattered" about!
You can so call "threaten" me with reporting me to eBay & I will do the same
with you. I do believe it was you who "plagiarized" my work since my auction
seemed to have ended a WEEK ago. Maybe you should be the one to READ the
rules more carefully. And I don't believe you have the "right" to contact
me,,,,,,,I don't recall given YOU MY E-MAIL address so save MY TIME & don't
BOTHER me with you petty problems. Selling on eBay seems to be your "job",
may I then make a suggestion,,,,,,,,,,,GET A LIFE & A REAL JOB!! You seem to
want to make a big thing out of nothing at all. Obviously you need help & I
doubt, by seeing your email, that anyone would be the least bit impressed by
ANY of your auctions! So as I stated before don't contact me, Danilynn, or
whatever your stupid sounding name may be, because I DIDN"T GIVE YOU THAT
RIGHT!! I believe HARASSMENT is also grounds for suspension if you want to go
that route!!
Can someone tell me how to report this jerk? None of the "offenses" at eBay Safe Harbor seem to go with copying a description.
posted on January 29, 2001 06:45:11 AM new
I know people have reported these cases to safeharbor before, as they will react to copyright infringement - as long as it is obvious. Document your case thoroughly, and copy the other seller on your note, so even if safeharbor doesn't do anything, maybe you'll scare the heck out of them.
posted on January 29, 2001 07:06:23 AM new
Thanks captainkirk! It should be pretty obvious. Here are my general auction terms:
Buyer pays actual Postage Fees only. No added on fees for boxes, packing materials, etc.
If item weighs less than 1 lb., we will ship First Class mail, within the US, at a fixed rate of $2.75. Canadian buyers pay any Duty/Customs Fees and actual Shipping fees to Canada. Insurance is optional and paid by buyer if requested. Seller will not be held responsible for uninsured items lost or damaged in mail. I will, however, provide evidence of shipping upon request for any auction.
Payment by Money Order or Paypal due within 10 days of auction end. Personal Checks accepted only from buyers with a Feedback Rating of 50 or higher with no negative feedback for non-payment or bounced checks.
________________
Sometimes, I'll take out the part about mailing first class mail, if an item is over one pound, but is close, if I feel that it will mislead buyers. Otherwise, I put this in each auction word for word. These terms were copied word for word. The description was copied word for word as well. It is obvious that they cut and pasted.
"If you copy someone else's auction text or original photograph, or copy text or photographs from any other place (depending upon how much is copied), you may be infringing someone's copyright. They may be able to request the ending of your auction through our Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Progam. Here are some examples of potentially infringing auctions:
You copy someone else's auction text and (without permission) paste it into your own auction to sell the same item (Making slight modifications to the text may not relieve you of liability if it is substantially similar to the original text.)"
I just pasted the example that applies to your situation. It was nice of you to contact the other seller first, and from his response it is rather obvious what sort of maturity level he operates at. I would not communicate with him any further. Just wait for him to use your text again and report him. eBay will most likely need to see one of your auctions with the same text that was in existence prior to his use of same.
Good luck!
edited to add: Here's where you can report it the next time...
http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/select-RS.html
Select "Questionable item", then "trademarked/counterfeit items", then "copied picture/text/unauthorized linking".
[ edited by debbielennon on Jan 29, 2001 08:15 AM ]
posted on January 29, 2001 08:53:47 AM new
Thanks debbielennon! That's exactly what I was looking for! I hate trying to navigate the maze that eBay has become. They make it so hard to find this sort of thing.
posted on January 29, 2001 10:08:54 AM new
Hi Danilynn
I can beat that...
A ebay seller copied one of my ads using the same wording, text, and text colors. It was EXACTLY my ad that I had wrote up. But the real kicker was, they even left my email address in it! In fact that is how I found it. Someone emailed me a question on the item and I knew I did not have any for sale anymore. I politely wrote the seller and explained that I had absolutely no problem with them using my ad, but that I would GREATLY appreciate it if they would at least take the time to take my email address out of it. I never heard from them.
posted on January 29, 2001 03:18:38 PM new
Not that I'm trying to defend anyone, but are you saying the other seller copied this (and only this) from your auction?
///
Buyer pays actual Postage Fees only. No added on fees for boxes, packing materials, etc.
If item weighs less than 1 lb., we will ship First Class mail, within the US, at a fixed rate of $2.75. Canadian buyers pay any Duty/Customs Fees and actual Shipping fees to Canada. Insurance is optional and paid by buyer if requested. Seller will not be held responsible for uninsured items lost or damaged in mail. I will, however, provide evidence of shipping upon request for any auction.
Payment by Money Order or Paypal due within 10 days of auction end. Personal Checks accepted only from buyers with a Feedback Rating of 50 or higher with no negative feedback for non-payment or bounced checks. \\\
Those are pretty common terms. I've seen those same sentences many times throughout ebay (maybe not all together with the same punctuation and paragraph spacing) I'm just not sure that it's a blatant case of copyright infringement. But then, I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.
Their response to you on the other hand was blatantly hostile and uncalled for.
