posted on November 15, 2001 07:17:30 AM new
I was searching through my categories listings today, and saw an item identical to one that I sell on a regular basis. I went to look at the auction, and realized that the seller had copied my auction description word-for-word. I looked at his other auctions and saw another item that I sell on a regular basis. When I viewed that auction, it too had been copied word-for-word from my description. I immediately reported these two violations to ebay.
After I had made this report, however, I had a nagging suspicion that I recognized the sellers ID. Sure enough, upon checking my records, this seller was the winner of one of my recent auctions (for a completely different item than the ones he had listed). I have not yet received his payment, or posted feedback for him. Nor has he posted feedback for me. My questions are as follows:
1) Will this person know who reported him?
2) Can he leave me negative feedback on the transaction he did win from me to get revenge for having his other auctions ended?
3) Now that I know who the seller is... should I contact him directly, or should I just let eBay deal with it?
I've been at this eBay game for almost five years now and have never run into this situation before! Any help you can give me to deal with this situation, or put my mind at rest, would be appreciated! Thanks!
posted on November 15, 2001 07:44:56 AM new
Yikes, that's awful!
I don't think they will know it's you but you might want to copy what you just put up here to safeharbor just to be sure. Are you a powerseller? If so, call the number they gave you - you never know, they might actually help.
If this seller has had warnings before he/she will be removed, but 1st offenders only get a warning.
I think the neg is still possible since it's an independent issue. Did you file for FVF?
posted on November 15, 2001 08:00:14 AM new
1). Not unless YOU tell him.
2). Yes, if he knows you are the one who turned him in.
3). I'd initially let ebay deal with it. Why get into a personal snit until you've concluded your transaction w/this person?
If they are linking to your pictures, you can always change the picture at your end to something rude or offering free shipping & let their buyers deal w/them.
posted on November 15, 2001 08:00:49 AM new
1) Will this person know who reported him?
They will probably be able to figure it out, assuming they have not copied all of their auctions from different people.
2) Can he leave me negative feedback on the transaction he did win from me to get revenge for having his other auctions ended?
He can leave you a neg for sneezing. Just the facts of life...
3) Now that I know who the seller is... should I contact him directly, or should I just let eBay deal with it?
I would contact him. Tell him exactly what you said here. That you did not realize it wsa him until after you complained. That you hope he will not use your auction descriptions in the future, and that you hope that the situation is resolved. I would not mention the item still unpaid for.
posted on November 15, 2001 08:01:07 AM new
1) Will this person know who reported him?
Your report would be anonymous, but it wouldn't be difficult for this person to jump to the correct conclusion. Getting turned in for selling inappropriate items or for shilling is frequently done by competitors, potential bidders, or other third parties. But I've never heard of any third party turning in somebody for copying auction text; the only person I've heard doing this has been the originator.
2) Can he leave me negative feedback on the transaction he did win from me to get revenge for having his other auctions ended?
Yes, it wouldn't be difficult for him to come up with some sort of lie that ebay couldn't prove one way or the other and thus wouldn't remove. Of course, you haven't left feedback for him either, and while I'm no advocate of "holding feedback hostage," I would definitely keep that option open if you intend to persue the "description theft" issue.
3) Now that I know who the seller is... should I contact him directly, or should I just let eBay deal with it?
While I've read many accounts of "description theft," this situation is definitely unique. As I stated in answer to your first question, I think he'll figure out who reported him if you go through ebay. So you may as well contact him directly and politely point out his error (remember to send him a link to ebay's rule about stealing descriptions and images). This way you can also keep intervention from Safeharbor in your back pocket, kind of like sending your own "reminder to pay" email before hitting them with the official ebay NPB notice. The best thing that can happen is the person admits his mistake and revises the auction. The worst that can happen is an unjustified bad feedback and possibly a sale that falls through (and maybe future harassment if the guy's a real psycho).
Also, before you make any decisions, make sure you know what your goals are. Do you simply want to enlighten him of the rules or are you demanding an overhaul of his auction? Are these things more important to you than your sale and feedback? Remember your other option is to simply let it slide - maybe point it out to him after your current transaction (and feedback) are completed. I guess it all depends on how much you're willing to risk for your principles.
posted on November 15, 2001 08:03:51 AM new
if you have been on ebay for 5 years,you must be good at what you do.
do you want to offend your customer by reporting him,causing his auction to end,engaged in a negging war with him??
is this the way to treat your customer??
c'mon,put on your marketing cap and see if you can work out something mutually beneficial!
posted on November 15, 2001 08:28:04 AM new
Thanks for all the quick responses. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks this is an awkward situation! I had a feeling that the report would be anonymous... but you're all right when you say that it won't take much detective work for him to figure out who did it! I guess I already knew that he could leave a neg for me if he wants to. Just another flaw in the feedback system, I guess. As for contacting him directly... I still don't know what I'm going to do. All of you have provided some great pros and cons on contacting him. I think what I'll do is wait to get my response from eBay first. It's gonna be a long 36 hours! I think holdenrex has really helped me put it into perspective as far as assessing my goals. My main goal is to not have MY description used by my competitor when they are selling the same type of merchandise at lower prices!
Wowwow85,
I am very good at what I do, and I treat my customers very well. However, when this person stole my auction description and began listing identical merchandise, he became a competitor.... not a customer. While I do not mind fair competition, I consider this to be a violation of my hard work and creativity. If this person would like to end their auctions and relist them using their own description, I would welcome the competition. In my opinion, there are still plenty of customers out there for all of us. This is certainly not a case of me treating my customers poorly, as you suggest. This is clearly a case of my customer treating ME poorly!
posted on November 15, 2001 08:45:59 AM new
Whoever stole your work is a thief. That alone is nasty.
The fact they bid, won and have not paid for one of your auctions sounds like they are also without scruples. (I would actually be more concerned if they did pay - you would have to send the item, and maybe all they are doing is looking for a source's address so they can buy it to compete with you.)
If ebay doesn't stop this person quickly,
I would deal with them harshly.
posted on November 15, 2001 08:53:23 AM new
Just to clear things up a little... while I have not yet received the payment for the auction this person won... I do truly think that payment is on the way. The auction he won ended on 11/5/01 and he is a Canadian, so I do expect a slight delay considering it is international mail. I checked my past correspondance, and he has indicated that payment is on its way... so I don't think that it will be a case of non-payment. That doesn't make what he IS doing any better... but I just thought I should clear up that part of this scenario. Thanks again for all your posts! Keep the advice coming, as I'm still open to suggestions!
