posted on January 4, 2004 07:54:27 AM new
I've been selling on Ebay since '98 and pretty much dabble with antiques & collectables. I've recently run a ground with infringement warnings ... in October I stupidly used shabby chic instead of saying shabby so chic or the like. Of course the listing got zapped, really fast by Rachel.
I've been listing some vintage 1960's pucci like patterned scarves since October and have been using the same description and title on one particular example. I have listed it on all of the recent free days last fall in australia, britian, canada and the US and never had a complaint from Ebay or anyone else. This title has been used at least Six seperate times. The listing expired on Friday and this morning I receive a "LP notice for Comparision using LIKE" from ebay. even though the listing had ended several days earlier.
I don't want to get my account suspended, but I searched on Ebay to find... pucci style, pucci inspired, pucci esque, pucci lk, pucci era, pucci luk, pucci/like, pucci look, pucci so, pucci style, pucci print. In the first 50 listings, All of these titles refered to non signed or trademarked items.
Are the above "acceptable" title descriptions?? I also found a couple of titles like the one I used, pucci like, that were not squashed. Is someone watching me???
posted on January 4, 2004 08:08:03 AM new
MArvey , they are watching everyone closer. Just look at the recent changes on the Ebay community bulletin bd.
posted on January 4, 2004 08:12:28 AM new
I think the whole "shabby chic" thing is a load of crap to begin with. Do you know that McDonalds has put a copyright on all sorts of words? I think we should all take words we like and copyright them. Let's create real havoc. I'll copyright the word "bush". Hee, hee. Quick someone name their child Shabby Chic (insert last name here).
Don't know what to tell you. I try not to use trademark names. I have a couple of necklaces made from fossil stones. When I use the word Fossil in my title I get a Vero warning. I ignore it. What the hell, I didn't say Fossil Co.
posted on January 4, 2004 08:14:41 AM new
No they are not acceptable. That is keyword spamming and eBay doesn't allow that. Someone probably turned you in and now they will be watching. Check to see what competitor's you have probably one of them did it.
posted on January 4, 2004 08:25:47 AM new
I've been selling on ebay for six years & don't sell enough items to bother anyone & I haven't gotten a negative or ticked anyone off for over a year, that I'm aware of.
I used that same description all Fall, & never was called on it til today.
What really gets me about ebay is the randomness that it enforces it's rules. According to Libra63 15/50 listings should be zapped.
posted on January 4, 2004 08:35:11 AM new
I have a friend who used "unacceptable" auction titles. He put up about 60 homepage featured auctions, made over $6,000 in the first day, then eBay cancled his listings and refunded all his listing fees.
Funniest thing I have seen in a long time on eBay. He wasn't trying to get cancled. I told him that was a great marketing plan he had there.
posted on January 4, 2004 08:51:39 AM new
all thru the Fall, I was listing and relisting a bunch of raffle tickets that are for St.Vincent-St.Mary High School's winter fundraiser [yeah that's Lebron's alma mater. Our son goes there] ... first prize is a 2004 Chevy Celebrity, 2nd prize jacuzzi spa, 3rd prize a dvd-player and pizza hut delivered monthly for 1 year. ... sold them at the $10 face value fixed price ... sold quite a few of them, then in mid-december, ebay yanked it saying i wasn't allowed to sell 'random drawing' tickets on their venue ... hmph! ... i had gotten the idea from an enterprising little Girl Scout that I bought GS cookies from last year ... i figured 'hey, why not offer these to ebayers?! ... oh well, ... sold about 12 tickets ...
posted on January 4, 2004 08:52:56 AM new
This auction listing has already ended on its own. However, the listing was in violation of eBay's policies. We would like to take this opportunity to let you know what part of your listing is not allowed.
Your listing contained the following information:
PUCCI Like SCARF
This is not permitted, as it is a violation of our Comparison Policy.
We realize you may not have been aware of this policy, but listing in this manner is not permitted on eBay. sellers are not permitted to make comparisons between items in a listing title.
This notice is based solely upon review of the aforementioned listing. We encourage you to review all of your listings to ensure they are in full compliance with our guidelines. If found to be in violation of one or more of our guidelines, your current listings will be subject to further disciplinary action, including the cancelation of your listings.
For a better understanding of our Comparison guidelines and how they affect the way you list your items, please visit the following URL:
posted on January 4, 2004 09:09:33 AM new
My number one wish for the New Year is that eBay strictly enforce its brand name and comparison policies.
Why? It hurts me as both a buyer and seller.
I collect antique Tiffany silver. *REAL* Tiffany silver: hollowware, flatware, etc. What a pain to have to wade through all the phony listings.
I sell charm bracelets. I have never ever described any of them as Tiffany or Tiffany-style. Women know about Tiffany and the heart charm bracelet, they don't need to be told. Yet countless competitors in the jewelry category use Tiffany to sell their non-Tiffany wares.
marvey, it's simple: If your item wasn't made by Pucci, you can't use Pucci in your listing. It doesn't matter that you've gotten away with it umpty-ump times (and boy am I tired of hearing that particular whine). It doesn't matter that others get away with it. What matters is that you violated eBay policy and you got caught.
eBay takes VeRO matters as seriously as a heart attack. Believe me, I know.
posted on January 4, 2004 09:31:10 AM new
Let 'em look for themselves. bargins sterling in the description search and hit the price sellector to lowest. $5 s/h for a tiny item. Junk that could not be sold in fine stores, ugly junk. Look at the negatives while your there, you'll see lots of damaged goods, cheap junk comments too.
Such a pompous individual selling discarded stuff.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
posted on January 4, 2004 09:33:35 AM new
I'm not whining, I'm asking for a clarification from sellers like you who have experience in these matters. I'm pretty sure it was you Fluffy who suggested that we look at our competetion to see what is successful. As I stated above I looked at my competition this morning and found that 15/50 listings use a pucci comparision. In my mind that would suggest that using some cute phrasing is ok. That's all I want to know ok??
I also understand from my Ebay email that I was NOT A VERO victim, but was warned regarding LIKE COMPARISON, is this the same?? I am asking a question, not being sarcastic.
I sell vintage clothing and fabrics. Many of the popular items revolve around a look or a certain style made popular by a designer. In my case the pucci print look was copied by countless fabric mills and still is today.
posted on January 4, 2004 09:34:41 AM new
I have to agree with fluffy. I hardly ever buy anything on eBay anymore because I'm tired of weeding through things. I've been known to use things like vintage-style, deco-style, etc. However, this is in my title and the auctions are not listed in vintage or antiques categories so you don't even have to look at the product. I in fact have customers that want antique-style or vintage-style because they cannot afford the real thing.
I once tried to research a genuine Tiffany lamp for a friend of mine. I got so frustrated with the fakes posing as genuine in the auction titles that I gave up.
posted on January 4, 2004 09:50:48 AM new
If I was searching for fabric vintage or otherwise with the distinctive pucci pattern I would get countless unwanted hits with: mod, psycodelic, abstract or 60's. How does that help a buyer find what they are looking for and keep them from wading through unwanted hits??? Why can't I describe it as the popular style that it is?? Pucci has become more a signpost of an era, not just a designer name.
Cheryl when you describe you jewlery as vintage, how does that prevent me a vintage deco jewlery buyer from pulling up your unwanted "new" jewlery when I use ebay's search engine to find the 1920's jewlery I'm looking for?? I believe you are in fact violating your own wish for less keyword spamming.
posted on January 4, 2004 10:16:40 AM newI have listed it on all of the recent free days last fall in australia, britian, canada and the US and never had a complaint from Ebay or anyone else.
Sounds like a whine to me. "Whhhhyyyyy me? Whhhhyyyyy now?"
I looked at my competition this morning and found that 15/50 listings use a pucci comparision. In my mind that would suggest that using some cute phrasing is ok. That's all I want to know ok??
Oh, please. Folks, look under "disingenous" in the dictionary: there's a picture of Marvey.
The Comparisons Policy you were provided a link to states:
On eBay, sellers are not permitted to make comparisons between items in a listing title.
On eBay. Not in your mind, where you can compare kumquats to kiwi fruit for all anyone cares. On eBay.
VeRO, authenticity disclaimers, trademark, brand name, it's all in the same category of eBay infraction. It's all stuff people do when they want to leverage a brand name they're not entitled to to sell their junk.
It is not a fun feeling to get nailed when other people do not. The only remedy for that is to turn in the other violators.
posted on January 4, 2004 10:19:24 AM new
Vintage-Style is what I use in my title. Or Victorian-Style. How else would you have me describe jewelry that is based on Victorian or vintage jewelry? It will be easier once more characters are permitted in the titles. If you type Victorian Necklace in the search and then go to the sidebar once the search is done, you can then choose the antique or vintage category. Mine are not put into those categories. They are put into the fashion jewelry categories.
posted on January 4, 2004 01:49:23 PM new
I think it is the word "like" that is picked up by eBay. I often sell Blue Mountain Pottery, which is often unsigned when it is hollow, so to be sure I started putting that it was "like" Blue Mountain Pottery, and my auctions were closed. I tried "similar to", same problem. I don't think you can say that anything is "like" a named brand.
posted on January 4, 2004 02:13:35 PM new
I just saw on the news the other day, the Train Companies (Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, etc.) want the toy train makers to fork over some monies for using THEIR name on the trains now.
Mavy: One thing I noticed. This warning says "in the listing TITLE", maybe you'd do better to say its similar to (and i dont have a clue if that is also considered keyword spamming or vero infraction) in your description and let a gallery picture speak for itself without including those like-ness words in your TITLE? Just my 2 cents.
posted on January 4, 2004 02:28:08 PM new
Neroter: Thanks for this suggestion. I was just going to ask if it's only in the TITLE that we can't do that, and okay in the description itself. Anyone know for sure?
In the past, though, I've even titled an auction something like "Bird wall pocket, McCoy? and was never scolded by Ebay. I didn't say "like McCoy"--it was a genuine quandary I was in and hoped someone could let me know one way or the other.
___________________________________
"I have resolved to allow my friends their peculiarities." -- Samuel Johnson
posted on January 4, 2004 03:18:00 PM new
[i]PUCCI Like SCARF
This is not permitted as it is a violation of our Comparison Policy[/i]
I sell scarfs and I do not put in my description or title gucci like, hermes like, vera like etc. If in your auction title or description for purses Coach like, Vuitton like, Kate Spade it will be ended. All are on the vero list.; I did in one of my last auction descritptions that Har and Selro also made this design. I wouldn't have needed it but I did and I shouldn't have.
I think eBay will start inforcing their rules as they should be. I am not going to get into the discussion about Jewelry because I sell it. I only sell vintage not any reproductions. I honestly think they need a special catagory for victorian reproductions but then how do they stop that from getting into the search?
[ edited by Libra63 on Jan 4, 2004 03:20 PM ]
posted on January 4, 2004 03:49:58 PM new
The problem is that there are two seperate offenses being referred to here now and they have two different avenues of enforcement.
Comparison offenses fall under ebays perview. They will end them if theyy find them or more likely, if they recieve complaints about them.
VERO offenses are not initiated by Ebay. They have already discovered that that is not an arguement they wish to take part in (look at the woman who has won settlements against at least two sports groups for having her auctions shut down on Vero violations that turned out not to be violations). A VERO violation is initiated by the owner of the copyright in question. Some, like Vuitton, Shabby Chic and Vuitton heavily patrol the site, others don't so thhere iks not a lot of equality in the way things are run.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on January 4, 2004 04:24:02 PM new
I don't sell thse types of items. My question is: Can you sell a Gucci bag & say it is a Gucci bag? I sell a lot of china & always name the maker & pattern. What's the difference?
posted on January 4, 2004 09:41:20 PM new
"shabby chic instead of saying shabby so chic or the like. Of course the listing got zapped, really fast by Rachel"
Wow it's even worse than I thought! I always wondered why meg wanted POLITICALLY INCORRECT cancelled!
posted on January 4, 2004 09:52:59 PM new
You can sell a Gucci bag and say it's a Gucci bag but to save your butt and your auction you should provide as much proof as possible in your auction to show that it is an authentic Gucci and not a knock off. You can not sell a Gucci like bag .
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on January 4, 2004 10:04:07 PM new
It is interesting but several sellers are selling copies of VHS videos in violation of copyright, and complaints seem to have no effect. This is one of the most frustrating aspects of ebay, eg they do not seem to enforce their policies very even-handedly.
posted on January 4, 2004 11:45:15 PM new
fluffy have you ever heard of a Vero violator being recommended for reinstatement? Does it depend upon action by the brand name owner to recommend the user for reinstatement? Such info would have been of much more use in my case than all the sanctimonious chatter.
