posted on November 22, 2000 11:45:08 AM new
I am venturing into the area of vintage magazine ads, and was excited to find the artist who signed a 1944 Santa Maytag ad is Sundblom, who reinvented the image of Santa for Coca Cola in the 1930s.
I know I have to be careful if I reference Cola Cola here.
I am planning to use "Sundblom Santa Maytag Ad 1944" as my title in the hopes that collectors will recognize the name.
If I use this sentence in the text,
Artwork is signed by Sundblom, the artist who is famous for his Coca-Cola Santas.
will eBay consider this to be spamming keywords??
I tried to find guidelines on this on the eBay site with no luck.
Any advice on the wording and/or a link to eBay's policy would be appreciated.
I am unsure where I would email eBay for this question or how fast they answer. I am hoping to get this and some other ads up yet today, in time for the holiday shoppers, which is why I am asking here first.
posted on November 22, 2000 12:22:55 PM new
No one knows what one individual ebay person might do with this, but I would be surprised if they found you guilty of anything. Most keyword spammers eitehr list a whole bunch of keywords ("maytag, washer, soap, kenmore, sears, dryer, fridge, dishwasher...." ), or else use a "not something-else-that-is-worth-a-lot" kind of approach.
I doubt what you propose would be a problem.
[ edited by captainkirk on Nov 22, 2000 12:25 PM ]
posted on November 22, 2000 06:58:29 PM new
I don't see Coca Cola as spam. Are you referring to copyright infringement? I know Ebay or SafeHarbor has been real touchy with those kinds of things. All they can basically do is remove your auction if you are in the wrong. If I'm off course here....please accept my apology.
posted on November 22, 2000 07:43:22 PM new
I wouldn't say it's keyword spamming. That is a factual description of the artist used to help understand potential buyers who he is.
posted on November 22, 2000 08:36:09 PM new
Thanks, everyone, for the thoughtful advice.
I decided to go ahead and use the text as I had it. I also feel that it should be viewed as a legitimate way to identify an important advertising artist, so I'll take my chances.
It's so much easier for newbies like me to take the plunge in this business, knowing we have good folks on this board to turn to for help when questions like this come up.
posted on November 22, 2000 09:13:59 PM new
I know the answer to this one from experience!
The secret is not to use Coca-cola in the title as it does not relate to the object being sold, also, don't list it as a key word in the description (ie: just listing a series of copyright words with commas between like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Chanel, etc.). These will be caught and the item pulled. However, a journalistic approach, exactly as you had it in your message, that the artist is the one who is credited with reinventing the image of Santa in the 1930s through work done for Coca cola, is information, editorializing per se, not keyword spamming. Because it is information it is therefore free speech, and if anyone tells you otherwise - take them to court!
posted on November 22, 2000 11:31:05 PM new
So far all reports have indicated a precise line: you cannot put a brand name in the title unless you're selling something branded with that brand.
You can get away with a lot more in the text, but not a list of brand names.
The vaguarities of this situation have more to do with what someone might complain about than what eBay will do if the complaint is received.
Asking forgiveness may well not be the right answer. eBay tends to cancel/warn the first time, and treat repeat offenders more harshly. Much better to never have received a warning.
