chathamsue
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posted on October 7, 2007 10:35:13 AM new
I received notification from eBay that I have been accused of stealing another sellers photos. I did not. I have sold/shipped a few sets of these items 10 days prior to the notification. Now I have 2 international buyers requesting a credit from paypal, stating that they got an email notfication that they do not have to complete the transaction.
I explained through the paypal 'system' what happened & emailed ebay asking for help. Does anyone know how I can talk to someone.
This is just the work of another seller who is apparently trying to wipe out the competiton.
Thanks for any help.
Sue
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 7, 2007 11:17:12 AM new
When I went after the image thief who was ultimately NARU'd, I had to provide eBay with a list of my auctions -- dated prior to hers -- that photos had been lifted from.
I had to keep filing complaints before they actually did anything. She was utterly shameless and didn't let up until the day they suspended all her eBay accounts.
fLufF
--
Jody Coyote crept in on little cat feet at clearanceclarence.com
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chathamsue
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posted on October 7, 2007 11:42:40 AM new
I have no idea who reported me to go after them & prove I didn't take their pictures.
These items have many sellers so I couldn't even begin to guess who reported me.
I need this like I need a hole in my head. I am trying to clean things up since I am going to be going in for an unplanned surgery & will be out of commission for awhile. The timing could not be worse.
Sue
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neglus
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posted on October 7, 2007 01:00:41 PM new
Maybe you could start with contacting trust and safety but I don't know of a way to contact them by phone. Maybe "live help" can help. Can you prove that the images are yours?
I am really surprised that ebay took the items down and contacted the buyers. Usually they don't do anything about stolen images. Are you positive that is the reason they items were cancelled?
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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chathamsue
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posted on October 7, 2007 05:01:42 PM new
I am positive it has to be due to pictures since this is from the email I received from ebay:
"Please note, this notice concerns only the unauthorized use of text or images in the description of your listing, not the item you listed. You are free to relist your item without the text or images specified above.
Relisting your item using the same text or images could result in the suspension of your account."
I can deal with the lisitng s taht were taken down but my real problem is that they removed auctions that were already closed & won! One of them closed 10 days prior and had shipped to Canada 10 days prior. The person filed a paypal chargeback saying goods were not received referencing the email they rec'd from ebay that the auction had been taken down to to a violation & tehy were under "no obligation to complete the transaction".
The transaction was complete!
UGH! Of course I have had no response from ebay or the buyers who want a refund.
Sue
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pixiamom
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posted on October 7, 2007 05:53:21 PM new
Did you use stock photos or did you take the photos?
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agitprop
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posted on October 7, 2007 06:16:30 PM new
It's an excellent idea to use a transparent watermark consisting of your eBay ID on all your images. It makes it harder for image thieves to steal your original photos and if they do steal them - it provides free publicity/sales traffic for you and makes it easy to prove to eBay that the images were stolen from YOU.
I'm constantly surprised at how dumb competitors are when they list items on eBay using our images. I wait until their auctions have a few bids before reporting them so they can't replace the images too easily. If they are even dumber and link to our images then they get reported for using "Monkey p0rn" or they find themselves offering FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING, etc. on those listings. (There's nothing worse than a seller scorned!)
Home of the best eBay auction fee & PayPal calculators: http://auctionfeecalculator.com
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chathamsue
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posted on October 7, 2007 06:36:39 PM new
One stock photo in each auction and the balance were mine. Almost all stock photo ads are gone from what I can see, spot checking 159 auctions.
Sue
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roadsmith
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posted on October 7, 2007 09:43:23 PM new
Sue: Are you sure it was for IMAGE theft? From the message you got from Ebay: "the unauthorized use of text OR images". Is it possible you're being accused of lifting text from someone somewhere?
_____________________
There is more to life than increasing its speed. --Mahatma Gandhi
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chathamsue
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posted on October 8, 2007 05:02:45 AM new
No, it was most definitely my own text. Every word of it. I did not even look at anyone else's descriptions to have done it subconciouskly...and besides that there were multiple design items that were described differently that were ended.
These items had scads of listings with stock pictures. I scanned through the gallery pics last night - there are only 3 now.
Sue
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amber
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posted on October 8, 2007 05:20:56 AM new
agitprop: Is there a way to get a free transparent watermark for your pictures?
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deur1
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posted on October 8, 2007 05:44:52 AM new
That is terrible! Why would they undo closed sales?
You said the things you sell, has lots of sellers. Most likely (I do not want to make you suspicions of your fellow sellers) one of your competitors reported it.
Do you sell anything that Vero patrols closely? I know some purses, and certain brands(Tiffany) are always closely watched.
I once had a seller fire me an email about "her" picture being used. It was a black basic item.I fired her back a "sweet" email asking her if the painting on my wall in my hallway showing in the photo was also hers?
Anyway, I feel sorry for you.This seems so unfair.
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vintageads4u
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posted on October 8, 2007 06:03:26 AM new
If you use Vendio image hosting, you can show the date you uploaded it by going to the manage image area and then taking a screen pic.
That might help, good luck, this sounds just horrible.
Beth
VintageAds4U
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agitprop
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posted on October 8, 2007 08:10:25 PM new
amber wrote: ...Is there a way to get a free transparent watermark for your pictures?...
Loads of ways depending on which image editing software you use. If you use Adobe Photoshop Elements, then you can simply make a new text layer with your ebay ID over the photo and set transparency to say 30-50% to achieve the desired effect.
Google search results for "free transparent watermark"...
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chathamsue
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posted on October 13, 2007 07:36:37 PM new
Thank goodness for honest buyers.
The people that got notification from ebay stating that they did not have to complete closed auctions since the items were pulled have closed their paypal disputes stating that they received their purchases.
Ebay on the other hand told me that I have to send them links to the website that I got the pictures from or get the owner of the website (Target) to email them with my user id & auction numbers involved stating that I got the pictures from their website. I am sure their customer service department will do that for me. (NOT!) Even if they would the pictures were from last winter & no longer are availble on their website.
Ebay just keeps coming up with more & more ridiculous ideas to justify the existence of employees who would otherwise have nothing to do. Maybe they could cut their payroll of the people who sit around thinking up all these dumb ideas & use the savings to cut various fees to sellers. Now there's a thought!
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max40
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posted on October 13, 2007 07:58:05 PM new
So you did use someone elses pictures without their permission.
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chathamsue
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posted on October 14, 2007 09:02:24 AM new
Max -
They are stock photos used by many websites.
Sue
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 14, 2007 11:55:04 AM new
So you did use someone else's photos without their permission.
fLufF
--
Are work at home opportunities legitimate? You decide at clearanceclarence.com
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profe51
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posted on October 14, 2007 12:27:54 PM new
Using stock photos has gotta be asking for trouble one way or another.
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tomwiii
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posted on October 14, 2007 12:33:19 PM new
Depends on WHAT you sell!
If you're selling new consumer items, most manufacturers happily provide hi-res stock photos for your listings -- afterall, the idea is to...SELL MERCHANDISE!
I used STOCK PHOTOS in all my listings with nary a problemo...
"What me worry?" "childrens do learn"
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 14, 2007 12:57:41 PM new
If you use images that you did not create and you use them without permission, it doesn't matter how many other kids are doing the same thing: you're asking for trouble.
There are sources for free photos, such as Wikimedia.
fLufF
--
Are work at home opportunities legitimate? You decide at clearanceclarence.com
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pixiamom
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posted on October 15, 2007 09:19:36 AM new
Manufacturers provide distributors with great stock photos, who can provide them to their retailers. If you obtained your merchandise outside of their distribution channel, I would think they would want you to provide your own photos of the actual merchandise you are shipping. I don't think lifting an image from another retailer who is in the distribution chain is a valid way of getting stock photos.
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