eBay

i*m-still-here · ‎05-13-2013

A seller stole a picture of an item have listed.

It's a one a kind item and there is no other like it.

The photo is clearly mine.

No doubt about it........... every little crease it identical.

I messaged the seller and he agreed he'd lifted my photo.

I reported the photo several times .................. I called ebay and the person agreed that it's clearly my item

There is no way that the other seller has that piece because there is no other like it.

It's a 100 year old antique.

The listing ended................... and the seller has re-listed the same item again.

What's that all about?

rose-dee · ‎05-13-2013

How bizarre!

Is the seller trying to sell the photograph (as an interesting photo), or the piece itself? What does the item description say (can you post the item # here)?

Whatever he/she is up to, I would think you could get the listing taken down by eBay.

It seems there's a new scam every day...:-(

weaversofspeech · ‎05-13-2013

Are they selling it as a reprint/copy?

I have seen some of my items sold that way on other online sites

Course most of the people who have done it have done the honorable thing and purchased it from me first kept the original and then sold it that way

Some are sold as digital scans

I know a few people who don't buy photos here copy them then reproduce them and sell them offline at markets etc

not the way I would do it but some do

weavers

i*m-still-here · ‎05-13-2013

It's an item.

At first I thought the seller was going to use me as a drop shipper.

That is, I had it on BIN and he listed as an auction and I thought that he wanted to sell it for more money than I have it listed for and than buy mine and have me ship to his buyer.

Now I'm not sure.

The seller doesn't care ................... I can't believe he had the nerve to relist.

What amazes me it that no one cares at eBay.

weaversofspeech · ‎05-13-2013

as a dropshipper

that's still incredibly nervy if so and a very poor way to do business unless arranged previously IMO, but it takes all kinds

If I want to resell something on ebay I buy it first then it's my perogative to do with it what I wish

I don't watermark my photos (ebay does do it on this id but its right at the bottom) but at times with some of my rarer items I have placed them in a protective sleeve and wrote on the outside of it At times I have added something like a piece of cardboard placed strategically with my id etc

Harder to remove than a watermark but unless really creative most cant get it looking original

I find it a pain to do this don't like distorting the image in any way but don't want to make it easy to copy

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-13-2013

That is really bizarre. I wonder what they plan on doing if it sells??

paisley_daze · ‎05-14-2013

Block this person as a buyer's id if you don't want to become his dropshipper.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-14-2013

I was amusing myself.......... trying to understand what the seller is trying pull..........

I wonder what would happen if the item was bid up to $1,000 and then the buyer refused to pay because he/she saw what was happening....................

or if the seller couldn't deliver the item?

Would the seller still have to pay FVFs?

femmefan1946 · ‎05-14-2013

If the buyer refused to pay, the seller could go for an Unpaid Item Dispute and get his FVF back.

If the buyer paid and did not get what he ordered, he could go for a Not As Described, and the seller gets his fees if he pays the refund (on acceptable proof of return) without being forced into it. The unfortunate buyer is out the cost of return with Delivery and Signature Confirmation.

Bad news for the buyer.

Worst that happens to the seller is feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings.

When a picture is being directly stolen, some sellers have exchanged the picture for something entirely different, usually embarrassing. I am a technodolt and don't know how this is done.

rose-dee · ‎05-15-2013

What amazes me it that no one cares at eBay.

If I'm correctly understanding what you've described, eBay should care! I think if this were happening to me, I'd persist with Customer Service until I got someone who speaks English and has some grasp of the issue. Or bring it up with the "Pinks".

Unless I'm mistaken in reading your description of the situation, this seller has copied the photo you're using to list your item, and he's attempting to sell (your) item without any prior agreement from you? That's not dropshipping, as he has absolutely no way to guarantee that he can provide the item to his buyer - what if another buyer gets to your BIN listing first? The theft of the photo aside, he's acting strictly against eBay's selling policies.

This little scheme sounds very, very fishy, as if this person is testing what he thinks is a loophole in eBay's rules or oversight to see if he can succeed. Basically, it's like real estate flipping, but without the prior contract. A real no-no.

Personally I wouldn't let him get any further with it, and would ensure someone at eBay took action. And as another poster has suggested, I would immediately block this idiot as a buyer so he can't get the item from you. Let him stew in his own juices, or lie in the bed he's made for himself, whichever metaphor you prefer. Just my view...:-)

vintagenorth · ‎05-15-2013

When a picture is being directly stolen, some sellers have exchanged the picture for something entirely different, usually embarrassing. I am a technodolt and don't know how this is done.

Not sure if its possible to do now if the photo is uploaded through ebay. When we used to use sites such as Photobucket or similar, all you had to do was replace the photo with a different one making sure the photo url was exactly the same. Then the person who had used your url would get the changed (and usually embarassing) photo. Sometimes people would put the words "this photo stolen from by...." which was pretty embarassing to the photo thief.

asyahijab · ‎05-15-2013

Out of topic, but still a bit related 🙂

I was more familiar with chinese website called aliexpress and a free blogger website called multiply before come to ebay.

What I know from those two website you cannot copy their pictures.

Why ebay don't bring such ability to protect our picture?

i*m-still-here · ‎05-15-2013

Actually, I'm a little amused by it.

I've reported it again, and still no one cares.

I just don't feel like getting on the phone and being put on hold for half an hour just to tell someone about it once again.

Been there. Done that.

No one seems to care but me.............. and I'm not sure I care that much about it.

I've never had this happen before and I doubt it will happen again.

Just very odd seeing your item up there for sale by someone else when you know they can't possibly have it to sell.

I am tempted to bid on the item............ but I've just been so busy this week.

I'm starting to like the GSP a lot :).

rose-dee · ‎05-15-2013

Now that I think of it, a very similar thing happened to me recently, but off eBay. Some shopping site stole not only my gallery picture, but the whole listing description too, and had stuck it up on their site -- with a "BUY NOW" button on it!!

I gasped when I saw it, and thought, OK, I'm going to call your bluff, I'll hit the "BUY NOW" button, and see what happens. At least they had the decency to link it straight back to my eBay listing. It was a very, very, sought-after item, and I was understandably shocked at first glance to see someone else trying to sell it.

Still, yanking the listing wholesale off my eBay store and pasting it up somewhere else without a word to me -- not good. In the end, I did nothing, just decided it was free advertising and not worth the hassle of complaining.

However, in your case it seems the "seller" is obviously hoping he'll get more for your item than he'll pay you for it -- that is, as long as he can get it from you. As I said, I'd block the guy, but that's just me, I don't like sneaky dealing, whether harmful or not. Some unsuspecting buyer may end up with an "Item Non-Existant" claim. Scams always leave someone out in the cold. 😐

i*m-still-here · ‎05-15-2013

Rose....... I'm not sure it that's the same thing. I see my items crop up here and there all the time but they go right back to ebay.

Have you seen that Pin whatever site?

People see your stuff and pin it and if someone clicks it it goes back to the site it's selling on.

My stuff gets pinned all the time, but that's not the same thing.

I'm just watching it for now, and to tell the truth if he sells it and buys mine I'm happy to take the $$$.

reallynicestamps · ‎05-16-2013

Pinterest.

I opened a Pinterest account (pinterest.com/cancon2013/) for the Science Fiction convention I help organize. One of our executive mentioned that the future of SF was young women and Pinterest spoke directly to young women.
About 60% of the "repins" come from the (many) pins I've uploaded of Nathan Fillion. The rest are scattered among the hundred or so other pins. So I guess the female orientation does hold.

Pinterest could be a good way of reaching mostly female customers who will buy, but don't think of shopping on eBay. And many of the repins will not be made by potential buyers but by women who just think your stuff is cool.

i*m-still-here · ‎05-25-2013

This is BIZARRE! Now I care.

The seller stole my photo, and I reported him a number of times and called ebay.

He admitted to what he had done.

It's not just a picture, but in this case it's paramount to stealing the item because there is no other like it.

He re-listed even though he was aware that I know what he did, and no one at ebay cares.

I decided to bid on it on a whim (BAD IDEA) and now I'm getting a strike for not paying for it.

So, even thought the seller does not have the item, ebay will not do a thing about it to stop him.

He keeps listing it and then I get threatened with a strike (which will be removed) when I do something about it.

That was a learning experience.

toby_le_pue · ‎05-25-2013

How are you so sure you have the only one of these items.

We only have your word for it.

Also you could be charged by ebay for Transaction Interference and screw up your account.

rose-dee · ‎05-25-2013

This is very bizarre behaviour, if not outright illegal. You should persist with eBay until you get someone who will crack down on this person. Too bad you bid on it. Although understandable, it may complicate trying to get this resolved. Personally I don't think I would have let it get this far.

Have you blocked this scammer from being able to buy your item? You should make sure he can't buy it from you now that you've "bought" it from him -- what a messy scenario that would be!