Horrible Ebay experience. My listing was removed due to a false assumption it was counterfit

[londonbargainz]

Dear fellow sellers, thank you for your time, i would love some advise on this.

I have been selling video game accessories on ebay for 13 years now. We recently had some 3rd party PS3 controllers.

as some of you who buy / sell gaming items may be aware that most 3rd party controllers look similar with little differences. especially in the case of consoles like PS1, PS2, PS3 and nintendo Wii if you buy a non branded 3rd party controller for any of these consoles. They all look similar to the official one in terms of shape because it needs to have the same buttons and layout but sometimes will have a different brand or no brand on them. This is how all 3rd party controllers for the Wii and Playstation consoles look like. To my understanding it is legal to buy and sell 3rd party non branded controllers.

This morning my listing was removed for the exact same item mentioned above that i was selling on my account. i only had 1 and it was pink.

I contacted ebay, they told me they reviewed my listing, ''there was a report about the authenticity of my item''  i know in the past when ive had listings removed due to copyright i was given the emails of the rights owner who made the complaint to write to them. so i mentioned this and asked why no email to contact SONY? they said  ''they regret to inform me that they are unable to share the details of the person who reported it due to privacy and policy reason'' i was then told ''even if the item can be proven that it is authentic, we are no longer comfortable having the item listed on our site due to security concerns. We ask you not to relist the item'' I was told i cant list this one but i can list 3rd party PS3 controllers that are authentic. this made no sense as all 3rd party ps3 controllers look the same and ''authentic'' to what? its non branded. then i was cut off.

started the live chat process again. This time i sent a link to the item and i said i have the same one for sale, but before i list it i need to know if its allowed. they then transfered me to the spealist team who handles such queries. the specialist team member said YES. i then told him my listing was removed this morning. this is what he then said ''I’ve reviewed your account and can confirm that your listing was removed due to some concerns with how it was listed. Please understand while listing branded items, we suggest member to accurately describe their items as this will increase the buyer’s confidence on purchasing your item and helps in avoiding any disputes with the buyer'' its a video game controller, what is there to describe? apparently my description was short and i didnt have enough pictures? this means it might be counterfit? i was then told for proof of authenticity i need to upload an image of the receipt from where i got it from? i once again referred to the example link and asked where is it on their page? i was told to check their description which was not much different to my own nor does it have a picture of their receipt. Never in the history of man has a person selling 3rd part controllers on ebay has a picture of their recept to proove its authentic and not counterfit. how does proving i bought ir prove its not fake. i was then swifly cut off before i could say anything else.

Started the live chat for a 3rd time. I was told my description was too short, i didnt have enough pictures and didnt have proof of authenticity in the form of a receipt from where i bought it.  my description states the item used but in full working order. there were 2x items showing the item from the front and back. and having a picture of a receipt to show a non branded item is authentic makes no sense. i was the cutt off again.

Can anybody advise me on this? i am not allowed to relist this particular item anymore but its legal and alllowed to sell 3rd party controllers on ebay. even if i added a more detailed description and more pictures im not allowed to relist but others are?

Am i never allowed to sell 3rd party playstation controllers on ebay anymore? im an honest seller, have never sold anything fake. and video game accessoriers is my speciality. Not being allowed to relist this item means i can never sell 3rd party controllers again because they are all exactly the same.

This is how im being treated as a long time ebay seller. spoken to a total of 6 people on live chat

Been selling on ebay for 13 years, every time a listing a listing removed due to a false assumtion i contacted ebay in the hopes they would look into it and correct their mistake, when speaking to these people it seems their job is not to help. its just to uphold whatever decision was made whether it was right or wrong.

These 3rd party cpntrollers have been sold on ebay since 2007 and still beind sold now. The person from the spealist tem told me its allowed but im not allowed to relist my one. i have never sold anything not have i ever had a comlaint for something being fake

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

I wouldnt list it again or you risk getting banned from ebay.

A ban is usually for life.

[ojewellery]

Having listings removed is an unnerving experience.  The eBay VERO scheme is a minefield and some brands are really hot on chasing down use of their trademarks/ intellectual property including brand name, images, text.

As already mentioned its important not to relist without taking onboard feedback received.  Permanent bans are just that.  Slaps on wrist, we can move on from and still have a nice business/ sideline.  eBay are good at this warning process but take it seriously, it is a warning and if you make lots of moves quickly the situation could escalate to a point that there are no warnings left.

Frustrating as it is, we are not lemmings.  Just because someone else gets away with a policy violation, we can't slip into doing that ourselves thinking it makes it okay.

It is possible to sell items that work with branded items but the wording needs to meet eBays requirements https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/ebay-for-business/verified-rights-owner-program  Scroll down to Se...

You may not use brand names in your listing if the product isn't manufactured by or compatible with that brand. You may use "compatible with," "fits," or "for" before a brand name if the item you are describing is specifically designed to be compatible with the products of that brand.

So for example if you're selling a cable thats not produced by playstation like this example title:

GlobalSat Serial GPS Receiver with PS2 Female to USB Connection VGC BR-355

 

I'd interpret eBays requirements to be that the title would need to have the words 'compatible with' or 'fits' before PS2 to make it clear its not official playstation merchandise/ connector.  So for the same number or characters in the above example title:

 

GlobalSat Serial GPS Receiver fits PS2 Female to USB Connection VGC BR-355

 

Also need to be careful in the description that you remember to do the same and don't enter the compatible brand i.e. playstation in this example when its not official, in item specifics.

[wavesales]

Hi this is a very sad situation, I am just going to say my piece, WHY is it when sellers are at there lowest some eBay MOD decides to but in and change what you wrote as if they are so Superior and to earn some brownie points. I too have been in a similar situation where they banned me from selling ecig  accessories and I had just forked out over a thousand pound for stock. some MOD posted stating that I was using profanity when clearly I was angry I could not sell them. Seriously eBay make all their own rules up and never follow the rules.

[4_bathrooms]

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@londonbargainz wrote:

I have been selling video game accessories on ebay for 13 years now. We recently had some 3rd party PS3 controllers.

as some of you who buy / sell gaming items may be aware that most 3rd party controllers look similar with little differences. especially in the case of consoles like PS1, PS2, PS3 and nintendo Wii if you buy a non branded 3rd party controller for any of these consoles. They all look similar to the official one in terms of shape because it needs to have the same buttons and layout but sometimes will have a different brand or no brand on them. This is how all 3rd party controllers for the Wii and Playstation consoles look like. To my understanding it is legal to buy and sell 3rd party non branded controllers.

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You have to be very careful when selling things like this - especially if they're unbranded. The likes of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will have patents and design rights covering aspects of their controllers and accessories including their appearance. You also have to be careful with your wording - for example, you might find you must use wording similar to "Compatible with ..." without using any of the brand owner's registered trademarks such as their logo or typeface anywhere in the listing.

For what it's worth a quick Google search shows Sony lists officially licensed third-party controllers and accessories on their own website. 

[irt303]

@ojewellery - Hi, just a thought. Since we can add custom item specifics to listings, would the OP be allowed to create a 'Compatible with' one, and add the word 'PlayStation' to that? Or do you think that would be risky? I wouldn't want to make a suggestion that landed the OP in more hot water.

@londonbargainz - Sorry to hear of the problems you're having. I've had eBay customer service staff hang up on me in the past (and I wasn't being hostile, shouting or swearing, etc.), so I feel your pain. The eBay system can sometimes make you feel like you're a character in a Franz Kafka story. I hope you get somewhere with all this. Sorry I can't be of more practical help.

[ojewellery]

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@wavesales wrote:

Hi this is a very sad situation, I am just going to say my piece, WHY is it when sellers are at there lowest some eBay MOD decides to but in and change what you wrote

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From memory, what was originally listed included a link to another sellers product with the reasoning why did the removed listing get removed as the named one also didn't comply.  I didn't pick up on it at the time and can only summise from memory so may be off the mark.

Whilst freedom of speech is something I'd fight for, the forums are for us to support each other.  We've seen threads turn quite nasty on occasion, fortunately far more that are helpful.  It's a slippery slope to go down naming and shaming (I'm confident that wasn't the original posters intention) If it becomes common occurrence the boards would need a much higher moderator input (cost to us all) or we'd find ourselves without the forums to knowledge share.

@irt303In response to....

 just a thought. Since we can add custom item specifics to listings, would the OP be allowed to create a 'Compatible with' one, and add the word 'PlayStation' to that? Or do you think that would be risky? I wouldn't want to make a suggestion that landed the OP in more hot water.

I don't think that would benefit because the function of specifics is to be filterable by keyword and a created specific isn't filterable and I don't believe the created entry ' Playstation' would comply with the eBay policy requirement to a precursor to the trademarked name I.e. 'fits Playstation' or 'compatible with playstation.'