7 Day Suspension For VeRO - Should I expect a Permanent Ban Soon?

[mmiller]

I've had a few VeRO takedowns (reported as counterfeits) on this account already. I won't comment on the authenticity of said items. That should tell you what you need to know. My method includes using original photos of an authentic item and I get sniped before my first sold item even gets delivered. Simple deduction tells me that these companies participating in VeRO are now sniping their ebay competition immediately without any concrete evidence that items are actually counterfeit.

I have a couple of questions-

Does fleabay have a set number of VeRO takedowns that it tolerates before a permanent ban?

Also, I found this website. This guy purports to have overturned 39 out of 40 VeRO takedowns on a single account using this "method." I find it hard to believe his claims. Anybody have experience with filing a counter notice?

Modee, Thoughts?

http://www.rickdrew.com/fighting_eba...A_takedown.htm

[mmiller]

After further reading, it appears as though the counter-notice is only applicable to copyright infringement as opposed to trademark infringement. I assume the companies using VeRO to take down small sellers, either legitimate sellers or counterfeiters, are becoming increasingly aware that there is no counter to trademark VeRO takedowns aside from federally filed lawsuits (or the threat of them). This most recent takedown is of the trademark infringement variety which means I'm assed out here.

Any additional comments are still welcome from anyone with VeRO experience, positive or negative.

[Modee]

A counter-notice applies to the DMCA (Digital Millenium COPYRIGHT Act), correct, in that the DMCA refers to copyrights. A copyright is usually over something written such as a novel, play, article, poem, etc. and a trademark is more over a symbol, word or words that represents the company or product. A subtle difference between the two, but in general to violate a copyright you must "copy" exactly enough of the writing to be plagiaristic, while with a trademark it is easy enough to know that the word or symbol is being copied, but it gets complicated as to whether the copying is infringing, and depends on a slew of factors, including whether trademark is valid in the first place.

[mmiller]

What I'm beginning to wonder is whether or not the top sellers of these items are posing as agents of these companies to attack their competition via VeRO. The reason for my theory is that other sellers offering the same goods, with relatively similar descriptions/photos/prices and from relatively similar accounts do not get hit with VeRO the way I do. I have compared all reasonable variables and this seems to be more likely than these companies specifically targeting me while allowing my competition to continue to sell. Does eBay do any kind of in-depth verification on VeRO "agents" or do they basically just take your word for it?

[Modee]

No that does not happen, but these "agents" do purchase counterfeit items all all the time from online sellers in order to establish a case against the sellers. In other words, these agents pose as buyers not sellers.

Those sellers who are not taken down have simply flown under the radar, at least for now.