If you sell on eBay you really need to read this.

[electrolux137]

I happened to find this tonight on my eBay "Preferences" page. (See screen shot.)

If y'all don't want other people to use your photos to sell their stuff, you'd better opt-out right quick.

Why would eBay make it necessary to opt-out, rather than opt-in, to it? Oh yeah, right....... "To enhance my ebay experience." This stuff just makes me want to gag.

I can't understand how this could be allowed. What's to keep someone from using a photo of, say, my brand-new Mercedes to sell the one they totaled in a wreck?

Of all the outrageous "enhancements" eBay has instituted, this has to be one of the MOST outrageous of them all.

And funny how no mention of this has been made, isn't it. If I hadn't gone to my settings to check something else, I would never have seen it.

 

[electrolux137]

To opt-out of this ridiculous new "photo-sharing program:"

1. Go to your "My eBay" page.

2. Open the "Account" tab.

3. Click on "Site Preferences."

4. Scroll down to "Share your content" and click "Show."

5. Click on "Edit."

6. Unclick the box to opt-out.

 

[tolivac]

I am NOT an EBay user and think this is one of the BAD problems with EBay-A seller can "steal" someone elses picture and use it to represent the item they are selling-this is just plain DISHONEST!!!I feel "picure stealing" should not be allowed under ANY circumstance!

 

[parwaz786]

I saw a listing on eBay where some person was selling a Dyson DC14 and they used my pictures!!!!!!!!!

 

[electrolux137]

P.S.: Step No. 6 above should read "CLICK the box to opt-out." It will not be checked already; you have to do so.

 

[beko1987]

Cheers for the heads up, will change that pronto. Other people can fro if they want to use my pics.


That always Pissed me off about eBay, you can use stock item pics rather than have to have pics of the item for sale.

 

[vacu-finder]

I used EXPIRE BAY years ago, "never again." Had a few items listed for about 2-3 weeks. ended up I did not sell a thing cost $30.00 for absolutley nothing. I now list on local classifeds like KiJiJi, Used whatever for FreE and sold stuff, not a problem. And I have heard horror storys coming from Craiglist as well.

 

[electrolux137]

Yeah, that's another thing ... eBay & PayPal fees. Their fees are piled on in so many different places and in so many different ways that it's literally impossible to calculate what they will be.

Then the auction ends and sticker hit when the seller sees the final accounting for fees. It's pretty outrageous. They have created a monopoly on on-line auctions. There was a time when antitrust laws prevented this from happening. Not anymore, it appears.

 

[spiraclean]

Ah I see, eBay's intent is to harvest photos to use as "catalog" images. I've checked my account and this option was already deactivated by default, so I'm guessing the difference in policy lies in US vs. UK accounts.

This will not, however, stop other sellers merely doing a copypasta job by right-clicking an image in your listing and then using it for their own. I have had this happen when selling a Kirby on eBay, and to add insult to injury, they also used my text and tweaked it slightly. In the grand scheme of things it's not the end of the world, but there is a principle involved here. I took the time to stage and take photos, and type out a listing designed maximise interest (and therefore bids) on my item, and was rewarded with an excellent sale price. If others want the same result, they ought to put in the same amount of time and effort. Why should I do all the work for them?

You can contact the seller and ask them to alter their photo and text, but it's 50/50 whether they'll accommodate your request or start copping a rude 'tude. I just reported the listing to eBay instead, who agreed it had been plagiarised and yanked the auction with a warning to the seller. Credit where it's due, they reacted very quickly and the whole issue from start to finish was resolved within the space of just a few hours.

 

[spiraclean]

Your point about the fees is just one reason why, my above post notwithstanding, I rarely sell on eBay any more. By the time you add up the listing, BIN/reserve and final value fees, only for Paypal to take their cut on top of that as well, it soon starts creeping up. Maybe that's OK if you sell something for a good price and are making a decent profit on it, but if it's a low value item or you're already selling at a loss, it just doesn't make sense.

The other thing that gets me is the general feel of eBay has changed over the years. The buyer protection policies are geared more towards the business seller than someone like you or me who simply wants to sell unwanted items. As much as one strives to be honest, upfront and 100% transparent in their listings, there is always the fear that a buyer will try to pull dishonest tricks after the sale has been made. eBay will invariably side with the buyer, putting you at a very real risk of being left out of pocket. Maybe that's OK for business sellers who list high volumes and are able to factor a certain degree of loss into their profit margins, but for me it's a chance I'm becoming ever more unwilling to take.

As for feedback, forget about it. Too often it is withheld as a means of extracting positive feedback from you first, and even then not everyone is polite enough to respond in kind. So I just don't bother anymore, and skip the feedback process entirely.

 

[manchestervacs]

Thanks for that, I just opted out.

We have a problem with people stealing our photos on eBay. I tag most of them but it doesn't stop them.

Thankfully, lots of good and decent folks tend to alert us when they spot them and I get them removed pretty sharpish.

It really bugs me that I spend a lot of time photographing products, and especially our machine shots with our resident model (sample below) and then people nick them and use them to sell tat on eBay.

Although before today, I have had to start actions to take sites down that stole swathes of content from our site, including having the cheek to hotlink from our server!?!

 

[electrolux137]

I have also had the problem with eBay creeps hotlinking directy to images on my server. I came up with a very effective workaround: I'd figure out which image they had linked to, and swapped this photo with the one they were using. It didn't take long for them to remove the link hahahahaha!!!

 

[josephgalindo]

how to make money on ebay

It doesn't issue who you are or what you are looking for. Everybody goes to eBay to discover a cope, so there will always be guests arriving. It doesn't issue if you are promoting sport fishing devices or washing laundry soap. Individuals always examine eBay first to see what kind of cope they can get....thanks

http://ebaysellingtips.net/
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[citroenbx]

electrolux137

thanks so much ;-)

 

[gsheen]

I spend allot of time taking Photo's for use in my advertising. It bites me when some one steals my pics so now I just tag them with my company name and phone number in the pics. Its put a stop to it straight away.