Infringing myself!

[Chris Perkins 228]

eBay, again, have amazed me with their absolutely useless automated bloody everythings!

Yesterday all of my listings were removed, and I was banned for infringing copyright by selling the e-Book versions of the titles:

British and Irish Campaign Medals - A Price Guide

England's Striking History

Both are of course Rotographic titles and both belong 100% to me!! My own father is even the author of the medal book, which features the late Uncle William on the front cover, and my own Granddad on page 3!

Exactly who do eBay think they belong to??

Of course, I can't phone because ebay is the only multi national that doesn't actually have a phone number. In fact, they don't actually care about their customers. They are clearly just a massive money making enterprise, happy to take take take and never give anything in return, let alone provide a proper call centre (even one in India would do!)

So, I loose sales and reputation because of their error. And I wanted to list quite a bit this week in order to have a bit of a clear out.

Do you think I have a legal claim against them?

[scottishmoney 29]

eBay has become a victim of the fools that abused it, so much so that policies regarding auction listings are arcane.

I hate listing stuff for sale on there anymore, it is just such a total and complete pain in the bum - nothing like the venue it was 10 years ago.

[Geordie582 18]

I certainly wouldn't take it lying down. A stern complaint at least.

[Chris Perkins 228]

Falls on deaf ears.

I have emailed of course, but no doubt I'll simply get an automated response quoting their user policy on blah blah. There will be no apology and when I re-list the items it'll probably happen again!

I've written to a solicitor that has dealt with improper auction removal before.

[scottishmoney 29]

I am in the midst of planning several changes with my current website to update it to W3C standards, so easier navigation and thumbnail images are planned. But I am also thinking of just selling the stuff I want to get rid of directly off of my site, and not through eBay anymore. My last selling experience earlier this month resulted in all being sold, at a loss due to low bids, paypal and eBay fees etc. I just really do not care for buying or selling on eBay like I used to. There are many things, primarily pricier items that I would like to buy on eBay but don't because there are lousy sellers, or someone sees your bidding on stuff and knows what you have etc.

A few people and perhaps more on the way are feeling a bit ambivalent about eBay lately, in essence it is becoming a victim of the fools whom abused it for selling and buying-fraud purposes. Whilst I do not anticipate a precipitous fall from popularity within a period of time, I do wonder that it's time in the sun has wained.

[Chris Perkins 228]

I think you may be right.

There are also pitfalls with selling things on your own website. Getting traffic to it is the first one. Getting people to trust what they see and spend money is the second problem. Making sure that money is actually real and belongs to them is another potential hassle.

I do it pretty successfully with my accessories and coins, but I do find the books go better on ebay.

I think the best thing ebay could do would be to setup a proper customer support dept. That would persuade a lot of people to stay and even list more things.

[Geordie582 18]

Will the changes to E-bay's rules, coming in on 1st March, help?

[Chris Perkins 228]

What changes are they?

[Geordie582 18]

I had an email from ebay saying that they were transfering all Europe transactions to Luxemborg and have changed the rules. Included is a promise to introduce a new complaints procedure. You should have had a copy of the letter, being a registered ebayer?

[Chris Perkins 228]

No, I didn't get that I don't think. I know that all VAT on ebay listings will be at the Luxemburg rate of 15% from now on.

[Geordie582 18]

That's because we now have Euro-ebay!

[Geordie582 18]

Chris! I thought I'd copy the email I received from ebay, so you can make up your own mind.!

With effect from March 1st, 2007, we are updating the eBay.co.uk User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

The main change is that for eBay users who are resident in the European Union, the contractual relationship between those users and eBay International AG will be transferred to eBay Europe S.à r.l., a new eBay entity located in Luxembourg. This change reflects a change in eBay's VAT structure. To find out more about this change and how it may affect you, please see our information page.

We are committed to improving your experience of using eBay.co.uk. We have therefore taken this opportunity to make further changes to the User Agreement and Privacy Policy to make sure they stay up to date.

Some of the changes are based on suggestions from the community and others are necessary due to site developments and the changing legal environment in which eBay and its community operates.

What is the User Agreement?

The User Agreement describes your rights and responsibilities as a user of eBay.co.uk and the rules which govern your use of the site.

What is the Privacy Policy?

The Privacy Policy describes how we collect, store, use and disclose your personal information in connection with the provision of services to you.

What are the changes?

Learn more about the changes to the User Agreement.

Read the new User Agreement.

Learn more about what was changed in the Privacy Policy.

Read the new Privacy Policy.

When do the changes come into effect?

The revised User Agreement and Privacy Policy are valid from March 1st, 2007.

Please note that if you sign up for site features between today and March 1st, 2007, and are asked to re-accept the existing User Agreement, we will not re-notify you of the changes to the User Agreement but those changes will still take effect on March 1st.

---------------------------------------

If you do not want to continue using eBay under the new User Agreement, please inform us of this before March 1st. In this case we will cancel your eBay registration. Learn more.

Regards,

eBay International AG

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This administrative email was sent from eBay International AG,

based on your account at www.ebay.co.uk.

Here's the link, if you want to try to follow all the ramifications. I'll warn you, I gave up early!

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/user...sions-faqs.html

[Chris Perkins 228]

Thanks G.

[Emperor Oli 0]

No, I didn't get that I don't think. I know that all VAT on ebay listings will be at the Luxemburg rate of 15% from now on.

I read that yesterday on the site, first time I've ever read any T&C amendments!

[scottishmoney 29]

See if I list anything in £ for now on. I have before when I wanted to gather £ for my UK purchases, and actually had buyers in the USA pay me in £