Ebay launches petition to battle ban on selling some goods
Online auction site eBay has started a petition against what it claims are manufacturers trying to block their products being sold through it.
It's quite an interesting issue - it all seems to have started with a number of lawsuits in Europe about the sheer volume of counterfeit goods being sold there.
Various clothes and perfume manufacturers took umbrage at the hit in sales, and also worried about people buying inferior goods labelled as their own. They felt eBay wasn't doing much to stop it, and to be fair, it wasn't - after all the website trousered 10 per cent of each sale under £40 - stopping trade would just hit profits.
Anyway, eBay is now trying to take the moral high ground claiming it was built on a "simple idea": "that we could empower people by building a global trading platform where practically anyone could buy or sell practically anything.
"But that idea is now under threat from certain brand owners and manufacturers who are trying to turn back the clock and block the sale of their products on online marketplaces and other websites across the EU.
"Ultimately, what is at stake is the right of sellers to compete fairly in the wider online marketplace, and the right of buyers to be able to access the best possible deals from the widest possible selection of goods."
eBay claims that last year only 0.15% of listings last year were detected or reported as potentially counterfeit - although presumably the volume is so massive people don't bother reporting things. and eBay's business is so wide ranging, a high proportion of buisness isn't anything which could be fake in any case.
The website continues: "The real aim of these brands is to block the sale of all their products on our site - regardless of whether such items are new or second-hand, genuine or fake. It's not just luxury items that are affected, but also everyday items like children's toys, electronic equipment, lawnmowers and pushchairs. And if we want to prevent other brand owners from following suit, we need to act now.
"We are therefore calling on European policymakers to amend EU competition law to stop these unfair trade practices. But we need your help to persuade them to take action. If you would like to join our campaign against online trade barriers, please sign our petition."
Well there's certainly been cases in the past where manufacturers, such as Levis, tried to stop their products sold cheaply in supermarkets after they had been cheaply imported.
There was a real 'buyer's rights' issue - why buy an artificially overpriced product from an approved store when you could buy the real thing at a more reasonable level? But there is also the right of a manufacturer to sell something at a price which they decide upon.
The fact is that eBay isn't interested in the small seller these days. The person who is trying to sell something they don't want any more, which eBay self righteously claims to be 'empowering' is almost being deliberately driven away. Charges now are 10 per cent of the selling fee for any item sold under £40 - ie most of the 'odds and ends' market, and it also insists on sellers offering Paypal (owned by eBay) which also takes a slice. And in some categories sellers are forced to offer free postage - meaning if they want to use recorded mail to ensure something is delivered and prevent buyers saying it hasn't arrived, they are even more out of pocket.
But eBay has been courting big business such as Argos to offer products through 'buy it now' deals.
Sorry eBay - you can't take the moral high ground any more - you lost it when you tried to become amazon or play.com and ignored that 'niche' which made you successful.
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Ben Hurst
Good post.
I have just received a begging letter from eBay wanting me to sign their pathetic petition.
An awful lot, and I mean a TON, of sellers are praying for the day when eBay just crashes and burns and the greedy fat cat directors have to admit they got it all wrong.
There is no doubt they have seriously abused their loyal sellers, myself included, and to throw back the "Mom and Pop" idea into our face now is despicable when it was basically this change many of us protested against.
As you say, "you can't take the moral high ground any more - you lost it when you tried to become amazon or play.com". If they can't play with the big boys they should never have joined.
No sympathy from me I'm afraid. They deserve all they get.
If there is a reciprocal petition against eBay please let us know the link so we can sign that one.
well done mate you beat me to it.
i went blow for blow with them on the spam they keep sending.
see eBuster co uk/FightForYourRight htm
you havent got a chance ebay why should any ebayer sign the petition when you dont listen to what ebayers want but now you want us NO
about time you was knocked down a peg or two
i will never sign
you havent got a chance ebay why should any ebayer sign the petition when you dont listen to what ebayers want but now you want us NO
about time you was knocked down a peg or two
i will never sign
As a victim of the huge amount of counterfeit goods being sold on Ebay, with my company being directly damaged by both sales of counterfeit goods, and the sheer amount of time we are required to spend scanning Ebay for counterfeit versions of our products and then reporting them, I just wish I could 'anti-sign' Ebay's petition...
You have completely failed to deal with the effect on the second hand market. If I have bought an overpriced 'designer' item from the designers own shop, why am I not allowed to sell it secondhand online if I no longer want it?
How is a buyer going to fell knowing that their overpriced goods have become worthless as they leave the store?
It is not up to ebay to police the market, it is up to the designers themselves. you used to be able to question the designer companies directly when a genuine item was pulled off ebay via a link in the email sent to you to tell you that your listing was being cancelled. Now the companies do not even bother to provide that service. They just demand it is removed. How fair is that?
Much as I generally dislike eBay, I find your attitude even more disgusting.
Thanks for the comments.
Dave - the only people to suggest there would be a total ban on goods is eBay. The only court actions so far have been over whether ebay is doing anything to tackle counterfeit goods and therefore whether it could be profiting by aiding and abetting in their sale.
I think it is fair to say eBay is trying to come across as standing up for people's rights, but there is no evidence as yet that designer goods companies are trying to get a ban, on, say ALL Lacoste items, be they new or second hand. In law alone that would be impossible - how can you stop someone selling an item they've legally bought and own?
Your experiences of genuine items being removed are a result of eBay's customer services or lack thereof. To maximise profits they emply as few people as possible - so they simply have an automated system to take down anything which is complained about.
I too had a begging email from eBay but I am not signing the petition. 'Nuff said.
I printed eBays petition and then headed for the toilet. Which is excatly how I feel the treat any complaints or suggestions form there members.