Listing import games on ebay

Moioink

I have never in the past had any issues listing games on ebay up until this morning when I got this email:

MC019 eBay Listing Removed: Copyright Violation - Unauthorised Item (304494069)

Dear gamegirlmicro($myemailaddress),

Thank you for your recent listing on eBay. Unfortunately, your item(s) breached one or more of our policies and had to be removed from the site. Any associated fees have been credited to your account and any bidders on this item have been notified.

320381302138 - Zelda Four Swords Gamecube Wii US NTSC
320381303689 - Burnout 2 Gamecube Wii US NTSC
320381305133 - Nintendo Puzzle Collection Gamecube Wii Japan NTSC
320381308727 - Timesplitters 2 Gamecube Wii US NTSC
320381311358 - Zelda Twilight Princess Wii US NTSC
320381314956 - Mario Kart Wii US NTSC

Why did we remove your listing?

You may not list unauthorised copies of media on our site because selling them is both illegal and against eBay policy. Unauthorised copies include (but are not limited to) backup, pirated, duplicated, or bootlegged copies of software, video games, music, films, television programs, photographs and books, both published and unpublished.

Copyright owners possess the exclusive right to reproduce their copyrighted work, to distribute copies of their copyrighted work, and to perform or display their copyrighted work publicly.

Guideline: If the product you are selling is a copy of another work that you aren't authorised to copy, don't list the item. eBay prohibits members from providing information on eBay's websites that enables, encourages or instructs others to infringe copyrights.

For more information copy the following links into new browser windows:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/encouraging.html

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/replica-counterfeit.html

eBay has restricted your ability to list new items as a result of a policy violation. We'd be happy to lift this restriction once you've completed a brief tutorial about this policy. The next time you sign in to your eBay account, click on “Sell” and “Sell Your Item.” You’ll then be asked to take the tutorial. Once you've completed it, you can begin selling again immediately.

Although there may be similar items currently listed on eBay, please be assured that your listings have not been targeted in any way. We review all listings that are reported to us by eBay members and participants in the VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) Programme, and we rely on these reports to help keep eBay a safe and reputable place to buy and sell.

We appreciate your membership of our community, so please keep in mind that repeatedly listing items that breach our policies may lead to the suspension of your account.

Here's what to do if you have further questions:

1) To find out more about our intellectual property policies and VeRO take eBay's brief tutorial by copying this link into a new browser window:

http://pages.ebay.ie/help/tutorial/verotutorial/intro.html

2) You may also find it useful to read the "Why eBay May Remove Your Listing" Help page by copying this link into a new browser window:

http://pages.ebay.ie/help/confidence/listing-ended.html

3) If your item was ended by the VeRO programme, and you think the listing was removed in error have a look at the rights owner's About Me page to review their infringement policies. Then, if you still think that your listing was removed in error, please contact the rights owner and let them know.



If you still have questions after reading this information, you can contact eBay by clicking "Contact Us" on any eBay Help page.

Thank you for your cooperation in this important matter.

Regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

So now I have a black mark against my ebay account that I might lose altogether if for some reason they target my listings again. I didn't make mention of modchips in the auction, I can't think of anything that I have done differently to in the past. Has anyone contested this sort of thing or will it fall on deaf ears? Any help would be much appreciated.

PeregrineFalcon

You don't really have any choice other than contesting their ruling and saying "this is legit media, fuck you."

Jam Warrior

Yeah, somebody has screwed up and somehow got the idea these are bootlegs. Might even be some kind of automatic program. If your protests ever reach a human being they should reverse this.

Unless they've had a massive policy change recently I've bought and sold tons of import stuff on EBay before.

SyphonBlue

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

You don't really have any choice other than contesting their ruling and saying "this is legit media, fuck you."

To which they will respond, "Nope."

PeregrineFalcon

SyphonBlue wrote: »

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

You don't really have any choice other than contesting their ruling and saying "this is legit media, fuck you."

To which they will respond, "Nope."

I never said he'd get anywhere with it :P

Moioink

Jam Warrior wrote: »

Yeah, somebody has screwed up and somehow got the idea these are bootlegs. Might even be some kind of automatic program. If your protests ever reach a human being they should reverse this.

Unless they've had a massive policy change recently I've bought and sold tons of import stuff on EBay before.

Bizarrely they left alone my listings of Ouendan and Rhythm Tengoku. The only difference between those listings and the GC/Wii ones was a short sentence about them being import NTSC games and that the buyer should know how to play them before bidding. I have never had any problems in the past having such a warning but I guess it triggered off some sort of "omg modchips" siren this time (or some weasel reported me). Ebay can be so weird about imports, I remember at one time they started cracking down on Dreamcast imports.

PeregrineFalcon

Moioink wrote: »

Jam Warrior wrote: »

Yeah, somebody has screwed up and somehow got the idea these are bootlegs. Might even be some kind of automatic program. If your protests ever reach a human being they should reverse this.

Unless they've had a massive policy change recently I've bought and sold tons of import stuff on EBay before.

Bizarrely they left alone my listings of Ouendan and Rhythm Tengoku. The only difference between those listings and the GC/Wii ones was a short sentence about them being import NTSC games and that the buyer should know how to play them before bidding. I have never had any problems in the past having such a warning but I guess it triggered off some sort of "omg modchips" siren this time (or some weasel reported me). Ebay can be so weird about imports, I remember at one time they started cracking down on Dreamcast imports.

It was probably the line about "should know how to play before bidding" that some idiot thought meant "zomg he's going to offer a free modchip with purchase."

Relist with "THESE ARE GAMES FROM JAPAN, PLAYABLE ON JAPANESE HARDWARE ONLY."

People who know how to get around it will get around it.

Moioink

Thanks for your email about your listings that were withdrawn from eBay.
While we don't like to remove items, your listings breached our policy
on encouraging infringement, so we had to remove them from the site and
credit all the fees back.

To help you as quickly as possible we're sending you a response
explaining why your listings breached our policy.

What exactly was the problem with your listings?

Your listings contained information that encouraged or supported
others to infringe copyright. Only copyright owners have the right to
reproduce, distribute and perform their works. We don't allow listings
that assist in the backup, pirating, duplication, or bootlegging of any
copyrighted material in any medium.

Looks like I have to take this one on the chin, ebay are just going to keep giving me these canned email replies that in no way match what I listed. I hate game piracy so having these festering dickheaps accuse me of "encouraging" it really gives me the rage.

PeregrineFalcon

Moioink wrote: »

Thanks for your email about your listings that were withdrawn from eBay.
While we don't like to remove items, your listings breached our policy
on encouraging infringement, so we had to remove them from the site and
credit all the fees back.

To help you as quickly as possible we're sending you a response
explaining why your listings breached our policy.

What exactly was the problem with your listings?

Your listings contained information that encouraged or supported
others to infringe copyright. Only copyright owners have the right to
reproduce, distribute and perform their works. We don't allow listings
that assist in the backup, pirating, duplication, or bootlegging of any
copyrighted material in any medium.

Looks like I have to take this one on the chin, ebay are just going to keep giving me these canned email replies that in no way match what I listed. I hate game piracy so having these festering dickheaps accuse me of "encouraging" it really gives me the rage.

Yeah, it was likely the line about "you need to know how to play these" that tripped the Retard-O-Meter on eBay.

You could reply with "You need to have Japanese hardware to play this, I don't understand what you mean" but you're probably stuck at the canned-response stage.

psyck0

Don't give up. Seriously. Don't let yourself get fucked with by big companies just because they're big. Find a phone number, of ANY department, and call and bitch until they put you through to the right person who will fix this.

Moioink

I sent an angry reply. Kind of poorly written but I blame the tiny little text box the ebay website gives you :?

Message: There was no copyright infringement nor encouragement thereof nor any explanations as to how to do so in my listings. I listed American and Japanese NTSC AUTHENTIC Nintendo games designed for that region hardware. This in no way has any relevance to counterfeit software or devices that enable counterfeits to be played or made. I find it insulting that your company is accusing me of selling pirate goods and spreading information that aids the spread of piracy. Before removing listings and insulting your loyal customers and compromising their account please make sure of what you are accusing first.

I don't expect anything to come of it but eh, if nobody pipes up about this sort of thing they'll keep being idiots about it.

BlackDragon480

psyck0 wrote: »

Don't give up. Seriously. Don't let yourself get fucked with by big companies just because they're big. Find a phone number, of ANY department, and call and bitch until they put you through to the right person who will fix this.

On the find a phone number front, here are 2 numbers for EBay customer and/or lister services:

1-888-749-3229
1-800-322-9266

SyphonBlue

Here you go
http://consumerist.com/5013915/all-the-secret-paypalebay-email-addresses-and-phone-numbers-you-could-ever-want

Moioink

SyphonBlue wrote: »

Here you go
http://consumerist.com/5013915/all-the-secret-paypalebay-email-addresses-and-phone-numbers-you-could-ever-want

Perfect! Looks like they have a London based number. I will give them a call tomorrow if the email bots keep up their shenanigans. Thanks a lot.