That old saying about out of the
frying pan into the fire has been true the last few weeks. I just started
recovering from eBay Live, responding to the emails piled up in my inbox,
shipping back orders and getting enough sleep. I was starting to feel a little
in control of things when my contact from the college where I teach called. She was
desperately trying to find a fill-in for an MIA teacher. The class: nine hours
of PhotoShop Elements starting in less than a week. I must have lost my mind,
'cause I said "yes." I asked my colleague at Ghost
Leg Media, Dany Byrne, to
help me teach it. Luckily, she pitched right in. It's a class Dany and
I have been talking about teaching online for awhile now, and once we complete
it in person, we'll be offering it online. So, while it certainly has added a new
layer of stress to my days, I know it's something we can offer to others after
we get through the 'trial by fire' class.
The one thing I've learned the last
few years is when an opportunity if offered, grab it and go with it. If you want
to get ahead, it's important to jump off that cliff and say "yes" even
though it may be outside your comfort zone. The results may not be
perfect, but at least it gets you one step closer to your goal.
There continue to be lots of
interesting developments and changes on eBay. EBay just lost Round One in a court battle in
France that may have a big impact if eBay loses the appeal.
I'll talk more about that below.
Have you removed your outside links
yet? My feeling is it's better to just take care of it now, during the slow
months. We're going to have several new policies to deal with this fall, so get
the links issue off your plate.
The new linking policy is
now in effect
and confusing everyone. During eBay Live, the management told us they would
revisit the policy and let us know. Where does that leave sellers in the
meantime? Well, we have been told enforcement will begin mid-July. At that time,
all links to outside websites from your eBay pages must be removed. (However,
this may change). We have no solid date when a new ruling will come out and
given the way eBay communicates, I decided not
to wait. I have removed the links from my eBay 'About Me' pages, links to PDF
files, links on my 'Custom Pages' and even removed old
eBay blog posts with links. I don't like the new linking policy, but understand
why it has been implemented. As a special incentive in my case, I can't afford
another policy violation. The 'why' brings me to the next subject in this
newsletter.
A Growing Issue For
eBay and it's Users - Fakes and Knock-Offs A multi-fold problem for eBay, it's sellers and their
customers
So what does the screen
capture above have to do with selling knock off designer purses
(the subject of the French lawsuit) on
eBay? Glad you asked. If you sell fake products, knowingly or not,
eBay will close your listings and ding your
seller summary - no questions asked. The dashboard above indicates
this seller (me) has violated the eBay VeRO guidelines.
This has been a long
standing policy on eBay. In fact, I can't remember a time on eBay
where seeing fakes or bootleg products was allowed on eBay. In
recent times though, the amount of fake items on eBay is perceived
to be large enough that some manufactures have taken eBay to
court. Last week a French court ordered eBay to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton 40 million euros (about $63 million), ruling that the online auction giant did not do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods on its
site. Tiffany has a similar case pending here in the USA.
Luxury-goods maker LVMH claimed in the lawsuit that eBay, the world's largest Internet auctioneer, has a heightened responsibility to prevent fraud. According to the report, LVMH said it found that in 2006, 90 percent of the Louis Vuitton- and Dior-labeled perfumes, watches and bags being offered on eBay were fakes.
eBay does police the
site and remove fakes quickly, as many innocent
sellers have found even when selling the real goods. Just a whiff
of something wrong and eBay pulls the listing and slaps the
seller's wrists.
It
doesn't really matter what you believe to be the truth about
eBay's
efforts to remove these items. Whether you think you are the
innocent victim of shoot-first-ask-questions-later enforcement or
you believe eBay doesn't do enough to prevent fraud, this court
case will have an impact on your sales.
The thing that should
worry sellers is what will happen if eBay looses this ruling
on appeal. In a public response from David Pride, Vice President of Trust & Safety at eBay
"Overzealous implementation of restrictive sales practices are anti-competitive and give you, our buyers and sellers, a bad deal."
The outcome should be a concern
to us all. This could potentially create an atmosphere on and
around eBay that is so restrictive that sellers will no longer be
able to sell brand name items, new or used on the site.
And, that, could turn the site into a very different place. Manufactures and distributers could restrict
items sold on eBay, set prices, and generally prevent fair
market practices.
Who would have thought something like this could bring a policy violation?
The other side of the
trademark coin. The problem with importing. As many of you
many know, I import a small amount of goods from China. Not much,
but I have been trying to build contacts and consider bringing in more
goods. I may have just experienced something that turns me away
from that avenue, and change what I choose to sell on eBay.
The problem is:
trademarks and copyrights.
One of my American
wholesalers has been buying products from China for many years; in
fact the company was founded in the early 1960's. They are a
reputable, established business and have long-standing, established contacts for importing.
So, when they offered a
new product for me to try in my store, they offered it to me in
good faith and I bought a few to see how they'd sell. It
seems the manufacturer in China sent these 'out the back door,' and in the USA
another company holds the Patent and trademark on
the product.
The Patent holder filed a
VeRO complaint with eBay who shut my three listings down, slapped
me with three separate violations and told me I'd better clean up my act right
away. It is a lesson to make sure that everything I purchase is
legit. But how can one independent seller know every product on
the market? Even in a small niche? As sellers, I think we'd better learn to
question everything before we start selling it and know our
products origins better than we ever have been required to before. In the
past, we've been able to trust our wholesale suppliers, but that
might not be good enough anymore. This problem is very deep rooted
and complex, and promises to continue to churn as our economy continues
to globalize. And, as for me, with this strike against me, I will
not take the chance of introducing new imports anytime soon.
The
company who's (knock-off) product ended up in my store said in a
Blog statement: "We've shut those scammers down on eBay,
where thousands of our diffusers where sold daily". There's
the perception thing about how many were sold on eBay. I did a Terapeak
completed item search and found that over the last 90 days only 70
had been up for sale and the sell through rate was a dismal 21
percent which equals about 12 to 14 units. (I should have looked at
that before purchasing!).
To conclude, this is a
very complex issue. It affects us all and the whole future of
selling online. I can tell you from experience: be careful where
you find your products and make sure to stay on the good side of
the law. Check trademarks, copyrights and patents carefully before
purchasing for resale.
Twitter
Join me on Twitter! I've
just discovered a new way to stay in touch, Twitter. I've heard of
the site, but never bothered checking it out. Now that I have, I
can't believe how easy it is and how little time it takes to be
'social.'
By the way, I'd like to
hear what sorts of twet's you'd like me to post? Would you like to
hear about new videos I've uploaded. Would you prefer to hear
about blog updates or classes? Or would you prefer to hear about
my dogs? Let me know by sending me an email.
The Marketing Minute
- A Fun New Video Series
During eBay Live, I
asked as many sellers as possible to give me their favorite
marketing tip. Over the next several weeks I'll let them tell you,
in their words, their favorite eBay marketing tip. Watch my blog,
YouTube, TwitterFacebook
or your email inbox for the latest video.
The first video I'm
starting with is from Janieruth from Janie Ruth's Fabulous to
Funky Finds www.janieruth.com.
I'm starting with her, because the day after we taped this
interview, she
fell from a balcony and was rushed to the hospital with severe
head injuries. Anyone who had a
chance to meet JR knows what a dynamic, fun person she is.
I hope
this video will give you a sense of who she is and I hope you will
pitch in a little to her recovery fund. Please consider
contributing, even a little amount will go a long way for her
family. Her husband and daughter are with her in Chicago, away
from home and work.
Are you going to start
expanding to multi-channel selling? If so there's still time to
register for Amazon's
Online Sellers' Conference
2008
The 7th Annual Sellers' Conference
Helping Grow and Improve Your Media
or Non-Media Online Business.
July 18-21 - Seattle WA
Seattle Airport Marriott and Amazon Corporate Headquarters
Wednesday, 7/09, at Lake Forest Park (9:30 - 11:30
am)
Lake Forest Park food commons meeting room (Third Place Commons)
From Carol Hearn: Cindy and Alice are going to talk about eBay live and selling on Amazon. I'm really excited to hear what they have to say.
If you have any specific suggestions for discussion topics, or
need more information please email Carol
Hearn.
Stand Out In A
Sea Of Free With Profitable Gallery Photos
A New CD Tutorial
With everyone’s gallery images now free, how will YOURS standout among the crowd? Join photography expert Cindy Shebley
and OSI Trainer
Janelle Elms as they give you some brilliant ideas on doing just that! Time 1 hour 15 minutes
What's a good gallery
photo
Why it will become
your most valuable real estate on eBay
Simple steps to
improve your photos
Cindy's best lighting
tips
Basic equipment that
will make a difference
Step-by-step on how
to use Bling! It
How to add photos to
your listing
And, how to add
photos without paying extra in fees
