VERO Claims!

[GreenDragon]

Hi gang. I am in Vero jail for 3 days according to an e-mail I got this morning. I was selling some brake pads for a Dodge Ram and apparently I wasn’t allowed to use the Dodge name in the listing. The other was a little over a month ago. I got a Vero warning on a listing where Jack Daniels though that the graphic looked too similar to its logo. It was a country music concert shirt and didn’t mention Jack Daniels anywhere in the listing. Anyway, it feels like crap. Sales were going good and now this has sunk my battleship a bit. Anyone know how many of these I can get before they boot me off the platform? I wasn’t trying to be deceptive or “game the system.” It all feels very random. I have 2000 listings and am going through them all wondering which one is next and will that be the end of me on ebay? There is no one to call to plead my case to and the “ebay help” does not want to deal with any Vero crap. I e-mailed the folks who complained to plead my case. Jack Daniels people got back to me and said that they understand that I wasn’t trying to profit from Jack Daniels logo but they would not withdraw the complaint. Nothing from Chrysler yet. Anyone have wise words to share on this? Thoughts?

[Jay]

Yep, VERO’s happen. If you’ve sold on eBay long enough, you’ll get a company protecting their trademark. We’ve had them from time to time.

You are unlucky because you had several VERO claims in a short time span. eBay doesn’t publish when they suspend you or kick you off the platform. Assume you’d need to be repeat offender that doesnt take warnings well.

Did eBay actually hide your store and stop you from selling? Or just suspend you from listing new items for three days.

[GreenDragon]

The email mentioned that they were going to hide my listings. However I have sold a few things since then and new “offer opportunities” keep popping up. I AM able to send offers and print shipping labels, etc. I cannot list though. I created 10 drafts this morning and they are all stuck in draft status. I’ve been selling for almost 10 years and have had maybe 1 or 2 others total in that time. 2 in 2 months and a 3 day suspension is pretty jarring. ebay is a significant portion of my income and it suddenly feels like no matter how vigilant I am as a seller I can randomly get kicked off the platform.

[Jay]

I dont have a good answer for you. eBay set up VERO t protect itself from lawsuits from companies saying they allow trademark infringement and counterfeiting. I agree that its confusing and arbitrary.

We’ve sold on eBay full-time for over ten years. Vero claims happen, but we’ve learned to steer clear of companies that are aggressive about protecting their brand.

Since you can still sell (but not list), I dont think its very serious.

[Mark S]

I did some research when I got a vero. I found that information on this was very hard to find. Ebay doesn’t get too specific about it.

But I did find out that vero’s drop off after 1 year.

Ebay seems to take these on a case by case basis. They told me that it all depends on what kind of a seller you are. If you have been having a lot of other issues, the penalty may be more severe. If you are a good seller otherwise and you just got a vero, they are much easier on you. It appears that you would fall into the latter case.

I don’t think you will get banned from ebay, but I would be very careful what you list in the next year till these vero’s drop off.

Mark

[Old Dad]

This doesn’t answer your specific question, it’s an eBay Motors general tip. For auto products, you won’t have the problem, or will be able to easily get a VERO issue resolved, if you use wording such as “Fits Dodge …”, “For Dodge …”, etc.

[GreenDragon]

Old Dad,
I’ve not generally been an auto parts seller BUT I found a guy on Offer Up giving away a ton of new in box auto parts because he wanted to clear out his garage. So, like any good scavenger I took them and listed them! Thanks for the tip though. I removed most of the auto parts listings that I had as a precaution and I’m going through each one to make sure that only the part number is in the title and description. I have a couple Haynes Auto Repair Manuals that have Auto Manufacturer brand names in their title. Any idea if these will cause issues?

Mark,
I got a VERO a few years ago and I remember calling ebay and the rep telling me that they fall off after 12 months. It’s tough to know what might cause a VERO claim but I’m looking through all my listings and doing a bit of e-research on brands that might complain. Based on this research, I ended a couple of John Deere items and moved them over to Mercari. Who knows if they’ll sell over there.

Jay,
Thanks for the words. I don’t think there are any very good answers. I was just having a sort of “whoa is me” moment and wanted to share with people who would understand. I’ve progressed to stage 3 of VERO jail, acceptance. Just doing what I can and moving a few listings over to Mercari. Interestingly, I sold 5 more items overnight and am still able to send offers. So maybe the Wizard of Ebay is not TOO upset with me or maybe it’s just more randomness. Anyway, do you have any specific brands or companies that come to mind when you hear the word VERO? Might be helpful as I go through my listings. I have a vintage GUCCI Shoe Shaper listed and removed the word GUCCI out of shear paranoia. Thanks to all who commented.

[HonestHat]

There must be a list floating around somewhere of heavy-handed VERO companies

The 3 that I can remember offhand are Xerox, Rosetta Stone and Velcro.

and my favorite, Hells Angels, who were my 1st Vero ever

[GreenDragon]

UPDATE: I just got an e-mail back from the Chrysler folks and they said that they are withdrawing their complaint! They advised me that I could re-list using the words “compatible with!” in the title!

This is unexpected but welcome news!

[old_man_marty]

Good news for you – and thanks for all the info, everyone. It seems that, even though titles are designed to maximize key words, it is worth it to use phrases like “compatible with” in cases like these. And it is good to see you can also plead your case to the company who made the complaint.

This week eBay pulled one of my listings with no penalty but gave me a warning. It was not a VERO warning but related so I will piggyback on what was said here.

I received a “price gouging” warning on a box of medical rubber gloves I had listed. The email I got from eBay stated, “Offering essential items at a price higher than is considered fair or reasonable is not allowed on eBay.” I had simply matched the price with similar items I saw on eBay and compared it to Amazon to make sure I could beat their prices as well.

The email further stated:

“To prevent price gouging, during the COVID-19 crisis, only authorized sellers can list:

– Medical masks
– Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes
– Toilet paper
– Diapers, baby formula, and baby wipes
– Tampons
– Lysol disinfectant spray and Clorox bleach

It also said, “Because you may not have been aware of this policy, we’re sending this notice to educate you about it and ask that you follow this policy in the future.”

Hope this is helpful.

[GreenDragon]

Thanks for the heads up. I’m hanging on to all those items (rather than selling) until society has progressed a bit further along the pandemic timeline (hopefully that is soon).

Update #2 – As of 3 hours ago ebay has lifted my suspension and even “apologized for the inconvenience.” I can list again. Yay for me. Not to be overly dramatic but I’m going to be overly dramatic. It’s kind of like (but on a much smaller scale) when you almost get run over by a semi truck as you are about to cross the street but then you look up at the last moment and narrowly avoid being killed. You gain some perspective and it makes you grateful (and more careful). I feel a little bit like that.

[Temudgin]

Also known as “dodging a bullet.” 🙂

[Meg]

I had a vero slap recently too. Don’t list waterpiks, fyi. I now check the vero list on ebay before listing anything. It’s a pain but worth it in the end.

vero.ebay.com

[Author]

Posts