Stolen ebay photo thread

[Dee*Jay]

Hoping to use this thread as one consolidated place to post stolen ebay photos so people can reach out and report to ebay. (I feel like there was a thread like this a little while ago but I can't find it now.)

Here's one I found this morning when I followed up to see if the stolen photos found yesterday of my ring were still up (they're not -- the auction ended).

Anyway, today's scam photo:

And sorry I can't remember whose gorgeous ring this is off the top of my head! I always feel bad when the synapses for who owns what won't fire

 

[YadaYadaYada]

That ring belongs to @HS4S_2

 

[bludiva]

I always report those when i see a photo I recognize but I don't think ebay does anything about it.

 

[Wewechew]

My pendent is being used

 

[Wewechew]

I always report those when i see a photo I recognize but I don't think ebay does anything about it.

I don’t think they do either. I think in order to have them do something, you have to report it as a copy right infringement. However, the person who took the photo would need to be the one to report it and most times it’s a photo the jewelry designer took.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The ring at the top is Caysie's work. If you give the ebay link, I'd be glad to let her know.

 

[Wewechew]

The ring at the top is Caysie's work. If you give the ebay link, I'd be glad to let her know.

This seller is using at least one of her pics

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/173651163615

 

[Bron357]

Unfortunately it is all over eBay. Some top eBay sellers (CertifiedJewellery) frequently have their photos misappropriated.
Invariably the sellers are China or India based with very low feedback. Quickly they get “pinged” due to neg feedback so they just open another account and then another and so on and so forth. Ebay shows little interest or inclination to stop this and given the huge huge numbers of items on eBay at anytime, they simply don’t have the ability to stop it. You can report a listing and maybe the listing will be cancelled but another one (or dozen) is just created.
The problem is that trusting (and naive) buyers think they are buying what they see in the photo (s) for a bargain rice but if course that is not so. The sellers aren’t even “stealing the design” and creating a copy, they are just sending out some junk ring and hoping to get away with it.

 

[ame]

This is actually why I do a tiled watermark on all my photos now.

 

[Rockdiamond]

This is actually why I do a tiled watermark on all my photos now.

Great thread- unfortunately, it's needed......
May I ask......what's a tiled watermark?

In my experience, going back 19 years on eBay ( man I'm old)- those of us who value our work and see it as our own proprietary work, are completely screwed.
eBay does NOTHING to prevent this- and in fact, they've made it impossible to even report it. From what I see ( and I'm glad if someone can prove me wrong) all you can do now is hit the report item button, then you're shepherded into picking one of a few multiple choice answers- none of which allow you to specify what's going on.
Basically, it's been happening to us for almost the whole 19 years. eBay used to be a lot more responsive.
Call me a pessimist- but I don't see this getting better

 

[Wewechew]

@Rockdiamond you can report it as intellectual property, but you have to jump through hoops to report it (and only the actual owner of the property can)

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/...es/intellectual-property-vero-program?id=4349

 

[bludiva]

tiled watermark = repeating the watermark across the photo. i see some vendors putting a subtle watermark across the item in the photo to make it obvious if copied

it can't be in ebay's long term interest to enable this...you'd think they'd add a report concern -> item uses stolen images option or something along those lines...

 

[Rockdiamond]

Thanks Wewechew!
I have indeed tried that route as well.
There's ZERO satisfaction. Once you submit the report, you're done.
No follow up possible- and in my case, they took no action. So I stopped even bothering......just happened again last week.
BTW- we've had this happen literally hundreds of times over the years- in most cases it's been reported to us by clients.

We do have watermarks on the pics- but they're not tiled. I'd hate to obscure the subject with a watermark.....

 

[Wewechew]

it can't be in ebay's long term interest to enable this...

Why not? They get paid based on the $ spent on their site.

Over the years I've gotten so fed up with them (and Paypal) as a company that I've thought about boycotting... but they are just too big- no one compares to them, hence I always go back.

 

[bludiva]

Why not? They get paid based on the $ spent on their site.

Over the years I've gotten so fed up with them (and Paypal) as a company that I've thought about boycotting... but they are just too big- no one compares to them, hence I always go back.

i'd just assume a lot of people complain to them when they get something that looks nothing like the photo and it sucks up more time to deal with those complaints compared to the revenues they receive from them. but maybe not since they don't do anything about it....too bad doing the right thing isn't good enough reason for companies these days. :/

 

[Wewechew]

i'd just assume a lot of people complain to them when they get something that looks nothing like the photo and it sucks up more time to deal with those complaints compared to the revenues they receive from them. but maybe not since they don't do anything about it....too bad doing the right thing isn't good enough reason for companies these days. :/

I think some people won't take the time to start a claim on Paypal. Or the seller shoulders the financial fall out from it: One time I tried to return something to a company in India or China and they ended up refunding me and letting me keep the product.

And I agree- it is a shame that companies doing the right this is the exception, not the norm now a days.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Are you guys aware that eBay is now charging 10% commission to the sellers on jewelry purchases up to $2500? Which, of course, is passed on to consumers.
On larger dollar purchases, it's not really an issue. If someone is spending $10,000, the $250 commission is not all that big a deal. But for purchases up to $2500, that 10% makes a big difference in the competitive marketplace.
And eBay monitors any and all communications.
Last year I accidentally included a sentence in an eBay message. After the prospective buyer had asked about 15 questions, I wrote "please feel free to call me to discuss or to purchase"
For that, we were unceremoniously kicked off eBay.
It took about a month of calling multiple times a day until we got an American representative who actually looked at our record, and the situation.
Prior to that call, every call when to an offshore call center, where they just kept repeating that sorry, you're kicked off eBay. And no, you can never get back on.
The lady in Salt Lake City took a look at the situation and reinstated us.
Needless to say , we respond to eBay questions these days on pins and needles......

Wewechew- I'm with you on PayPal as well. At this point, they're offering advantages over accepting cards directly. For example, they return the commission on refunds- if you run cards directly, and refund, the commission is lost. But how long can we depend on the goodwill of companies like PayPal as they get more and more dominant in the market?
Scary stuff for sure.

 

[ame]

Great thread- unfortunately, it's needed......
May I ask......what's a tiled watermark?

In my experience, going back 19 years on eBay ( man I'm old)- those of us who value our work and see it as our own proprietary work, are completely screwed.
eBay does NOTHING to prevent this- and in fact, they've made it impossible to even report it. From what I see ( and I'm glad if someone can prove me wrong) all you can do now is hit the report item button, then you're shepherded into picking one of a few multiple choice answers- none of which allow you to specify what's going on.
Basically, it's been happening to us for almost the whole 19 years. eBay used to be a lot more responsive.
Call me a pessimist- but I don't see this getting better

Here's an example:

Basically you watermark it in a manner that repeats whatever mark you want on the image (in my case, my name that I wrote on a note and scanned in). It's impossible to remove or crop out that way.

 

[Wewechew]

Wewechew- I'm with you on PayPal as well. At this point, they're offering advantages over accepting cards directly. For example, they return the commission on refunds- if you run cards directly, and refund, the commission is lost. But how long can we depend on the goodwill of companies like PayPal as they get more and more dominant in the market?
Scary stuff for sure.

Speaking of commission- I sold a ring on eBay, the month ended and I paid the 10% commission fees, then the buyer returned it. The next month passed and I see I didn't get my commission refund, so I call. Apparently eBay won't automatically refund the commission if they are in different billing months, you have to call and ask (or at least at the time that's how it worked). I was pretty peeved they were going to keep so much money when the item had been returned to me.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Doncha just love calling eBay? It's so much fun!!!
Wewechew- I feel your pain. Every month I remind myself to go over each commission. You can actually get it back online, without the pleasure of having to call eBay........

PS- thank you Dee*Jay for starting this thread...I needed to vent!!

 

[Wewechew]

@Rockdiamond thanks for the info!

 

[the_mother_thing]

And here’s another CvB-photo thief: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/333041787890


Seller seems to be a fan of CvB:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/333032104950

And I’m pretty sure a few of the pics they show are from Ivy & Rose/MDZ as well. I was particularly humored by their applying a “BridalJewel” mark on a couple of their photos, which implies to me the rest are merely stolen. :roll

 

[yssie]

Another thief - Etsy this time.

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

The ring is Erika Winters' Margot:

Margot Solitaire – Erika Winters Fine Jewelry

erikawinters.com

I sent messages to both the thief and to Etsy. Hopefully she'll take these photos down immediately.

 

[lissyflo]

Another thief - Etsy this time.

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

The ring is Erika Winters' Margot:

Margot Solitaire – Erika Winters Fine Jewelry

erikawinters.com

I sent messages to both the thief and to Etsy. Hopefully she'll take these photos down immediately.

If only it were possible to get EW’s stunning work for $116.41 - those prongs! I’d have a Margot on every finger, and possibly on every toe too...

But in all seriousness, the nerve of these people. It’s fraud, pure and simple. Surely Etsy can have some system in place to stop blatant misappropriation like this?

 

[yssie]

@lissyflo I would love to know!

A number of this vendor's other photos are also stolen. I'm going to list them here and send them a message pointing to this thread - perhaps publicly-searchable shaming will do the trick.

 

[yssie]

Etsy vendor moissanitemind, owner Kalpana Krishna - this vendor steals photos and misrepresents products, buyer beware!

Forever Brilliant Moissanite by moissanitemind on Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

There are likely many more. These were what I found in just twenty minutes... Yes, I’m angry enough to spend time on this I have sent the vendor a message linking to this post. And reported the listings to Etsy, of course.

Theft:


Actual product:


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

Couldn't even be bothered to remove the brand name...


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

Who here doesn’t immediately recognize David's photography?


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

Theft:


Actual product:

 

[yssie]

Ebay seller diamond-mansion
1213 sales, 100% positive feedback
Supposedly based in LA

1.40 Ct. Natural Round Cut 5-Stone Diamond Engagement Ring - GIA Certified | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1.40 Ct. Natural Round Cut 5-Stone Diamond Engagement Ring - GIA Certified at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

A friend sent this to me last night. That’s my photo of my DBL five stone - stolen from this PS thread. Reported to eBay.

It's HERE!!! My 5-stone 8-prong trellis reset by DBL

One word for this one: Fruition :love: :love: :love: :bigsmile: First, a giant THANK YOU!! to everyone for your ideas, opinions, and support in my threads - especially Asscherhalo, Bella, Charmy, Danny, Dreamer, DS, Gypsy, Haven, Hostpatogi, HOT, JuneRose, Kelpie, Laila, LD, LGK, maplefemme...

www.pricescope.com

 

[missy]

Ebay seller diamond-mansion
1213 sales, 100% positive feedback
Supposedly based in LA

1.40 Ct. Natural Round Cut 5-Stone Diamond Engagement Ring - GIA Certified | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1.40 Ct. Natural Round Cut 5-Stone Diamond Engagement Ring - GIA Certified at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

A friend sent this to me last night. That’s my photo of my DBL five stone - stolen from this PS thread. Reported to eBay.

It's HERE!!! My 5-stone 8-prong trellis reset by DBL

One word for this one: Fruition :love: :love: :love: :bigsmile: First, a giant THANK YOU!! to everyone for your ideas, opinions, and support in my threads - especially Asscherhalo, Bella, Charmy, Danny, Dreamer, DS, Gypsy, Haven, Hostpatogi, HOT, JuneRose, Kelpie, Laila, LD, LGK, maplefemme...

www.pricescope.com

Boggles the mind. How the heck does this seller have 1,213 positive feedbacks?
Did they steal the seller's identity too perhaps?

Ugh, I'm sorry @yssie it's upsetting. I hope Ebay does something about this.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

This makes me want to stop sharing photos altogether.