Epson - Removal of eBay listing

Leo2020

Epson response:

"Here’s the reply you should have received a couple of times – as said before.

Kind regards,
Bodo Bredahl


eBay Sellers: Why was my auction shut down?

If you are selling ink cartridges, consumables, etc. on eBay, it is your legal responsibility to ensure that your sales practices do not violate Epson’s trademark and copyright rights.

Resellers of non-genuine inks & supplies often attract customers to an auction by using the trademark "Epson" but really offer products manufactured by third parties. That’s unfair competition. It is especially misleading when "Epson" is used in a context that would encourage a consumer to purchase the product without discovering that it was not genuine until the product is delivered.

Epson therefore requests eBay to shut down all auctions which do not clearly specify in the title that the ink or supplies offered are not genuine. To prevent your auction being shut down, you need to comply with all three of the following rules:

1.Always use the word “Epson” to refer to the printer (e.g. “fits Epson Stylus D88”, “for use in Epson Stylus D88”, “compatible with Epson Stylus D88”) rather than to the cartridge. For example:

Allowed: Cartridge for use in Epson Stylus D88

Not Allowed: Epson cartridge T0611 (compatible)

2. Always make sure the title is not misleading as to the origin of the product. The easiest way to ensure this is to use the term “non-original”, “non-genuine”, or “non-OEM” (rather than using the term “compatible”) and/or indicate the brand. This is especially important if you are using more than one of the Epson codes (e.g. printer code and cartridge code). For example:

Allowed: Jettec (non-genuine) T0611 cartridge for Epson Stylus D88

Not Allowed: T0611 cartridge for Epson Stylus D88 (compatible)

3. Only use the Epson mark when necessary. For example:

Not Allowed: Cartridge replacing Epson T0611 (non-original) for use in Epson Stylus D88

Please note that Epson will also request eBay to shut down auctions that contain representations of the quality or performance of the compatible ink or supplies unless such representations are true and can be substantiated. By requesting eBay to shut down such auctions, Epson does not waive its right to sue for damages even if shut downs occur.

If you have further questions, please contact us at produktpiraterie@epson.de. Please cite your eBay auction number in the subject line of the e-mail.

Epson Legal Rights Enforcement Team"

So it took some doing but I finally got the information on what you can and can't write in your listing. So if anyone wants to sell any Epson compatible cartridges you now know what you are allowed to write.

Although I'm still uncertain to the reference of stock images.

techspec

Leo2020 wrote: »

1.Always use the word “Epson” to refer to the printer (e.g. “fits Epson Stylus D88”, “for use in Epson Stylus D88”, “compatible with Epson Stylus D88”) rather than to the cartridge. For example:

Allowed: Cartridge for use in Epson Stylus D88

Not Allowed: Epson cartridge T0611 (compatible)

As i said in post 7

Leo2020

techspec wrote: »

That one does not mention what ink its a copy of - just what printers it will work with.

Eg putting lexmark 35 compatable ink is a no-no - putting ink cartridge for the lexmark z1420 printer would be allowed.

Leo2020 wrote: »

1.Always use the word “Epson” to refer to the printer (e.g. “fits Epson Stylus D88”, “for use in Epson Stylus D88”, “compatible with Epson Stylus D88”) rather than to the cartridge.

techspec wrote: »

As i said in post 7

No quite what you said, you said that you can't use the word compatible but Epson say you can if you phrase it the example given above.

bod1467

techspec wrote: »

That one does not mention what ink its a copy of - just what printers it will work with.

Eg putting lexmark 35 compatable ink is a no-no - putting ink cartridge for the lexmark z1420 printer would be allowed.

Quote for reference. I agree that post #7 is close enough to what Epson say. Saying it is a compatible for a printer model is fine; saying it is a compatible of a specific ink is not.

Leo2020

Either way it was still a guess - there is no way I was going to risk re-listing it based on that.

The information from eBay was very vague and there is no way I could have known from that exactly what the problem was.

At least now it has been clarified although I do seriously doubt anybody wanting to buy the ink would have thought they were genuine Epson cartridges.

techspec

Leo2020 wrote: »

No quite what you said, you said that you can't use the word compatible but Epson say you can if you phrase it the example given above.

Some people are hard work - i never said the word compatible was a no-no - naming the ink cartridge was eg LEXMARK 35 COMPATIBLE INK.

YOU CAN PUT COMPATIBLE INK FOR THE LEXMARK Z1420!!!

bod1467 wrote: »

Quote for reference. I agree that post #7 is close enough to what Epson say. Saying it is a compatible for a printer model is fine; saying it is a compatible of a specific ink is not.

Exactly :-)

techspec

Leo2020 wrote: »

Either way it was still a guess - there is no way I was going to risk re-listing it based on that.

The information from eBay was very vague and there is no way I could have known from that exactly what the problem was.

At least now it has been clarified although I do seriously doubt anybody wanting to buy the ink would have thought they were genuine Epson cartridges.

Thats true - i often re-list on another account if Ebay remove something. I try and change what i think the problem is though.

If they were to remove the same item again on the same account - even if wrongly - they could take action against the account.

Leo2020

techspec wrote: »

Some people are hard work

This implies that you have been banging your head against a brick wall after telling me the same thing over and over again - not true. I may have read your post differently from how you meant it but I don't think that makes me thick which is what your implying.