What can I do - Company harassing me / making false claims about what I sell..

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

PasturesNew wrote: »

T

You call it entrepreneurial, but part of the responsibility of being an entrepreneur is to understand what you are buying and all legal aspects of buying/selling/distributing that product within the country you intend to sell it in and being sourced from the country where you bought it. Being an entrepreneur is more than spotting a nifty arbitrage and acting on it.

Yes, you did the right thing by spotting the opportunity. What you then didn't do is the due diligence in setting yourself up as a retailer of that product. Companies/brands spend millions protecting their name and deciding/authorising businesses to use their name and sell their product, or not. The legal UK distributor might have spent 2 solid years putting their deal with the company together - and had to prove all manner of business credentials and produce paperwork such as insurances, bank statements, credit reports, trade references etc.

All irrelevant as long as we are in the EU, if the company doesn't like it they can cry to Brussels about their problems or charge customers throughout the EU the same to prevent it.

mrs_sparrow

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

The VeRO program is for removing fake goods, not controlling the market, as the goods were purchased within the EU it is my understanding this company can not prohibit you from selling the goods (all they can do to stop it is not supply who ever supplied you).

The problem you have is eBay will just keep removing the items and won't get involved so you'd need to take legal action against the company falsely removing the items.

Probably not worth it but I would report the company's actions to which ever gov dept has replaced the OFT.

VeRO is there to protect the intellectual rights of the property owner. There are all manner of companies that do not want their products on eBay as it devalues their brand (and let's not even talk about the number of fakes which mean people get ripped off), and they will do what they can to get them removed. They have authorised retailers and you are not one of them. There is nothing to stop you selling them elsewhere but, on eBay, they are able to stop you.

For example, I had an item of clothing in the colour of Mulberry. I cannot even list it with the colour in the title so I called it Mullberry as it is nothing to do with Mulberry bags - it is not even a bag - and they are not allowed on eBay because of Mulberry are enrolled in the VeRO programme.

If that company does not want their goods being sold on eBay then you will have to fight them to sell them on there. If you have the money to do that then go for it. For the short term, will not be able to sell them on eBay as they will just keep on getting them removed and you'll end up getting banned. Why not get a market stall somewhere, it'll only cost you £25-£30 for a pitch. Go to one of the big bank holiday ones in August.

JumpingFrog

Thanks everyone for your advice and I will continue to sell them through other avenues ....

I am still waiting for eBay to contact me regarding my complaints

Irn-Bru-Kid

JumpingFrog wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your advice and I will continue to sell them through other avenues ....

I am still waiting for eBay to contact me regarding my complaints

eBay won't give a rats hairy !!! about your complaints, so don't hold your breath.

justjohn

Vero is for price fixing and maintaining a monopoly.


There is not much YOU can do. Ebay must change the rules.


There are hundreds/thousands of items that the VERO owners complain about. B&Q Brands are the same (had my knuckles wrapped a few times for selling the colours range) HAGEN pet products is another.


Vero holder also got involved in repackaged tetra fish flake.(I was splitting 10kg tubs down into smaller batch's)


However I do know that you can sometimes get away with it if you do not mention there trademark name. (maybe the vero holders do not do a thorough search??)

hollydays

I suppose I'd be annoyed though if I was a legitimate rate paying business claiming to be the sole authorised distributor and someone said to me" you are overcharging- I can buy these cheaper on ebay"

ballisticbrian

justjohn, the problem with people repackaging fish food, is people will say it's brand X when it isn't and unless the brand owner went round sampling everyones fish food, no one can police it. When I first started out I was buying a really expensive product from a Rolls Royce type company and re-packaging it, and low and behold lots of sellers sprung up copying my advert but they were selling stuff that had been scrapped up off the floor. Did my sales continue? Nope. Most people just clicks "sort by price" and buys the cheapest.