2nd installment of the saga of my alleged "eBay listing violations" ....

[James_OldeTowne]

[READ BOTTOM EMAIL (FROM EBAY) FIRST FOR THIS TO MAKE SENSE - James]

 

Felipe, today is Monday, April 3, and I am in receipt of your communications of Friday.

 

In order to address your message point by point, I've indicated the reference point in your text in [[square brackets]].

 

[[1]] Please take another look at my listings. "EarlyUS.com" is the official logo and trademark of my company. I believe you will find that none of my listings have any links to "earlyus.com". You cannot click my logo; there is no html code behind it. It is merely text used to quickly identify me to the many eBay users who are familiar with me as an eBay seller. I'm afraid that I do not understand how this violates any eBay policies. It is my understanding that it is acceptable to prominently display a company logo on listings. It seem there may be a misunderstanding whereby it was assumed that my logo can be clicked and linked to another website, but such is not the case.

 

[[2]] I have linked the thumbnail images in my listings to larger images, but please note that that is all that is linked. Clicking on the thumbnails goes directly to a simple JPEG, with no other links or extraneous logos. This, I believe, is also in accordance with eBay policy.

 

The ONLY other links in my listings are as follows:

 

1. "CLICK HERE to view all of my fantastic eBay bargains!", which merely links another eBay page that lists all my current auction items

 

2. "James@EarlyUS.com", which brings up an empty email screen for the user's convenience. The email screen is completely blank, and does not advertise anything.

 

I have no doubt that eBay's goal is to maintain a safe trading environment for it's customers, but I honestly do not understand what aspects of my eBay listings, past or present, violate either eBay's policies, or the goal of a safe trading environment, and certainly do not understand why my account was singled out for review, when any number of other accounts are in clear violation of eBay policies.

 

I hope to hear back from you soon regarding my questions. At this point, I am fearful of initiating a signficant number of eBay listings which I have promised to a consignor, as it would be very embarrassing for me if they were suddenly removed for reasons that I do not understand, and could not explain to my client.

 

Sincerely,

 

James Garcia

314-574-1785

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Date: Fri Mar 31 20:57:39 2006

From: eBay Customer Support <rswebhelp@ebay.com>

To: <james@earlyus.com>

Subject: EN62821 LP Response to your email concerning eBay's listing policies (KMM209242835V29006L0KM)

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for taking the time to write eBay with your concerns. I'm happy to help you further.

 

To begin let me just say that I can certainly understand how a situation such as this can be frustrating, and that your tone and conduct in your correspondence with us has been admirable and much appreciated.

 

I have thoroughly reviewed the information you have provided as well as the information in your account. I have come to the conclusion that the appropriate action was taken in this case in accordance to our listing policy. Please allow me to further explain why this action was taken.

 

[[1]] In your listings you included the following link "earlyus.com". I can say with 100% certainty that listing your personal or commercial website from a listing page is not permitted under our current listing guidelines. eBay allows the linking to a further information page, however this page may only be used to specifically further describe the item being sold. For example, most sellers use this page to [[2]] add additional pictures of the item or to go in greater detail about warranty and shipping information.

 

On your About Me page, you may link to your own Web site or individual internet store where you are offering to trade, sell or purchase your goods or services. It may not specifically promote off eBay sales or sales of items prohibited on eBay, nor may it contain links to commercial Web sites where goods from multiple sellers are aggregated by a common search engine.

 

For example by simply stating the following on your About Me Page:

 

"Please visit my website www.mywebsite.com" - will be fine.

 

However promoting items that can be bought from your website/online store is not allowed, for example:

 

"Please visit my website "www.mywebsite.com" for more great designer clothing at a cheaper price!!!" - is not allowed.

 

You may include links to your About Me page in your listings. These links are in addition to the About Me icon provided in your eBay listings by eBay. However you may not include language within those links that promote items or other Web sites.

 

I realize that it was not your intention to be in violation of our guidelines and that this most likely was an honest mistake. Please understand that this action is in no way meant to question your record with us as a valued member of the community. However, we must strive to maintain fair and consistent guidelines amongst all of our members.

 

For a better understanding of our listing guidelines and how they affect the way you list your items, please visit the following URL:

 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-ov.html

 

I would like you to know that when eBay cancels listings, we refund all fees associated with creating the listing. At this time, however, we are unable to actually relist auctions for our members, or send them copies of the removed items. You are completely free to relist, at your convenience and with the required corrections. The notice you received was simply informational in nature. We understand there are a lot of policies on the site, and that a lot of sellers aren't aware of many of them. If taken as a learning experience which will be taken to heart and not repeated, there is no reason to worry about any long term consequences.

 

It is my pleasure to assist you and I hope this helps you out.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Felipe

eBay Community Watch

[lne.inc-migration]

I've had the problem with ebay, I called the phone number they sent me and it was like talking to the wall. Plus they totally deleted the item off the site so I can't relist without the "problem" link. Just a huge waste of time.

[TwoKopeiki]

James, in their response I still don't see that you were in violation for displaying your store logo. Without having a hyperlink behind the image it's the same as typing out the information which, as they stated, is acceptable.

 

But I guess it's their policy and the only right interpretation of it is their own. I'm sorry to hear about your frustrating experience.

[James_OldeTowne]

[bUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE:]

 

Date: Sat Apr 1 11:05:35 2006

From: <ebayfeedback@benchmarkportal.com>

To: <james@earlyus.com>

Subject: eBay Customer Support - Your Opinion Needed

 

*** BenchmarkPortal is an official partner of eBay and is conducting independent customer satisfaction surveys at the request of eBay. BenchmarkPortal will not request any of your personal or confidential information. ***

 

Dear eBay Community member,

 

On 03/31/2006, Felipe replied to the email message you sent to eBay Customer Support. As part of eBay's commitment to excellence, we want to make sure your needs were met. Would you please take a few minutes to answer some questions to let us know how we did?

 

If you have not received or reviewed your response from eBay Customer Support yet, please check your eBay registered email account for a response. If you have

filters or spam blockers on your computer, these may have prevented you from receiving a response.

 

Once you have received and reviewed the response, please complete this survey by clicking on the following link:

 

http://surveys.benchmarkportal.com/ebay/survey.taf?survey_id=1035&user_id=...

 

If this link is not clickable, please copy and paste the entire web address above into the address field of your browser.

 

NOTE: Please respond within five days so that you can provide timely feedback to Felipe. AFTER 5 DAYS, THIS INVITATION WILL EXPIRE.

 

Thank you for your help!

 

eBay Customer Support

 

*** Protect your eBay Password and Your Personal Information ***

 

eBay treats your personal information with the utmost care, and our Privacy Policy is designed to protect you and your information. eBay will not request personal information (password, credit card numbers, pin numbers, passwords, or Social Security numbers) in an email or in most cases, our surveys. However, there are rare exceptions when eBay performs usability surveys that measure participants' actual use of eBay. In these exceptional cases, personal information is sometimes needed, and participants are told explicitly in advance what will be required. Additionally, participants are given contact information in order to validate that the survey is indeed from eBay. For more information on how to protect your eBay password and your account, click here

 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/account_protection.html?ssPageName=CMDV:AB0008

 

eBay truly respects the opinions of its Members. We are contacting you for customer support improvement purposes only. All information collected is confidential and the information you provide will be used strictly within eBay's Privacy Policy http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-priv.html

 

eBay has commissioned BenchmarkPortal to conduct this study among eBay members. To review BenchmarkPortal's privacy policy, please go to

http://surveys.benchmarkportal.com/ebay/bmp_privacy.pdf

[James_OldeTowne]

[OK, I did the stinking survey. Here's how I answered the questions:]

 

For these first few questions, please rate your overall experience with eBay Customer Support. Later, you will be asked questions about the specific eBay representative who assisted you.

 

Overall, how would you rate the experience you had with eBay Customer Support?

 

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

X Very dissatisfied

============================================

Please indicate what caused your dissatisfaction (select all that apply)

 

The response did not answer the question

X The response did not solve the issue

The amount of time it took to receive a response

X The method of contacting Customer Support

You do not agree with the stated policy

The response felt canned or automated

X The response was too vague

X Other

 

Response seemed to indicate that the claim of alleged violation was not actually tested for validity

============================================

How would you rate the ease of contacting eBay Customer Support?

Very easy

Somewhat easy

Neutral

Somewhat difficult

X Very difficult

============================================

When trying to contact us what did you find difficult?

 

Could not find eBay Customer Support contact information in help pages

Was not aware contact information for eBay Customer Support was located in help pages

When writing to eBay Customer Support , could not find email subject line associated with my issue

X Other (If your reason is not listed above, please specify)

-> support available only via on-line "chat", which his horrible with my dialup, no phone support

============================================

How satisfied were you with the speed in which eBay Customer Support responded to your question(s)?

 

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

X Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

============================================

What would have been a reasonable response time (in hours)?

 

X 1 - 5

6 - 10

11 - 15

16 - 20

21 - 25

26 - 30

31 - 35

36 - 40

41 - 45

46+

============================================

Was your question to eBay Customer Support resolved?

Yes

X No

============================================

How many times have you contacted eBay Customer Support regarding this issue?

1

2

X 3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10+

============================================

For this next set of questions, please rate the specific eBay representative who assisted you.

 

Overall, how satisfied were you with this specific eBay representative's service?

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neutral

X Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

============================================

What could our eBay representative have done differently to satisfy you?

 

The violation alleges that my listing contained an inappropriate link attached to my company logo. Such is not the case. The logo is in fact plain text. Message context suggests that no test (a simple mouse click) was performed to determine whether a link existed. Such a test would have shown that there is no link associated with my company logo, and that therefore, no violation could have occurred. I do not believe this extremely simple test was performed by any eBay personnel.

============================================

Did our eBay representative treat you like a valued eBay Member?

 

X Definitely

Generally yes

Neutral

No

Definitely not

============================================

How would you rate your eBay representative’s email response?

 

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Doesn’t apply

The representative understood your concern AGREE

The representative’s response addressed all of your questions/concerns STRONGLY DISAGREE

The representative was knowledgeable about the subject AGREE

The representative seemed sincere in wanting to assist you STRONGLY AGREE

The representative's response was easy to understand STRONGLY AGREE

The representative's response contained the right amount of information DISAGREE

The tone of the representative's response was friendly STRONGLY AGREE

The representative provided correct information NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE

If directions were included, they were easy to follow DOESN'T APPLY

============================================

What was the subject of your contact with eBay Customer Support?

 

Account Suspension

Account Takeover or Identity Theft

Contact information for another member

Feedback Removal

Feedback Withdrawal

To report a Listing Violation

Validity of an email claiming to be from eBay (Spoof email)

Unpaid Item (Buyer had not paid, merchandise has been shipped)

Unpaid Item (Buyer has not paid, merchandise has NOT been shipped)

X A listing that was removed by eBay

Shill Bidding

Invoice, fees or billing

Bid retraction

Concerns about shipping charges

Disputing an Unpaid Item Notification or Strike filed against your account

To report another member for sending SPAM

Verified Rights Owner (VeRO)

You paid and have not received your item, or received an item that was not as described

Seller non-performance (Seller is not responding or refuses to complete the transaction. Payment has NOT been made.)

A new feature on the eBay site

Information on a new eBay policy

Other - my issue is not listed above

============================================

How satisfied were you with how eBay’s rule or policy was explained?

 

Very Satisfied

X Satisfied

Neutral

Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

============================================

How satisfied were you with the actual rule or policy?

 

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neutral

X Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

============================================

What was it about the rule or policy you disagree with?

 

I do not know why or how it was determined that my listings violated the rule or policy. There is nothing to explain how violations of this particular type are discovered or evaluated.

============================================

How would you rate the rule or policy?

Definitely Yes Yes Not Sure No Definitely Not

 

The rule / policy is fair YES

Enough information was provided about the rule / policy YES

Information about the rule / policy was easy to find on the eBay site YES

[TwoKopeiki]

Hehe, stick it to 'em !

[cpm9ball]

James, I said it before and I'll say it again............I think they are just looking for any excuse to "jerk you around" because you don't use their partner, Pay Pal.

 

Chris