Description theft...

[Duncan]

Okay, this first link is for my own Game Boy Camera auction. Read the description, if you would...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3047360436&category=3569&rd=1

...and then check this "very similar" auction out. Note any similarities in word choice, sentence structure...?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3569&item=3047470273

The bastard stole part of my description! I fired off an e-mail asking his reasons for doing so, though I'm not quite pissed enough that I feel like taking it much further.

Grrr...there's not much else I can really do anyway, is there? :angry:

Duncan :D

[jonjandran]

Oh yea, you can report him and E-Bay will suspend his account if he does it again.

I personally have a lot of people steal my descriptions and I don't care. If I don't copyright it , then Legally I have no rights to it.

But it is against E-Bay rules so if it bothers you , I say report his stealing A$$. :D

[Duncan]

Oh yea, you can report him and E-Bay will suspend his account if he does it again.

I personally have a lot of people steal my descriptions and I don't care. If I don't copyright it , then Legally I have no rights to it.

But it is against E-Bay rules so if it bothers you , I say report his stealing A$$. :D

I shall keep that in mind, in case his answer displeases me. :vamp:

Duncan :D

[Griking]

I don't see why people get so worked up about things like this. There's only so many different ways that different people can describe the same item. Descriptions are bound to be similar. And even if he copied and pasted the item description exactly who cares? Were you going to copyright the description and sell it as a short story or something? Now bandwidth stealing by linking to someone else's pictures I can see people getting upset about but not descriptions.

Also, where in ebay's rules does it say that it's against the rules to copy someone else's item descriptions? Honestly, I've never done it myself as it only takes a few minutes to write a quick item description anyways but I wouldn't care if someone copied mine.

[Achika]

Has anyone heard of plagerism? That's what it is, and by all accounts your stealing someones words and claiming them as your own. I can see how someone would get worked up over it, you took the time to write it out, "dress up" what you were selling since with a good description you could get a higher price. Say it takes 20 minutes for you to come up with that golden essay about the subject you're trying to sell. That's 20 minutes of your life, you could have taken a power nap, wrote a poem, played a round of Berzerk, etc. etc. then some yahoo comes along and ctrl+a, ctrl+c, ctrl+v. Seconds of work now claiming your words (your 20 minutes!!!) as his.

You want to see people getting worked up? Go read the first few paragraphs of FAQs.

BTW: I'm not sure about writing, but in photography if I take a picture, it's mine, mine, mine. I don't have to go down to the copywriters office and submit every photograph I've ever taken for copyright, it's just done.

[jonjandran]

Straight from E-Bay:

Item Description and Picture Theft
What it is and how to report it

eBay members are not allowed to use another eBay user's pictures or descriptions in their listings or About Me page without the owner's permission. Listings that violate eBay's Picture and Description Theft policy may be removed early. Multiple violations of this policy can result in suspension.

The following examples are not allowed on eBay.
A seller doesn't know the best way to describe an item. The seller copies a substantial amount of another's description and pastes it into a listing.
A seller takes someone else's picture and includes it in a listing since it looks very similar to the item the seller is offering.
A seller likes the way a competitor's About Me page looks. The seller copies the look and feel and a substantial amount of the text and creates an About Me page.
Report another member who is using your text or images without your permission

[Buyatari]

Try this

<script language="JavaScript">
<!--
// No rightclick script.
var message="INSERT ERROR MESSAGE HERE";
// Don't edit below!
function click(e) {
if (document.all) {
if (event.button == 2) {
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
if (document.layers) {
if (e.which == 3) {
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
}
if (document.layers) {
document.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN);
}
document.onmousedown=click;
// -->
</script><center>


Or this


<SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript>
<!--

document.oncontextmenu = function(){return false}
if(document.layers) {
window.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN);
window.onmousedown = function(e){
if(e.target==document)return false;
}
}
else {
document.onmousedown = function(){return false}
}
//-->
</SCRIPT>

The first one gives you an error message when you try to right click and the second acts as if the right click was never clicked.

They can still get the source code from explorer by edit->view->source but this will keep away most newbie text stealers.

Adam

[sisko]

eBay will let you put a script in your listing?

[dave2236]

I'll admit when I first started selling I used to steal descriptions now nad then....never pics though.

I'm still waiting for the day when someone steals on of my pics on my site, so I can change it on them.

[Buyatari]

Yeah just cut and paste it into your ebay text.


eBay will let you put a script in your listing?

Adam