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HansVera



Posts: 32

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reporting a user Reply with quote

I have felt very tortured, trolled, attacked and ridiculed by a certain person very recently. They have called me "dishonest", "suspicious", "illegal" etc publicly in a very hurtful, obvious, critical way.

There is a way to point out other people's mistakes and this person did that in a very hurtful and pointy sort of way that made me feel "ashamed" to post in the thread that I made to get some help for me. But all I got was LABELS that made feel bad about myself specially from this person.

The person seems to be here since a long while and hence, seems to be taking disadvantage of their familiarity with the site. I have checked their old posts and they seem to be just as brutal with other users specially the "new ones".

I want to report this person. Can somebody please tell me how to report a certain person for being insulting publicly on a public forum of ecrater?
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SammysSupplies



Posts: 1631

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can contact staff from the bottom right of the eCrater home page.
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HansVera



Posts: 32

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You mean this page
http://www.ecrater.com/contact.php

Right?
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SammysSupplies



Posts: 1631

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup.
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HansVera



Posts: 32

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks a bunch really. I would take that action if essential. Confused
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SammysSupplies



Posts: 1631

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is very hard to read "tone" in a post. You may have read things into sentences that weren't what the writer what trying to get across. ( I know that whole sentence is poorly worded....but it is getting late .) Very Happy
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HansVera



Posts: 32

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well in the middle two sentences, this person sounds critical and talks about "honesty", "to make money" etc which are direct assaults on me.

In the first two sentences they say "something hinky with the sellers products", "big reseller is going to have a whole lot more than 4 different designs".

In their very first supposed to be helpful post they say "your 'pink' fairy looks suspiciously like Tinkerbell only in pink instead of green".

Such direct assaults....
None of the other helpers have been so rude and brutal.
This is completely unacceptable.

They have labelled and judged me very rudely and brutally. It was a direct criticism saying "I never can understand why instead of doing something honestly, people are so willing to jump in with both feet to do something that is outside legal parameters to try to make money. At least the deliberate stuff. I realize that at times we may stumble with something we are unfamiliar with or have forgotten a rule, but the moment it is mentioned, we fix the problem." This comment is a snide remark for sure.

I do accept that I had uploaded some copyrighted products but I was not aware that it is illegal. But this is height. Nobody is entitled to speak with anybody like that!!
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SammysSupplies



Posts: 1631

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It really up to you to know the rules of what you are selling. If you are thinking of this as a business, which it is, you can't just jump blindly in. We have seen so many sellers come and get upset when they get suspended for selling illegal goods. I will warn you, many many copies come from China. So if you source from there....read all descriptions and do not take them at face value. If something is really cheap, it is probably a fake. Just sharing things I have learned, not trying to say you would do this. Just a heads up.
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HansVera



Posts: 32

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was only about image(pikachu, doraemon) I had designed them myself, I mean the pose and structure, not whole characters. I did not know that even if you design the pose and image of a popular character, it is still illegal to use them. I source from rabbit skins which is a completely American brand. I print and design items on my own.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 3:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

HansVera, I truly am sorry you feel you have been personally insulted. I do not think the statements made were meant to be personal insults, but were general statements of facts. Most all longtime sellers have seen "large resellers", also called wholesalers, take advantage of small new resellers. These type of wholesalers have a total disregard for national and/or international trademarks and copyrights. They sell either the completed products or decals using these protected marks to small sellers. They make their money, the small seller has the product, then a very deep pocket company like Disney comes after the small seller. The small seller, at best, will be unable to sell their product online. If they try to get rid of their product at a local flea market, the local police may do a sweep that day and the small seller is arrested. Meanwhile, the "large reseller/wholesaler" has pocketed the money of hundreds or thousand small sellers and they don't get caught. By the time law enforcement can catch up with the name of the "wholesaler", they've abandoned the name they were using. I have seen lots of different TV shows in the last 10 years about these scams. I've also set up at a local flea market and seen dealers arrested for selling counterfeit goods (items made to look like trademarked goods).

Your photos are really nice and you've posted a size chart. Usually this is done by someone who bought the finished products from one of the large wholesalers at a "cheap" price who provided professionally looking photos and the small new seller is the one who is going to get hurt.

I will use Mickey Mouse as an example of what I'm talking about. Disney holds trademark protection in (I would assume) almost every country in the world that has a trademark protection. It is extremely expensive to maintain those trademarks. Paying all that money gives Disney the right to take anyone to court who tries to sell anything that has an image even close to looking like Mickey Mouse. They have staff that look for their stuff online and they have a legal department that will send letters to the seller and/or to the site where the items are being sold. If eCrater received such a letter, they would have to take action or face the legal wrath of Disney's legal department. I don't know what eCRATER's plan of action is, but if it were eBAY your item would be pulled and you would loose your listing fee. If you kept posting said items, they would ban you from the site.

For a little more information, look at the front page of eCRATER's site on the lower right corner and click on the link DMCA which outlines their compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Like most good marketplaces, eCRATER generally only responds to DMCA request from the copyright and/or trademark owner.

At one point in time, Disney was even shutting down people who were selling items made from fabric that was made by a legally licensed manufacture. Disney lost that one when it went to court, but that didn't stop them from hurting a lot of small sellers in the meantime with their threats. They don't want anyone selling anything that even looks similar to their trademark.

You said you designed the image showing the characters in a certain pose and structure. It's ok to do that for your own fun and use. You can add your image to any clothing you would like to wear or give as a gift to family or friend. The key is the non-commercial use. Once you try to sell anything using your version of their character, that would be a commercial use and is considered illegal if your image is your concept of a copyrighted / trademarked design.

Now if you create a design that is totally your own design, you can pay for a US copyright of your design which will give you the right to take anyone in the US to court that uses your design without your permission. Of course you have to pay the legal fees up front to start the process and protecting your design could cost you millions in the long run. It will also gives you the right to prevent the importation of any goods with your image, but you have to catch them which is also expensive. This is why it's usually the small seller who bought the product for resale that gets in trouble because they are easier to catch.

My husband & I hold a copyright on a DVD we produced, we hold a trademark on a product we sell and we are in the process of getting a patent on one of his inventions. The copyright was easy and not too expensive. The trademark cost several hundred dollars and almost a year to get approved. These are only good in the US because it cost thousands to secure international protection. Our patent application has already cost several thousand and if we are lucky it will only take a couple of years to get approved. After all that time and money, I'm going to be really mad if someone tries to copy our products and will take legal action against them.

I looked at your store and saw your fairy design. People have been drawing fairies for centuries. Your design is not Tinkerbell with her blond hair pulled up in a top knot, but in looking online I noticed Disney has several fairies in their collection. You need to ask yourself if you think Disney is going to feel your design looks really close to one of their designs. If yes, change your design, if no, proceed ahead. Almost any design that is instantly recognizable, is probably not legal to copy for resale. Even some statements are trademarked because they instantly make one think of the brand that uses that byline. Even using a sports team name / logo or college logo is not allowed for items you plan to sell unless you pay them a licensing fee.

HansVera, you must be creative to have done these designs. I'm sure you can create your own designs that parents and grandparents would love to buy for their babies. There is no problem with putting your own design on the rabbit skins brand, just make sure your design doesn't look like a copyrighted / trademarked design.

I'm sorry I made this so long, but I know lots of folks read these post besides just you and I. Maybe this will help other new sellers that don't know about commercial use of copyrighted / tradmarked material.
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oakteakstore



Posts: 1050

PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Did you know that the word "onesie" is trademarked? Surprising, but true. https://consumerist.com/2013/11/15/onesie-is-a-trademarked-term-even-though-no-one-cares/

It's almost impossible to know all this stuff. But it is best to try to remove any words that might cause problems.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@oakteakstore, thanks for that great link. I'm at the point in life where many of my HS classmates are great-grandmas while I'm still not a grandma. I haven't purchased infant items since before Gerber trademarked Onesies, so I wasn't aware that was a brand name. That article was very informative.
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HansVera



Posts: 32

PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SheilaDeesPostcards wrote:
HansVera, I truly am sorry you feel you have been personally insulted. I do not think the statements made were meant to be personal insults, but were general statements of facts. Most all longtime sellers have seen "large resellers", also called wholesalers, take advantage of small new resellers. These type of wholesalers have a total disregard for national and/or international trademarks and copyrights. They sell either the completed products or decals using these protected marks to small sellers. They make their money, the small seller has the product, then a very deep pocket company like Disney comes after the small seller. The small seller, at best, will be unable to sell their product online. If they try to get rid of their product at a local flea market, the local police may do a sweep that day and the small seller is arrested. Meanwhile, the "large reseller/wholesaler" has pocketed the money of hundreds or thousand small sellers and they don't get caught. By the time law enforcement can catch up with the name of the "wholesaler", they've abandoned the name they were using. I have seen lots of different TV shows in the last 10 years about these scams. I've also set up at a local flea market and seen dealers arrested for selling counterfeit goods (items made to look like trademarked goods).

Your photos are really nice and you've posted a size chart. Usually this is done by someone who bought the finished products from one of the large wholesalers at a "cheap" price who provided professionally looking photos and the small new seller is the one who is going to get hurt.

I will use Mickey Mouse as an example of what I'm talking about. Disney holds trademark protection in (I would assume) almost every country in the world that has a trademark protection. It is extremely expensive to maintain those trademarks. Paying all that money gives Disney the right to take anyone to court who tries to sell anything that has an image even close to looking like Mickey Mouse. They have staff that look for their stuff online and they have a legal department that will send letters to the seller and/or to the site where the items are being sold. If eCrater received such a letter, they would have to take action or face the legal wrath of Disney's legal department. I don't know what eCRATER's plan of action is, but if it were eBAY your item would be pulled and you would loose your listing fee. If you kept posting said items, they would ban you from the site.

For a little more information, look at the front page of eCRATER's site on the lower right corner and click on the link DMCA which outlines their compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Like most good marketplaces, eCRATER generally only responds to DMCA request from the copyright and/or trademark owner.

At one point in time, Disney was even shutting down people who were selling items made from fabric that was made by a legally licensed manufacture. Disney lost that one when it went to court, but that didn't stop them from hurting a lot of small sellers in the meantime with their threats. They don't want anyone selling anything that even looks similar to their trademark.

You said you designed the image showing the characters in a certain pose and structure. It's ok to do that for your own fun and use. You can add your image to any clothing you would like to wear or give as a gift to family or friend. The key is the non-commercial use. Once you try to sell anything using your version of their character, that would be a commercial use and is considered illegal if your image is your concept of a copyrighted / trademarked design.

Now if you create a design that is totally your own design, you can pay for a US copyright of your design which will give you the right to take anyone in the US to court that uses your design without your permission. Of course you have to pay the legal fees up front to start the process and protecting your design could cost you millions in the long run. It will also gives you the right to prevent the importation of any goods with your image, but you have to catch them which is also expensive. This is why it's usually the small seller who bought the product for resale that gets in trouble because they are easier to catch.

My husband & I hold a copyright on a DVD we produced, we hold a trademark on a product we sell and we are in the process of getting a patent on one of his inventions. The copyright was easy and not too expensive. The trademark cost several hundred dollars and almost a year to get approved. These are only good in the US because it cost thousands to secure international protection. Our patent application has already cost several thousand and if we are lucky it will only take a couple of years to get approved. After all that time and money, I'm going to be really mad if someone tries to copy our products and will take legal action against them.

I looked at your store and saw your fairy design. People have been drawing fairies for centuries. Your design is not Tinkerbell with her blond hair pulled up in a top knot, but in looking online I noticed Disney has several fairies in their collection. You need to ask yourself if you think Disney is going to feel your design looks really close to one of their designs. If yes, change your design, if no, proceed ahead. Almost any design that is instantly recognizable, is probably not legal to copy for resale. Even some statements are trademarked because they instantly make one think of the brand that uses that byline. Even using a sports team name / logo or college logo is not allowed for items you plan to sell unless you pay them a licensing fee.

HansVera, you must be creative to have done these designs. I'm sure you can create your own designs that parents and grandparents would love to buy for their babies. There is no problem with putting your own design on the rabbit skins brand, just make sure your design doesn't look like a copyrighted / trademarked design.

I'm sorry I made this so long, but I know lots of folks read these post besides just you and I. Maybe this will help other new sellers that don't know about commercial use of copyrighted / tradmarked material.


Thanks for the effort. I have gained a lot of info here.Smile

However what you said about
"Your photos are really nice and you've posted a size chart. Usually this is done by someone who bought the finished products from one of the large wholesalers at a "cheap" price who provided professionally looking photos and the small new seller is the one who is going to get hurt."

That is not true with me. I have my trusted sources and I do not buy "cheap". I pay what an item is worth for. American brands are generally not cheap. The American Brand that I use is certainly not cheap. And my photos are professional because I know how to take pictures with a professional camera. I have invested my time, money and effort in such things. And no one can supply me any professional pictures because I design and print my own items myself.Smile
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elpereles



Posts: 3427

PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HansVera, I see the tittle of the topic and I believe it was a great issue. After I check and read. I looks like someone just made a comment or had an opinion trying to help you. If you don't like SheilaDeesPostcards's tone is your perspective/opinion.

Here in the forum. We are sellers trying to help other fellow sellers. It isn't the 1rst time here we have "new" sellers receiving opinions, comments, and suggestions about their store or items. Some are interesting to learn/try the site. So they take their time to analyze those comments. Other go in "offensive" mode or "I don't care" mode. Those guys always return again over and over with the same issues or disappear. Meanwhile others are suspended because they don't follow rules.

Now to be clear. Here in eCrater and other forums. It isn't the 1rst time "some" sellers believe because a site is "free". The site doesn't have rules. Or it means I can do and sell whatever I want. That isn't correct.


PD

I found and read the following in a search. As far I can tell. If you write in any forum, you must be ready to get an answer. Unless it is your "private" topic. Here in eCrater as far I remember the only "private" topic is the one you can have/made in the Promotion Area. So I don't like the attitude. So, what I must do? Do I need to report you too? Shocked

Quote:
PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM MY THREAD.
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HansVera



Posts: 32

PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

elpereles wrote:
HansVera, I see the tittle of the topic and I believe it was a great issue. After I check and read. I looks like someone just made a comment or had an opinion trying to help you. If you don't like SheilaDeesPostcards's tone is your perspective/opinion.

Here in the forum. We are sellers trying to help other fellow sellers. It isn't the 1rst time here we have "new" sellers receiving opinions, comments, and suggestions about their store or items. Some are interesting to learn/try the site. So they take their time to analyze those comments. Other go in "offensive" mode or "I don't care" mode. Those guys always return again over and over with the same issues or disappear. Meanwhile others are suspended because they don't follow rules.

Now to be clear. Here in eCrater and other forums. It isn't the 1rst time "some" sellers believe because a site is "free". The site doesn't have rules. Or it means I can do and sell whatever I want. That isn't correct.


PD

I found and read the following in a search. As far I can tell. If you write in any forum, you must be ready to get an answer. Unless it is your "private" topic. Here in eCrater as far I remember the only "private" topic is the one you can have/made in the Promotion Area. So I don't like the attitude. So, what I must do? Do I need to report you too? Shocked

Quote:
PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM MY THREAD.


What are you talking about???

You have only understood tit-bits of things. The whole thing is not about "SheilaDeesPostcards" at all... It was for someone else. And about PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM MY THREAD. I did that because I did not want any further dispute. You can go ahead and report me if you want to...

Have you even read the correct person's post? Please Don't go on talking about the things that you have not even understood. "SheilaDeesPostcards" has nothing to do with my issue.

And yes, I have felt assaulted and yes, you can report me. Rolling Eyes
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