Need Ebay Help

[🪦 JDF ●]

<!--quoteo(post=283746:date=Nov 12 2008, 05:26 PM:name=BELLAMY)<div class=\'quotetop\'>QUOTE(BELLAMY @ Nov 12 2008, 05:26 PM) <a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=283746\"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class=\'quotemain\'><!--quotecOK I will stop No more insults, cheap shot's or shit talk!I was only wondering if it was you because you told me you were going to report meSo yeah no more shit talking!<!--QuoteEnd</div><!--QuoteEEndWell honestly, what other choice did I have but to threaten to report you? If someone's pissing you off and they wont stop, you don't go tit for tat...you hit em where you know it will hurt. I've been in this business for going on 7 years now...I don't care who's making what, I do my thing and have my own customer base...ANYONE who reports someone because they feel they need to knockout their competitors is lower than shit imo.And ditto on the shit talking. I hope this is all settled now.Jeff-

[🪦 Ruste Dowg ●]

This thread was started by someone asking for help and advice, lets keep it that way <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":thumbsup:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"thumbsup.gif\" />Hope it helped you Earl <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\"B)\" border=\"0\" alt=\"cool.gif\" />

[🪦 SideshowFreak ●]

Hockey style mask made by Jason Myers

[🪦 Earl ●]

Guys, I started this thread for help. It has become a bashing each other thread. To me this is the problem with this hobby. If we stood behind each other this would be a much stronger base for the hobby. We are all interested in the same thing. There is room for all of us and all mask makers.

[🪦 Gary1428 ●]

<!--quoteo(post=283769:date=Nov 13 2008, 12:14 AM:name=SideshowFreak)<div class=\'quotetop\'>QUOTE(SideshowFreak @ Nov 13 2008, 12:14 AM) <a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=283769\"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class=\'quotemain\'><!--quotecHockey style mask made by Jason Myers<!--QuoteEnd</div><!--QuoteEEndI've bought a few of those <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":thumbsup:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"thumbsup.gif\" /> .

[🪦 Cyper ●]

Just as others suggested.All you gotta do is work in key search words, so Friday the 13th stuff for instance would be: Jason, Hockey, Mask, Hockey Mask.If any of these are typed into the search it should bring up the results.I've noticed a lot of people putting "Jason" and then a random last name (or maybe their own last name, who knows). That way it wont go against some kind of copyright laws.An example would be like SideshowFreak said "Jason Myers Hockey Mask" (which just happens to be my last name <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\"\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" />). With Jason Hockey Mask in the title any search for "Jason or Hockey mask" will bring up those results.

[🪦 Deadguy71 ●]

<!--quoteo(post=283773:date=Nov 12 2008, 07:42 PM:name=Earl)<div class=\'quotetop\'>QUOTE(Earl @ Nov 12 2008, 07:42 PM) <a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=283773\"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class=\'quotemain\'><!--quotec... If we stood behind each other this would be a much stronger base for the hobby. We are all interested in the same thing. There is room for all of us and all mask makers.<!--QuoteEnd</div><!--QuoteEEndI have respect for all the painters on here. I've seen stuff that each of you do. Yes, you are each other's competition, but that is the nature of being artists reaching for the same market, and especially trying to reach it with the same tools (ebay), and with the same masks (well.. hockey masks). Allow your artistic style and pricing to be the only reasons a customer chooses you.For me, if I see a listing that makes jabs at the other masks out there, etc, I move onto the next listing. Those kinds of listings not only drive wedges in the community, they piss-off the license holders, AND the resellers of licenced goods. When Warner Brothers contacts you, it's not always due to another dealer reporting you, it's because they've googled "jason masks" and found that your material, and/or selling style is making flagrant disregard for the applicable copyright laws.As Rusty noted, you need to tone it down and approach this from the aspect of you're painting an interpretation of a movie mask for horror collectors. You probably shouldn't state it's a hockey mask either, because it's not a hockey mask.. it's a costume prop designed to look like a hockey mask. You are not rich enough to buy the licensing and compete with the licensed goods availible.Just a side note.. Star Wars prop groups get away with this kind of thing because they don't advertise their likeness to the movie version, or their superior quality to other things out there. They show what they have and allow the clients to draw their own conclusions. They also get away with it because they price the items at what's considered to be a reasonable level. The ones that ramp up the pricing and brag about their quality/accuracy and level of professionalism, and put their company name all over stuff, and sometimes "pulled from the actual molds", etc, are the ones that get Cand D'd. I recognize that there are costs involved with painting masks, but those price items are what should be discussed in your selling in-order to explain your pricing. The higher you are priced, the more you'll be looked at by Warner Brothers; the more you promote yourself as a company that is profitting off of stolen ideas, in direct competition with companies that pay to be able to actually BE in that position you claim to hold, the harder they'll try and come down on you.I know if I was a license-holder, I'd be pissed... as noted above, it can be expensive to be in that position, but the benefits are pretty strong, and they include the knowledge that you'll have a team that goes around getting rid of "companies" that are damaging your slice of the marketshare by calling your stuff "crap" and offering similar items for the same price and getting a larger profit off of it, illegally.Know your place and get there.. then the big guys will leave you alone.As it is, they HAVE to enforce copyright, or by law, they can lose it. If you attack this problem by claming your item's unofficialness, and claiming your items are fanmade items you want to sell, inspired by the films, as a fledgling artist,... you'll probably do well, though I'd be careful with your profit margins and self-promotion. As an artist, word of mouth will get you business, or you're not doing it well enough at the prices you offer.Also avoid mentioning bulk manufacturing, or an endless supply of masks, etc.. A lawfirm wants to hit those that pumping out a lot of product and making all kinds of mad money from it at the expense of the license holders who lose business. Appearances are everything. Also, for the record, I used to be able to sell Rubies costumes and I suspect that a lot of these Ebay reports are originating from the folks who sell the licensed stuff, rather than license holders themselves. For them, they can't compete when you guys talk about what crap the licensed material is, and have a jason mask auction image visible that looks like it's right out of the film... allowing for a direct comparisons.Dropping their prices to lower their profit margin doesn't help, and obviously they themselves can't make the Rubies stuff any better... to them, they figure someone went to Ebay, and would have bought their masks if they hadn't been told what crap it is by the other competing auctions around it. With the economy issues, those resellers are seeing profit loss and are looking around for scapegoats. If they report your auction and it follows EVERY copyright law imaginable, including the use of disclaimers, and "enclaimers" that state the auction is legal because ... etc, etc. I'd even go so far as to include a picture of what the mask looked like when you bought it, and perhaps how much you bought it for. (again.. avoid showing a pile of masks). Then the copyright issue can only be regarding the mask itself, not it's paintjob or alterations. If you have a COA'd frightstuff mask, I'd promote that aspect too. (Like Ken or not) It's been proven that there's nothing illegal with that mask, nor what you've done to it, and they'd be pretty likely to leave you alone if you're not already under a ban.Anyways, good luck all.

[🪦 Ruste Dowg ●]

Great advice <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":thumbsup:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"thumbsup.gif\" />

[🪦 Earl ●]

In my listings I say nothing about the movies or the character. But they continue to be pulled. I contact ebay about it and I'm told they can't tell me why they are pulled for security reasons. (What the hell?) Someone is deffenatly turning me in. So I slow down on the hockey masks and list some latex masks and the same thing happens. I don't know how to fix this problem. I have a family of 6 to take care of and this is killing me.

[🪦 Ruste Dowg ●]

Sorry to hear that earl, maybe use the classifieds on the forums for now and try again later?