Images used on other sales site
For the items we sell I always create and provide our own photographs for our listings and legally I am the copyright owner. I fully understand that (frustratingly) people can jump on to our listings and sell their own items. I also understand that Amazon can use the images we provide for any reason throughout their business and I have effectively signed away my image rights on Amazon.
What I am not sure about though is another Amazon seller copying the images I have provided to Amazon and using them to sell their items on other sales platforms e.g. e*ay. Before challenging their behaviour I wondered if anybody else has come across this problem and if they found a resolution.
24 replies
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
Yes.
I often see my Amazon photos (for books) appearing on Ebay, even though I am not selling them on that site.
Seller_6sxtIS0RbZ5k7
Is their price a lot higher than yours? If it is then they are likely a drop shipper who will be buying from you to fulfil the order if they make a sale. Some people are okay with that as a sale is a sale but some dodgy drop shippers will then claim a refund for non receipt, it is up to you to decide if you are happy to supply their orders or not.
If you decide the answer is no then try messaging them on the other site saying something like ‘I am the rights owner and I do not give my permission for you to sell my products’. All the information and pics are collected by a programme, it’s not personal, and I have used this approach a couple of times and they have been happy to take the listing down.
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
That is copyright infringement. When using Amazon you grant Amazon (and probably its affiliates and Jeff’s maid) rights (a license) to use the images. It does not grant any third party seller rights to use them on their own site or an unrelated platform.
Seller_64jziShTiTjOq
If they are selling exactly the same item, including any branding, they are supposed, and indeed required, to use the same listing: they are not “jumping” on it. The listing is not yours, but Amazon’s
Seller_saK5Ah2SaNYjL
We enrolled in the eBay VeRO program and they are very quick to remove listings where our pictures / designs have been used without permission.
Seller_1y9PYjveMaDoE
It happens to me, often I have re-photographed so don’t care - but when I do care on Etsy I just open up a case - point them to my Amazon/ebay site and tell them the photos were taken by me. Etsy then close the competitors listing unless competitor counters with evidence that they own the images.
Not tried it on ebay but should work there as well as neither yourself or Amazon will want your images on Ebay. Obviously if you have also loaded up the identical image to ebay this will fail as they also own the image.
I don’t bother contacting/warning the offending seller as they deserve all they get.
