eBay auctions pulled/stopped by Klipsch

[Guest srobak]

wow. I would have thought that should pass the smell test.

Absolutely it should have. Boo for hired guns.

[Amy]

Amy,

If you are still tracking this thread, I'm wondering if you could say more about the company who monitors the Klipsch auctions and communicates with Ebay on behalf of Klipsch.

This is a business niche I didn't know existed. I'm guessing these folks offer a service that is subscribed by other businesses as well. Is it done on bids? I'm thinking, heck, there are forum members who probably watch ebay more closely that the folks paid to do it. Is the contract a substantial sum?

I posted an answer over the weekend, but my connection went on the fritz just as I hit "post," lost it and got frustrated. [:@]

I'll try again.

I don't know the details of the arrangement, but I can relay how I interpret it to work. We use a company called NetEnforcers (I think that's what they are called). They have a list of criteria that allows them to legally pull an auction (copyright violations, claims of manufacters warranty, etc). They monitor and pull auctions on our behalf, based on the criteria.

If there is something that is pulled that doesn't make sense, I would encourage that person to contact us directly and ask. If the auction is legit, we can let NetEnforcers know to leave it alone. Likewise, if they do not catch something that we do, we can alert them to help us get it pulled. Unfortunately, it isn't always cut and dry.

Hope that makes sense.

[Daddy Dee]

Thanks Amy. Yep, that makes sense.

[Amy]

Just so you know EXACTLY how non-cut-and-dry the whole system is.... I actually had an auction pulled from the Klipsch store today--an Athena iVoice-- because it was in violation of copyrighted API property.

So ya see, it doesn't always work like it should. []

[Daddy Dee]

This pulling auctions thing is getting out of hand. []

[EVGuy]

Actually I can call eBay and discuss issues with a live person. They sent me a number one time and said because of my great record with them I'm allowed to talk to a live person if needed. Unfortunately when the book thing was going on I didn't have that privilage yet. I have called them on other issues but always got the same response which was that they didn't have a clue as to how to take care of whatever my issues were at the time. But it was fun to argue with them.

[Travis In Austin]

Amy,

This is a business niche I didn't know existed. I'm guessing these folks offer a service that is subscribed by other businesses as well. Is it done on bids? I'm thinking, heck, there are forum members who probably watch ebay more closely that the folks paid to do it. Is the contract a substantial sum?

DD,

That is a very good question. The only way someone would know about these kind of companies is if they have a trademark or copyrights that are worth substantal value. You are actually aware of the business niche, you just didn't know it. ASCAP and RIAA are businesses that try to stop unauthorized violations of copyrighted material and collect royalties on things that are authorized.

In the more traditional business sense, they either have an in-house department that does it, or they hire a company. You are required to do this if you want your trademarks to stand. If a trademark owner is aware of infringement and does nothing, they risk losing the trademark. In order to continue to hold the trademark you have to enforce it or risk losing it to the public domain. These companies that enforce trademarks and copyrights on behalf of others have been around a long time, however, the internet has created a much greater need/demand for them.

Travis

[Daddy Dee]

Travis,

Thanks for your post. This makes much more sense as to the energy behind this. I'd been sort of scratching my head trying to understand what is at stake for the copyright holder.