Dropshipping on eBay is one of the best businesses to operate in modern times. While we have the ability to sell almost anything we want, some products are off-limits. On eBay, it’s called VeRO products.
Adhering to regulations and playing by the book is fundamental to a successful dropshipping business. This article teaches about the eBay Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO) and how it can help us avoid copyright infringement legal issues. This way, our eBay commerce business can continue to grow and profit through the years.
As one of the most popular e-commerce platforms on the web, you can find almost anything on eBay. With over a million sellers on the site, there are bound to be some who, whether knowingly or not, violate copyright and trademark rules.
Manufacturers and corporations have long been aware of this issue and dedicate whole departments to take care of it. As part of this effort, eBay created the Verified Rights Owners Program or VeRO. It is a system by which companies can enforce their product rights, and sellers utilize to ensure IP compliance.
VeRO contains a comprehensive list of companies and products on eBay protected by intellectual property rights. Companies can submit their products to the list to protect themselves. Sellers can use it to look up forbidden products and brands or to learn why a particular listing is disallowed.
At this point, you’re probably curious, with so many sellers and over a billion listings, how does eBay keep track of copyright violations? Surely they don’t have the time to comb through so much data!
We’re sorry to break the news, but eBay and owners of copyrighted materials have access to advanced technology that allows them to enforce copyrights.
For every item we upload to eBay, the listing gets scanned together with its images and descriptions and is compared to the VeRO list. If the listing is in violation, eBay removes it and sends us a warning about copyright infringement. If a seller is a repeat offender, their account has a good chance of being suspended altogether.
Not all companies rely solely on eBay. In fact, quite a few intellectual property owners utilize website scanners to look for their products, images, and descriptions. If they find an unauthorized listing, they may notify eBay. At times a company may contact the seller first, but it isn’t guaranteed.
If eBay determines a violation occurred, it removes the listings and places the seller account on hold. The eBay seller is then required to settle the matter directly with the property owner.
Once they clear the air, the property owner can notify eBay that everything is fine, and eBay can restore the seller’s account.
Nobody wants to go through with this in their business. But don’t worry, we’ll show you the steps to prevent this from happening in your stores.
So how do we find the VeRO list, and what exactly is in it?
The VeRO program page can be found in the Seller Center of eBay. Dropshippers have access to an alphabetically organized A-Z list of brand, copyright, and trademark owners. Each company provides a written statement or a detailed explanation of how they view and enforce their intellectual property rights.
However, we should not rely on the list as the only source of copyright information. Quite a few brands and companies do not participate in the eBay VeRO program. Either way, they are still entitled to their full property rights under the relevant local laws.
Other than checking VeRO, as dropshippers, we should avoid selling any popular brands. For example, don’t list items like Nike or Adidas.
Now that we know what the VeRO list is, what is the best way to avoid copyright issues and legal problems down the line? For starters, before listing an item, go through the eBay VeRO list and make sure the item’s brand is not on it.
Second, steer clear of any known brands. For example, if you want to sell toys, it would be bad to sell Lego branded products.
We know what you’re thinking; how can you possibly check every item you want to sell on the VeRO list? Clearly, this would take hours of tedious work and prevent you from spending your time efficiently.
This is where AutoDS comes in to save the day. The AutoDS dropshipping platform incorporates the VeRO list into its product adding system. Furthermore, the system updates daily with new VeRO companies being added to the list.
So, every time you add a product from eBay, AutoDS checks for VeRO compliance.
If an item is on the VeRO list, the platform gives you a warning. You can then decide whether you want to import it to your store anyway or not.
For more information, watch how AutoDS VeRO detection works.
None of us are perfect. Perhaps at some point, especially once you grow your business, you might accidentally list something from the VeRO list. In that case, eBay may take action against your account.
If this happens, it’s important to keep calm and collected and take the necessary steps to mend the situation. As a rule, don’t waste time by calling eBay. They have no control over these things and simply act as required to defend the intellectual property owner’s rights.
Instead, work directly with the company in question. Only they have the power to remove a copyright violation from your account. To find a company’s contact info, look for it in the copyright infringement complaint eBay sends you.
Once you contact the brand owner, you’ll likely speak to their employees or lawyers. Maintain a professional attitude and be polite. Apologize for what happened, explain that you did not do it intentionally, and promise you won’t do it again.
Sometimes companies accept your apology, and they may contact eBay directly to remove the violation from your account.
You’ve come a long way and gained important information and skills on how to keep your dropshipping store out of legal trouble. Not only did we cover the eBay VeRO program in-depth, but we also learned how to remedy sticky situations with copyright owners.
Don’t let all these rules dissuade you from dropshipping. Keep researching products and making profits. While IP rights are not easy to grapple with, many products are fit for dropshipping without any IP issues that you won’t ever need to consider breaking the rules.
Armed with the VeRO detector, the AutoDS platform should take care of any worries you have on the copyright front. So sign in to your account, research some products and get a listing. The dropshipping fun is about to begin.
Here are a couple of articles to help solidify your product finding knowledge:
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