NFL Bans eBay and Amazon Sales

by: sba55

The NFL will not be able to stop people from selling on ebay unless ebay helps them do it. What they are doing is threatening their licensees and telling them not to sell to anyone who resells on ebay. Many of the licensees have their own stores on ebay and Amazon so these will be closed

by: epuise

I agree w/ previous: Logo wares are way overpriced. Make them in the US, where you can control everything. You want to cut the heart from USA workers & send work overseas... you get what you deserve.

by: pace306

FEE :)

The JOKE is that eBay as usual is 2 faced.

They tell everyone how they created VERO (to be like Superman) and protect the rights of companies who are "just trying to do the right thing and have their IPs protected".

The truth is the exact opposite (well its eBay so.....).

VERO is ONLY there to protect eBay, PERIOD.

eBay doesnt care about rights owners, eBay doesnt care about sellers, eBay doesnt care about the DMCA. eBay, cares ONLY about eBay.

Under DMCA you have to "prove" that you are taking steps to stop the counterfeiting, and thats what VERO is - to the letter.

They dont look at what the complaints are, they dont care about the legalities of the complaints, they ONLY care that IF they get sued by a manufacturer, they can whip out the VERO complaint and say "YOU SEE WE DID SOMETHING AS PROMISED".

Ive had MANY VERO issues. Lawyers letters threatening them made them back down - but they never apologized. They never slapped the hand of the false VERO claim maker(s). They even upheld made up trade laws (that have no bering on US sellers).

I caught them with the now defunct VEROWATCH.COM website (offline now) where they would troll rights holders and charge them $150 an hour to pull listings from eBay. (Ive got a screen shot somewhere of it).

LMAO, eBay SWORE it wasnt them (eBay website/ip address) and that they website violated THEIR IP! What liars!

Most large companies have clauses in them that state no Amazon or eBay sales - its quite common.

The "system" is crooked in electronics as well, and the courts give nods to the guys with big pockets to make these things legal. They allow UPP, MAP and all kinds of other back room deals, so Im not surprised at that kind of verbage being inserted into contracts.

Getting back to eBay and Amazon (but specifically eBay since Ive had first hand experiences with them) - it will end up like RIC said. "To insure that all NFL merchandise is genuine, we are restricting sales to approves sellers only and to the NFL Premium store on eBay"."All other sellers will have to go through a strict interview process and furnish back up paperwork (so we can see your sources!) before approval will be granted".  Whic of course means in english that we got payed to play YET AGAIN".

by: timeaftertime

Is this like Toyota demanding that nobody except licensed dealers is allowed to sell Toyota cars ???

Is that going to be the next step? Toyota banning me from making a private party sale, if they catch me advertising my old Toyota on Craigslist or the newspaper?

I could see banning the sale of NEW items, but what do I do with my son's used NFL souvenir jersey ? that he bought at one of the games, and has now outgrown?  

NEW is one thing. USED is another.

Yes, this kind of thing has been going on for a long time. I heard about Longaberger baskets doing the same thing a few years ago to a Ruby Lane seller who had bought a basket at an estate sale. They demanded she take her listing down.  A Longaberger basket indeed was what it actually was. Yet, it was HER basket and her personal property.  WHY would the company have any right to demand control over what she did with it? She legally purchased a used item from its legal owner, and should have the right to resell it. Of course her description would include the brand name, because that was what it in fact was.

Also, I really don't see how a ban like this will deter the fakes.

by: Volvo351

@Pace306

Restraint of trade against the law? Well, so is beating women, dealing drugs, murdering acquaintances, and driving under the influence of drugs, but NFL players and at least one owner have been guilty of those transgressions recently!

by: madam H

So what is a consumer to do with used items he/she would like to sell?  Is the NFL going to attempt to stop private citizens from reselling goods they might have bought years ago and would now like to shed?

The NFL is its own money-grubbing entity, and subsidized in EVERY market by taxpayers.  The organization is also set up as a non-profit so it pays no taxes.   Nice gig, huh?

Greedy bastards, all of them.  I for one am sick and tired of their tyrannical attitude.

by: go-figure

Hmmmm, this one's pretty easy to figure out:

If you buy and then sell legitimately made and licensed products then you're happy to see the NFL doing what it can to shut down the growing counterfeit product issue.

If you're buying and selling counterfeit, unlicensed products from Alibaba, etc., then yes, you're unhappy since your ill-gotten gains are about to dry up.

It has nothing, zero, zip, zilch to do with where these products are made. It takes nothing for an overseas manufacturer to buy a jersey, hat, etc., and copy the pattern to punch out counterfeits.

And if you think it's just limited to China and Alibaba/Ali-Express buyers and sellers, see the April 11th Geekwire article about a famous name-brand retailer selling counterfeit Mercedes products.

It's no wonder brands have to be aggressive to stop this type of infringement. It sounds like a lot of people are afraid their gravy train is about to come to an end.

by: RKTOYS

It has everything to do with where the product is made.  They must not teach critical thinking in MBA programs.  Just use the magic word "outsource" and everything will just work itself out!

If the factory was owned by the company, the company would control the product and schedule.  If the company was here, it would be easier to oversee and be easier to enforce US law upon.  Neither is true now.

We shouldn't call the NFL (or Hasbro or HP or...) a manufacturer either.  Ping Pong Zhao Chen Ltd is the manufacturer.  US companies are just big unwashed consumers.

by: RKTOYS

Further, there is a world of difference from deciding to use tooling you were handed for an extra run and having to recreate that tooling from scratch.

by: Mongoose

by: sba55
     
Tue Apr 12 15:08:37 2016

I believe on etsy many of the sellers are ignorant of the fact that they can't use the team logos on their various home made items.


Tabberone would disagree with you.  

"Licensed fabric means the fabric is licensed by the rights owner to be manufactured and sold. It does not mean the fabric is licensed at the time it is sold. A license on the use of the fabric requires the person buying it to agree, usually in writing, to conditions on the use of the fabric before paying for the fabric. If you do not agree to the "license" before purchasing, they will sell the fabric to you anyway. In fact, no one even asks you if you agree to the license. They just sell you the fabric. Any fabric sold without a signed mutual agreement prior to the sale is not licensed and there are no provisions in the law that allow for otherwise. Any one who tells you otherwise is lying. And, under the definition of a "license", they would record your name and address, require periodic payments, and demand the fabric be returned to them when you are done with it. That just does not happen."

http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/CopyrightLaw/Licen
sedFabric.shtml

by: Chicopee

This is all a move by Fanatics.com to corner the market!  Don't be fooled by their monopolistic goals.  It is a smoke screen to hide behind fakes as the reason to do this.  Fanatics is in bed with the league.  In fact they run the league's site.  They have tried for years to get manufactures to only sell to them for online sales.  Fanatics is in the business to destroy their competition through unfair and anti trust ways.  Do not buy from them or Fansedge.com.  They bought Fansedge out a few years back.  They are a dangerous company!

by: Susan4

This ban has been moving forward now for several months now and just as I suspected it's destroying the small businessman while the counterfeiters continue to thrive.

It would have been a much wiser move on both MLB'S and NFL'S part to insist their manufacturers use map pricing when selling to vendors,and any vendor violating the policy will be prohibited from purchasing their products in the future.
However the leagues claim that this would stop the counterfeiting
has always been bogus.
Did you know that Fanatics operates each of their team stores?Fantatics is also the only company thus far whose being able to apply for and use the said leagues emblems.It certainly does make one wonder if they are not trying to eliminate any competition.