Duplicate Listings

[VintageClothing]

PLEASE Be VERY Careful when you decide an item is a Duplicate, I have just had 6 items removed as Ebid thinks they are duplicates, THEY WERE NOT. I spend a lot of time taking pictures of each and every item I list, I dont do one picture suits all, I cant, my items are generally Vintage and Pre owned so all have diferent quirks or fade or whatever, so Ebid staff, please, before removing items that people take great care to picture and describe and take time to list on your site, check to see they might actually be the same STYLE but NOT the same item in diferent sizes, My items are ex military and obviously differ in wear fade etc, so each is indeed unique even if the title remains the same.

[Gothicina]

PLEASE Be VERY Careful when you decide an item is a Duplicate, I have just had 6 items removed as Ebid thinks they are duplicates, THEY WERE NOT. I spend a lot of time taking pictures of each and every item I list, I dont do one picture suits all, I cant, my items are generally Vintage and Pre owned so all have diferent quirks or fade or whatever, so Ebid staff, please, before removing items that people take great care to picture and describe and take time to list on your site, check to see they might actually be the same STYLE but NOT the same item in diferent sizes, My items are ex military and obviously differ in wear fade etc, so each is indeed unique even if the title remains the same.

The title CANNOT, remain the same, that is what triggers automatic removal.
If it's automatically removed, the staff don't even see it.
If your items are similar but different, your titles need to reflect this.

It's not a glitch it's how the site is set up.

When I first started, duplicate titles were allowed, if the item had a different image. Then some bright spark decided to try & get around the rules by uploading the same image over & over again to their gallery, so the image url was different. That's when things were tightened up, & the duplicate title became the trigger for automatic removal.

As always, some people think the rules don't apply to them, & spoil things for everyone else.

The latest trick is using different titles for identical items, to get around the rules.
Using different titles or using design 1 design 2 etc is perfectly ok if your items are different, using it as a way of circumventing the duplicate item rules is not.

[somersethedge]

as goth says you have duplicate titles, and even if they have different picture they will be classed as duplicate listings and be removed

[deltadelta48]

Yes, another of the numerous drama issues discussed on forums that confuses so many that they go tearing off reporting new people like OP for breaking rules.

OP brings up concern that all of us selling vintage have. Two items, that look same, but as professionals selling vintage, we know are not identical. Trust us, these two items are different. We are told use Dutch auctions, which is inappropriate because buyers want description to match what they buy. Dutch auction does not allow for variations in condition, etc.

So we use A B #1 #2 in title and describe the condition of each item. Forum police make sure they get pulled causing more confusion. Also reinforces the cops that what they are doing is right. Again, new people are targeted.

This issue concerns vintage items only.

But drama extends to new items. i.e.Then sellers of new items are told they must list as Dutch despite the items being 25 handmade different style baby dresses or whatever. Or if another seller tries to sell variations of their available colors, i.e. single red, 5 red that is wrong too. It must always be Dutch auction and running different lots of mixed colors is not a marketing strategy, its breaking the rules.

Funny thing, and I won't dwell on it, I have seen numerous listings with identical new items/services with the old sneaky reversal of words used in title. Harder to catch, but there it is, a violation. And some of these same sellers reporting the two vintage items, equal but different, and having them pulled. Go figure.

OP has genuine concern. We all do if we sell vintage. We can not use Dutch auction because it is inappropriate and does not describe each items differences. When we use #1 #2, the items gets pulled as breaking rules. So we are between a rock and a hard place.

Does not help that this issue has turned into a drama on the forums again.

[Gothicina]

Yes, another of the numerous drama issues discussed on forums that confuses so many that they go tearing off reporting new people like OP for breaking rules.

OP brings up concern that all of us selling vintage have. Two items, that look same, but as professionals selling vintage, we know are not identical. Trust us, these two items are different. We are told use Dutch auctions, which is inappropriate because buyers want description to match what they buy. Dutch auction does not allow for variations in condition, etc.

So we use A B #1 #2 in title and describe the condition of each item. Forum police make sure they get pulled causing more confusion. Also reinforces the cops that what they are doing is right. Again, new people are targeted.

This issue concerns vintage items only.

But drama extends to new items. i.e.Then sellers of new items are told they must list as Dutch despite the items being 25 handmade different style baby dresses or whatever. Or if another seller tries to sell variations of their available colors, i.e. single red, 5 red that is wrong too. It must always be Dutch auction and running different lots of mixed colors is not a marketing strategy, its breaking the rules.

Funny thing, and I won't dwell on it, I have seen numerous listings with identical new items/services with the old sneaky reversal of words used in title. Harder to catch, but there it is, a violation. And some of these same sellers reporting the two vintage items, equal but different, and having them pulled. Go figure.

OP has genuine concern. We all do if we sell vintage. We can not use Dutch auction because it is inappropriate and does not describe each items differences. When we use #1 #2, the items gets pulled as breaking rules. So we are between a rock and a hard place.

Does not help that this issue has turned into a drama on the forums again.

Has it turned into a drama?
The OP said they used the same titles, & were telling support to be more careful when removing items, I was only pointing out that THE SOFTWARE, would have removed them for being duplicates, it has nothing to do with anybody on the forums or otherwise reporting them,
it's the software doing what it is designed to do.

Nobody has said you cannot use design 1 & design 2 or a, b, or #1 #2, etc for items that are similar.

Nobody has said you cannot use red widget, green widget, to list identical items that are available in different colours.

The ONLY problem is when people do this for identical items to get around the rules.

[deltadelta48]

Has it turned into a drama?
The OP said they used the same titles, & were telling support to be more careful when removing items, I was only pointing out that THE SOFTWARE, would have removed them for being duplicates, it has nothing to do with anybody on the forums or otherwise reporting them,
it's the software doing what it is designed to do.

Nobody has said you cannot use design 1 & design 2 or a, b, or #1 #2, etc for items that are similar.

Nobody has said you cannot use red widget, green widget, to list identical items that are available in different colours.

The ONLY problem is when people do this for identical items to get around the rules.

Subject has been beaten to a pulp. Unfortunately the issue is that rules don't mention an exception for two similiar items, nor do they say that it is OK to use AB method to list them. Even number two has been ridiculed.

So like OP, some new sellers did have duplicate titles. Forum posts said AB could be used, but when they did, the items were removed again. Software can't do that, that is a filed complaint.

Not surprising as some members believe the AB is cheating and see those who use it as "getting around the rules".

So we are back to same place. Maybe it is time to ask for clarification and/or best policy to use for listing several (2+) items that are similiar but not similiar enough for Dutch auction?

[TiasTreasures]

I emailed support last year about this. A stamp seller had many "duplicate" stamps, but of course each was unique with different postmarks and condition. I asked if this was allowed, in case I decided to list our duplicates, and their response was that it was OK. Please note the seller's titles are NOT identical. He has some kind of coded numbers in the titles (like "#X13T", "#Z12U", etc.) perhaps to identify the stamp when it sells, but it also makes the titles different. My guess is that four or five digits or letters are enough to stop the robots from flagging them as duplicates. I think putting different colors in the titles would also do the trick.

[VintageClothing]

I didnt realise this had been a topic before, I was annoyed that having spent the time to actually take pictures of all of the seperate items and then to sit and list them, easy perhaps but still needs concentration especially when my 10 year experience is over there, you get used to one way so have to think harder when things are different, not a complaint just a matter of fact. Then to see items removed, when I know they are different is, well, annoying. I know what duplicate listings are, and I know how annoying it is when sellers use a 'stock' photo and sell things, I want to see the actual item, so I take individual pictures. They were ex military camo jackets, not sure how else I could describe them. That said, the only thing I would say is this, perhaps as a new person, used to things elsehwere and lets be honest we want as many of us as possible to help this site frow, perhaps a warning would have been nice, I know I know you get to see the listing before publishing and I know the rules are there, BUT !! When you genuinley think things are ok, at least to be given a chance to rectify would have been nice, or indeed the items placed in a folder "to be reviewed because of xyz" at the least that way the time and effort is not wasted as I could then have seen what was wrong, changed some things and then re listed, now I have to go through the whole process again. My concern is also that as a seller from over there, if I had not had sales recently, if I did not think Ebid was ok and have spent many hours trying to help promote it, perhaps I might have thought ' to hell with it' . Again not a complaint more an observation, not all people are the same and some could easily think after this kind of event, I will stay over there. Of course it is their choice, I am staying, lesson learnt and will change listings when I have similar but Different items to offer but some wont and we need as many sellers to bring as many buyers as possible, dont we ?. Any way, I have had good advice here on the forums over different issues, I still think this site is the way forward, I have had sales and hope that over time I will move the other 350+ Items I list elsewhere to here being careful of course to change the title of similar items so this doesnt happen again.