You have GOT to be kidding me.

PlacidPenguin thought this was worth mentioning said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 9:32am ET

Earlier this month I got emails from eBay that if I list items by certain dates and sell them by other dates, I would get coupons.

Ok. That made me happy since I like eBay coupons.

I listed and sold a piece of bubble wrap for $0.99 with local pickup.

5 days later I got a $25 coupon.

Wanting to get the other coupon, I listed another piece of bubble wrap.

Last night though, I turned my phone on only to see that it was removed after 4 days for violating a “copyright, trademark, etc.”

Wait… What?!?

Ok. So I emailed the email address with the company which filed the complaint asking for more details, along with an offer to link them to the previous listing so that I could be told exactly what I violated.

Reached out to the eBay VeRO Team, and all they could say was that they received a signed legal document and had to pull the item.

Not going to really fight, mostly because I’m still not exactly sure what I violated…

9 comments, 21 replies
Comment

RiotDemon said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 9:41am ET:

Wait. You managed to sell a PIECE of bubble wrap for 99¢?

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- @RiotDemon
  
  A USED piece.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 9:42am ET
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- @PlacidPenguin fess up. You had someone you know buy it so you could get the coupon… Right?
  
  RiotDemon said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:35am ET
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- @RiotDemon
  
  Of course not.
  
  That would be morally wrong.
  
  Besides, it’s eBay. Anything goes.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:36am ET
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- @PlacidPenguin did they actually pick it up? How big was this piece?
  
  RiotDemon said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:39am ET
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- @PlacidPenguin
  @RiotDemon
  
  @PlacidPenguin fess up. You had someone you know buy it so you could get the coupon… Right?
  
  RiotDemon said
  
  @RiotDemon
  Of course not.
  That would be morally wrong.
  
  PlacidPenguin said
  
  @PlacidPenguin: You had some bot you know buy it so you could get the coupon… Right?
  
  /giphy bot
  
  f00l said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:39am ET
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- @RiotDemon
  
  Yes.
  
  I didn’t measure it.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:40am ET
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denboy said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 9:42am ET:

Bubble Wrap is a brand so if you sold it as that and it wasn’t Bubble Wrap branded then maybe that’s your issue. Air cushion wrap would be the generic term.
/giphy bubble wrap

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  I’m assuming that if it is/was that brand I’d have had to mark it as such?
  
  Ok, I see your point. (I think.)
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 9:46am ET
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- @PlacidPenguin I’m not saying that’s it, just the first angle I’ve noticed. They could have an open letter that they point to whatever listing they determine is infringing on their brand. The sheer size of your listing must’ve caught their attention.
  
  denboy said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 9:49am ET
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- @denboy
  
  Now I’m wondering if Jake works for Sealed Air now.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:01am ET
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PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:42am ET:

Update:

Heard back from Sealed Air.

@denboy was right. (I don’t look or sound shocked. Right?)

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  Well damn.
  
  I guess if someone sells Bubble Wrap, it had better be new and professionally labeled as such.
  
  There go my garage sale plans. Shit.
  
  f00l said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:46am ET
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- @PlacidPenguin
  /giphy takedown
  
  denboy said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 11:02am ET
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- @f00l
  
  Tell ya what. Next time I (or someone who I see often) is in the neighborhood, I/they would be more than willing to take any extra bubble wrap which you have.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 2:59pm ET
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- @f00l I didn’t read anything that said it had to be new.
  
  cengland0 said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 10:28pm ET
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  I think the label has to be present and intact. You’re right, it doesn’t have to be new.
  
  f00l said Thu, Apr 20th 2017 at 1:43pm ET
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narfcake said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 12:21pm ET:

/youtube Weird Al eBay

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pitamuffin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 2:17pm ET:

I just want to know how you got a $25 coupon for selling something for $.99. I had a coupon offer recently, but it was for 25% of my sales within a given date range. Are you sure you didn’t get a coupon for $.25?

I did manage to get a $44 coupon - pretty happy with that deal.

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  It was a $25 for selling an item.
  
  Hypothetically, I could have sold an item for less and still gotten $25.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 2:23pm ET
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joelmw said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 2:38pm ET:

Really? You called me in here with the promise of Game of Thrones and I’m supposed to feel bad that you didn’t get your $25 for selling 99 cents worth of sealed air?

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- @joelmw
  
  Oh. I got the $25 for selling air. It was an additional $10 which I didn’t get.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 2:39pm ET
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- @PlacidPenguin
  
  joelmw said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 2:53pm ET
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- @joelmw my thoughts exactly
  
  Einherjar13 said Thu, Apr 20th 2017 at 1:29pm ET
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djslack said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 11:06pm ET:

Don’t sell a used Kleenex next. Or a Band-Aid. That would be asking for trouble.

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  In that case…
  
  @Dave - Any chance you could sneak for me a used non-Kleenex brand tissue used by @snapster?
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Apr 19th 2017 at 11:09pm ET
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Kidsandliz said Thu, Apr 20th 2017 at 12:26am ET:

Reminds me of meh’s problems with the guy from the light rope company a while back…

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- @Kidsandliz
  
  Exactly.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Thu, Apr 20th 2017 at 12:36am ET
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jaypeeh said Thu, Apr 20th 2017 at 8:34am ET:

Unrelated thought; it would be kinda funny if there were a way to fill bubble wrap with farts.

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- @jaypeeh
  
  Have you patented and trademarked that idea, and then taken it to Kleiner Perkins?
  
  f00l said Thu, Apr 20th 2017 at 1:42pm ET
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