The ebay season begins....... ( includes ikariae/ woronowii comparisons)

[mark smyth]

Only one photo is real and that's mine aquired from the forum or Ollie Howes.

[KentGardener]

looks like something ordinary he has dug up from the garden to me!  Someone has already bid £25 for it!     From the wording he seems to have more he can dig up too...

Would it be worth changing the name of your photo Mark?  So that it says flocon imposter or something....

John

[Martin Baxendale]

Mark, so your photo is the wide open one taken from the side that actually looks like Flocon? The ones helf in the hand that don't look much like it are presumably his?

[mark smyth]

Yes Martin. The photo above shows a flowers with only 3 outers.

[Martin Baxendale]

Yes Martin. The photo above shows a flowers with only 3 outers.

That's what I thought. I was just a bit confused when you wrote that he'd used your photo, along with that pic from ebay. I think John's right. It might be best to repost that pic with a different caption, such as 'Not Flocon de Neige'

[Alan_b]

Yes Martin. The photo above shows a flowers with only 3 outers.

That's what I thought. I was just a bit confused when you wrote that he'd used your photo, along with that pic from ebay. I think John's right. It might be best to repost that pic with a different caption, such as 'Not Flocon de Neige'

Is anybody going to report this to ebay?  It looks as if somebody is trying to pass off a perfectly ordinary double nivalis as a rare and valuable one, with the aid of Mark's picture!

[mark smyth]

Ebay is a pain in the rear when trying to contact them. No phone number is available unless you are a power seller. Here is Ebay's list of possibilities but I cant find a good one to get started
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/index/A.html

[Martin Baxendale]

Maybe an email to the seller saying 'Oi, you nicked my photo' and pointing out that to try to sell something you know isn't what you say it is can get you in trouble - even if you think you've covered yourself by putting right and wrong pics. Trouble is, if someone buys and it isn't right, they can be told well there was a pic on ebay, so you saw what you were getting.

[Alan_b]

Ebay is a pain in the rear when trying to contact them. No phone number is available unless you are a power seller. Here is Ebay's list of possibilities but I cant find a good one to get started
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/index/A.html

If you go to the page where the item is listed then right at the bottom under Other Options is "Report this item".  You are given a list of options, of which "Counterfeits and breach of copyright" would seem most appropriate.  Even if ebay totally ignores you in the short term, it may help the poor buyer when he/she tries to get his/her money back.

[mark smyth]

It doesnt work 

[Hans J]

Mark is rigth - it is really a pain if you have something to ask Ebay !!!
I had before some days the same problem -no phone number ....no email adress ....after a lot of try I have sent them a mail ( they ask for other things ) -but I have written my questions .....three days later I got a phonecall 

[Martin Baxendale]

I notice the seller says he won't accept any returns with this snowdrop. And if he/she offers it to everyone who bids, there would be quite a few people paying for what may or may not actually be Flocon.

[Anthony Darby]

Let's see if he/she gets rumbled and has to withdraw the sale?

[Alan_b]

It doesnt work 

Try:
Counterfeits and breach of copyright
Other potential infringement
Unauthorised use of celebrity names, faces or signatures

I know ebay had human celebrities in mind but this seller seems to be using Mark's photo of a celebrity snowdrop in order to sell a perfectly ordinary one at a hugely inflated price.

[Anthony Darby]

What I have seen done is an ad clearly stating that that you are selling, in this case, a snowdrop, only you are not and that no-one should bid, and explain that the reason for the ad is to expose the seller of the fake.