eBay will allow other sellers to use yours
On August 31st, a new policy goes into effect where photos you upload to your listings can become part of an eBay image catalog of images that eBay will use to picture an item that is sold by many sellers.
The default for this is opt-in. A copyright notice is posted with a link to your user profile, but no additional information is given, and the link will be small. You must opt-out to keep your images for your own; if you don't opt-out eBay will make your photos part of the open catalog.
eBay has not made an official announcement about this and I don't want my readers, who work so hard on their images, to be caught at the mercy of this change in policy.
To opt out you must change your settings before August 31st. If you opt out after then, any photos you upload between the 31st and when you opt out may be included in the catalog.
To opt out, follow these steps:
1. Go to your My eBay summary page
2. Note there are three tabs that are ttled Activity, Messages and Account.
Hover over the "Account" tab.
3. From the drop-down list that appears, click on Site Preferences
4. The resulting page should look like the image below.
Find the Share your Photos line and click on Show next to this option.
5. The box will expand and look for the Edit link. Click it to change your auto opt in to NO!
The next page says: "If you'd like to opt-out of this program, please do so by checking this box and clicking the "submit" button below. (If you opt-out before August 31, 2009, none of your photos will be considered for inclusion in this program unless you opt back in at a later time. If you opt-out after August 31, 2009, any photos we select for inclusion in this program prior to your opt-out may continue to be used in the catalog)"
6. To opt out, click to put a check mark in the opt out box and then click the Submit button.
7. eBay returns you to the Site Settings page and you will see a confirmation note that says you have opted out.
Understand that I don't think this policy is a bad thing, but when you work as hard on photos as I do, I don't want to give other sellers the benefit of my hard work. I hope this post will help you improve your sales and keep your images yours.
I don't care if my pictures are being used by other sellers s long as the seller isn't using them in a misleading way.
ReplyDeleteThis is a philosophical choice. Even if I do have time and effort involved I don't mind if my work is used by the community. It costs me nothing to give away and it benefits others, so why should I care?
I can understand that you wouldn't want your images used by others to compete against you. That makes sense. Maybe eBay could watermark images as "shareable" or "not-sharable." Ideally, images that would be part of the "creative commons" would be watermarked so that it would be obvious to buyers when an image is shared or from a library.
Thank you Marsha for this information and the instructions to OPT OUT. Like you, I spend a lot of time taking my own high-quality, unique photos. I am choosing to OPT OUT.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Michelle (happydogdeals)
THANK YOU! I make custom hair bows and use my daughter for the model. I do NOT want other people making bows then using my photos which would mislead my customers into thinking it is MY bow!
ReplyDeletePam, keep inmind that if yuo are the only one selling the item, it wouldn't be in eBay's catalog. But if someone should choose to copy you, the picture would be there for that category of item
ReplyDelete