Now I know why Amsoil has banned this practice...
Quote:
The AMSOIL Dealer Internet Policy regarding eBay is currently as follows:
“The selling of AMSOIL products at online auction sites and eBay is prohibited. AMSOIL reserves the right to control how its branded products are presented and marketed in any and all mediums and channels of distribution. The conditional permission to market AMSOIL products granted Dealers may be revoked, even on a Dealer by Dealer basis, if, in the opinion of AMSOIL, the AMSOIL name is being used in a manner that is detrimental to the best interests of AMSOIL and its Dealer network.” G-1781
It has been a longstanding AMSOIL policy that Dealers cannot sell AMSOIL products at online auction sites such as eBay. AMSOIL systematically monitors eBay activity to ensure that AMSOIL policies are enforced in a timely manner. The current procedures for enforcing this policy are as follows:
1. Search eBay for online auctions containing AMSOIL products (1-2 time/day).
2. Enter seller’s eBay user name into an Excel database for future reference and to have the ability to monitor activity of specific sellers.
3. Send initial contact to eBay seller by email, notifying seller of AMSOIL policies. This letter informs the seller that AMSOIL forbids Dealers from selling on eBay and directs the seller to end the auction if the seller is an AMSOIL Dealer. At this point, it is not known if the seller is an AMSOIL Dealer because eBay cloaks the identity of sellers. The initial contact is informative and strives to result in cooperation. Dealers will apologize at this point or end their auction quietly.
4. If a seller does not respond, AMSOIL sends a Personal Information Request to eBay to obtain the seller’s identity. AMSOIL is authorized to obtain this information when the seller is violating the use of the AMSOIL brand and/or copyright. It may take a full business day to receive a personal information request response from eBay.
5. If the seller is a Dealer, he or she is contacted again and notified of the AMSOIL policies. It is also made clear that non-compliance may result in penalties including having their account buying privileges terminated.
6. However, not every eBay auction containing AMSOIL products is a Dealer. If the seller is not an AMSOIL Dealer he or she has not agreed to AMSOIL policies. In this case, the individual owns the products and is free to sell their products on an auction website. Occasionally, AMSOIL will negotiate other kinds of settlements in and effort to remove AMSOIL products from being listed on eBay.
7. If an auction contains AMSOIL copyrighted text or images a VeRO request can be filed with eBay. eBay developed the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program to facilitate cooperation between eBay and rights owners protecting their intellectual property rights. This allows eBay to remove a listing in violation. A VeRO request may take up to two business days for eBay to process.
If the enforcement staff notices a certain seller with numerous auctions containing AMSOIL products, AMSOIL will further investigate the seller to determine how he or she is obtaining product. Often, sellers may have purchased product from a local business that closed or is in the process of closing out their AMSOIL inventory.
Due to the complex nature of the AMSOIL eBay sales policy, monitoring and managing eBay auction infractions can consist of multiple steps. AMSOIL strives to receive cooperation from all eBay sellers with auctions containing AMSOIL products. However, auctions by non-Dealers are not a violation unless they are selling product for a Dealer.
We encourage Dealers to familiarize themselves with all of our internet and marketing policies which are posted in the Dealer Zone at
http://www.amsoil.com.
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