ebay vendor/plagiarism victim.

...see pixie ramble

07.13.05

Over my vacation, I sold a can of Kenra hairspray on eBay.

For some reason, behindthechair.com decided that I needed sent a full-size can of the stuff, and I don't use hairspray. So, eBay it was*. I even sent it to the buyer in the original box and packaging. All I had to do was tape it back shut and slap on a mailing label.

Pantene sent me all of their new color shampoos and conditioners in a boxed set as a thank you for doing product testing? I sold it on eBay for zero profit -- postage and sellers fees broke even with what the buyer paid, but I didn't mind because at least it's getting use. Nobody I knew wanted it, I didn't want to foist it on anyone I care about because I didn't like it, and I probably would have just ended up throwing it away. At least this way, someone else can enjoy it for me. I also just had to tape the box back shut and slap a mailing label on it**.

I'm drifting off topic a little bit here, so let me get back on task.

When I sell things, I like to make sure they are well-advertised, so I spend a fair amount of time putting together the right sort of listing. I research the products at their home sites, finding out all the info I can to share with the public, and often explain the stories behind either the product of the manufacturer. I find it makes them really accessible to and easily understandable for the general public. This is a thing, it does this that and the other thing, it contains no sulfates or CFC's, oh, and P.S. this company saves the whales.

You might never have heard of Grund hair care, but if you find out that the scientist that formulated the product line, Dr. Lee Hunter, has received world acclaim for his humanitarian work in the formulations of cleansing reconditioning solutions during the Alaska oil spill, science which to this day continues to save animals, and has spent over 30 years formulating products for Clairol, Jhirmack and Redken, you might be more interested in the product line.

Or maybe you've never heard of Senscience hair care, or care about the Zotos corporation -- creators of the hair care line Bain de Terre -- which was one of the first companies to introduce anti-frizz shine serums, but you might recognize the Shiseido name from their well-respected cosmetics line, and be more inclined to pay attention to a product line that was co-created by the people at Shiseido and Zotos (Shiseido now owns Zotos, and through Zotos, owns ISO and Joico.).

I think you get the picture. I could give more examples, but you'd hate me and be bored to death with hair care trivia.

So, here is my listing for Kenra Volume Spray 25 - Winner Stylist Choice Award '05

And here is a listing I just read on eBay, from someone who lists under the name sara_sells_stuff: Kenra Volume Spray 25 - Winner Stylist Choice Award '05

As you can imagine, the title caught my eye, so I looked at the listing, and noted strong similarities to mine.

Maybe she should change her name to sara_plagiarizes_other_people's_listings.

I know it's petty, but I almost sent her an email telling her that while I was glad that I could save her the time of actually researching and putting together her own listing and coming up with her own listing title, maybe in the future she should give credit somewhere to the person whose listing she copied word for word designer of the original listing.

However, I didn't because I thought that might be a little hypocritical, since I did get most of the information from Kenra's own site, and I got my image from behindthechair.com, yet I didn't give either of them credit. I do include a link to the parent site somewhere in the listing, though, so that the visitors to my listing can also visit the manufacturer's site and see other products, or find out more information from the company. And now that I think about it, I do think that in the future, I will make sure to include somewhere at the bottom of the informational text block "information from [productmanufacturer.com]." Or something along those lines.

It's pretty much standard practice on the web to use the manufacturer's own description of the item, as it best describes what it is and how it is used. But I think the consumer is likely to know that, and figure that all of the listing's text is original work. If you buy a shampoo from drugstore.com, the description they use is the same exact one that is on the product line's bottle or website, or both. Regardless, I still think what she did was a little tacky.
..........
*The Place Where I Work often gets large amounts of stylist samples -- full sized products for the stylists to use at the salon, or take home with them. Whenver we get something, I always make sure everyone is offered the same thing, and anything that isn't wanted I put in the promo box.

There are so many things that I haven't taken because I knew I wouldn't use them. And they're still all sitting in the promo box.

When Kenra introduced the 5-piece Kenra Platinum Styling Collection, all of us had the opportunity to take home a boxed set with all 5 items, and a nice display rack -- which I totally could have sold on eBay. Yeah, I just took a pomade.

When TIGI introduced their new Catwalk shine spray and BedHead Masterpiece hairspray, I turned both of them down. Also good sellers.

I've also turned down half a dozen different MOP products, some Nioxin stuff, and many other things I'm totally forgetting.

But while I do have the absolute right to take home one of each of the products I didn't take when originally offered, it seems sort of shady several months after we got it, to magically decide that I do want them after all.

I don't have a problem taking gratis when it is first passed out to the staff. They gave it to me to take home, and I do whatever I want with it.

Lots of times, if I think I know someone will want a product, I'll take it home and then give it away to a specific friend or family member. Or I'll take it, knowing that someone will want it at some point, and hold onto it until that right person comes along. It's mine, after all. If I want to give it to a neighbor, so be it. The distributor gave it to me to use. I might to choose to use it as a gift, or use it other ways.

I made like $30 profit from the Alterna white truffle shampoo and conditioner sale. The buyer got it at about half off retail price, which is nice for her, and I paid the electric bill, which is nice for me.

One of my stylist always takes whatever is offered, and then gives it to his ex-wife or one of his daughters if he doesn't want it for himself. He used the Alterna white truffle shampoo for himself, but gave the conditioner to his daughter L. because he uses a specific conditioner already.

But if I know I only want it to sell on eBay, it doesn't feel right to me to take it now. I know it's pretty much only in my head, but it feels like stealing. If I wanted to take it home because I decided that I wanted to start using hairspray 3 months after it was offered to the salon staff, I would tell the General Manager what was going down -- to explain why I had a can of hairspray in my purse, and then I would take it home.

It might look a little odd if I rolled up to the office with 10 different items I've turned down over the last 6 months, and said, "Hey, I decided to start using two different kinds of hairspray, spray wax, thermal setting spray, gel, this one shampoo and conditioner, this other shampoo and conditioner, and this pomade at home, so I'm taking them now. Cool?"

I probably could get away with it, too, but I'd rather hold onto it and give it out as rewards to the staff, use it as salon product when we run out of the stuff we're already using, and as promos for recruiting and the like.

**Perhaps only amusing it me, I actually sent out something that someone else bought in the actual box that had contained the original Pantene product samples that I product tested.

Renew, reuse, recycle, and all that.

I hoard boxes to reuse for other things, myself. I've almost always got the perfect-sized box for something I'm mailing to someone, or to use as a gift box for a present. (And if I don't, I can totally find one at work.)