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This is a dealer listing on eBay. It will be interesting to see if it's deleted or not.

eBay with emblems resized

It's way over priced, but then it is a:

"super slick roadster started life as a common people mover"

"Paraded only weekend miles since its grand transformation"

"wears sinuous Vintage Speedsters Ultra Wide Body fiberglass "

Has a "roadster's storied boxer motor" with "boisterous performance"

"power is countered by a predictable combination of discs and drums"

"Porsche-branded wheels, which twist 225/45ZR17 Nexen N3000s in front of 255/40ZR17 Nexen N3000s"

"custom svelte interior reveals just how serious the car's aspirations are"

"Slim seats stretch tight Saddle leather under modern lap belts"

"leather-capped dash frames classy, original-style telemetry"

A promise that the new owner will "carve curves through a wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel and a wood-capped floor shifter"

The only thing left out of this description was that he didn't start it with "it was a dark and stormy night"

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  • eBay with emblems resized
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It's a good question Robert.  It seems that the dealers who pay for special eBay accounts are not targeted, but is that because Porsche didn't report them or because eBay gives them special treatment?  It may be one of those class action type suits you hear about.  Anyone know a good attorney who would take this on a contingency basis?  Both P and E have some pretty deep pockets! 

Last edited by Troy Sloan

Notwithstanding some of the above replies, almost all class action (CA) suits are litigated under a contingency basis, with plaintiffs getting a larger share of the settlement award than attorneys.  That's not because law firms are altruistic, but because they make more money that way.

Most CA settlements return more funds to the plaintiff than the attorneys representing the class, but not by an overwhelming percentage.  40% is fairly standard as attorney share, plus provable expenses.  Normally, there are several law firms involved, with one firm acting as lead attorney.

A law firm needs considerable experience in CA suits before the court will appoint them as lead counsel, and have sufficient assets and personnel to organize the investigation, conduct discovery, proceed to trial, etc.  Without provable, egregious acts by a potential defendant with sufficient assets, it would be a tough sell to find a CA firm to take on a new matter.  The person bringing the claim would need to be dedicated and prepared to spend long hours shopping his/her case.  It's not a job for the timid.  After a CA firm accepts a case, it will take several years to investigate, conduct discovery, litigate, settle, and pay off claimants.

In extreme cases, such as Levi-Strauss CA settlements, the number of the class victims is so large, i.e., several million potential claimants, that a financial settlement not feasible, so alternative payments are utilized, such as discounts on future purchases.  It may cost several million dollars merely to notify the potential class of the pending case, e.g., mailing CA notice of suit to potential purchasers throughout the continental U.S., and then conduct further correspondence with them.  Example: Have you ever purchased Levi's jeans during the period 1990 and 2002?  Do you have receipts for said purchases?  and on and on and on.  There will be an office of clerks that will wade through all the correspondence, originate and maintain databases, categorize victims by degree of harm, amount of loss.

It's a system that is easy to criticize, but small amounts of loss by a litigant class with huge numbers is difficult to litigate by other means.  When a multi-state communication company, such as Ma Bell in the old days, is found to have illegally charged customers 89 cents/month for a number of years, no single plaintiff will ever bring suit, as it's not cost-effective.  A CA suit becomes the only practical alternative.

When a state, such as California, attempts to minimize the % of award a CA firm can charge, or enact any tort reform laws, the trial attorneys spend millions in advertising, alerting taxpayers of the unintended harm such legislation will cause.  Not surprisingly, the trial attorneys don't identify themselves as such.  They will adopt a catchy phrase for their newly-formed PAC or LLC, such as Californians Against Government Interference or something similar.  California voters have always been swayed by the trial attorneys' efforts in these matters to date.  

 

I wasn't thinking a class action lawsuit. I was thinking more David vs Goliath. David i.e. Troy, has a legitimate and legal business of selling replicas. He follows the rules as required by eBay which were thrust upon them by Porsche and yet Goliath i.e. Porsche, comes along and squashes his legal right to sell a product. Or sue eBay for interfering in your right to sell a lawful product in a lawful way.

eBay sells thousands, if not tens of thousands, of counterfeit items everyday and does nothing or very little to stop it. I have reported dozens of counterfeit items and have made dozens of reports regarding ads that were obvious scams. I've reported ads offering real Patek Philippe watches for pennies on the dollar which are obvious fakes and the watches sell without the ad ever being taken off their site.

This sounds like collusion to me so sue both eBay and Porsche for interfering in your right to do business selling replicas.

Usually the only way your ad gets taken off through vero eBay is if you actually have bids, buy it nows don’t get pulled.  The trick is to use “Speedster” but not Porsche anything, steering wheel emblem, scripts, decals, seatbelts, blur them out or shoot at angles, anything with Porsche will get your hand slapped. Or you can take your chances and put it under Volkswagen category. That’s usually what I do or replica as well.

The problem is it falls under “Likeness”. You are using “Porsche” likeness/image resembleance to sell your car/product without monetary compensation so they will always win.  Look st fiero Mera with the 308.  Enzo Ferrari put them right out of business.  Same thing with Meyers Manx, if you can’t prove it’s a “Manx” with certification and authenticity, you must use the word Manx style Or get your hand slapped too.

@Fireman2343

You joined this discussion a little late and, based on what you just posted, I don't think you have been following my eBay adventures very closely.  I have not used auction style ads on eBay for several years, they are all fixed price with a Buy It Now option, so I don't know we're your "buy it nows don't get pulled" comment is coming from or why you feel your "trick" will work for everyone. 

There have been at least 4 of my ads that have been deleted and 3 of them did not contain the word Porsche, Carrera, Spyder or Porsche Carrera, the words that the Porsche attorney told me in writing were trademarked. None of those 3 had images that showed any of the trademarks.

My ads have been in the Replica Makes category and the closest I've come to any Porsche references is the word Speedster and the number 356.

Most of the the ads that I see not being deleted are ads by car dealers who have paid thousands of dollars for special eBay accounts that allow them to post unlimited numbers of cars.  I pointed out one of those ads to an eBay Vero team member in a phone conversation and she told me that dealers with those paid accounts have different rules than a regular eBay member like me.

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