eBay UK and eBay.ie have tightened up restrictions on the sales of perfumes to ban all testers and smell-a-like products. Testers commonly available in shops but not commonly available for sale are banned as is any comparison of a perfume to a well known brand or scent.
eBay say the reason for the policy change is that the European Court of Justice has found that the sale of perfume testers and smell-a-like perfumes that are compared to a well known brand may infringe third party trademark rights.
This change will make it tricky for sellers of smell-a-like products, it’s going to be difficult to describe a scent without being able to make a comparison.
Unusually I find myself sympathising with the brand owners in this instance, they’ve invested in marketing and branding and it must be infuriating to see companies knocking out cheap copies. However if brands continue to bully sellers who attempt to sell genuine branded products online they can hardly complain if sellers decide to branch out into smell-a-like alternatives.
One Response
I can sort of see the smell alike problem – but what is wrong with testers being sold?