The watermark was not added originally. A couple weeks ago Lynn asked me to go back and add her copyright to all her images she had uploaded. This image must have been downloaded and saved by this thief before the watermark was added.

@valleylynn looks like you're doing it right.

Ahhh.
Can't believe the nerve of this woman! She got all testy and now she's doing it again!

And she is using some other photos from our database, not just mine. She is also using one photo for two different plants for sale. I feel sorry for anyone that buys from her.

Dave do I fill out any thing else on that form?

Link for reporting to:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/report/

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. I know most of you have your photos copyrighted in our database. It has come to my attention that some of the ebay sellers are using our photos again. There are quite a few of mine, haven't checked out the others, except I did come across on of Patty's photos of 'Jade Rose'. @Patty
I contacted the one seller that has used a lot of my photos and ask him to remove them. I asked in a very nice way. He is not happy, but said he will remove them. I don't know why they don't take their own photos? We do know that many times the plants they are selling are not even the same as the photo they are using.
So far this is the only seller I find using my photos. edshostagarden99
Last time we went through this is was found that they were using many photos from our database for all kinds of plants. This even involved some of our admin people.

It's sad that scammers have turned ebay into what it is today. I still sell on ebay but the plant and seed categories are a joke now and it's hard for legit sellers to be taken serious.

Sorry to hear that Daniel. I've been lucky; the people I've bought from in eBay have all been super, but I haven't tried to buy seed or plants.

There are still good people on there Daniel, you are proof of that.

Thank you, there are still good sellers but once a buyer gets cheated they start looking at ebay as an unreliable source for plant material and there are many people getting cheated.
I think it's great you started this thread, it's important that when someone's photo gets used it's reported asap. If a seller can't use their own photos they likely don't even own the plant they are offering. I feel the same way with people who sell seeds on the lily auction and use the hybridizer's photo. If you have time to pollinate your flowers you have time to snap a photo.

Daniel.
The one that was recently using my photos used the same photo to sell two different semps. Who know what he was actually sending the buyer?

Guess it's a good thing that I'm a bad photographer!

Not true tx_flower_child. I am looking at your avatar. If you took that photo you are a pretty good photographer.

ediblelandscapingsc said:It's sad that scammers have turned ebay into what it is today. I still sell on ebay but the plant and seed categories are a joke now and it's hard for legit sellers to be taken serious.

I am leery with plant and seed sellers too - some of the photos are too fantastic and obviously altered. Which is why I always read the feedback before I buy anything. It is sad because eBay is a great tool for individuals who just want to share and sell some of their private stock and a great way to get a plant or seeds that the catalogs no longer carry. The mantra 'buyer beware" really applies. Always read the feedback and reviews I say.

Good advice Christie.

Even sellers with high feedback can't be trusted 100% although it is good to always check the sellers feedback. Feedback is often left as soon as seeds or plants arrive. A perfect example is the blue strawberry seed sellers. These people are a joke but uneducated gardeners get scammed every day by them. Since most semps are green at some point in the year many people will get a green semp and leave positive feedback without giving them time to grow. Same thing with the rainbow rose seeds, square watermelon seeds, blue watermelon seeds, rainbow tomato seeds, purple sunflower seeds, any dwarf fruit tree seeds, ect. I also see trees sold on there as named varieties that end up being only seedlings. Buyers get a tree, they leave feedback, and the seller gets another chance to scam another person. This can go on for years since feedback can only be left 90 days after the purchase date.
I remember when hirts garden first started selling on ebay years ago. Me and many of my friends purchased plants and seeds from them and almost everything ended up being something other than what we ordered. Their feedback stayed high but there was talk in the ebay community and online about many many people getting cheated over the years. They scammed thousands of people. Now they sell on ebay, amazon, walmart.com and many other sites and sell more legit plants since they have the funds to actually buy the stock they are selling but I was there when they scammed 90% of their customers to get where they are now.

It just makes me sad.

Lynn it is very sad but you can't tell a criminal crime don't pay.

I have a nephew who has spent a lot of time in the computer biz early on. I remember he told me to be leery of anything that has almost all positive reviews. He said it's very easy for a seller or youtube creator, etc, to create fake reviews. That was a long time ago when everything was new. Maybe it's not true anymore.

What I think is funny are the Q&As on Amazon. Someone will ask a question about a product and then someone else apparently feels the need to answer because they'll respond with, 'I don't know. I just got it yesterday.' Oh.

ediblelandscapingsc said:Even sellers with high feedback can't be trusted 100% although it is good to always check the sellers feedback. Feedback is often left as soon as seeds or plants arrive. A perfect example is the blue strawberry seed sellers. These people are a joke but uneducated gardeners get scammed every day by them. Since most semps are green at some point in the year many people will get a green semp and leave positive feedback without giving them time to grow. Same thing with the rainbow rose seeds, square watermelon seeds, blue watermelon seeds, rainbow tomato seeds, purple sunflower seeds, any dwarf fruit tree seeds, ect. I also see trees sold on there as named varieties that end up being only seedlings. Buyers get a tree, they leave feedback, and the seller gets another chance to scam another person. This can go on for years since feedback can only be left 90 days after the purchase date.
I remember when hirts garden first started selling on ebay years ago. Me and many of my friends purchased plants and seeds from them and almost everything ended up being something other than what we ordered. Their feedback stayed high but there was talk in the ebay community and online about many many people getting cheated over the years. They scammed thousands of people. Now they sell on ebay, amazon, walmart.com and many other sites and sell more legit plants since they have the funds to actually buy the stock they are selling but I was there when they scammed 90% of their customers to get where they are now.

Yes -- all of that is very true. But if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Some of the colors they show are quite obviously altered, and people should not be taken in by that. I noticed that a lot of those come from China, so if it looks too good to be true and also comes from China, buyer beware. I did buy some rare Amaryllis seeds from someone, but they are in California and have been around for a while. I e-mailed them and asked questions about the seeds I was buying, if the flowers would be true or not. He answered me back immediately and seemed to be very truthful - gave me actual details about his growing process and the seeds etc. The seeds take at least 3 years to bloom, and I have another year to go, but I fully expect the flowers to be exactly as he advertised. So long story short, e-mail the seller and ask for details if you are not sure - if it is a scam they will either not answer you, or give you a short canned answer. If it is legit, they will give you actual details.

No doubt China is king when it comes to ebay scammers but there are folks from all around looking to make a quick buck.
Honestly plant specific sellers with high feedback are usually the most trust worthy. They are normally quick to answer questions and from their responce you can often tell the passion they have for that type of plant. Many of them have built up fan bases because they focus on only 1 type of plant and have a great reputation not only on ebay but on the net also. There are so many sites we don't know about with plant collectors of a certain types of plants and these sellers are normally members of one of those sites. They use their own photos and don't add the word rare on everything except the truly rare stuff. I wouldn't say the word rare is a false flag because there are some rare plants on there but it is a word scammers like to use a lot.
I'm glad you had a good experience with your California seller, like I said there are still a few goods ones on ebay. There is another very good amaryllis seed seller based in FL named 850carol on ebay aka Amaryllis Man http://www.ebaystores.com/Amar... If you are a amaryllis fan you should check them out.