Ucmgr,
Interesting. I just submitted a post 5 min. ago re: EBay as well. EBay notified me last night that they were terminating my membership and "contemplating legal action" due to my "fraudulent behavior". I suspect my ID there has been compromized. EBay has some really serious problems going on, and I'm "contemplating legal action" myself to get that circus shut down. can you say: Class Action? |
I would suspect some really deep pockets if your contemplating seriousness in class action. Then again the circus has a really big purse its self........... |
I've got to confess in the sin I committed through the ebay selling a few years ago a DJ turntable. Since I didn't have at that time a digital camera, I just copied the picture from the different listing. The main fact is the turntable was mine and real and buyer was satisfied upon the item arrival. |
Zenieth,
You are right of course. However, I do have a close relative who is an attorney for the FTC. I wonder if he would be willing to fire off a nasty letter on FTC letterhead? |
Marakanetz,
The copy from your ad was your own text, correct? A lot of the stock pics attached to listings are images from product web sites and not the seller's own anyway. I have done that myself but made it clear in the ad that actual pics were available on request, and that the text of the ad was clearly my own. I've noticed many listings in which the same stock photo has been used by several sellers. I have talked to the buyer in my case and he is adament that he did not file a complaint. |
Slipknot1,
I'm certain that they have gotten plenty of fright mail in the past. They do have some problems but most are generated by corrupt individuals. As always the source is much better than that of secondary involvement. Then again having friends in high places doesn't hurt either. What ever the outcome I'm sure that it's been there more than once before. What caught my eye was that great American threat by law...........simply all American too! cheers!! |
if you look around there are several ads like the one for the Kharmas. there was one last week for some Goldmund Dialogues. the seller was in Europe yet they offered "free shipping" within the US. the Minimum bid was $500 and the Goldmunds got up to $800....if you do the math, shipping a pair of 200 lb speakers from Europe to anywhere in the US would cost almost if not more than the highest bid. its kinda scary people are falling for this stuff...
it could be a holdover from the early days of ebay, when there were good deals to be had, traffic was lower, people were still new to the internet buying thing, and sellers at time had little knowledge on what they were selling. i remember Colnago bikes could be had for $800 or so, now the same bike fetches over $1700 consistantly. ...bottom line is, the days where you are gonna find a "steal" on ebay are pretty much over....way to keep an eye out |
Zenith,
My threat-to-sue was more or less tongue-in-cheek. Our society is way too litgious in my book. I was just stunned to see such a pre-emptive move on EBay's part without starting a dispute resolution process first, or, even getting some kind of respose from me. Ucmgr's situation and mine should serve as a warning to others that EBay does seem to be rife with rip-off artists. EBay does have a right to protect itself, and try to protect the honest folks who do business there. |
Slipnot1
I couldn't agree more with you about society today. The key word is "try" to protect. Rip off artists are in all walks of life. Ebay is just one of those massive breading grounds. The internet is still very young. And we will see a lot worse in time to come. I hope you get your situation rectified. And I'm sure lots of others are in the same boat too. |
I dont see the big deal about somone using your pic for thier set they are selling.
I dunno what a vandersteen 1b looks like, never seen one but i have an idea. I have been unable to find any pictures of these on the net.
If i was selling a set, i had no digital camera, and i thought it would help to put a picure of them and i found somone selling a set with a pic, i would probably throw it in.
However, i would also sure as hell state that the picture is not of the actual pair im selling, and go into detail to describe the condition. |
Slappy,
I could have less if he used my photos. The Kharma site has some that look a whole lot better than mine, so I guess I should be flattered that he thought mine were acceptable. But the exact same six pictures along with a carbon copy of my text is a little too much wouldn't you say? I've got to believe that whoever listed them on Ebay might have a had a little different intention than "borrowing" a couple of pictures because he was photographically challanged!!! |
Yeah, you definatly have a point there. Using the exact same text is pretty sad. I would definatly tend to think this is some sort of a scam. |
Slipknot1, Zeneith et. al. Interesting thread. Just to throw a little gasoline on the discussion:
1. I am also guilty (very recently). I just sold a piece here using the pics that the guy who sold it to me posted a month ago. It was a photographic challenge issue and the pieces hadn't changed. The buyer actually came across the item out of another forum so he only saw the pics after already having made up his mind so my conscious only pangs me just a twinge and only when I smile. I would not consider using pics of equipment OTHER THAN those that are in my possession. This instance was one of "better than close enough" and, for me at least, a very isolated incident.
2. The commentary about litigious society is correct. We have gone too far. However, when consumers are wronged (as may be the case with E-bay) there is little for the consumer to do beyond this at this time in our history. Class actions have a wonderful ability to pre-empt governmental intervention while providing appropriate punishment when it is due. And, by their nature, they are not expensive for the plaintiff. The payoff for the plantiffs is usually small considering that whatever is gathered is first carved up by the attorneys who take on the case and then by X number (where X is usually a pretty big number) of plantiffs in the "class." If done well and with an appropriate cause, governmental action can occur with greater haste than waiting for such action. That is where the more "altruistic" payoff is. Getting the inappropriate behaviour corrected under threat of government intervention.
3. As for he FTC letter head idea . . . sure, if you can. the FTC operates in a rather structured approach, however, and it is likely that regardless of family ties any letter on official letterhead will not be forthcoming.
If you have a grievance and there is evidence that a large group of people (a class) are negatively affected by the actions of an entity (say E-bay), there may be a case in waiting. Maybe not. At the least the folks at E-bay should be more attentive to the input of their customers and users in order to maintain their reputation.
As for me -- plagirism is the lifeblood of journalism today and another disturbing trend. Thankfully, I have sufficient command of the English language to avoid most of the temptations of the stolen word.
Finally, as I plan on listening to some wonderful music tomorrow and being thankful for the opportunity to do so, thanks in no small measure to the people who populate AudiogoN, I hope all of you have at least as pleasant an opportunity whether with friends, family or just by yourselves. Happy Thanksgiving.
F7 |
