e-bayer selling pirate DVDs - what to do?

[rhegedus]

I bought a deleted Disney Jungle Book DVD off e-bay and it arrived this morning.

It is a copy (DVDinfo confirms this), and judgeing by their selling history, it's not the first.

I've contacted the seller and threatened them with reporting them to e-bay etc. and they coughed up a refund within minutes.

The question is, what should I do now - should I take it further?

[Will Hay]

Easy.
If the auction is clear that they're originals when they're not then yes, report it.
Report it now.
Will Hay

[The village idiot]

If you really want to be mean, do nothing with Ebay, and turn them in to the MPAA, or the law enforcement branch that is handling all this piracy stuff. Can't remember if that was the FBI or some other agency.

[Will Hay]

He's in the UK, but yes, the principle is the same
Will Hay

[tgpo]

I'd say turn them in. You'd be protecting all future customers of this person selling copies.

[Will Hay]

How much did you pay?
Will

[rhegedus]

£25.

[BJ_M]

there are 100's if not 1000's of such stuff on ebay and i asked (emailed) the MPAA about this and they said they would either file it or make note of it or do nothing .. they really didnt seem to have the time to follow up on that stuff ...


i think they were to busy with the screener issue at that time ..

[The village idiot]

He's in the UK, but yes, the principle is the same
Will Hay

Doh! Open eyes then read whole post and info, then post Thanks.

[vcdforme]

In the UK? Hmmm, I thought only the U.S. were the cops of the world?
Live and let live?
I bought a DVD on ebay which turned out to be a bootleg. I was a bit miffed at first, then I realized that this was the only was I was gonna get to see this video, and let it go. There's probably many others out there who would be deprived. True, it's not official.
but... the only reason we hear such a big stink about copying is because there is a HUGE special interest invloved. We won't get into how they got 'some' of those copyrights in the first place. When you see a really big fish go by, there's always a little fish picking away at him, he doesn't seem to mind so long as it doesn't get outta hand.
(I know, I need work on my analogy's.)

If he said it was an original, then stick it to him, otherwise chill out.
The world is not perfect. Alot of people are just barely hanging on. And it was the U.S. who gave weapons of mass destruction technology to Saddam. Why isn't Rumsfield on trial? That's the way it goes. Read the fine print.

That said, I'm against bootlegging,
but even more against being a snitch.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Caveat Emptor,there was a guy here in California that was selling bootleg DVD's(and other electronics) on ebay and the local police arrested him.
Apparently he was taking peoples money but not sending them anything...needless to say he will be going away for along time.

[MOVIEGEEK]

And it was the U.S. who gave weapons of mass destruction technology to Saddam. Why isn't Rumsfield on trial?

What?
It was the Soviet Union/Russia and some other countries but not the US.It was French and German companies that sold and setup Saddams' nuclear,biological and chemical factories.

[BJ_M]

And it was the U.S. who gave weapons of mass destruction technology to Saddam. Why isn't Rumsfield on trial?

What?
It was the Soviet Union/Russia and some other countries but not the US.It was French and German companies that sold and setup Saddams' nuclear,biological and nuclear factories.

not at first ... do some research , not here or there now ..

... but no political discussions here or thread closes ... thanks

[rhegedus]

Flip me! e-bay pirates to WMD in 9 steps

[Will Hay]

[ChrisX]

I don't want to receive a pirated DVD either and you must report to ebay and to the authorities now.

A purchase of a pirated DVD is a rip off and as such illegal.

Mate, do it further as this is against the law and to stop others from doing the same.

[rhegedus]

If he said it was an original, then stick it to him, otherwise chill out.

What else would it be, other than 'original'? Or are you saying it is OK to sell copies as long as you describe them as such?

[Rookie64]

Use Half.com for legit stuff - since the sellers are required to supply barcodes and other info that varifies what is being sold.


Ebay is set up like a garage sale - and you shop at your own risk.


They set up those terms of use for their own legal protection - they don't care what is being auctioned or how legit it is.
The more people that use their site, the more money Ebay makes.

Would love to know your secret for contacting them, as they make it impossible for you to reach them

I see bootlegs of all kinds of stuff on Ebay all the time...and sometimes bootlegers can be a good thing, depending.
Some things will just never be available legitimately.

[Will Hay]

If he said it was an original, then stick it to him, otherwise chill out.

What else would it be, other than 'original'? Or are you saying it is OK to sell copies as long as you describe them as such?

It's very easy not to describe something on ebay Rob; I touched on this in one of my posts.
Remember we haven't seen the auction and had it said something like....

..."DVD version of disney's Jungle Book"

all he would have been guilty of is selling copies and possibly misleading informatoion.

Had he said...

"Original DVD version of..."

then that's a different matter.

I think that's what vcdforme was getting at.
Will

[rhegedus]

Sorry, I'm being thick - what's the difference?

[Will Hay]

Sorry, I'm being thick - what's the difference?

The first doesn't imply it's an original, it's a 'version of'.
Still a shit trick.
Maybe I've worked in contract law too long, I'd paid to think like this, to watch out for the bastards who intend to trip my company up with small print
Will

[lordsmurf]

Ebay doesn't actually care. You'll get a template response.

If he already gave refund, then don't be a dick. Unless he has all negative feedbacks, some people actually like what he sells. As others have said, sometimes it's the only way to get the show. What's it to you? If reporting him is what it takes for you to sleep better at night, then I'd suggest intensive therapy.

Again, you got your money back... so what's the problem?

[budz]

Ebay doesn't care if people are selling bootlegs. The rules and regulations they have are just to protect themselves(Ebay). It doesn't protect the buyer. I had someone reply to me that they were actually selling region free dvds for the USA because the movies were region 3. She said she converts the movies to region free & gives a cut of the profits to some guy in chinatown. These chinese movies are only region 3. I was amazed this girl told me so much information. Go figure! I've got some movies off ebay that were bootlegs but at that time it was the only place that had the movies I wanted.

[rhegedus]

Yes, I've got my money back and I've not lost out, so I've got no real reason to be pissed. However, I've calculated (from his selling history) that he's made over a grand (£) in the last six months selling bootlegs of Disney DVDs.

I don't particularly care about Disney's side of things since Eisner probably wiped his nose with $1000 bills instead of tissues. What gets me is that there's all these parents and kids that have been sold fakes at about x25 what it took to make! If they bought them as presents for someone else's kids and the recipient's parents realised that it was a copy, then the perfectly honest and legit buyer would appear to be a cheapskate conman!

If I wanted bootlegs, I could go to the local flea market and buy them for £10 - not spend £25 on e-bay in the belief that they were original.

That's what pisses me off!

[lordsmurf]

sold fakes at about x25 what it took to make!

That's not true. Rethink that statement. Think of all the materials, software and hardware it took YOU to make a DVD. How's that equate out? Especially when it's not just a rip-n-copy bootleg.

Again, you're done... you got your money... so what's the hangup? Is your life really so problem-free that you're gonna worry about somebody else looking dumb in front of a friend? I'm not trying to pick at you, but seriously... I don't understand people's logic sometimes.

I get the feeling that you're not gonna be happy until you rain on somebody else's parade... and that's not healthy. Let go man, let go.

[rhegedus]

sold fakes at about x25 what it took to make!

That's not true. Rethink that statement. Think of all the materials, software and hardware it took YOU to make a DVD. How's that equate out? Especially when it's not just a rip-n-copy bootleg.

I'm not going into the semantics of cost here, but I reckon buying judiciously will get you a blank, a case, and some ink on paper for £1.

Again, you're done... you got your money... so what's the hangup? Is your life really so problem-free that you're gonna worry about somebody else looking dumb in front of a friend? I'm not trying to pick at you, but seriously... I don't understand people's logic sometimes.

So as long as you don't get ripped off, everyone else can? I don't understand people's logic sometimes.....

I get the feeling that you're not gonna be happy until you rain on somebody else's parade... and that's not healthy. Let go man, let go.

I haven't rained on anyones' parade - if I wanted to do it that badly I wouldn't hace asked everyone elses advice first, would I?

[pacmania_2001]

Report him and post negative feedback. Also contact the MPA and tell them that someone is selling bootlegs of their movies on eBay.

If you want to really piss him off report every one of his auctions that you think are fake. Most of the time eBay will sent a template response out to him but they will also shut the auction down.

[lordsmurf]

If you want to really piss him off report every one of his auctions that you think are fake. Most of the time eBay will sent a template response out to him but they will also shut the auction down.

This is called "spamming while using eBay system". YOUR account will be suspended if YOU are caught. Bad, bad advice.

Post the negative feedback, and let others use their own common sense.

[pacmania_2001]

If you want to really piss him off report every one of his auctions that you think are fake. Most of the time eBay will sent a template response out to him but they will also shut the auction down.

This is called "spamming while using eBay system". YOUR account will be suspended if YOU are caught. Bad, bad advice.

Post the negative feedback, and let others use their own common sense.

Not if the auctions are indeed selling illegal materials. I did it awhile ago to take out a competitor.

[Will Hay]

If you want to really piss him off report every one of his auctions that you think are fake. Most of the time eBay will sent a template response out to him but they will also shut the auction down.

This is called "spamming while using eBay system". YOUR account will be suspended if YOU are caught. Bad, bad advice.

Post the negative feedback, and let others use their own common sense.

Not if the auctions are indeed selling illegal materials. I did it a while ago to take out a competitor.

The trouble with that is whilst it's obvious they're all fakes, it's just an assumption.
Just because reghedus' was fake, doesn't mean the rest were.
Like I say, maybe it's my job but assumptions don't win arguments.
Will