"Free Ebooks" with purchase of a Paperback on EBay

[Rowena, Group Owner]

If you see "BONUS 19 FREE EBOOKS- COMPLETE XXXX SERIES GREAT DEAL" you should go straight for the Report This text link.

This is not a "Great Deal" it is illegal. The books are not "FREE EBOOKS" they are copyrighted works that are being illegally given away by someone who does not own them and who has no right at all to be copying and distributing them.

[Rowena, Group Owner]

Score one for the authors. And one thumb-up to EBay.

As one correspondent reported: "She currently doesn't have any items up for sale."

The 10 auctions appear to have been taken down before they were due to end.

Background.
On the evening of June 30th, while going about my business on EBay, I noticed that

Nina Bangs, Mary Janice, Angela Knight, Nalini Singh, Laurell Hamilton, Karen Marie Moning, Shannon Drake, Lora Leigh, Marjorie M Liu (and others) may have been being ripped off in series of auctions on EBay.

The vendor was selling paperbacks, but giving away "bonus" free ebooks delivered as pdfs by email.

Emailing even one ebook to someone else is illegal and a violation of copyright because it is impossible to email an ebook without creating copies.

If you see that sort of thing taking place, you can file a citizens' report with EBay. They probably won't take anything down on your say-so, but they may take a closer look.

You will certainly help the authors if there are multiple reports to back up the authors' complaints and also help authors who had no idea this was happening to them.

[Rowena, Group Owner]

Here's a shocking pitch for a manual on how to get around EBay's safeguards and protections for rights owners.

I am not in any way advocating the purchase of this product (or the advisability of giving your credit card info to someone who would need to write such a book), but I do think it is instructive to see what goes on.

http://www.auctionstealth.com/

There's a forum, too, where someone suggests that selling EBooks is a great, cheap way to get good Feedback.

http://www.aspkin.com/forums/ebay-dis...\
cel-transaction-does-feedback-go.html


Quoting one participant in response to a question about getting feedback with
easy and cheap things to sell

<<
There are LOTS of things you can do. E-books, stamps, cards, SD cards,
accessories, small items, video games, crap around your house, anything
electronically sent.

The list goes on...
__________________
Assume people are stupid...and you are probably RIGHT.
>>

Another of these EBayers' tag lines is
"Be smart, act dumb."


These forums deal with gaming the system on iOffer, Amazon and other sites, too.

Best,

Rowena Cherry

[Sharon]

I particularly like "crap around your house." Obviously that includes books...

Sharon Buchbinder

[Rowena, Group Owner]

I think the way you think, Sharon.