Ebay's Verified Rights Owner's Program (gosh that's awful). The purpose of this is to allow manufacturers of products to prevent sales by unauthorized vendors.
"Naw", you protest, "if I own it, surely I can sell it?". Nope. At least not on Ebay.
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/12/3/92549/2461 tells a story of a woman trying to get rid of some unwanted gifts and running afoul of this.
Doesn't fit my view of a free society.
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"Doesn't fit my view of a free society."
Or of free enterprise. If she owns it she has the right to resell it as long as she doesn't misrepresent the goods as new, or herself as an agent of the OEM. eBay is just plain wrong here. It appears the lawyers, not the managers, are running things there.
--BigDumbDinosaur
---December 7, 2004
A bit of irony there. The rights here are pretty plain, but in reality, there's no way she or anyone else is going to fight back - she's trying to unload a few dollars worth of stuff. So, as is so often the case nowadays (and perhaps ever has been), the big dogs win - not because they are right, but because they have power and money.
There is something basically wrong when a society effectively prevents righting of obvious wrongs. I know there's a bit of idealism in that thought: there will always be petty injustice, but does accepting reality mean that we (as a society) should do nothing at all?
--TonyLawrence
---December 9, 2004
Also something to think about is that it's openning E-bay up to all sorts of stuff. Over and over again they claim that they are a clearing house and are not responsable for the products being sold thru them. One example is if you get scammed it's not E-bay's job to compinsate you, unless you pay extra for insurance. Also another example is that it's not legal to sell and own guns in some countries, but people get around that by selling a object, like a cardboard box or crate, and then they throw the gun in for "free".
Now their defense is that they aren't responsable becuase it's impossible for them to know exactly what is going on with all sellers and buyers. They will stop known scams, but "Caveat Emptor" is the phrase of the day.
HOWEVER, now what is their defense going to be?
I got screwed --Customer
Caveat Emptor, should of gone thru a holding house --Ebay
You prevent sales according to agreements with 3rd party companies and you do a good job, your certainly capable of stopping scams like this and you are willing to assume responsibility when it's convienent, we're suing --Customer's Lawyer
--Drag
---December 9, 2004
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