Why EVERY author and EVERY publisher should send those takedowns to EBAY

All it takes is one.

One strong takedown on a perpetual smug bootlegger.

That seller CAN be given a "RESTRICTION" (not allowed to sell for a month or more) or a PERMANENT SUSPENSION.

Here's what one bootlegger sent to a publisher:

The whine was ignored, because this seller had a history of warnings, according to eBay, and had "ignored them. This seller has not been paying attention."

Why wasn't the seller disciplined before? Because the complaints were sent to "REPORT ITEM" via an eBay template, by fans and perhaps bookstore owners, who saw that this seller was offering ebooks "with a download link you will get after you buy."

This is illegal on eBay, but eBay will often choose to slap a seller's wrist a few times. Five times. Ten times.

When eBay gets a TAKEDOWN demand, then things get MUCH MORE SERIOUS.

You can laugh at how this seller plays dumb. Gosh, if you own a book, can't you copy it? And take ALL the money with NO ROYALTIES to the author or publisher? What's wrong with that? And Gosh, isn't it ecological to sell ebooks? And Gosh, I looked around, and I didn't see any law against this.

Sadly, eBay is RIFE with WEASELS and PARASITES and MAGGOTS who try to trick people into buying bootlegs, and try to sneak things past a "web sheriff" or a book company's VERO rep. For example:

Why, what's THIS?

It LOOKS like somebody is selling their collection of paperbacks. Doesn't it?

What a bargain.

Now let's see the ad copy:

What's a bidder thinking now?

Maybe: "Hey, that's still a good deal. I get audiobook versions e-mailed to me. Come to think of it, the actual books might be five times as much money. These audiobooks must be legal, because they're on eBay. The author and publisher probably made a deal to offer these bargains to me. I'LL BUY IT!!!"

Meanwhile...while EBAY and PAYPAL take their cut, and the CHEAP THIEF gets his pizza and beer money for a nice dinner...

BOOKSTORES continue to close.

LIBRARIES shorten their hours.

AUTHORS see chintzier royalty checks and get smaller advances for new work.

The VERO program (Verfied Rights Owner program) on eBAY is simple. An author or a publisher sees a violation, and simply cuts and pasts the auction number and sends it to VERO@EBAY.COM. It takes ONE MINUTE. If you're anyone besides pudgy, lame-brained E.L. James, it's NOT going to be a problem to do.

Join the ranks of intelligent, responsible people (which doesn't include pudgy, lame-brained E.L. James who spends her days masturbating with thousand dollar bills rolled up into dildo shapes). Contact eBay and fill out a form so that YOU can protect YOUR WORK. PS, you can assign anyone to be your rep; you don't have to do it yourself, and you don't need a high priced lawyer. Publishers: you can assign an INTERN to check eBay once a week. You'll see how quickly your company, like Disney, becomes known and feared by the bootleggers. Soon enough, they won't even ATTEMPT to steal from you.