Shattered: EBAY CONTINUES TO SCREW AUTHORS

"Yeeee hah!" say bidders. They LOVE bootleggers giving them bargains.

Do they realize authors are being cheated? Do they care? Does EBAY?

This seller has ALL the latest books at a bargain price. Even the new one on Hillary Clinton.

It LOOKS like a legit seller. It's on a legit website. So what's wrong?

LOOK at all the HAPPY BIDDERS who bought bootlegs and are ready to buy MORE from this parasite:

What do you get from all this? That some authors and publishers have their heads up their asses?

That eBay is a criminal outfit aiding and abetting in obvious fraud, and that they make sure that "report item" takes forever, and that "phone support" says "not to worry" and does nothing?

I direct your attention to a short story called "Leinengen vs the Ants." The author of THAT story knew just what kind of damage ants, termites and parasites can do.

How EBAY and PAYPAL cheat AUTHORS via Sri Lanka scumbags

Well, what have we here?

It's a Sri Lanka scumbag PRETENDING to be in Alabama of all places. And this scumbag is bootlegging Danielle Steel, Steve Berry, John Sandford, C.L. Box, and several others.

Doesn't EBAY or PAYPAL care that they are aiding and abetting a craven creep selling counterfeits?

OF COURSE NOT.

If they can get fifty cents off this weasel's $3.99 they are ecstatic.

That's how nickel-and-dime these Internet giants really are.

If they had morality and/or guts they'd make sure the Sri Lanka cartel of scumbags was DONE.

Instead of bland form letters, aup@paypal.com would say, "Yes, we are making sure that the Sri Lanka scumbags can no longer use credit carts on PayPal."

Ebay phone support would be saying, "We are comparing notes on all these fake identities and we are going to make sure where their ISP is and block them. We will INSTANTLY suspend Sri Lanka scumbags who pretend to be in the U.S.A. and claim "Alabama" or "New York" in their ad copy. We will also make sure that when you use "report item" the item is actually REMOVED within 24 hours, so these weasels can't keep making sales."

Right now, the toothless DMCA laws in America continue to allow Internet giants to do as they please.

Ebay does not have to police their own site. Ebay can stab American authors in the back all day long, and giggle from their hideout compounds in San Jose and Draper, Utah. If they get a "report item" request for action, they can sit on it. If they get a takedown from an author or a publisher, they will reluctantly remove the item but give the seller a dozen chances to keep right on selling: "We give a warning, er, then another warning, er, then another warning, then we may restrict them for a day, then a week, then a month, then there may be a temporary suspension..."

Think the BEA convention is going to have a panel discussing this? Think the unions for writers are doing anything? Do you think that the publishers of books are any smarter than the record industry jackasses who let the music industry die and the record stores close? How many bookstore chains are thriving and healthy these days?

EBAY and PAYPAL are thriving and healthy these days. And a few foul-smelling toothless Sri Lankans are giddy with joy that they can keep right on sucking the blood out of American authors.

GREG ILES - ILES AND MILES OF LIES - A typical EBAY bootlegger

Every day, EVERY type of author is being financially raped on EBAY.

EBAY is the "just a venue" site that doesn't feel obligated to police itself.

"It's up to YOU the author to tell us if some guy does NOT own your copyright and does NOT have permission to make an obvious bootleg of your book."

That's EBAY.

They actually do have a rule against "digital delivery" of books, but again, it has to be reported to them. THEY don't have a "bot" checking for jerks who sell EPUB MOBI KINDLE EBOOK items.

Here's an item on eBay today (April 13th) with a seller's LIES ABOUT ILES.

LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LYING AD COPY:

Ah, "I have full resell right or master resell right of this product."

In the virtual world, this is fine.

In the real world, this would be considered FRAUD.

This is an outright LIE.

It should be worth taking this jerk to court and suing him for everything he's got.

He's got more nerve:

"Full resell rights are Granted by the copyright owners to sell this product with Resell Rights or Master Resell Rights Granted!"

On eBay, that entitles somebody to steal.

If you hit "REPORT ITEM" and "COPYRIGHT" and point out to eBay how ridiculous this ad is, and ask eBay to literally CALL this seller on this lie, THEY WON'T DO IT.

They'll only stop this blatant abuse if the author or his publisher file a takedown (VERO) complaint, OR if a fan knows to hit "REPORT ITEM" and "DIGITAL DELIVERY."

The seller of course does "not contravene available copyright" by stealing from Greg Iles or a dozen other authors. Oh, not at all.

If a seller like this gets caught, the seller usually gets a second and third chance to do the same thing over again. "Just pick a different victim," eBay essentially suggests.

With luck a seller can keep going for many more months before suspension.

In which case, the seller shrugs and keeps all the money he's made so far. Which includes...

Of course, when The Publishing Industry throws FOUR MILLION DOLLARS at Caitlyn Jenner to write a book, you can't blame parasites for getting the idea that all book companies and all authors are rich, and therefore, shouldn't mind a little Internet thievery on one of the most popular and famous websites in the world.

Too often, THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY IS PART OF THE PROBLEM. Where is their Digimarc or Web Sheriff to patrol eBay and find auctions that have PDF, EPUB, KINDLE or EBOOK in the title? Especially on brand new books like Greg's title?

HARPERCOLLINS, Greg's publisher, at least has a "report piracy" link on their website. This is especially helpful for the parasites on eBay who stick their books on CD-R or DVD-R media and smugly announce, "I am within eBay policy because I am not sending this file by PDF, but by regular mail." (Yes, eBay allows this insane loophole).

(UPDATE, April 23rd: HARPERCOLLINS was using Digimarc. They are now with Link-Busters.)

HARPERCOLLINS is actually in the minority of big publishers who care about piracy. Doubleday-Bantam-Dell does NOT have a "report piracy" link. Neither does Scholastic, among others. What's the message? "Oh, we're all right. We take our two hour lunches, we all make money off the fat of George Martin and E.L. James, and give four million dollar advances to idiots like Caitlyn Jenner. All is right with the world." Right, and they pay crap advances to the average writer, don't nurture new talent, and stand by while bookstores and libraries crumble. Real smart.

It's bad enough, isn't it, that conspiratorial creeps crawl around in forums, and sniff around the cracks of blogs, and weasel their way around the torrents. EBAY should not be allowing ANYONE to write ridiculous caveats and get away with it.

EBAY should not be saying "we're just a venue" but should have a "REPORT ITEM" link for: "Ridiculous Caveats." Before anyone can list an item with such a brazen lie, they should be able to prove it's NOT a lie.

"Show us your signed agreement and your licensing," is what EBAY should be saying. Because hypocrite two-faced EBAY forces rights-owners to do just that. Greg Iles can't get this item removed unless he signs up with Ebay's VERO program (vero@ebay.com) and signs a legal document stating he IS the rights owner and acting to protect his copyright or intellectual property.

The thief who bootlegs him with this sale? He is under NO obligation to sign ANYTHING or prove ANYTHING.

And he can take the money and buy his beer and pizza with any profits he's made before getting caught.

The Sri Lanka Cult of Ebay BOOTLEGGERS still Stealing

Well, well.

Here's a Sri Lanka piglet who is using TWO aliases at the same time.

Salantharik and Dimuthmendi.

Yes, the typical tongue-twisting aliases of slimy twisted scumbags located in the crotch of Rat Land.

And you thought it was Florida.

In terms of book bootlegging, Sri Lanka is Cancer Central, and eBay, of course, does little to eradicate it.

What would it take to eradicate the problem?

For one thing, book companies run by people who don't have their heads up their asses and their hands on the expense account vouchers.

Yeah, Random House Penguins, that's YOU. And Scholastic. Too busy with your two hour lunches, are you? Can't assign some intern to file a few takedowns?

The excuse is, what, exactly?

Meanwhile Salantharik and Dimuthmendi (same piglet) runs the SAME ad copy with the same lines about how these stolen books will be sent to the lucky bidder via email.

Of course it would be helpful if busy authors took a few minutes to look out for themselves.

That certainly applies to the ones who give the Sri Lanka piglets the most profits: J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and that silly woman who writes all those lousy "cozy mystery" books about cake.

With a little diligence, there would be no Sri Lanka piglets crawling around eBay every day, doing BUY IT NOW auctions.

And if eBay suspended the Sri Lanka piglets after ONE violation, and if PayPal revoked the accounts for them, the problem would be solved entirely.

The Achilles heel with these bastards is that they have to explain to bidders that these are eBooks, and that they will be delivered via email or cloud (which, fortunately, IS against eBay rules).

Unfortunately, the Sri Lanka piglets (probably only two or three creeps and their families and friends with the multiple accounts) play the merry-go-round game. When Salantharik and Dimuthmendi get a scolding and their items removed, they just go find another alias they haven't used for a while, and put the stuff right back again.

If all the aliases were suspended, and if there were more complaints directly to eBay's VERO department (which is in charge of copyright takedowns) the problem would be over.

Among the current aliases (with a sample auction number) that eBay and PayPal haven't bothered to suspend:

The sad thing is that these Sri Lankan piglets provide PayPal and eBay with maybe a fifty cent profit per auction. That's not a lot is it? Not when you realize the consequence is less new authors being given a decent advance, less bookstores around, less libraries in business. There's no need for eBay and PayPal to be so greedy or short-sighted or arrogant.

"I'm a GNU" - i.e., a thieving British book thief

Ever hear of the GNU?

Somehow, so they think, it ENTITLES eBay bootleggers to stick any books they want onto a disc and mail it off, all royalties to themselves.

On the torrents, where piracy is simply a big giggle, the snotty slogan is "Because we like FREE."

. In the real world? And on EBAY?

Some weeks, a sneaky newcomer tries to rob from publishers and authors for as long as possible. Then there are others who do it openly and brazenly, figuring that nobody will notice.

Like THIS guy:

How could such a ridiculous ad even BE on eBay?

Yet this seller has been in business quite a while, declaring that GNU protects him. Maybe J.K. Rowling's rep or Penguin's rep is shrugging and saying, "Gosh, if there's a creepy thing like the EU, there could be a GNU?"

Maybe big ugly Stephen King doesn't care at all, or his publisher's VeRO rep isn't checking GNU auctions because he's an ostrich with his head in the sand?

If you check some of the feedback on these Brits, you see that they've been at it a long, long time.

Do I have to say it again? WRITER IS THE NIGGER OF THE WORLD.

Where's the outrage over writers being stolen from, and their rights ignored? Why is it that on eBay there are rules prohibiting KKK material but NONE specifically saying that you can't financially RAPE authors:

For some reason, this GNU excuse is embraced by BRITISH book thieves. Perhaps Americans know that copyright law doesn't say "copyright belongs to the original owner, but I can make copies and take all the money because, er, uh, because of GNU."

EBAY should of course outright forbid sellers from offering DVD book auctions with NO titles listed. It's one thing to put every "public domain" book (like the complete Shakespeare) onto a disc. It's another to simply list that you are offering THOUSANDS of current best sellers, or THOUSANDS of great titles...or that you'll custom make a disk with all the books by any author.

Many of these auctions could easily be shut down if only a single VERO rep was paying attention.

Type in ebook or pub or Kindle and you find most of the violations.

Ebay allows anyone to browse WITHIN an auction, so if you type in a few key words (an author's name or KINDLE, ePub or download) it's easy to find creeps like these.

Must I explain why this scabby, penny-ante piracy is bad? That it's not just the principle of some toffee-nosed twit hiding behind a faked-up caveat to make money for his dark beer with his fish and chips?

When somebody buys a DVD containing literally HUNDREDS of books, there's not much reason to buy downloads off Amazon is there? When a seller shrugs and says "tell me the name of ANY author, and I'll put all their titles on a DVD for you," that isn't doing libraries any good, is it?

We've seen the way Blockbuster video crumbled, due to streaming technology. We've seen how Tower Records and the other chains were destroyed by piracy and the rise of the mp3. And now, bookstores and libraries are supposed to become parking lots?

It's pretty sad that some publishers advertise their stupidity by giving huge advances to a few reality stars and provocateurs, and don't even check eBay for OBVIOUS VIOLATIONS.

As it is, we're seeing more and more authors forced to accept small advances or NO advances from tiny indie companies that have inept proofreading and the crappiest paper. We're seeing more and more authors haplessly doing what musicians do, and using vanity companies to hoist files up where they are lost among the thousands of amateurs also flooding Amazon with cheap downloads. CDBaby has a division called Bookbaby. You know who makes the money, BABY? It ain't the authors.

Piracy on the torrents and in forums and secret "clubs" on Facebook is bad enough. Lax Internet laws mean that these sites are seldom blocked or prosecuted. But EBAY? Where little criminals snicker and make $5 or $10 off a DVD loaded up with stolen COPYRIGHTED books? That's more than a crime. That is an outrage.

Publishers and authors need to take their heads out of their asses. Ebay, by law, must respond to valid DMCA's from VeRO (verified rights owner) reps. I'm a VeRO rep. It's not brain surgery. It takes me only a few minutes to find and report violations.

In case you're wondering how in the world these Brit Twits thought "GNU" applied in their case, the answer is simple. They are too greedy to think. They are too stupid to care. And they are too childish to actually understand that the GNU does NOT apply to putting stolen PDF and Kindle files on a DVD-R and burning them.

A quick glance at Wikipedia and another typical page on GNU:

Yes, like the kid with his hand in the cookie jar, these worthies have some lame excuse they made up. "You don't SAY I couldn't have more cookies, Mommy." And "If I modify a book by making it into a PDF file, and then burn it, I've created an original software program."

Whatever.

It's a sad, sad problem that the big arrogant companies such as EBAY and AMAZON and GOOGLE are bullying everyone. Copyright owners have to practically BEG for justice. They have to ask nicely. They have to jump through all the hoops and fill out all the forms.

And EBAY certainly doesn't have an easy way for ANYONE to contact them and tell them, "This seller is talking GNU bullshit."

It is important to make the GNU extinct...not, not the GNU that is in a zoo, but the GNU that lives in the warped minds of book thieves.

Textbooks are Expensive. So Ebay lets bootleggers Keep on BOOTLEGGING

You warn a jerk in Algeria to stop selling illegal downloads of textbooks.

Slap-slap on the wrist-wrist. (He's got TWO identities.)

Does he stop? Of course not.

How many times does a seller get warned for the same offense before there's a suspension?

Hmmm, hmmm...no set amount. Ebay chooses. "We can give a warning, another warning, another warning, we may restrict the account, we may restrict it for a week, then a month, then indefinite suspension..."

Would you like the police to operate that way if YOU were robbed or raped?

Why are authors treated like shit?

The nice thing with eBay is that an Algerian scumbag doesn't have to be an illegal alien or be in America to steal and rob from Americans. He can sit on his dirt-encrusted lice-filled butt and press a few buttons on EBAY.

He's CHEBABFLY.

Here's another of his idiotic names.

Note the same green-underlining caveat, and the usual nonsense about being the copyright owner.

Foreign monkeys who don't even speak English can quickly get an EBAY account and cut and paste ads like this.

Just look for any account with EPUB or MOBI in the header, copy it off, steal the downloadable versions off the torrents or forums, and mmmm, Ammmmmmerican mmmmmmmmoney in your dirty little paw.

Americans? Stupid stupid rich rich American assholes. Russia tampered with the election? Feh! Foo! Ha ha! Never mind.

Algerians and Sri Lankans and Russians stealing from American authors? Give 'em another chance, another identity, and another, and another. What's it to you? You work hard to write a book? Fehhhhhhhhhh. Baaaaaahhhhh! Too bad for YOU! I'm Algerian, I deserve your royalties more than YOU DO! EBAY AGREES!

Ebay bootlegger ghouls...stealing Carrie Fisher books while Ebay gets a Percentage

What have we here? Carrie Fisher dies and THIS guy instantly posts her audio book.

The monkeys from Sri Lanka, Putinville, Mexico, or the ones who infest Florida or New York, LOVE to get a few easy dollars off the world of literacy, a world they know so little about:

"AUDIO BOOK, WILL BE DRECT LINK TO YOU THE AUDIO BOOK FILE"

Most of them copy off the various caveats from each other, hoping the phrasing makes any kind of sense. All they know is there's easy money because EBAY doesn't police their site and PUBLISHERS aren't vigilant and AUTHORS are naive.

THIS seller posted over 170 different audio books. You'd think a few authors or publishers would've noticed and sent in DMCA's to get rid of this jerk.

You'd also think EBAY would have an efficient way by which these auctions could be reported by anyone who sees them. After all, this jerk has blatantly indicated: "AUDIO BOOK SEND BY EMAIL." Which happens, miraculously, to be against eBay's own basic rules.

For a watchdog, be it blogger or concerned librarian or a member of the Writer's Guild (oh, forget the latter, that union does nothing except take money), eBay's idea is you click the "REPORT THIS ITEM" link, scroll down several menus:

REPORT CATEGORY (that would be "Listing Practices" in this case), REASON FOR REPORT (that would be "Other Listing Practices") and DETAILED REASON (that would be "Digitally Delivered Goods") followed by the final button: SEND IN REPORT.

Do that 177 times? The other options are to call eBay direct, get somebody on the other side of the world, and explain the problem. Or go on Twitter to ASKEBAY and hope for the best.

If more PUBLISHERS and more AUTHORS simply saw and reported the abuse, sellers like this would be suspended before they get hundreds of dollars that belong to PUBLISHERS and AUTHORS, and help support printers, bookstores and libraries.