Here's a seller in INDIA illegally making dupes of THE BOOK THIEF.
What a BARGAIN, only $2.99 for the PDF
This auction was reported to EBAY by a fan. EBAY let the auction stand.
Why?
Not every employee at EBAY is literate OR observant.
The fan went through the proper procedure. He found that little line in the ad that says "REPORT LINK."
He then used the menu to select the reason for the report and direct it to an employee expert enough to handle the particular complaint:
Too bad whoever glanced at the ad didn't notice the line about sending the book digitally (in violation of eBay rules).
They missed what I underlined in RED, which admits the book will, against eBay rules, be sent by e-mail (or by digital download off a "cloud locker.")
Ebay sellers often put the "I will send this via e-mail" or "you will get a download link" at the bottom of an ad, where an EBAY rep might not notice. I know, you'd think EBAY would channel complaints to an employee that knows what to look for, but that's not always the case.
What happens if EBAY doesn't enforce their own rules?
A fan can send in another complaint. Ebay cautions filing again "delays" the process. Perhaps indefinitely.
The other option is to contact the author, who should then send in a VeRO (verified rights owner) complaint, or have the publisher handle it.
If an author can't be reached (through a website, Facebook or Twitter) a bad alternative is to go to the book company's website. It may have a "report privacy" link on their website, only it may NOT work.
It's akin to "put it in the round file." Apparently book companies don't have some intern or "editorial assistant" to e-mail eBay with an auction number. Instead they forward the complaint to a "service" like Web Sheriff or Grayzone etc. These companies are expensive and mostly involved in finding download links at Internet torrents, forums and blogs. If they charge a buck per takedown, they may be instructed NOT to bother with eBay at all. They may also be told to concentrate only on certain authors.
What can be done?
It would of course be helpful if so-called "writer's unions" (the kind that have a rep stand around at a BEA convention boasting about dental plans) got into he game. It would be helpful of publishers seriously patrolled eBay.
It would also help if eBay didn't coach their criminals into put in an insane caveat about OWNING the copyright or RESALE rights to the book. This caveat is often enough to make an employee shrug and say "gosh, it sounds legal. We're just a venue. We won't ask the seller to give us proof."
Put the above in an ad, and don't mention the item will actually be sent via download or e-mail, and there's a 50-50 chance the auction will ONLY be stopped if there's a VeRO complaint.
Bottom line? Authors should join VERO, and glance at eBay once a week.
An author can have several "vero reps." It might be the author, the author's agent, the author's nosy Aunt Clara. Just fill in eBay's one-page form and that's it. After that, if a bogus auction is seen, all that's needed is to send in the auction number from one of the authorized e-mail accounts (author, agent, Aunt Clara) and the auction is removed.
Since eBay sellers do face suspension, and it's no longer easy to get multiple accounts, it doesn't take too many stoppages before a bootlegger gives up or IS suspended. The system does work.
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