Ebay member selling reprints of photos I bought...
Seems there is nowhere to send a complaint to ebay. So I'll try here and see if anyone there sees this....
I purchased an auction of 2 old 1930s photographs a few weeks ago. Today, I see someone (not the seller) has listed copies/reprints of the 2 photos using the sellers auction pics. I did the 'report' thing and ebay doesn't do anything. As usual. All of the sellers items are reprints of photos they grabbed from ebay/internet. Does ebay not care anymore? Is money all they care about? Why did I spend $40 on the original photos, just to have someone make copies to sell for $4 on ebay. Do I not have any protection? Does ebay not care about me, the buyer, anymore? Below are links to the 2 reprints I would like them to stop selling, they've already sold several now. SMH
spark-chaser1
·3 years agoApologies for tagging onto this thread with a reply that's not helpful to your case. I do sympathise with your plight.
There is another thread dealing with WW2 letters elsewhere, where the seller was being pilloried for not making copies of said letters to a third party ( allegedly family members who inadvertently let letters be discarded when cleaning an estate). The consensus of several members asked " what is the harm in making copies available, we are sure the buyer wouldn't mind..."
This thread is an example of a buyer who spent money on a item that is now finding isn't unique anymore. It is NOT a simple case for a buyer, nor a seller, to be asked to make copies of anything. Serious issues can arise.
To the OP of this thread... I can totally understand being upset.I happily own copies and reproductions of important photos of historical events... But I would NOT be happy finding that I just paid a premium for something I was told was one-of-a-kind, only to find some schmo was making good money selling copies, rendering mine worthless.
dgartzy
OP3 years agoThanks for the replies. I guess my solution is I stop buying on ebay.
dgartzy
OP3 years agoI'm not claiming ownership of the images/copyrights. The photos being reprinted are images the seller provided ebay for their auction. I know I do not own those either. I bought the old photos a few weeks ago, as a collector, no intention of reproducing them, just adding to my collection. The value of the original photos is the image rarity in that they are personal photos, possibly the only ones existing, not mass produced. Now, I have someone selling reprints, ruining the value of my investment.
So you guys are saying I should NOT buy photographs, negatives, postcards, etc... off ebay anymore. It's OK to just copy auction photos and reproduce whatever I want and sell it on ebay, if I feel compelled to do so. No issues at all.
kathiec
·3 years agoThis is a perfect case of what's ethical and what's legal. It may not be ethical to make the copies and sell them, but under US Copyright law it's perfectly legal.
As an analogy, let's take paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. Anyone, anywhere can make prints of those paintings, despite the fact that someone owns the original. Owning the painting doesn't give them legal rights over reproducing the image. If you look at photographs, the majority of Ansel Adams' photos are now in the public domain. So anyone, anywhere can legally reproduce them.
And the photos you purchased aren't the only ones the seller had of those images. Look at the completed listings. The first shows 'out of stock; 3 sold'. And the second shows '3 available; 2 sold".
dgartzy
OP3 years agokathiec
·3 years agoSorry, I misread your original post.
As for not buying on eBay, I hate to break it to you but this is not the only place you'll find that's selling reprints. As digital technology has improved you can find them everywhere.
dgartzy
OP3 years agoYeah, helps to read things through first, know what's going on, before you start with the condescending insults, lecturing. I'm fully aware reprints are sold elsewhere. Same thing has happened on Facebook (where many collectors have gone and sell now, but I'm sure you knew that already:) Except on FB, group admins won't let that s**t fly and the seller would be banned.
No need to reply.
joliztoyco
·3 years agoYes. That's what we're saying. If you are buying for a collection/investment, do NOT buy off Ebay.
1786davycrockett
·3 years agoU. S. Copyright law is fairly clear on this point -- if you are not the original photographer, or the current copyright holder, you can not claim ownership to these photographs, simply because you purchased them.
You state "I see someone (not the seller) has listed copies/reprints of the 2 photos using the sellers auction pics." So, obviously, the original seller (from whom you had purchased YOUR photos) had more of the same identical photos for sale -- and no doubt these were copies as well. And, at this point, there probably is NO way to determine the provenance of any of these photos -- or whom the original owner may have been.
The bottom line is -- you do, indeed, own two photographs. However, you can not claim ownership rights to the images on those photographs, unless you can prove that you are the current copyright owner.
dgartzy
OP3 years agoNO... seller only sold/had the ones I bought. The people now selling reprints used the detailed photos the initial seller provided ebay for their listing. They didn't sell, or have duplicates...
If you looked at the links I provided, you'd "obviously" see the people selling reprints claim they...
kathiec
·3 years agoIf the photos are in the public domain, then yes, you're purely out of luck. The only person with standing to pursue this would be whomever holds the copyrights to the photos, if there is still an active copyright.
dgartzy
OP3 years agoI'm just screwed then?
alcoforever
·3 years agoIf I recall correctly, ebay has a policy that all photos uploaded to the site become the property of ebay and can be used by any ebay seller.
If you are selling photos, it is best to watermark or put some other type of ID on the photos you upload for your listings.
As a buyer in this case, you don't have any recourse available that I know of. You might consult a lawyer though.