misuse of my web site photos on eBay - HELP!

[Def Leper]

wait wait but when were using klipsch pictures and logos from copyrighted stuff its more along the lines of sports wearables. That we show our support for the team, company, tv show, etc. What we are point the finger at is blatant misrepresentation.

Remember that legal "sports wearables" are items that are licensed from the teams and you are paying for use of the copyrighted/trademarked graphic when you pay for the item. Showing your "support" for a team, company, TV show, etc. by taking their property without permission and compensation is a rationalization for something that is a very common form of petty theft of intellectual property.

[Al Klappenberger]

Gil,

I think I get what you are saying. In a nut-shell: What the guy did may be wrong but it's not our place to punish him by assuming guilt and dishing out the punishment. We (or maybe I) acted like judge and jurey! The proper action was for me, and me alone, to register a formal complaint to eBay and drop it. But being a "normal" human, I would probably handle it the same way all over again! [6]

Al K.

[Daddy Dee]

Well, my basic attitude is the following:

You're messing with Al K.... You're messing with me....

You don't even want to think about making me mad...

disclaimer: I think Gil has shared a wise and good word.

further, I think the experience of forum members who have been harmed

by scammers, into the thousands of dollars, contributes to the

protectiveness of other forum members on Ebay, Audigon and such.

[johnyholiday]

Esq. eolian effluvium equivocation

[WMcD]

Gee, now I know how Allen Songer feels. Defending an unpopular position. Like him, I stand on my position and goad you all a little bit. Smile.

In my view, what is going on here could be a Master's thesis on modern mob mentality and vigilantee (sp) behaviour. You think it only goes on in history or movies. Nope. It is right here.

There is an insult. Perhaps illegal. Maybe not. The "law" is ineffective. So the good guy asks his friends to help. Harrass the guy.

Then people want to help impose law and order. But now the good guy has no control over what is said in the defense of his honor. There were four mentions of violence. I think we know they were in jest.

Some defend their position saying their reaction comes from being swindled by others. So they are hot to take out frustrations on the target because he is one of "them". They're all the same and we have to do something about it. Somebody get a rope.

I trust you can see that this has been following classic patterns.

Excuse me if I moralize.

Gil

[DizRotus]

Gil-<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Your point about the dangers of mob violence is well taken. The episode of Twilight Zone to which you referred is: The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street written by Rod Serling (go to http://www.twilightzone.org/index2.html). There can be no doubt that individuals do things as part of a mob that they would never do if acting alone.

There is another side to the anonymity offered by the group. The point of the fairy tale about the Emperors new clothes is an illustration. Individuals were afraid to risk censure from their peers, so they pretended to see what was not there. An extreme example of the majority, the good people, looking away while the few were left free to prey upon a minority took place in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.

For the eBay seller to misappropriate Als photo without attribution was wrong; possibly not malicious, but wrong. As you know, Belles command a premium over La Scalas and Cornwalls (with which they share components) due to their appearance; they are fine furniture. Therefore, it is completely wrong for a seller to use a photo that depicts Belles that are not for sale. The photo should not have been used, period.

If it was too much trouble for the seller to photograph the actual Belles (if they ever existed), the seller should have used a stock photo, such as those on the Klipsch site, and indicated it to be as such. Instead, the seller used a photo of Als home and then went into detail describing speakers that could not be those in the photo. IMHO this was a scam and it was right for the forum members to call the seller to task.

The forum did not look the other way. If obvious misuse of the eBay system is ignored by those who know its taking place, the unscrupulous are then left free to prey upon the less informed. The concerted response, although exaggerated at times, was the type of response that gets the attention of eBay and those who would abuse eBay. If nothing else, the seller will think twice about using Klipsch as the focus of another scam. Now let the Hummel figurine aficionados look out for themselves.

[sheltie dave]

I agree with Gil in part. If the seller took a photo from the Klipsch website(or even lifted it from a private photo) and attributed the source, no one would get too hot and bothered. We see it all the time on EBay, and don't get too excited.

When the source is not cited or the use of said photo explained(ie my speakers look/don't look like these,) expect some slams. It does progress into deceptive practice/fraud when the seller neither informs nor corrects the situation.

BTW, my wife's friend who lives in Kitchener had no luck contacting this seller for a tire kicking. He asked me to tell Al the monkeys are cute:)

[meagain]

I have a "no right click" code on my ebay ads. If they really wanted the photo, they can get it, but they have to jump through alot more hoops. When they right click on it to grab something, a popup says "Happy Holidays?" []

[Jay481985]

all I have to do is hit print screen and paste it on mspaint.