I was under the impression that it was illegal for a person to sell copies of books that have had their covers torn off and reported as "Unsold" to the publisher. Anyone know if this is correct?

Yes, that is most definitely illegal. Right inside the first few pages of a book there is usually a small box that states:

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has reveived any payment for this "stripped book."



Kimberly

100% correct. There is usually an address on the inside of the book where you can contact the publisher, along with a note about stripped copies.

Dave

Why would they tear off the cover? And why would anybody want to buy a book that has no cover?

Of course its an Ebayer. They've got 20 books and with this to say: "They are brand new. However, it is a part of liquidation and for the store to take credit, it is missing the cover."

The only reason I noticed it was because it came up on my Lynsay search. They've got Vampire Interrupted in the lot. Unbelievable!

In other words, they've reported the books as unsold and destroyed as part of the liquidation and are now trying to make a profit by selling the books anyway.

I've reported the sale and wonder if Ebay will pull the plug on them. Another new user.

Item #290217708034 if anyone is interested.

Maybe you guys should start calling me The Enforcer as I seem to keep coming across and reporting people trying to illegally sell Lynsay's books...

<--- that's me in my undercover disguise,

Denise aka "The Argeneau Ebay Enforcer" Don't mess with this woman...this in only one of her many disguises! We count on her to bring attention to the stolen or unlawful sales of any Lynsay Sands books! She has major mental powers, and if you are an ebay-rogue messing with the Spices or the SASSy ARGENEAUTS ...She Will Bring You Down!

You have been warned...follow the law or else!

Thank you Denise...we count on you and back you as needed!

wren

Not only is this illegal, but it is immoral!

It's a shame we have such slime in our world who would do these things...

wren

I'll give the seller the benefit of the doubt and suggest perhaps he isn't aware that it is a criminal offence. I messaged the seller to that effect and hope he responds.

Just in case he doesn't I've also reported it to eBay as selling stolen proprty.


Dave

MR. SPICE....you are tooo nice!

but since he stated: liquidation and for the store to take credit, it is missing the cover."

he pretty much dug his/her own grave. He/she just admitted that the store would get credit and he is makeing a side profit!!

I sell on ebay,small items, and for you to get a store you have to show a lot of paper work once you start selling at a certain price level, and if you are selling multiples of the same items and if they are NEW product you are supposed to show where you buy your product and tax papers.

Also you should know Ebay dosn't watch the sellers as much as they are supposed to, unless you type a heading with a red flag word in it, then they are all over you! I ad 3 items pulled in the middle of an auction, just because i used the term..."LIKE NEW" in it, but they do watch their privately owned stores very much for iliegal items.....USUALLY!

g3 ( just putting her 2 cents in!)

Mr. Spice, DENISE.... looking through his other sales, it looks like he can get a hold of a lot of books without covers....

if i can remember, I worked for a store that sold books through an outside vendor, all we had to do was rip the covers ff if there was [roblem with the book and return the cover for the store to get heir money back or get it replaced. Is this true for most places???

if so, i would say he has the same access and is makeing a pofit off ofthe books after they get ther money back....

Gena ( who is looking from the out side in!)

The store where he/she obtains the books may have done things legally...but then he/she may still have access to the books and be doing a little selling on the side. Probably this is part of how stolen books without covers and that warning in the front of books got started. It doesn't take long for slimeballs to find a way to turn things to their advantage...

Hopefully, Mr. Spice's message will be enough if the seller doesn't know this is illegal. If not, our ebay enforcers eyes will have to keep on the lookout and report unlawful events.

wren

Well, Mr. Spice, he/she has received two friendly notes asking if they realized this was illegal. So I'm hoping this seller will reform!

I highly doubt it Denise. Probably just trying to make a quick buck. But good looking out.

Wren that was the point i was trying to make with all my rambling!! thanks sis!
G3

Thanks for the head's up Denise. I forwarded the info to both my agent and editor. My agent is Vice President of a huge agency that handles loads of big names including celebrites and they have a lovely large law department she can sick on people like this. As does Avon. Hopefully between them they can make him cease and desist, but who knows.

In the meantime, I appreciate your letting us know. Gee, we have our own little spy network here. How cool is that? LOL

Lynsay

WOW! I feel like the pebble that started the landslide!

Well, they pulled the plug on the one item, but he's still got a bunch of others up, including VAF. You'd think they'd shut them all down.

Ebay will only respond if there is a complaint against a specific item. As mentioned earlier in this thread they don't police themselves, they expect the sites users to do it for them.

It will probably take the occasion of eBay losing a major lawsuit at some time in the future before they accept they have some responsibility for what is listed on the site.

Dave

Well, I did my part by reporting several of the items but got tired of messing with it after about 6. Maybe they will get the point and check all them.

Preseverance pays off, Denise. At the very least we've made Ebay remove one of them and set a precedent, The publisher's legal department have been made aware of both the auctions and the seller so if there is a continued listing of Harper Collins titles they can do something about it.

Dave

Well, you tried, Denise.

J.K. Rowling continually asked Ebay to remove copies of her books that had "forged signatures" and warned her readers on her website and on some of the other reputable Harry Potter sites like Mugglenet that they were phony autographs...none of them were copies she had signed. Ebay still kept having the books on...and asking prices were outrageous for whoever had that little scam running. This was happening all through the time that the series was being written and published, not just since it has been finished, and she was frustrated that her readers were being taken advantage of in this way. In this case, J.K. Rowling did finally file a lawsuit as a last resort against Ebay, but I don't know if it has ever been resolved.

If her legal team, which may have included Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury, and Scholastic since they own part of the Harry Potter empire (although I don't know who was involved in the legal proceedings,) couldn't pull it off, then the biggest thing is "let the buyer beware." Sadly, there are just as many dishonest buyers as sellers on Ebay! Unless some of the major publishing houses and others who own rights to pirated books and other media come together against Ebay...I don't think Ebay will ever worry about strictly policing what is happening. They are big and they don't care. It will take something major before anything ever changes...and the authors, publishers, and other artists whose works are stolen lose out...and so do we as the readers and fans.

wren