How do sellers get away with selling computers on eBay with pre-installed software?
January 17, 2011 7:57 AM Subscribe
How do sellers get away with selling computers on eBay with pre-installed software?
Often I see listings on eBay for computers with tons of extra software installed (e.g. Microsoft Office, Windows operating systems on Macs, Final Cut Studio, Photoshop, etc. etc.) These generally go for higher prices than similar computers without such software, sometimes significantly higher.
I'd like to sell a laptop on eBay and would obviously like to get the best price possible. I have some of the software that seems to have the most added value currently installed on the machine. Some of it was purchased legitimately, some of it...wasn't. Am I opening myself up to some kind of serious legal action if I try to sell it with the software installed?
Often I see listings on eBay for computers with tons of extra software installed (e.g. Microsoft Office, Windows operating systems on Macs, Final Cut Studio, Photoshop, etc. etc.) These generally go for higher prices than similar computers without such software, sometimes significantly higher.
I'd like to sell a laptop on eBay and would obviously like to get the best price possible. I have some of the software that seems to have the most added value currently installed on the machine. Some of it was purchased legitimately, some of it...wasn't. Am I opening myself up to some kind of serious legal action if I try to sell it with the software installed?
your buyer might contest the auction once they find out the included software isn't legit
if i bought your laptop and you didn't include the disks for the listed software, i would contest the auction. very loudly.
posted by lester at 8:15 AM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
if i bought your laptop and you didn't include the disks for the listed software, i would contest the auction. very loudly.
posted by lester at 8:15 AM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
They're getting away with it because they're not getting caught. It is too much of a pain for the software guys to catch them. It only becomes an issue if the person you sold the computer to didn't realize he was buying bootlegs and something happens -- i.e. there's a MS or Adobe activation that no longer works and he contacts them to be told he is running illegal software. You could get ratted out to eBay. You could get ratted out to the software vendors.
The likelihood of getting caught is low. But the money you're making off selling the software that wasn't yours to sell. When I've sold systems, I've made a note of merchandising any legit software I was selling with it and that I was including the original disks. Even if the stuff I was including was week and not really worth a lot, the eBay buyers liked they were getting something for free.
Finally, I would do a secure wipe of the machine and install the OS to ensure I was not passing along a system with personal information on it. If you do go the route of selling a system with a bunch of stuff installed, remember may be sending along personal data as well.
posted by birdherder at 8:18 AM on January 17, 2011
The likelihood of getting caught is low. But the money you're making off selling the software that wasn't yours to sell. When I've sold systems, I've made a note of merchandising any legit software I was selling with it and that I was including the original disks. Even if the stuff I was including was week and not really worth a lot, the eBay buyers liked they were getting something for free.
Finally, I would do a secure wipe of the machine and install the OS to ensure I was not passing along a system with personal information on it. If you do go the route of selling a system with a bunch of stuff installed, remember may be sending along personal data as well.
posted by birdherder at 8:18 AM on January 17, 2011
From the printed info sheet that came with an eBay Mac:
But then the seller sent an email to the buyer, CC'd a bunch of other buyers, and said his account was terminated "as a safety precaution, as someone has tried to tamper with my account."
In fact the item was shipped about 3 days after that, and arrived in a gigantic box with loose, squashed peanuts everywhere.
But...everything worked. The buyer has no complaints, even if he didn't plan on using the included software. He just needed a Mac.
posted by circular at 9:39 AM on January 17, 2011
High DSR's (Detailed Seller Ratings) give us Final Value Fee Discounts, which go a long way towards insuring that we can keep prices for our 100% Genuine Adobe Software as low as possible for you, our customers.The machine was loaded with commercial software, not just Adobe but Apple, Microsoft, and more. The day after payment was transferred, the seller's eBay account was terminated, eBay emailed a warning to the buyer, and the buyer was ready to go into a coma.
NOTICE:
The software provided upon both the Macintosh and provided restoration media is authorized for use only on the machine on which it was distributed. Installing this software onto any other computer than the one it was sold with is unlawful and violates the licensing agreement that this software is provided under. Violating this license agreement may cause Adobe, Inc. to deactivate your unique serial key, and discontinue updates to your installed software suite. In some cases, Adobe, Inc. may cause your installed software to cease functioning at all. [VENDOR NAME] cannot be held responsible for any losses incurred if Adobe, Inc. deactivates your software as a result of violation of this license agreement, nor will [VENDOR NAME] be obligated to offer you a new activation and license key.
But then the seller sent an email to the buyer, CC'd a bunch of other buyers, and said his account was terminated "as a safety precaution, as someone has tried to tamper with my account."
In fact the item was shipped about 3 days after that, and arrived in a gigantic box with loose, squashed peanuts everywhere.
But...everything worked. The buyer has no complaints, even if he didn't plan on using the included software. He just needed a Mac.
posted by circular at 9:39 AM on January 17, 2011
I certainly don't intend to compare your good faith question with this previous post, but some of the answers there might apply to your situation.
posted by SuperNova at 7:22 PM on January 17, 2011
posted by SuperNova at 7:22 PM on January 17, 2011
It is breach of copyright and illegal, eBay is responsive to rightsholders through the VeRO programme, and eBay will cooperate with a rightsholder investigation within certain limits. Yes people do get taken to court for this, or do end up in a legal procedure.
How do I know this? Depending on your infringing software you may just be getting a nasty letter from me. I own a niche IP consultancy doing just this, and we get good results.
Not a good idea.
posted by jannw at 2:08 AM on January 18, 2011
How do I know this? Depending on your infringing software you may just be getting a nasty letter from me. I own a niche IP consultancy doing just this, and we get good results.
Not a good idea.
posted by jannw at 2:08 AM on January 18, 2011
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But yes, there are clear policies against selling pirated software. And your buyer might contest the auction once they find out the included software isn't legit, which would be painful and actually worse than suspending your account actually if it holds up the payment.
posted by smackfu at 8:09 AM on January 17, 2011