eBay sellers make me crazy

[wenchie]

:mad:

I did this tutorial 2 years ago for the holiday blitz kickoff:

Splitcoaststampers - Resources

I did such a good job that someone was inspired to sell it on eBay:

2 DRAWER SECRET GIFT BOX KEEPSAKE CARD PAPER TEMPLATE | eBay

So . . . if you want to make this project, feel free to use the FREE tutorial rather than wasting money on it.

Not quite the sort of inspiration I was trying to incite with the freebie. Some people just have no moral compass.

I will crawl back into my little black hole now.

[stiz2003]

I don't blame you for being angry. I would be too. There is a simple copy right thing you can put on all your work to protect yourself from this. Unfortunately for most of us it is more costly to go after a person like this than it is to disregard it. I would definitely drop this seller a message on "stolen" ideas though and let them know it was yours and is not theirs to sell. You may also contact ebay who will pull the sale. I have caught fraud on there before and they did act on my information.

Always put this on your work. I believe there is a fee to register it, but this should help.

Copyright � 2013 [COPYRIGHT OWNER’S NAME]. All Rights Reserved.

[buggainok]

Yes, Wenchie, you are right - no moral compass. The internet has brought us wonderful things, but also provides people the opportunity to steal at will.

On the plus side, it also allows people like you to share freely of your talents with all of us. Thank you for that.

[coffeegal85]

Wow! I am angry for you!

[ailhelen]

So sorry this has happened to you. I know what this feels like as I draw sign language graphics and had them used by someone else who claimed to have drawn them. They were all copyrighted but as I found out unless you have lots of money to initialise court proceedings you have nothing to fall back on. The sad side of this story is that I nearly let it destroy me, I was so devasted by this but I finally had to let go of my anger and disappointment and look to the joys of life. I stopped looking to see what was happening next as it was eating me up mentally and physically.
It doesnt cost you anything to use the copyright symbol but unhappily in this day and age there are always low lifes who will happily steal and claim ownership of what they had nothing to do with in the first place.
Dont let it get to you too much, remember no matter what they claim, you know you were the clever one and they are just a mere shadow trying to be like you. Your talent will always shine thru.
On the positive side if you let ebay know about this woman, more often than not they will remove the offending item.
Best wishes and take care

[lesliespringer]

Should we all email her and tell her where we all can find it for free??? :p

[punch-crazy]

I can understand where you are coming from. It's never nice when someone doesn't give credit let alone steal someone elses design.

If it is any consolation I did notice that her box is not exactly the same as yours.
She may very well have used your free design as her guide though as they are indeed very similar.
Based on your instructions it looks like yours once finished is a 3" cube that has three stationary compartments (2 on one side and the middle one on the opposite side.
Where as her's is a 3 x 4" tall box with 2 larger drawer like (removable) compartments.

[smriti]

I'm sorry that you feel cheated.

You've raised a very good question. In this age of internet, there's inspiration, tutorial, free templates all around. People use these to make gifts as well as sell them online or in person. I do craft shows and many of the items that I sell are inspired from what I see on the internet here and there and sometimes made using tutorials somebody has published somewhere. At no point did I feel that I was cheating by not putting back a link on the finished product to the original tutorial. As I understand it, it would be wrong of me to sell the tutorial or the free template and that's what most people say on their sites/blogs; but I'm not selling that. I'm selling an item made using the template/tutorial.
I never thought it to be wrong to do that. Do you think that is wrong?

[lovemycards]

Could this not be reported to ebay? You can prove that you had posted this tutorial before this person stole it and is profiting from it. Total copy right infringement, right? (I'm no lawyer, far from it)

[shazsilverwolf]

I think- I might be wrong- that a complaint would only work if the item is identical to the one made in the tutorial, and from what punch-crazy says, its similar, not identical. I agree it doesn't seem ethical, but its a very fine line as to whats acceptable when it comes down to 'inspired by'. How different does something have to be not to infringe anyones copyright? I wonder this myself often when I 'case' a card/design I've seen in the gallery or on Pinterest. I never copy exactly- I'll use different stamps, or colours, and on my blog I'll always link to the original that inspired me. But I do wonder if someone might feel I've overstepped the line.

[cat_woman]

That really sucks! I know how much work you put into your designs and I would be totally PO'd too if someone was selling something that was so close to my design that it very well might as well be. Obviously, your designs are worth selling! Maybe you should cut her off at the pass and put "The Orignal" up for sale on evilbay.

[Scrapjanny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smriti

I'm sorry that you feel cheated.

You've raised a very good question. In this age of internet, there's inspiration, tutorial, free templates all around. People use these to make gifts as well as sell them online or in person. I do craft shows and many of the items that I sell are inspired from what I see on the internet here and there and sometimes made using tutorials somebody has published somewhere. At no point did I feel that I was cheating by not putting back a link on the finished product to the original tutorial. As I understand it, it would be wrong of me to sell the tutorial or the free template and that's what most people say on their sites/blogs; but I'm not selling that. I'm selling an item made using the template/tutorial.
I never thought it to be wrong to do that. Do you think that is wrong?

I don't think you've done anything wrong. I think it's wrong to do what this eBay seller has done, and that is to sell a template that someone else has designed. I don't, however, think it's wrong to sell something you've made with that template. That is your creation, and the template is the designer's. I'm sure there will be others who disagree with me, but that's my view on things like this.