I am not a pirate.
I am an agent of change.
A good way to change something is to work against it in the form of causing those in need of change to lose money.
Large scale copyright infringing will change outdated business models. Or those companies who refuse to adapt to market changes will perish.
Period.
"They can't arrest us all."
-some rapper I think Outkast
About 2 weeks ago, my friend called me while I was in Greenville, SC and told me that he couldn't get a copy of WoW in Dallas, TX and that it was selling out nationwide. He told me that they were yanking WoW from the shelves in fear of impending server trouble.
Coincidentally I was in Best Buy at the time and saw 6 copies of WoW sitting right in front of me.
Well, being the ambitious, young capitalist that I am, I immediately recognized a market where demand was evident and I decided to meet that demand with supply. So I swiped up all 6 copies up for $50 a piece and put them on the plastic.
I get back to my friends house, snap a digital picture of all 5 copies (one was for my friend) and put them separately on eBay. I established that I would start bidding at $70, buyout at $75 because most bids started at $80 and bought out at $85 or $100. I knew this was a short term market with a small window of opportunity for profit. Because once Blizzard got its shat straight the market value of those things would be back down to $50, flat. No risk, though, 30-days, unopened, receipt, cash back. No prob.
Well I sold 1 in about 1 hour. And 2 more overnight.
I shipped out the 3 simultaneously after ensuring payment and made about 50 bucks in profit after shipping.
However, a few days later I got an email (see below) from Ebay informing me that my copies had been removed.
Ok, I understand that in-game items for sale on ebay would disjoint the in-game market. So, for the value of gameplay I understadn this ruling. But I'm a free market capitalist who says: "Something is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it." If I pull a wad of gum from my shoe and you want to give me $500 for it, then that wad of prechewed gum is worth $500, maybe more, depending what your friend eyeing it wants to pay more. I believe that if I have the foresight to purchase a game, do not alter its quality or value, than I should be able to resell that game for whatever price I can garner. If Blizzard shipped too many copies and didn't plan on them overloading their servers, well tough titties Paco, don't take away my right to be an entrepreneur. I used to love this thing called freedom. Remember that shit? It was the bomb.
But, this will all get into the, "you didn't by the game you bought a license" discussion and "that license is under certain restrictions". Blah blah blah, if you know anything about intellectual property and the heinous state to which it has plummeted then you know what I'm talking about.
However, I just wanted to bring this up because most of the discussion I saw listed was about selling in-game items prohibited in the EULA, not the actual, un-opened game.
Below is the email I got from Ebay:
To: *****************
From: whyended@ebay.com
Subject: VeRO NOTICE: eBay Listing(s) Removed - VeRO Program
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 16:45:26 PST
**PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT EMAIL REGARDING YOUR LISTING(S)**
We would like to let you know that we removed your listing:
8160606633 WoW *SEALED* World of Warcraft - email or ship FAST!
because the intellectual property rights owner notified us, under
penalty of perjury, that your listing or the item itself infringes their
copyright, trademark, or other rights.
We have credited any associated fees to your account. We have also
notified the bidders that the listing(s) was removed, and that they are
not obligated to complete the transaction.
If you relist this or any other similar items on eBay, your account
likely will be suspended.
If you believe your listing was ended in error, or have questions
regarding the removal of this listing, please contact the intellectual
property rights owner directly at:
ESA - Entertainment Software Association
esa@theesa.com
eBay is available to answer questions, but since it is the rights owner
that requested the removal of your listing(s), we encourage you to
contact them first.
For more information on eBay's cooperation with rights owners through
the VeRO Program, and a list of rights owners that have created About Me
pages, please visit:
ht
Honestly I hope to be off the ground (or teleporting) by 2050.
Plus, all traffic should be automated (routed) by then. And traveling will be a quicker for effeceint, relaxing, non-involved, nappy-time experience.
Slashdot Mirror
---------------
Meanwhile in hell, Satan dons his mittens.
In addition, copyright infringment is not piracy.
Piracy is using/selling unlicensed copyrighted material for profit. (AKA you don't have a license to sell this.)
So piracy is also a misnomer.
I am not a pirate. I am an agent of change. A good way to change something is to work against it in the form of causing those in need of change to lose money. Large scale copyright infringing will change outdated business models. Or those companies who refuse to adapt to market changes will perish. Period. "They can't arrest us all." -some rapper I think Outkast
About 2 weeks ago, my friend called me while I was in Greenville, SC and told me that he couldn't get a copy of WoW in Dallas, TX and that it was selling out nationwide. He told me that they were yanking WoW from the shelves in fear of impending server trouble. Coincidentally I was in Best Buy at the time and saw 6 copies of WoW sitting right in front of me. Well, being the ambitious, young capitalist that I am, I immediately recognized a market where demand was evident and I decided to meet that demand with supply. So I swiped up all 6 copies up for $50 a piece and put them on the plastic. I get back to my friends house, snap a digital picture of all 5 copies (one was for my friend) and put them separately on eBay. I established that I would start bidding at $70, buyout at $75 because most bids started at $80 and bought out at $85 or $100. I knew this was a short term market with a small window of opportunity for profit. Because once Blizzard got its shat straight the market value of those things would be back down to $50, flat. No risk, though, 30-days, unopened, receipt, cash back. No prob. Well I sold 1 in about 1 hour. And 2 more overnight. I shipped out the 3 simultaneously after ensuring payment and made about 50 bucks in profit after shipping. However, a few days later I got an email (see below) from Ebay informing me that my copies had been removed. Ok, I understand that in-game items for sale on ebay would disjoint the in-game market. So, for the value of gameplay I understadn this ruling. But I'm a free market capitalist who says: "Something is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it." If I pull a wad of gum from my shoe and you want to give me $500 for it, then that wad of prechewed gum is worth $500, maybe more, depending what your friend eyeing it wants to pay more. I believe that if I have the foresight to purchase a game, do not alter its quality or value, than I should be able to resell that game for whatever price I can garner. If Blizzard shipped too many copies and didn't plan on them overloading their servers, well tough titties Paco, don't take away my right to be an entrepreneur. I used to love this thing called freedom. Remember that shit? It was the bomb. But, this will all get into the, "you didn't by the game you bought a license" discussion and "that license is under certain restrictions". Blah blah blah, if you know anything about intellectual property and the heinous state to which it has plummeted then you know what I'm talking about. However, I just wanted to bring this up because most of the discussion I saw listed was about selling in-game items prohibited in the EULA, not the actual, un-opened game. Below is the email I got from Ebay: To: ***************** From: whyended@ebay.com Subject: VeRO NOTICE: eBay Listing(s) Removed - VeRO Program Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 16:45:26 PST **PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT EMAIL REGARDING YOUR LISTING(S)** We would like to let you know that we removed your listing: 8160606633 WoW *SEALED* World of Warcraft - email or ship FAST! because the intellectual property rights owner notified us, under penalty of perjury, that your listing or the item itself infringes their copyright, trademark, or other rights. We have credited any associated fees to your account. We have also notified the bidders that the listing(s) was removed, and that they are not obligated to complete the transaction. If you relist this or any other similar items on eBay, your account likely will be suspended. If you believe your listing was ended in error, or have questions regarding the removal of this listing, please contact the intellectual property rights owner directly at: ESA - Entertainment Software Association esa@theesa.com eBay is available to answer questions, but since it is the rights owner that requested the removal of your listing(s), we encourage you to contact them first. For more information on eBay's cooperation with rights owners through the VeRO Program, and a list of rights owners that have created About Me pages, please visit: ht
Honestly I hope to be off the ground (or teleporting) by 2050. Plus, all traffic should be automated (routed) by then. And traveling will be a quicker for effeceint, relaxing, non-involved, nappy-time experience.