morgansurname reads these forums and will certainly respond himself.
He and I have emailed one another a few times. After I blocked him from bidding on my items this is what transpired.
This was our most recent exchange.... (I'm 19hand, he's
[email protected] or R)
__________________________________________________________
Dear 19hand,
Hello,
I just tried to bid on a couple of your books, but it appears that I am blocked from doing so. Why?
R
__________________________________________________________
From: 19hand
To:
[email protected] Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2004 11:28 AM
Subject: RE: Question from eBay Member: MERP ICE The Court of Ardor #2500 Complete
Do you remember having some of my auctions removed by ebay?
I do.
___________________________________________________________
From: <
[email protected]>
Reply-To:<
[email protected]>
To: "19hand" <
[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Question from eBay Member: MERP ICE The Court of Ardor #2500 Complete
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 11:44:28 -0400
???
___________________________________________________________
From: 19hand
To:
[email protected] Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2004 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: Question from eBay Member: MERP ICE The Court of Ardor #2500 Complete
VeRo removed four of my MERP listings last week because they said the descriptions I used were too silimar to yours. You were bidding on three of them at the time ebay ended them. When I complained that my descriptions were from the cover of the book and the inner text of the book I was selling, they provided links to your auctions saying I had plaigarized you ( I had told them the descriptions were cut and pasted from Victoria Cross not you and that you had probably done the same thing). Ring a bell now???
____________________________________________________________
> >From: <
[email protected]>
> >Reply-To: <
[email protected]>
> >To: "19hand" <
[email protected]>
> >Subject: Re: Question from eBay Member: MERP ICE The Court of Ardor #2500 Complete
> >Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 18:06:43 -0400
19hand,
Ah...that was you. I forgot the ID of the seller that was cutting and pasting my descriptions.
Ummm....no, they were not from Victoria Cross. Lets not sit here and lie about it. I had originally used MIke Chapman's website with permission. When Mike's website was closed down, I went on to another source (again with permission and credit). You had cut and pasted my listings. The listings did contain the same content that was listed on Mike's site, but amazingly had also listed certain words that were not on that site. Go back and take a look. They were alos bolded and in black print, something that I do to all of my listings for readablitly purposes. Had you simply asked, I probably would have granted you access, but I was a little steemed at the thought that I had spent so much time and effort on the listings and that you just came in and ripped them off without even a little respect. Sorry....
R
____________________________________________________________
> From: 19hand
> To:
[email protected] > Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2004 7:13 PM
> Subject: Re: Question from eBay Member: MERP ICE The Court of Ardor #2500 Complete
>
>
> You were upset because you thought that words from the cover and inner text of the module that you at one time cut and pasted from somewhere else were then cut and pasted by someone else. That's kind of funny.
>
> Good luck with your reselling and congrats on being able to claim ownership of all your cut and pasted descriptions. I don't need them.
>
> -J
____________________________________________________________
>From: <
[email protected]>
>Reply-To: " <
[email protected]>
>To: "19hand" <
[email protected]>
>Subject: Re: Question from eBay Member: MERP ICE The Court of Ardor #2500 Complete
>Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 19:36:02 -0400
>
>Oh....and if you did not need them, then why rip them off to begin with?
>
>R
___________________________________________________________
From: 19hand
To:
[email protected] Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2004 8:03 PM
Subject: Re: Question from eBay Member: MERP ICE The Court of Ardor #2500 Complete
I never said I ripped off "your" descriptions. (Reread my least email to you) I maintain your descriptions are merely words from the cover and text of the books I was selling.
If you really care to hear what my argument to ebay was, here it is....
Four of my auctions were removed but none of them contained protected
descriptions. 100% of the descriptions I used were taken directly word for word
from the cover of each module and from the text of each module. I can provide
scans of the text passages in question if necessary. Many sellers use the exact
same text quote in their listings, as that is how each module was described on a
very popular MERP module database frequented by MERP collectors. All they did
was type out the words from the cover and a paragraph or two from the overview of
the module. Nothing creative, just transcribing text. Unfortunately that
website was recently taken off the web and therefore I cannot link to it.
However the idea to use the words from the cover and that particular text came
from that database not any current ebay seller.
Whoever complained about my listings has no right to claim these ideas as his
own intellectual property. Moreover, I gaurantee that whoever complained also
frequented this site at one time and simply cut and pasted his descriptions. Allowing him
to claim ownership of these words is ludicris and unfair to the rest of the MERP
sellers on ebay. He needs to be told not to demand others cease using these
descriptions because they are not his to claim ownership of! I resent that I am
in a position where my account is being threatened with suspension because of
this person claiming ownership of words he himself did not write. We all got
our descriptions from the same place and just because he complains first
shouldn't mean he gets to own them for the future.
If you look at MERP auctions of mine from December you will see the exact same
phrases used in my descriptions that I used this time. Check these two
3167134603 and 3167129128 and you will see that this is how I listed items in
December. I can also show you a site that took screen shots from that MERP
database before it went down and incorparated them into its site that is
currently in operation. Here is a link http://www.tradersplanet.net/2300.html.
Browse around and you will see all of the items I have listed and the
screenshots from the database. That is where I got all of the descriptions
except the Umbar one which he currently is not listing. I would like to be
given permission to list these items with these descriptions again.
I made one mistake when I cut and pasted the Umbar from a current seller (who
since I know also cut and pasted his description from the MERP database and I assume is the
one who complained) I forgot to remove this line...
"The color maps are not present, HOWEVER, UPON REQUEST, I WILL INCLUDED A HIGH
QUALITY SCANNED COLOR
PHOTO COPY OF ANOTHER COPY FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE! JUST REQUEST THE MAPS WITH
PAYMENT.)
I will happily avoid using that description in the future.
Look at my feedback and you will see I am an honest seller and an asset to ebay.
I had bids on three of these items and I am quite distressed that this move was
inacted by ebay. It's not fair and needs to be corrected.
Does this make any sense to you? They replied that unless I could show previous auctions of mine that were the same as yours but listed earlier I was wrong.
You have so far insinuated that I have lied to you and ripped you off.
From where I sit I am guilty of neither but you can believe whatever you want to.
When that guy at the Acaeum called you an unwiped asshole believe it or not I actually sent him an email defending you. I told him not to be so quick to judge and that you seemed like a nice guy when we exchanged cordial emails a few months ago. I doubt I would send that email again.
It's probably a good idea if we avoid doing business with one another.
Goodbye and here's to hoping you get that "perfect" Merp collection you claim keeps you interested in reselling.
-J
____________________________________________________________
19hand,
Hey, perhaps I have become a bit edgy and bitter since the Deadlord comment. Also, the stresses of life are still taking a toll on me. In truth, I had forgotten about our previous cordial conversations and just reviwed them. I had you totally wrong (presently). Please let me digress into a little detailed background and aplogy.
Shortly after I started my search for the MERP set, I became a reseller. This is quite a natural transition and I am not the first. After buying a few large lots, I started to resell the extras and realized I was making a profit on some sales. Then I found that Barnes and Noble had a huge amount of stock sitting in dust. I bought a ton and morgansuname and The Elf's Shelves was born. Most of the other details you know already: 1. I do bid on a lot of MERP stuff. I only win about 5-10% of the items I bid on. 3. Most of the items I win are lots.
Having said that, I agree that the words on your and my listings have the same initial sources. However, I emailed Mike along time ago and asked permission to use his site info to save time. He gave me permission as long as I noted his site. All that I am saying is that you had at least cut and pasted my info from Umbar...we agreet that this is obvious. Based on that auction and the fact that the other three listings had the same font/bold text as the Umbar and your other auctions did not (coincidentally, the other auctions that you had listed at the same time were of books that I had not listed in the past month), I preceived that it was probable that these three listings were also cut from my listings. I really do not have a problem with that and I have given permission to two other people in the past, so long as I know that it is going on. This occured to me when I had started as well. I was new and cut and pasted another listing and got reamed about it. Same scenario. That guy set me to Mike's website after explaining to me why the listings were wrong. I guess I still carry abit of a bad taste in my mouth and with current events, have become a bit bitter. I really apologize that I did not email you and discuss this first. Very immature of me. I am sorry.
Complicating matters, now you state that you defended me from Frank Ferris. I owe you a great gratitude for this. Thank you . I was hurt by his comments. You know, I am not making much money doing this. Uncle Sam took a nice chunk! However, I should also again thank you. Because of this interaction, I remembered the primary reasons that I started reselling: 1. I enjoyed it! 2. I met a lot of interesting and educated people with a common interest to whom I was giving a service. 3. I made some friends along the way. 4. Of course, I wanted the perfect collection.. Well to say the least, I have lost sight of all of these goals. I think after buying the house, pool, and pup, I really stretched myself too thin. I read your mails from today and from the past and have really come to the conclusion that I must stop this. I have not mailed any of the people that I met in some time (perhaps since buying the house). I rarely type extended mails to interested people. I turn down offers to buy large collections. I became bitter and metamorphasized from an attiditude of helping others to a me me me philosophy. You have finally been the catalyst to brake through this haze and bring me to my senses.
Therefore, after selling off what I have of the BN vintage, I will cease my reselling. I will be putting up a large lot of MERP books next week and will hopefully have my run of D&D books out by summer. I plan to get rid of everything. Until then, I will probably still bid on items to find maybe one or two (am I a dreamer?) more MINTY books. Old habits die hard. But after that, I will be done. The little lady of the house will be extatic! Hell, my job pays me $40,000 working just 24 hours a week and I could pick up overtime at time and a half up to 40 and double time after that! If I am not having fun anymore, then now it must be for spare change and this just aint the way to do it!
WHEW! I feel relieved! This must be how someone feels after going to a shrink!
At any rate, perhaps we should no longer deal with each other. But I would like to offer compensation for the troubles I caused. Please send me a list of any titles that you are still looking for I have attached the old list below if you want to simply edit it by X ing ones you have since acquired). I would be maybe not so much honored, but perhaps feel less guilty and angry if you would accept a title or two for free if I have them. It will also bring this chapter in my life closer to its demise and thus be doing me a service.
My apologies and thanks once more.
Best Regards to you and yours,
Robert
P.S. MIke Chapman's site is running again!
_______________________________________________________
Needless to say I refused his offer of a free module but left the with the feeling that the guy was being sincere about having the epiphone about heartless reselling.
At this point Morgansurname is still bidding on everything on the MERP market to keep he's reselling going. (He's currently the high bidder on a few of my items)
I'm as curious with what's going on as the rest of you..... Is he really stopping reselling and mvoing on to other things? It doesn't look like it.
Robert?
