Post questions about it on his auctions. Or can the seller choose what becomes visible and what doesn't? Regardless, he's misrepresenting the items he's selling if he's using pictures of a different item.
PEOPLE ARE NUTS
- Thread starter Rat Rod
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It only shows up if the seller wants it to.
Aside from the stolen pictures, he's not really doing anything wrong, per se. Immoral maybe, but not illegal. Buyer beware. People advertise brand new GMC Denali bikes on my Craigslist all the time for more than they cost new. They don't even change the name.
Aside from the stolen pictures, he's not really doing anything wrong, per se. Immoral maybe, but not illegal. Buyer beware. People advertise brand new GMC Denali bikes on my Craigslist all the time for more than they cost new. They don't even change the name.
Toeslider said:
See, that's the problem, though. Changing the price is one thing. Changing the name is another, and that's where the conmen selling GMC Denalis on craigs got it right. They're actually selling the right bike, but at the wrong price. This guy on ebay is misrepresenting b/c he's selling beasts under a different name, AND at the wring price... which is at least against ebay rules, if not against the law.
On his "Astro Cruiser" you can even see where he has photoshopped the ONEX or GX7 logos from the frame.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Astro-Cruis ... 232fe89d7b
http://www.walmart.com/ip/29-Genesis-As ... e/20658233
Most of his pics aren't even accurate for what he is selling. He has a pic of a ONEX and an ASTRA GX7 that has been modded with different parts.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Astro-Cruis ... 232fe89d7b
http://www.walmart.com/ip/29-Genesis-As ... e/20658233
Most of his pics aren't even accurate for what he is selling. He has a pic of a ONEX and an ASTRA GX7 that has been modded with different parts.
I can't believe how many different places my photos have shown up without permission. I started putting a copyright on all my photos no matter how lame they are.
Problem is where I put the copyright it can easily be cropped out or people run my photos through instagram or something similar.
I'm no saint and have used photos without permission but that's because there was no way of knowing who the creator was. Really should watermark your photos.
Problem is where I put the copyright it can easily be cropped out or people run my photos through instagram or something similar.
I'm no saint and have used photos without permission but that's because there was no way of knowing who the creator was. Really should watermark your photos.
Rat Rod
Owner & Founder
I'm not even sure that the concept of someone using my photos without permission is what's got me annoyed.
It's more about the fact that the guy is running sleazy auctions and he's connecting me with it by using my pics.
Then, to top it off, when I asked him politely to stop using my photos, he was a jerk about it and seemed to enjoy the fact that "there was nothing I could do about it."
It's more about the fact that the guy is running sleazy auctions and he's connecting me with it by using my pics.
Then, to top it off, when I asked him politely to stop using my photos, he was a jerk about it and seemed to enjoy the fact that "there was nothing I could do about it."
What a d-bag!!!!
Steve, Did you watermark them and if so, did he then remove the watermark and use them?
That's an automatic $2500 in your pocket for copyright infringement.
If you didn't watermark them, it becomes a tougher case.
As a landscape photog I see this a lot and personally know other photogs who have won cases against the violators.
They asked nicely to have it removed from the violating source, the violator said no, they lawyered up and got paid.
Your images are copyrighted as soon as you click the shutter.
Steve, Did you watermark them and if so, did he then remove the watermark and use them?
That's an automatic $2500 in your pocket for copyright infringement.
If you didn't watermark them, it becomes a tougher case.
As a landscape photog I see this a lot and personally know other photogs who have won cases against the violators.
They asked nicely to have it removed from the violating source, the violator said no, they lawyered up and got paid.
Your images are copyrighted as soon as you click the shutter.
The Renaissance Man
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Rat Rod said:
I totally agree with this. If you asked to have your pictures removed, he should comply with your wishes. He obviously just googled images and reused them, so he could do that again to replace yours. That doesn't make it ok to do so, but at least when confronted about it, he should respect that. I also agree that the pictures that he uses should be accurate and not include any bikes with mods regardless of where he acquires them.
On the other hand, I respectfully disagree with the judgements against his selling at an inflated price. To quote P.T. Barnum: “There’s a sucker born every minute”.
It's up to the buyers on eBay or anywhere else to decide how to spend their money. It's up to everyones own conscience to decide what they will accept. He's not doing anything different than your typical car lot does. I've seen a lot of talk about flipping bikes on this forum and no one judges them. I personally am not geared toward buying and selling, but when I have sold things, I like to make as much as the market will bear out. This guy would not sell any bikes if no one was willing to buy it. He's not forcing anyone to bid. It's a free market.
Just my $0.02
RenMan,
I could kind of see your point, except that he's been renaming the bikes, so those "suckers" never get a chance to comparison-shop. If he puts a Mongoose Beast on ebay for $370,the suckers can google it and see that it's price at WallyWorld. If they don't, then that's kind of their fault, although he's still a scuzz to do that to ppl. But, he's calling it a Lunar Bi Rover, which is a fake name. If you don't already know what you're looking at, you might get suckered in.
Or, to take your car lot analogy, that's be like if they took the badges off of a Ford Fiesta and replaced it with badges that say Coolmobile 5000GTR. I don't know if that strategy would sell any Fords, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal. And I'm totally sure it's unethical.
I could kind of see your point, except that he's been renaming the bikes, so those "suckers" never get a chance to comparison-shop. If he puts a Mongoose Beast on ebay for $370,the suckers can google it and see that it's price at WallyWorld. If they don't, then that's kind of their fault, although he's still a scuzz to do that to ppl. But, he's calling it a Lunar Bi Rover, which is a fake name. If you don't already know what you're looking at, you might get suckered in.
Or, to take your car lot analogy, that's be like if they took the badges off of a Ford Fiesta and replaced it with badges that say Coolmobile 5000GTR. I don't know if that strategy would sell any Fords, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal. And I'm totally sure it's unethical.
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Why not just change the name to "Fat tire sand bike"? It's not a lie and changes it enough to eliminate people shopping around to find out you are screwing them over and in a search it would bring up other more expensive bikes like the Surly Pugsley and such. Why do you have to make up a name at all?
Just noticed hes also spelling wrong on purpose calling the 29er and Astro not an Astra and spelling Gunesis wrong. Total stinkin scum IMO. 
Guess I cant spell Genesis right either.
Guess I cant spell Genesis right either.
Rat Rod
Owner & Founder
wheelhorseman said:Just noticed hes also spelling wrong on purpose calling the 29er and Astro not an Astra and spelling Gunesis wrong. Total stinkin scum IMO.
Either that or he failed spelling class. :lol: :lol: :lol:
The Renaissance Man
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Bicycle808 said:
Point taken! I didn't catch that earlier when I posted.
Even so, it's still up to the buyer to not waste their money. If they have a computer for eBay, the same computer can be used to find similar bikes in all price ranges with just a little bit of effort. Walmart is not a members only store!
Don't misunderstand, I'm not defending this guy, I'm just saying that people can allow themselves to get taken if they don't do their own research first.
I agree, caveat emptor, and all of that. But, he's *lying* about what he's selling, on an item that ppl will be buying sight unseen. The obvious response to that is "then don't buy stuff on ebay", but think about the implications there! I hardly ever sell bike stuff, but when I do, I do it via the internet. Many ppl here on RRB sell stuff on the FS section here, on ebay, and other places as well. If scuzzes like this guy are going to make ppl nervous about buying bicycle paraphernalia online, that takes a slice out of everyone's pie. It gives bikes and the bike industry an even skankier name...
And, let's face it: if someone pulled this on our F/S forum, we'd pillory 'em. Maybe not if they were just flipping Beasts as Beasts for a nice markup-- we prolly just wouldn't buy those. But if some clown posted a "Lunar Bi(curious) Rover" on our f/s forum, and we all saw that it was just a Beast at 2x the price, we'd run him off the site.
So, should the buyer beware? Should they do some research before they make multi-hundred dollar purchases? Absolutely. But this fraud who stole Steve's pics so he could steal ppl's money should be ashamed of himself.... and ebay oughta boot him off, to boot.
And, let's face it: if someone pulled this on our F/S forum, we'd pillory 'em. Maybe not if they were just flipping Beasts as Beasts for a nice markup-- we prolly just wouldn't buy those. But if some clown posted a "Lunar Bi(curious) Rover" on our f/s forum, and we all saw that it was just a Beast at 2x the price, we'd run him off the site.
So, should the buyer beware? Should they do some research before they make multi-hundred dollar purchases? Absolutely. But this fraud who stole Steve's pics so he could steal ppl's money should be ashamed of himself.... and ebay oughta boot him off, to boot.
Same guy ? He really thinks he's slick. :roll:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sand-Snow-Fat-T ... 5851407%26
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sand-Snow-Fat-T ... 5851407%26
Here is the skinny on copy right in the US.
All works are automatically copy righted when the person/artist creates them.
BUT unless you actually fill out the paperwork and pay the fees to the government the only thing you can do is ask the person to stop using them. You can get a lawyer involved if you wish but collecting any fees is usually not possible.
You do not have to copyright each individual image. It is possible to do a group of images all at once which is what I do. At the end of each year I create a portfolio of all my photos for the year. It is about $45 to do the paperwork.
All works are automatically copy righted when the person/artist creates them.
BUT unless you actually fill out the paperwork and pay the fees to the government the only thing you can do is ask the person to stop using them. You can get a lawyer involved if you wish but collecting any fees is usually not possible.
You do not have to copyright each individual image. It is possible to do a group of images all at once which is what I do. At the end of each year I create a portfolio of all my photos for the year. It is about $45 to do the paperwork.
