| jeffweico | 02-28-2016 12:48 AM |
Re: Intangible Goods?
The problem with those codes is that, very often, they are not legitimately obtained. So eBay has a serious issue with them. I would call it "High Risk Plus".
The fact is, if you had an eBay account that was years old with lots of positive feedbacks, they would probably let you sell at least SOME codes. But certain codes, like for Microsoft and Adobe are not only going to have eBay breathing down your neck, but also the VERO members. And Adobe is now represented - I am told - by Johnson and Pham.
Johnson and Pham is probably the largest law firm targeting eBay sellers when it comes to counterfeits, or bad codes, or other such things. They sometimes just send warning emails, but they can also be MERCILESS! If one of their undercover buyers purchases something that turns out to be counterfeit, or is otherwise not legitimate, they will most likely file a lawsuit against you. When they first started, they sent a ton of emails but filed only maybe 5 lawsuits a year. So it was pretty safe to ignore them. Now, however, they seem to have their system down pat. They send threatening email to a lot of people they will never sue, but in those cases there were no customs seizures involved and no undercover buyers made any purchases. Those guys are safe. But if you are contacted by them and they indicate that an undercover buyer purchased something, then you are in some serious trouble. Because they will want a large settlement or to take you to court and obtain a judgment against you. They will not just "drop it".
If it is a customs seizure that starts the process, they will go after whomever the items are addressed to. They will have evidence from the US Customs office to use in court against you, meaning a description of the items, the estimated retail value of each item and how many were being shipped to you.
Johnson and Pham files suit in their backyard in California. This is a FEDERAL suit, so they can file in FEDERAL court. And that means, they can sue even if the venue is inconvenient for you. You would be served with the appropriate legal papers, of course, and could hire an attorney to defend yourself. But the fact is, few people hire an out of state attorney to defend them. They either settle it out of court or ignore it. Ignoring it is a mistake, because then J&P will ask the court to enter a default judgment. That means, J&P gets whatever they ask for. They have been winning cases and racking up judgments with some IMPRESSIVE sums of money. In the hundreds of thousands of dollars and even in the millions of dollars. The courts allow it because they have no other choice. The defendants were served with the appropriate papers and chose to not show up. Therefore, the court only hears J&P's side of the case.
Now you might argue that this is not fair, and I might be inclined to agree with you. But fairness has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LAW! That is the simple truth. Some people mistakenly think the judgment is not valid because they believe they have to be sued in the county in which they live. But that is not true of these cases. These are cases involving federal questions. The people who believe that have heard that regarding simple debt collection lawsuits, and in that instance it IS true. Never take for granted anything you read on the internet regarding what the law is or isn't. If you are in legal trouble, ASK A LAWYER! Because many people on the internet, well meaning though they may be, are quite often wrong. Where a case is heard, in what court and what is the proper venue varies by the type of case you are talking about. And most people have some personal experience with debt collection lawsuits, or know someone who has, and they start handing out advice, like "don't worry, they can't touch you unless they sue you where you live" which might be true in a debt collection case, but does not hold true in a case involving copyright violations or trademark infringement.
I am not implying that the OP is doing anything wrong. Sometimes, people have valid codes they can sell. I am just trying to give you an idea of the difficulties you might face if you try to sell these on eBay, especially with a brand new account. Selling codes and counterfeits is very similar as far as the law is concerned. I don't care what people sell, I am not a cop, but I don't want to see newbies taken in by the idea of easy money with no risk and then they find out that the money is not so easy and the consequences are real. I have heart HEARTBREAKING stories from people contacting me to ask for advice. And I have to tell them to speak with a lawyer. Because I am not an attorney and I am not qualified to dispense legal advice. There are NO attorneys on this forum that I am aware of. So please do not take anything you see here as legal advice. | 
