Predatory Re-sellers?

[rose-dee]

Someone on these boards recently mentioned predatory re-sellers -- usually US eBay sellers who troll around making low-ball offers on Best Offer items and re-sell them. 

An interesting (possibly new?) wrinkle I discovered today: a US seller making offers then re-selling every single item as a "Private" sale, presumably so that the original seller wouldn't see what the item ultimately sold for. 

Certainly permissible, but I wonder if that was the real reason eBay made the "Private" sale option available? 

Just an observation ...

[triber]

I don't have a problem with buyers purchasing my items and then re-selling for a higher price. I mark my items at the lowest cost that I am prepared to sell for. I do object to a buyer in England who purchased several of my knitting and crochet books that are still currently being published, and then sells xerox copies of  each pattern in the book. Lots of buyers given negatives for breaking copyright laws, but after a couple of years, she is still doing it. She also has private feedback.

[rose-dee]

Interestingly, I've noticed for quite some time now that the Brits seem to get away with far more copyright infractions -- both in listing photos and in the items themselves -- than we do in North America.  Maybe eBay.UK is less stringent about such things, or maybe UK buyers don't care to report it as often.  

For example, I know of at least two fairly prominent sellers who are blatantly copying designer sewing patterns that are most definitely not in the public domain, and have been doing so for at least a couple of years.  Others use clearly copyright material to advertise their wares (such as photo clips from popular series like Downton Abbey).  I also notice a lot of posting of website and email links all over listings on UK that would probably not last long here.  

I'm not sure what the explanation is for the infractions, but they aren't uncommon on eBay.UK, and they are things that would be reported on or removed here.