i ordered a few books from ebay because i couldnt find them many other places to buy. the seller had great reviews. the listing said the books were new. i received them and the spine/binding was lumpy and wrinkly. The pages were blurry and clearly just copied. The books are not authentic. I contacted the seller and was told this is how books are in the country they are from. I didn’t know they were coming from another country and the listing did not say anything until after i purchased.

basically the seller got an attitude saying that the books are fine and i feel horrible causing problems/escalating it. should i report this to ebay since they are selling “fake” books?

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Autarch_Kade t1_jeflqv9 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 5:31 PM

To rephrase your question, would you like to allow this person to keep defrauding customers and stealing an author's hard work?

Yes, report them, and feel good you're helping protect other buyers and the authors.

[deleted] t1_jeg8vx4 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:05 PM

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[deleted] t1_jegkvs6 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 9:26 PM

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Jack-Campin t1_jefqqiq wrote on March 31, 2023 at 6:04 PM

I've most often seen that with Harry Potter books from India. India can do very good book production, world class stuff at very fair prices. Rowling didn't need the money but the fakers are robbing the legitimate Indian book trade too. Same probably goes for whatever country you're dealing with.

officialtif OP t1_jefrm2g wrote on March 31, 2023 at 6:10 PM

Yeah, I believe it was India. I had never heard of this before now so I was confused when the seller told me this was just how the books are. Thank you for more insight.

berettaextrema t1_jegonsv wrote on March 31, 2023 at 9:52 PM

Check their feedback, I bet other buyers in your situation have left negative feedback for these scammers.

AnnChristy_Z t1_jegdinu wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:36 PM

It's copyright infringement, so I would totally report them.

Britonator t1_jegrjsu wrote on March 31, 2023 at 10:13 PM

Please do report the listing as counterfeit! Counterfeits not only harm businesses financially, but they harm consumers as well!

YakSure6091 t1_jegdniu wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:36 PM

Yes report it

DancingConstellation t1_jeft3wx wrote on March 31, 2023 at 6:20 PM

They’re still books but if the seller misrepresented the item then certainly report that as fraud. Was there anything in the seller’s location or description that indicated the condition or format of what you’d receive?

[deleted] t1_jeg8x3l wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:05 PM

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danila_medvedev t1_jegu61v wrote on March 31, 2023 at 10:32 PM

If the books were not found anywhere else, probably do not report. The seller is misleading buyers, but he provides a valuable service. May be warn him in a DM not to misrepresent the books and warn that you could report him. But better to have access to books in such a way than not.

if he was selling HP copies or something, then reporting him would be ok.

[deleted] t1_jeh27g7 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 11:33 PM

Almost everything in existence is available in some form (book or e-book) so I just don't see any argument in allowing counterfeit books to exist, nor their sellers. Respect authors and buyers -- it's not about the free trade of information.

danila_medvedev t1_jeh3r95 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 11:45 PM

How about respecting knowledge? The book is as important as the author. I’d rather have my books be pirated including for profit than not available (writing as an author).