Bought book that states "Not for Resale" - where do I stand with this?

Pernicious

Hi everyone,

I recently won an auction for a book on ebay & upon receiving it noticed it is a promo book - it states "Not for resale. The Times" on the back...this was not mentioned in the listing or shown on the picture.

The seller accepts returns but will not refund postage costs, I have asked for an exception but assuming he tells me to f*** off where do I stand with this? Can I claim all the money back via ebay/paypal?

It's just that technically the listing is correct, it does look like a new & unused book...they just left off the fact it came free with a newspaper, I wouldn't normally kick up a fuss but since it was bought as a Xmas present I'm a little stuck, my OH pointed out the seller's name gives it away (Cheappromostuff) but I hadn't noticed this

Can anyone advise please?

greenoo000

Why can't you give it as a Christmas pressie? I don't understand, does it matter if it says that on?

Crowqueen

Not For Resale only means that the shop that sells the newspaper can't take the book and sell it separately from the newspaper. It doesn't mean anything when original buyer comes to sell it secondhand.

I would understand you not wanting to give it as a gift if you didn't want to be thought to be a cheapskate. Getting a book is one thing; getting a cheap version which you could have got off the front of a newspaper is a different matter.

Bear in mind that you can't force someone to pay your return costs, only the original postage charge.

soolin

I thought not for resale meant exactly that, ie you got it free therefore it cannot be legally sold on. It;s the same with the give away CDs and DVDs you get in newspapers, charity shops used to sell them but i note they tend now to offer them free for a small donation. (still openly being sold on ebay though of course).

As a book sellers I would not have sold it and if I did take the chance on ebay I would have declared up front that it stated that on the cover.

Crowqueen

There's plenty of the newspaper DVDs on eBay, and I've sold a few coverdiscs so from what I can see the legal status of anything like this is the same as an ordinary secondhand book, and I've bought coverdiscs from charity shops without problems (usually a cheap way of getting stuff to rip to iTunes).

A number of years ago before I got ill I had a job at a newsagents and that's apparently the point of writing "Not For Resale" on those kind of items: it's to stop retailers cashing in at point of sale rather than people buying and selling on the secondhand market.

I'd certainly agree with declaring up front that it is a newspaper edition though.

Crowqueen

The only links I can find about this are relating to software, which may be problematic to sell because it involves licensing issues.

I'm thinking that perhaps CDs and books may or may not cause problems but the number of newspaper and magazine DVDs on sale on eBay suggests that it is not an area where a lot of enforcement goes on if there is any significant legal problem with it.

I'd always believed that NFR referred to the original retailer of the magazine or newspaper but whether or not it's entirely legal to sell cover CDs or books seems to be something that is not stated firmly anywhere.

Myyrrddyn

Crowqueen wrote: »

There's plenty of the newspaper DVDs on eBay, and I've sold a few coverdiscs so from what I can see the legal status of anything like this is the same as an ordinary secondhand book, and I've bought coverdiscs from charity shops without problems (usually a cheap way of getting stuff to rip to iTunes).

A number of years ago before I got ill I had a job at a newsagents and that's apparently the point of writing "Not For Resale" on those kind of items: it's to stop retailers cashing in at point of sale rather than people buying and selling on the secondhand market.

I'd certainly agree with declaring up front that it is a newspaper edition though.

That is interesting as I have held back selling DVD's and Cd's on ebay because it says not for resale. If you are correct then its a big photo session on for me.

greenoo000

I thought it meant 'Not for resale' if you are a business, but second hand it doesn't matter.

Myyrrddyn

greenoo000 wrote: »

I thought it meant 'Not for resale' if you are a business, but second hand it doesn't matter.

that is good news now where is my camera?

mobile48

These items may in some ways be similar to those dicussed here:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/promotional.html

This is for background only. I can not say whether or not the same rules apply.

Crowqueen

mobile48 wrote: »

These items may in some ways be similar to those dicussed here:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/promotional.html

This is for background only. I can not say whether or not the same rules apply.

That's more along the lines of records released to TV studios, radio stations, and so on for review or broadcast purposes.

We're more discussing the freebie stuff you get with newspapers and magazines, e.g. a copy of the Daily Mail's DVD release of Cranford or in this case a book released with The Times. Things intended for public consumption, in other words, but not "promotional material" as the article links to.