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

esuhl

I didn't think the "not for resale" label meant anything legally. On multi-packs of chocolate bars and crisps, etc., the manufacturer just wants the retailer to buy individual items to maximise their profits. They omit the list of ingredients and say "not for resale", but I assume that it's perfectly legal to sell them on so long as you observe product labelling (and other) regulations.

I thought items were marked as "promotional items" to reduce their value (as many retailers won't want to appear "unprofessional" or to be profiteering by selling them on). As they are seen as less attractive, this minimises the impact that the availability of these items has on the sales of "genuine" (profit-making) items.

So, I'm pretty sure that these notices are legally meaningless, but I'd be very interested if anyone can quote a law that says otherwise...

nimbo

Pernicious wrote: »

Ah ok, thanks piratefairy that's very helpful as by the time I've paid for trackable delivery it will have cost about the same amount that I paid for it...

So I guess selling it on may be the best way to try & recoup my money as I can't see the seller agreeing to refunding all costs, but hopefully he will at least put in his listings that they are promo items.

ask and see where you get - they may be happy to refund you without returnong it, or maybe give you a partial.

if you come up blnak then maybe resell....

mobile48

esuhl wrote: »

So, I'm pretty sure that these notices are legally meaningless, but I'd be very interested if anyone can quote a law that says otherwise...

Here is my own attempt (it may be right; it may be wrong) I am no expert and this is a guess only:

Para (4) of the following: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/90

I think the first bit states those notices are binding on you but can anyone explain what the exception means as that goes well over my head!!!

esuhl

mobile48 wrote: »

I think the first bit states those notices are binding on you but can anyone explain what the exception means as that goes well over my head!!!

Blimey! I've no idea! I've done a bit more searching out of idle curiosity and it's still as clear as mud!

Based on this article (and others) on the exhaustion of rights, I think that that if I buy a Mars bar (or Cuban cigar) with a "not for resale" notice, I can sell it along with the trademarks and copyrighted design of the wrapper, because otherwise manufacturers would be able to control the entire supply-chain.

But the content of a book is intellectual property, rather than a simple commodity, so maybe the IP rights-holder can legitimately impose their own licensing conditions, such as "not for resale"...

I'm clutching at straws here... I can't believe that in the Information Age where I can search billions of documents in seconds, that I can't find a quick and simple answer to (what should be) a perfectly well-documented law!

chickywiggle

whenever me or my family gift books (or anything with a fixed price written on it) for gifts we get a white address label sticker, decorate it (drawing or christmas stickers) and put it over the barcode/ price.

voila problem solved.

Pernicious

Chickywiggle I did think of trying that (well just a blank label, but the decorated idea is really nice!) but then what if the sticker ever gets taken off as that's not a traditional thing for my family to do? That's unlikely if it's decorated though I suppose, that's a good tip thank you.

mobile48

lol I just came across some sellers who are giving promos away free on ebay - just charging £2.99 for their time to post.

For example see: 120652778421 and 260701462696

At least I suppose they know they cannot sell them.

esuhl

mobile48 wrote: »

lol I just came across some sellers who are giving promos away free on ebay - just charging £2.99 for their time to post.

For example see: 120652778421 and 260701462696

At least I suppose they know they cannot sell them.

That reminds me of the days of mail-order "public domain" software. No one could charge for the software, but you could charge a "copying fee" or for floppy disks and postage.

lynnemcf

How did they manage to list the book on ebay? I thought ebay listed using the ISBN, and a promo copy will have a promo ISBN (or no ISBN looking at promo copy I have here)

soolin

lynnemcf wrote: »

How did they manage to list the book on ebay? I thought ebay listed using the ISBN, and a promo copy will have a promo ISBN (or no ISBN looking at promo copy I have here)

Nope, no requirement at all to list via ISBN in fact very few books i ever tried successfully showed up when I tried doing it that way.