What an arse!

It is no hassle but if it was, then yes it would be worth the hassle. It is a matter of principle - I am not commiting an offence of any kind, so why should I be forced away from an easy money-making opportunity? If you mean that and these 'forumites' you speak of are also serious and prepared to make a loss then that would beat me.
 
Yeah but its hardly a great financial 'reward' is it? A quid?

Why not sell something you can make a fiver on? then you make more, just seems common sense to me.
 
I'm not in the slightest bit desperate , I'd just hate to see a young man put out of business for the sake of one item , I own two companies and I'm willing to pay people to sit at a computer all day and offer these at 1p , and blanket e bay as well as accept any losses , and I'm not alone . All I'm saying is that for the sake of one item , is it worth it
your call
 
That is exactly the point I'm making. We can organise enough forumites here to post loss selling copies to make it worthless market to you. Or sell at similar sums and pay proceeds to RNLI. There is only a limited ebay market for this material, especially if we all put a note stating that buying from us is worthless, as you can receive free from RNLI and that buying from ebay is stupid.

Punters would soon get the idea.
 
Yes, I completely agree. I do doubt that you will actually do that consistently for the next few months-years; it would cost you a fair bit, even spread between a lot of you, and would also take time. But if you did then of course I wouldn't be able to sell them. We both know that.

And yes it is worth it for a quid and I do sell things I make a fiver on, I also sell things I make a fifty on - why not check my items, you never know you might find something you like, got some nice Armani hats going on soon...
 
spread between a number of people it would take no effort, nor particular cost. For the same reason you can make money on small items. We have the advantage of numbers

We don't have to outsell you even. We can just post on the item that bidding is stupid, as it's free from RNLI, and not even make a sale.
 
I don't think i would buy from you after this, and you have definitely been barking up the wrong tree here, if you can sell things and make fifties on then not selling a few discs to make a quid won't make much difference will it?

You are obviously unaware as to the power that some of our members wield, and so should tread very carefully because you obviously cannot see the stir you have created amongst them.
 
No, I didn't expect you to really.

I will not be bullied. I have never had any respect for authority so whatever these mystical powers you hold are, I am not interested. Give me your best and I will try my best to beat it. As mentionned previously, it is more a matter of principle to me - I am not doing anything wrong, so I intend to persist with these guides. Look forward to seeing them on Ebay for 1p in the coming days anyway. Good night
 
No one is bullying you. We've tried to explain how it's morally wrong, and how we can swamp you.

I'm pretty sure you'll play sensible and not put too many of them for sale from now on.

We can all easily search for them on ebay, and if you seem to be selling many for profit, then we can do as I suggested and just swamp your for sale items with our own, tho with added text that we are undercutting commercial sellers to make the point that the item is free from a charity, and that we don't wish them to win our bid, and if they do, all profits will go to RNLI.


Good night to you too
 
It would be a shame to see your Ebay feedback go from 100% Positive to 100% negative, laced with some choice (true) comments.

To trade successfully on Ebay you need good credibility, losing it will affect all your products offered, so lose the book or lose your punters. Simple as that.


…
 
[ QUOTE ]
The two Ebay members who have bid on the guides with no intention of paying have been reported to Ebay under the two policy headings that they are breaking.

[/ QUOTE ]

And how do you know that?

[ QUOTE ]
I would also like to add that when ending any item on Ebay you automatically give your postage address and telephone number to the seller (whether or not you actually pay). I will let you decide if that is a threat or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Suggest you look at Sections 4a and 5 of the Public Order Act and Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and decide if these could be applied to you. Also maybe take some genuine interest in the charity you are ripping off and see some of the crew members - many of whom come from one of the hardest and most dangerous industries in the world.. wonder what their opinion of you would be and how they d 'deal' with the issue?

[ QUOTE ]
I am not liable to be taxed as I am currently awaiting a claim for 2 types of benefit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I hope you re declaring the income to the DWP as benefit fraud certainly is illegal..

PW.
 
Paul, no-one is bullying you, they are questioning your moral attitude.

As for making implied threats. Thats is laughable, childish and ultimately pointless.

There is plenty of opportunity to make money in a more 'acceptable' manner on eBay as I am sure you are aware..... I would remind you that these guides will cost money to the RNLI to produce each time so why not for example, explain in the text that the guide is available free from the RNLI, but if they buy it from you, then £1 will go to the RNLI.... ie a nice way of donating to the RNLI..... it would be a win win.... instead of benefitting financially from a charity at their expense.

Play the system, don't fight it.
 
Jim

First post from a newbie here, but I have done exactly what you suggested :-)
A long correspondance with Paul seems to have made no impression on him unfortunately.

Regards

Steve
 
I have been watching this with interest, and I have to agree with the majority on here who consider the sale of a charitable item without any donation to that charity very disagreeable.

However, for someone of your age you seem to be intelligent, articulate and have a level of confidence and assertiveness which is rare. These are skills which are highly valued in many businesses, I think you just need to channel your skills differently. If you can sell something that can be obtained freely elsewhere, then you clearly have the ability to identify an opportunity and exploit it - in a free trade society this cannot be argued against. However, where your product cost has not been reconciled, especially where that product cost comes from a charitable society there is a moral issue - I accept there is no legal issue in this case.

While you are not concerned by the moral issue, the value of good will to businesses and individuals alike is almost unquantifiable. By all means make a profit if you can, but is a small donation to the charitable cause in question really not an option for you.

Think of it another way, you might draw more bidders and acheive a higher sale price if you were able to declare a donation of profit to the RNLI on Ebay - you might find such an act benefits both you and the charity.
 
RNLI response

Good morning Paul. I head the RNLI department that produces these guides. We do so as part of our charitable remit to save life at sea, and have carefully spent money given by people that support this principle. The guide is designed to reduce loss of life, or at least the severity of incidents, of people who go to sea for leisure.

The RNLI is a charity that depends on the support of the public and the transaction is usually one-way, that is the public, recognising what we do for them, help us in the way they can. They do that to ensure that we are there to help them whenever needed, even at midnight in the ferocious storms we have just experienced.

My belief is that the boating public will benefit if these are distributed as widely as possible, which is why, having spent scores of thousands of pounds developing the guide and CD ROM we give them out free. We certainly would not invoice them, so was puzzled by your comment there. Where did the invoice come from?

I shall take your advice, and state "not for redistribution or resale" on the next reprint run, and copyright the product. You may not understand this, but I am rather sad that I have to - there will be a cost.

You are right that I cannot stop you selling the guides on ebay. You are also partly right in saying that if you sell them to people who do not have them, you are, to a certain extent fulfilling my aim.

As many posters to this forum have pointed out, and you have acknowleged, what you are doing has questionable morals, and you state that running your car while on benefits is more important to you. I ask you to compare your position with some of our volunteer crew who are also on benefits, and who will risk their lives to save others.

Given that I cannot stop you, I would like to formally, and publicly, ask you to stop benefiting at the expense of a charity. You will earn the respect of many.
 
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