mechurchlady wrote:Actually eBay and other auction sites only charge on the item. You can sell the item for $20 and pay for their charges or sell it for $5 and a $15 shipping thus saving you the high rates on the item. Old ploy made necessary by eBay's policies.
Yep, eBay has made it very difficult for the little seller to make any money there now.
But as to the Disney tix and fastpasses there, there are so many Disney scam auctions there it is hard to keep up with. I usually report a bunch when I am over there browsing and also report to Disney. It is so out of control the auctions for copyright infrinement items of the characters and the passes. I still jusy dutifully report and hope to get rid of some of the scams.
I just reported some Pooh costumes out of South America that are NOT Disney made and they were STILL listed even after Disney busted a family in Florida for using these costumes at kid's parties. They paid 700.00 for the non licensed costumes at eBay and Disney found out! OOPS!
Disney is suing for a million bucks for copyright infringement. The couple bought the Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger costumes on eBay and used them at their parties. They had some sort of party company for kids. They said they did not know they were doing anything against the law. You decide.
Here is the article from the Sentinel:
Disney sues Lake County business over use of Pooh, other characters
Stephen Hudak | Sentinel Staff Writer
July 10, 2008
Step aside, Cruella De Vil.
A federal lawsuit filed by Disney Enterprises Inc. has cast a Clermont couple as villains who exploited the trademarked likenesses of Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger, too, to enrich their family business, Kool Klown Party People Inc.
Maitland-based lawyers for Disney demanded in the million-dollar copyright-infringement suit that David Chaveco, 32, and Marisol Perez-Chaveco, 31, stop offering live entertainment services for children's parties that feature performers in "unauthorized reproductions" of character costumes.
The 2-year-old Lake County company offers custom-baked cakes, face painting, pinatas and inflatable "bounce" houses.
Perez-Chaveco, a work-from-home mother of two preschoolers, said she and her husband did not realize they were harming the film and resort giant when they paid $500 plus shipping for the adult-sized costumes of a "blue donkey" and an "orange tiger" from a Peruvian company on eBay.
The costumes were close matches to cartoon versions of droll Eeyore and bouncy Tigger.
"All of a sudden, I'm like some Cruella, the woman who steals puppies," Perez-Chaveco said, referring to the villainess in 101 Dalmatians.
"We're just trying our best to make ends meet and put food on our children's plates," she said.
The couple, who receive public assistance, filed a response in federal court in Orlando, contending they have complied with all of Disney's demands but one: They sent the knock-offs back to Peru for a refund.
"We needed the money," Perez-Chaveco said when asked why she didn't surrender the unlicensed costumes to Disney to destroy.
Disney officials in Florida declined to comment Wednesday, saying the lawsuit spoke for itself.
Disney's lawsuit contends it has the right to "combat willful and intentional infringement of its copyrighted properties" to prevent misuse of its characters. The company says it has, in the past, received complaints about unauthorized use of its characters.
Without firm licensing agreements, the company noted, it "cannot control the quality and nature of the performance, the quality of the costumes, [or] the quality and background of the individuals providing the performance . . . "
Disney has a history of vigorously protecting its copyrights, objecting to the unauthorized use of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy in murals at three South Florida preschools and challenging the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for using the company's Snow White character without permission during the 1989 Oscars.
In the lawsuit against the Clermont couple, Disney also is seeking attorney's fees.
For a video showing the quality of the costumes, please go to
http://www.wftv.com/video/16824445/index.html