posted on September 28, 2001 06:30:22 PM
It appears that somebody else copied one of my auctions on eBay, and I got charges an Image Fee because their auction did not get created using Auction Manager.
Can I get a credit for that charge, since it was not my auction, even though it referenced MY image?
posted on September 29, 2001 11:47:23 AM
I don't think that has happened to me yet but I've heard other AW users complain about it. Personally I don't care about the pictures I take and if someone else right clicks on my image and saves it to their computer or their own image hosting site it won't bother me in the least. However, if they are using the URL to use the image from this site and the AW user is getting unfairly billed for using the image then that is wrong. It seems to me that there should be something that if you use an AW image URL a popup or something should come up to request the person's password. That would insure that only the AW user can use the AW image URL and not a stranger. Just a suggestion. I personally always launch all auctions through AW and don't have a need to use the images from AW for any other reason. Is there also a way that I can have the option of using my pics outside of an auction listed through AW taken out? Otherwise I have to watch my online billing like a hawk to catch discrepancies like that. We shouldn't be automatically billed for something without our permission and then have to have it taken off later. Everything that we are billed for should be understood upfront and authorized by the user. Besides, you bill our credit cards for this service. If someone else is using our images and it is billed to a credit card that is like someone else using our credit card!!! Isn't that credit card fraud or something? I would never authorize a stranger to use my credit card! There is obviously a security hole here. How many others exist?
posted on October 1, 2001 08:51:50 AM
I was just wondering if anyone at AW was going to address this issue. If you are gonna allow strangers to bill our credit cards for picture fees then I'm outta here. I don't care if it is only .10 each time. In my opinion this is a serious security issue. No one should be allowed to charge anything on a credit card except the person the card was issued to. If you make it that easy for strangers to charge stuff to our card, what other security problems exist on this site?
posted on October 1, 2001 08:57:22 AM
Hi Antelope67,
You are billed 10 cents per image for each image that is used outside of an auction created through AuctionWatch. If you were to take the URL and place it into an auction you were creating directly on eBay, then you would be charged 10 cents. If you would like to prevent things like this from happening in the future, one good suggestion other people have done is used their graphics program to create a type of copyright mark on the image -- such as your name at the bottom. This way should anyone obtain the URL, if they tried to use it, it would have your name on it. If that person were to use it anyway, everyone would know that they stole the image from you.
posted on October 1, 2001 09:04:34 AM
I don't care about the STUPID PICTURES!!!! They can HAVE them! They should NOT be able to bill them to MY credit card. This is a credit card security issue NOT a picture theft issue. I don't want to get credit as a photographer, I just want my credit card protected against other people using it!!! Sheeesh!!!
posted on October 1, 2001 09:32:10 AM
My husband is at work right now but I emailed him to notify him of the problem. He just emailed me back and here is what he has to say about this:
"I agree that it is a problem. Auction Watch should take responsibility for
this if other people can get to the picture on Auction Watch and launch it
from there in their own auctions. I'm sure that complaints to the credit
card companies will produce a deluge of legal baggage to Auction Watch to
change their tune. Someone being able to charge anything to someone else's
card is fraud in the extreme and should be addressed."
Considering this issue and a lot of other issues are either "forwarded to the proper department" (possibly the "round file" -- when you get "around" to it) or just ignored and swept under the carpet; I am currently looking into another service for listing my auctions & post sale and it looks like it is going to work out better for me. When I'm sure I've found what I'm looking for I'll be leaving AW.
