Q.Lu:

It's not illegal OR unethical to check out books or music from the library,
but it IS illegal to download music, so I guess you're having trouble
distinguishing what's illegal/unethical and what's not. Cheating people AND
companies like eBay IS unethical.

It's not illegal to overcharge for shipping, or for that matter to post
auctions here. But they are both against rules set up to govern eBay and
Usenet. You've decided that eBay has a monopoly and thus it's okay for you
shortchange them a few cents because you HAVE to use them. BS. Try Yahoo
Auctions. Post an ad in your local paper (now THAT's expensive!). Ebay isn't
the only place to sell your stuff, just the place with the biggest exposure.

The trouble (as I see it) is that some people want all the benefit of a
huge marketplace like eBay, plus they feel they need to advertise here as
well, and then some of them like you don't even want to pay their share for
all that advertising, so they "bend" the rules a little and pad their
shipping. And then they whine and bitch when somebody calls 'em on it.

I have nothing against eBay, in fact you can go look me up and you'll see
I'm even a Powerseller there (tompc). And I still buy and sell stuff here
too (thanks again for that 300mm lens, Lisa, I hope to try it out tomorrow),
but you won't EVER see me hawking my eBay auctions here because I don't
think they're really very welcome here. I do know nobody's ever complained
that I didn't post them here. And I'm very clear in my auctions that I
charge actual shipping, heck the Post Office gives away Priority Mail
shipping supplies. If somebody wants to pick up an item locally, great, then
it save me wrapping it and taking it to the Post Office.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure no saint; I speed, I run yellow lights, I
occasionally try a grape at the grocery store to see if they're sweet. I
shop for the very best deal on everything I buy. But I don't try to cheat
anyone, whether it's eBay or just some other schmuck like me, trying to get
a good deal too. That's the difference in us, I'd say. And it's why you're
catching so much grief from me. Don't like it? Too bad, you posted first.

End of rant, sorry folks for the long read.

Tom P.

"Q. Lu" wrote in message
...

"Lisa Horton" wrote in message
...
Your denials fail to convince that your goals are
not to cheat Ebay and take advantage of an unwary buyer.

Cheat? Then don't cheat publishers by checking out books from Library, and
don't cheat media industry by checking out albums from Library. And to so
many college kids on usernet, don't do file-sharing.