eBay sales of Windows 7 party packs halted
Attention those with leftover Windows 7 house party kits: don't try to sell them on eBay.
Readers report that several auctions of the house party kits have been canceled. Among other things, the kits provided to those hosting Windows 7 house parties include a Steve Ballmer "signature edition" of Windows 7 Ultimate.
It appears partygoers may just have to hang on to their Steve Ballmer-signed copies of Windows 7. Several eBay auctions of the "party packs" have been canceled.
(Credit: M3 Sweatt)The auctions may have been canceled at Redmond's request, although several other auctions appear to be ongoing.
"While we cannot confirm why eBay has removed these specific auctions, Microsoft routinely works with online auction sites such as eBay to remove infringing auctions," the company said in a statement. "The Signature Edition of Ultimate that was included in the Party Packs is clearly marked on the outer wrap Not For Resale," Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft hasn't said where, if anywhere, it plans to sell a Ballmer-signed version of the operating system. With Windows Vista, Microsoft sold a Bill Gates-signed version at Amazon.com.
Unsigned copies of the operating system, though, should be easy to spot come October 22, when Windows 7 gets its formal launch.
In the meantime, partygoers will just have to hang on to their Ballmer-signed copies of Windows 7.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
Lord, this is hilarious...
I would MUCH rather have a Ray Ozzie edition.
In fact, Microsoft should put Ozzie out there more. Ballmer is the face of Vista! Don't make him the face of Windows 7!
I find it rather ridiculous that an individual cannot sell an item to another individual just because it displays the phrase 'Not for resale.' I seem to recall that should I choose to sell individual candies, I can even though they say 'Not labeled for individual sale.' Is it illegal for me to sell someone a t-shirt I received for free? What about donating it and receiving a receipt for tax purposes? Doesn't the item officially belong to me? Can't I give it away freely to someone else in exchange for another item? Such silliness these days.
Besides, eBay lost me when they decided to block sales of 'virtual goods' regardless of the fact that most of those auctions were really the sale of 'personal time.'
not that i did, but i assume there's some language in there that forbids reselling.
The EULA applies to using the software. Not reselling it. If you never clicked "yes" when the EULA pops up, you are not subject to it. That doesn't mean that MicroSoft won't claim a DMCA violation and shut down your auction. I had them to this to me on an unused copy of Vista. eBay refused to show me the notice, and Microsoft refused to work with me on the issue. And that is why I avoid MicroSoft like the plague. They cost me money and then refused to talk to me in good faith to resolve the problem.
Tell you what... if you pay Microsoft the full OEM retail price for that copy of Windows 7 Ultimate you have there, then you are free to sell it. That's a fair and honest solution. If you don't do that, then when/if you sell the product, you should send all the money from the sale to Microsoft to compensate them for this product you DID NOT BUY.
Your logic is faulty. If I use the product they gave me, which I am for the record, then how is it any different to them? They gave the product away, expecting someone to use it. Why couldn't someone else use it instead of me?
Technically, I did 'buy' the software, just not with direct cash. I have put forth my effort to host a party promoting their software and in return they have supplied me with the OS and other supplies. That sounds like a transaction to me; you know, like bartering before cash existed.
@faceless128:
Most EULAs have been found to be unenforceable. Am I able to negotiate the terms of the EULA? No, they are all or nothing and are set up so that the consumer has no protections and is always in the wrong.
@ Renegade Knight:
I would have gone and talked with one of my lawyer friends and have him request the notice from eBay. Then it is almost certain that the DMCA notice sent by Microsoft was false and they are now under penalty of perjury/fraud.
"I don't understand what the big surprise is here as 'not for resale' promotional material has been around for donkey's years including good old vinyl."
And I bet you can find many of those for sale on eBay, in garage sales or on other trading websites. Also, There was nothing at all stating that sale of the party pack was prohibited.
@ everyone else:
What if I were to raffle the software off and donate the proceeds to a charity? Do you still think that Microsoft has 'lost' money and I should be the one to reimburse them? I just cannot see how a company can continue to claim ownership of an item after it has changed possession (i.e. 'sold' or 'traded').
Besides, what makes more business sense; attacking consumers publicly or thanking them for spreading the word? If I sell a promotional item, I have just increased their potential user base. If they attack me publicly for doing so, then they have just decreased their potential user base. In the first scenario, they possibly gain more revenue; in the second, they will most definitely lose revenue due to bad public relations.
Again, I have already installed my copy and am using it at home on my personal computer. I just feel that eBay is wrong to pull down those auctions and that Microsoft is wrong if they indeed are behind the removals.
If you are having a party with windows 7...your not a geek...your just a wierdo........
It seems no matter what's being given away, there's always several people who think they can make a quick buck by defrauding the system.
RE: unknown unknown's post... This isn't about a contract, it's about selling items that one received in bad faith - that is, they defrauded a system of that was setup to give free software to participants under very clear restrictions.
Let's see, words that TV watchers can understand... It's like when those people applied for tickets to Michael Jackson's funeral merely to scalp the tickets. The people at the door were fully within their rights to deny admittance to anyone who wasn't the original recipient.
Ahh... the greedy.
Yes, I did. Unused Vista got a Microsoft DMCA takedown notice. eBay pulled the plug on my auction, then refused to show me the notice citing the need for me to go to court to get a supoena (can't spell that...) in case there was a "trade secret" involved. Trying to work with MicroSoft was worse. Their employees aren't allowed to talk or think outside a carefully worded script. They would not talk about my specific auction or address my specific concerns which is to say "since I never used the software where is the violation of EULA in reselling it". There was no violation and I was out the money. Who the heck needs two copies of Vista on one computer?
It also says "PROMOTIONAL DISC" on it, so I don't know how this can be legally sold. THere should be a better way of figuring out who is a genuine person and who is getting it just for the sale value of it.
I am happy with my Party pack, I distributed the goodies to family and friends and had a jolly time. I still think Microsoft should have provided a copy or a coupon for Windows 7 to the party guests.
BTW Windows 7 ultimate RTM rocks...really happy with it as compared to VIsta. On the other hand, anything will seem to work better than Vista.
Just because it's in writing doesn't mean it's necessarily enforceable. In this cause the First Sale Doctrine which is an exception to the rights of the Copyright holder (17 U.S.C. § 109) that allows consumer to sell or give away any lawfully obtained physical copy (including CDs with software) of a copyright work without the permission or compensation of the copyright holder.
"It also says "PROMOTIONAL DISC" on it, so I don't know how this can be legally sold...."
The fact they printed it on the disc doesn't really mean anything. Fact is there is a law protecting reselling reguardless of what they put on the disc.
http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/umg_v_augusto/LA07CV03106SJO-O.pdf
Thanks for clearing that up. I was gonna go google it up to see what kinds of laws are in place for this kind of behavior. Now it is a bit clear.
This is no different.
Thats eBay running scared and not so much the law.
Good grief.
...and this was just 1 of 17 new patches.
(Nothing to do with this article, but I had to post this somewhere...)
Troll much? ;-)
Think of it this way.... you are given a new car to drive for a year or two as a loaner. You know, try it out. But instead of doing that, you decide to sell it instead.
Should you get to keep the money or should the car company be coming after you for theft?
Ir you were loaned the car, you will be giving it back. If you were given the car it's yours to re-sell. Your example was a loaner. Were they guys supposed to send the kit back?
it's like having a lease. I lease my apartment. I use it it, I live in it, but it's not mine. I can't re-sell it or rent it to someone else because the owner doesn't want me to. When you lease a car it's the same concept. You can drive it around and do nearly anything you want with it, but you can't re-sell it because it's not yours. Leases also can say if you can transfer the lease to another person or not, though most don't allow it.
Yes and no. I don't own the sofware but I do own the media and such thus there is something physical to sell long before I even come near the EULA. Even though I 'lease' the software it's a perpetual lease giving me full right of use and when I "sell it" I transfer that right of use. It pretty much comes back to I can sell it the same way I can sell a book without owning the words in it.
- by sargess25 October 16, 2009 11:15 AM PDT
- "... Steve Ballmer "signature edition" of Windows 7 Ultimate."
- Like this Reply to this comment
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (69 Comments)sounds like the epitaph to his career