eBay Art Theft - User "red_sox_14" Warning

[137th Gebirg]

Hello, all. This has been something that has stuck in my craw for some time. With me working on the new TOS Battlestar Galactica schematics, I am now more concerned than ever that the hundreds of hours I'm putting into this thing will be stolen for someone else's profit.

There exists subhuman scum who goes by the alias "red_sox_14" on eBay, selling t-shirts of other people's artwork, including some schematics I have published on the SSDB. This is artwork freely given to the modeling and BSG communities for the enrichment of all interested in such things - for no profit whatsoever. He has lifted the graphics from various sites (some in not-so-good resolution) and profited quite heavily from other people's talented efforts. He currently has 3,744 positive feedbacks, BTW. Even if he charged a dollar per shirt, that's damn near $4000!! I don't know about you, but I could think of a lot of cool things to get with four grand. Since he's actually selling most of his shirts for $10 a pop, I suspect he's made quite a killing over the years.

Here's a breakdown of what has been grabbed so far (I have archived all the pertinent files in question):

Viper 5-view - by Zoic/Darrell Lawrence "Warrior" - Colonial Fleets - Viper Comparison Chart
Viper Mk VII - by Zoic - Colonial Fleets - Viper Comparison Chart
Battlestar Galactica Schematic - by Zoic/Jim Stevenson "137th Gebirg" - http://shipschematics.net/bsg/images..._galactica.jpg
Battlestar Pegasus Schematic 1 - by "Coxxon" - http://shipschematics.net/bsg/images...ar_mercury.jpg
Battlestar Pegasus Schematic 2 - John Barnes "AldrikG" - http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/3...egasus-22.html

The short-term solution for dealing with this guy is simple awareness for those who may be interested in purchasing his "products". The long-term is to report him to eBay. This is especially going to happen if I catch him stealing my new schematics to put on his t-shirts. Tell your friends and post on other forums. I know I will.

And if red_sox_14 happens to come across this post, I want him to personally know that I am watching you.

[Andrew March]

We all know about red_sox, ebay won't do a damn thing about him.

[Dr Lee]

Why won't/haven't Ebay done anything about this?

[Darkness]

Because it's ebay. Ebay cares about profit, not the users. He sells items - eBay gets money. That is that for them

[137th Gebirg]

From what I understand, folks from the RPF have been successful in shutting down "recasters" of resin prop kits on eBay. There may be hope.

[137th Gebirg]

I tried reporting it, but that aspect of the site is extremely limited. There is actually no way to send a description of why something should be shut down. It only allows you to select from an interactive list of pre-determined violations, none of which really quite fit. I'll keep digging unless someone knows a shortcut. When it comes to working outside the buy/sell box, eBay is really quite limited in scope.

[biotech]

Dont bother with ebay, just report it to the producers of BSG.

[NanoGator]

Originally Posted by Darkness

Because it's ebay. Ebay cares about profit, not the users. He sells items - eBay gets money. That is that for them

Maybe, but they probably don't care about a copyright dispute regarding BSG and somebody that's not working for the production.

In simpler terms, eBay probably has a high signal-to-noise ratio.

[Aresius]

I've copied your first post to my forum and, if you like, will publish it on my website.
Just gimme a quick response if you want to.

[137th Gebirg]

^^^ Absolutely. The more people hear about this guy, the less money he will get in his own pocket. If eBay won't act, I guess we can, then.