Who or what is Sudek13?

[Chris Goss]

I am sorry to bring this up again but I am amazed by the ability of this buyer to 99 times out of 100 get his purchase on eBay. Furthermore, the prices he/she/it pays are way over the odds and forcing them out of the hands of genuine, less affluent people. Is it legal for him to put in last-minute bids whatever the time of day or night, via what some say is 'Sniper Software'? Also, what does he intend doing with these purchases as if he is copying them for people to purchase, the prices he must have to charge to recoup his outlay will be interesting!

[edwest]

Whether this is one person or a group of people, the only thing he/she/it has is lots of money. The only common denominator and provable fact. It is possible to "get professionals to bid for you on eBay" (that's right, you're so loaded down with cash that you can hire someone else to wait to the last second) and as you mentioned, there is software-- it's not illegal.

As far as others more deserving not getting it-- it's only a question of money and those "professionals" I mentioned and/or software (which may be how they can go to their regular job and let the software make them a little extra money).

Looking at the issue from a military strategy perspective, how does one win against such a formidable opponent? Since money is the "weapon" in this conflict, I would suggest several people get together and pool their resources or take out a loan and have a "war chest" at your disposal. Sound outlandish? Well, there are people who will remortgage their home in order to take an expensive vacation (and how can that compare to getting possession of one of a kind Luftwaffe photos? ).




Ed

[Rasmussen]

edwest wrote: "..., there is software -- it's not illegal."

That's the madness of ebay - if you are a member of ebay.de then it's forbidden (have a look in the AGB - the terms of business) but if you are a member of ebay.com then not.

I believe it's an group of persons because the person wrote the email wasn't identical with the post adress.

Best wishes
Rasmussen

[robert_schulte]

Having had the luck (?) to sell two photos for a few Euros to sudek13 I can definetely say, that this is not a single person. I got two different contact persons who had the same delivery address, so my guess is, that a company has hired several people to buy these photos. John Manrho, with whom I was in contact in this matter, suggested due to the Email-address, that behind sudek13 is the Woodbridge Company, which is the holding company of the Thomson Corporation. If this is correct, I fear that sudek13 will have enough money for a long time to buy ANY photo he/she/it is interested in.

Regards
Robert

[Rasmussen]

Was your contact adress an female person in Toronto? I had an email adress with woodbridge.com too. I will in my next sales delete him from the buyer list.

Rasmussen

[robert_schulte]

Hi Rasmussen,

I had the same Email-address and both contact persons were female. Guess those are students earning some dollars
Regards
Robert

[Rasmussen]

Hi Robert,

do you or John Manrho knows what's the target of this company/Corporation ... a lot of publications, speculation, pure collecting or what????

Many thanks
Rasmussen

[robert_schulte]

Hi Rasmussen,

sorry, I have no clue, what the purpose of buying all these photos could be.
Regards
Robert

[G. Warrener]

Hello

Problem with auctions is always that the highest price wins - not the nicest bidder.

Though in the case of Sudek13 I do feel that the Canadian Revenue Departments are ignoring a huge currency drain here....

I have heard that he/she/it is heir to a publishing group and intends bringing out exclusive 'books' using all these photos.

All you buy on Ebay is a print or more rarely a negative. How can anyone have exclusive copyright on a single paper print? The most you can do is state who's collection it belongs to.

Does even buying a negative on ebay - give one copyright? If the German negative was taken by an official military photographer - then surely the rights remain with the German State - i.e. Bundesarchiv

Graham

[edwest]

Copyright is a thorny issue, best left, in my opinion, to copyright attorneys. However, I have seen books published using archive photos, as well as photos from private collections. Not that long ago, parts of Signal! magazine were published in book form. If this person has the money and is indeed part of a publishing company, he should be knowledgable enough and have the money to hire the necessary professionals to get rights clearance. If not, oh well...



Ed