eBay Kills iTunes Song Auction

from the so-much-for-that-experiment dept

As expected by some, eBay has taken down the auction for the iTunes song that we mentioned yesterday. eBay's terms of service say you can't sell anything that is delivered digitally - so a digital song violates that rule. The guy who was selling the song says he's asked eBay to reinstate the auction if he promises to only provide physical delivery of the song (say on a CD-ROM). It certainly still leaves open the question of whether or not an iTunes song can be sold. The most interesting part of this story is that Apple has stilled remained completely silent on the issue. Since it's really going to come down to them, you would think they would speak up. If someone asked them point blank whether or not you can sell an iTunes song you downloaded, they should have an answer. Anyway, I imagine that some other auction site would be more than happy to host this publicity generating auction, so eventually we'll find out.
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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2003 @ 6:29am

    Digital ban?

    I knew eBay didn't allow items that were to be delivered electronically over "the internet", but I can't find a ban on "digital delivery". Are you sure about this? Since software is almost delivered digitally (on various media) that would eliminate just about all software from eBay.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike (profile), 5 Sep 2003 @ 9:12am

      Re: Digital ban?

      Right. I meant over the internet. Where the delivery mechanism is digital. Software comes on a physical medium (the CD-ROM).

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        RoyalPeasantry, 22 May 2006 @ 11:08pm

        Re: Digital ban?

        Yeah.... I know I've seen e-books for sale on e-bay...

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    crybaby05, 3 Mar 2008 @ 8:04pm

    elfingo

    A highly recommended site is elfingo.com for online auctions. They are the new ebay. Many smaller sites like this offer buyers far better deals than ebay ever could. Buyser also save a ton because this site charges little or nothing depending on the day. One more reaso I like elfingo.com is because they don't take a part of the sale at all. No commissions or final value fees. A+++ http://www.elfingo.com

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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