On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 3:26 PM, Russ Marshall wrote:

Can anyone explain to me why GIMP allows their “FREE” software to be SOLD on eBay? There are those of us
who have been cheated by sellers who, when you win the auction send you the URL for GIMP web page where
you may download it for free!!!!
I have complained to eBay but they will not do anything about it.

There's really nothing that can be done. I recommend going back to eBay and filing a complaint there.

I hardly use eBay anymore but when I do, I always:

1. Search the web for the item and get 3rd party information/reviews/etc. 2. Check the seller's profile very carefully, and search for them as well.

Sorry you got scammed.

Chris

On Thu, 10 May 2012 16:26:20 -0400, Russ Marshall wrote:

Can anyone explain to me why GIMP allows their “FREE” software to be SOLD on eBay?

Because the GPL license does not limit the freedom to sell the software.

On 05/10/2012 04:26 PM, Russ Marshall wrote:

Can anyone explain to me why GIMP allows their “FREE” software to be SOLD on eBay? There are those of us
who have been cheated by sellers who, when you win the auction send you the URL for GIMP web page where
you may download it for free!!!!
I have complained to eBay but they will not do anything about it. RUSS MARSHALL

Russ,

Gimp developers do not "allow" or "not allow" sales. The Gimp license does not prevent such activity. That is part of the whole open-source software world, it is not related only to Gimp.

No, such activity is not honorable -- if the seller has not added any value to transaction, but since it is not a disallowed activity, it is not illegal. Whether it is ethical or not is a decision above my pay grade. I don't like it, but even vultures and possums have their role in the world.

However... I believe strongly -- and I do apply this thinking to myself as well -- that one should first look to oneself before deciding to blame others. Did you know that you were buying Gimp? Did you know what you were going to be receiving? If you did know that you were buying Gimp, did you research it (doing a simple Google search would have told you everything) before bidding on it. Or, if you did not know what product you were buying, why did you bid on it? All these types of questions should perhaps be considered before blaming everybody else.

If you were not previously aware of Gimp and you did not do any research to find Gimp (or other free / open-source software), then perhaps the eBay seller did actually provide some value for the price they charged -- in a devious kind of way, they have introduced you to the wonderful world of Gimp. If Gimp cost $200 or $500, it would still be worth it to _many_ people, myself included.

So, perhaps this is just a life lesson: Know exactly what you are bidding on, research alternative sources before bidding, etc., etc.

By the way, there is a huge and wonderful world of free / open-source software around there. Explore that world and you will find a lot of great, free programs you had no idea existed.

Jay

Well, I looked at some of the auctions of Gimp there, and one was for 99 cents, others for like 4 bucks highest i saw was 20 dollars. Some of these sales are packages including open office, etc. It's basically the price to get a version burned to a cd. It's like when I wanted to install Ubuntu, eventually I figured out how to download and burn a disk image, but in the meantime I had to buy a burner for 33 bucks. But back when I didn't have a burner or didn't readily know how to burn it I bought a Ubuntu disk for 4 dollars, well worth the cost. Dan

On 5/10/12, Jay Smith wrote:

On 05/10/2012 04:26 PM, Russ Marshall wrote:

Can anyone explain to me why GIMP allows their FREE software to be SOLD on eBay? There are those of us
who have been cheated by sellers who, when you win the auction send you the URL for GIMP web page where
you may download it for free!!!!
I have complained to eBay but they will not do anything about it. RUSS MARSHALL

Russ,

Gimp developers do not "allow" or "not allow" sales. The Gimp license does not prevent such activity. That is part of the whole open-source software world, it is not related only to Gimp.

No, such activity is not honorable -- if the seller has not added any value to transaction, but since it is not a disallowed activity, it is not illegal. Whether it is ethical or not is a decision above my pay grade. I don't like it, but even vultures and possums have their role in the world.

However... I believe strongly -- and I do apply this thinking to myself as well -- that one should first look to oneself before deciding to blame others. Did you know that you were buying Gimp? Did you know what you were going to be receiving? If you did know that you were buying Gimp, did you research it (doing a simple Google search would have told you everything) before bidding on it. Or, if you did not know what product you were buying, why did you bid on it? All these types of questions should perhaps be considered before blaming everybody else.

If you were not previously aware of Gimp and you did not do any research to find Gimp (or other free / open-source software), then perhaps the eBay seller did actually provide some value for the price they charged -- in a devious kind of way, they have introduced you to the wonderful world of Gimp. If Gimp cost $200 or $500, it would still be worth it to _many_ people, myself included.

So, perhaps this is just a life lesson: Know exactly what you are bidding on, research alternative sources before bidding, etc., etc.

By the way, there is a huge and wonderful world of free / open-source software around there. Explore that world and you will find a lot of great, free programs you had no idea existed.

Jay _______________________________________________ gimp-user-list mailing list
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On 12-05-10 06:06 PM, Daniel Smith wrote:

It's like when I wanted to install Ubuntu, eventually I figured out how to download and burn a disk image, but in the meantime I had to buy a burner for 33 bucks. But back when I didn't have a burner or didn't readily know how to burn it I bought a Ubuntu disk for 4 dollars, well worth the cost.

Its one thing if the seller is providing some service by providing the software on a CD/DVD or if they have added something to the package (ie. additional plug-ins/scripts). If all the seller is doing is charging for the URL where the software can be downloaded for free, the sellers ethics and/or morals are definitely questionable. If nothing more than a URL was given for the money, you should consider leaving negative feedback with a notice like "Selling software available free at ". If the seller doesn't like that, you could agree to mutually withdraw if you are reimbursed the original purchase price.