i was watching and bidding on Kaplan stuff. i received notices saying they pulled LOTS of the kaplan stuff off Ebay... Why? and why now, before boards? anyone know?
thanks
don
thanks
don
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Step I Kaplan ending Ebay auctions.!?
Started by FarEastGrapplr2
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Probably because they were illegal copies of copyrighted materials.
This was discussed earlier the year, with the proliferation of the "10,000 USMLE Questions" on the copied CD's from Ebay. Basically it comes down to copyrighted material and Kaplan defending it's business. I personally don't think that it is B.S., as everyone should have a right to protect their interests and obviously the same thing is happenend w/Kazaa and music.
They make a product, if you want to use it then you should purchase it. Just my $.02.
They make a product, if you want to use it then you should purchase it. Just my $.02.
TysonCook said:
I realized that I don't have a problem with breaking copyrights. If people give away those 10,000 question CDs for free, whatever. What I can't stand is how sellers markup the price, and yet are able to sell them because some gullible med student will always buy them. Blank CDs only cost pennies, so they are making virtually all-profit on those sales. Even with their huge profit-margins, I bet those people still overcharge on the shipping too, just like all eBay sellers do.
I agree that everyone has the right to protect their business, and buyers/sellers should adhere to copyright laws. However, I think this whole situation is just absurd. My frustration doesn't even stem from the fact that what else can you do but look for cheaper sources of materials for which Kaplan has created an almost complete monopoly. The obvious rebuttal to this is that the company is just capitalizing on a previously untapped market. So fine. But my beef is this - you can sell Louie Vutton bags, Prada shoes, and Starbucks espresso machines USED with no problem on ebay. Why? Bc they're your own - you purchased these things through legit channels, and have every right to sell your own used merchandise if you so desire. Soooo....what's up w/ Kaplan trying to put a stop on selling their used materials?????? It's one thing if people are making copies of discs and Kaplan's copywrited materials - that's clearly illegal. Even though I could care less if people are making bootleg copies of Kaplan materials, I see Kaplan's point in pulling these things off ebay. But as far as Kaplan's material that I myself purchased, and wish to re-sell to someone else a year later for half price, if Kaplan tries to put a stop to it, then that's just absurd. With that said, I am going to return to my Kaplan Biochem book, and will continue underlining lightly with a pencil as I am reading, so that I am able to resell all this stuff in a few months. Good luck all. And....if you need materials to study, I'll be done w/ the boards (step 1) around June 25th. Feel free to PM me, and I'll be happy to sell you all of my stuff, so that at least a few less people are forced to dish out their loan money to the monopoly tycoon known as Kaplan! 
Oh, I see. I had no idea that legitimate auctions were being stopped. That's just lame if Kaplan is trying to stop people from reselling their study materials. I think there's nothing wrong with reselling those books if they are legitimate copies.
Maybe it's just an effect of having so many illegal auctions out there that instead of identifying which were truly illegal, they just ended all of them.
Maybe it's just an effect of having so many illegal auctions out there that instead of identifying which were truly illegal, they just ended all of them.
monet said:
Are they the Step 2 Kaplan Lecture notes, if so, how much? PM me.
The problem is that the objects (albeit some are honest and true) are not always exactly as listed. For example, I can take a picture of the BRS CD, and notes from the internet (which will look new), sit down on CD stamper and pump out 1000 copies to sell "brand new" on ebay. I think that the problem lies in that people (dishonest) will market something alike what was noted above "brand new, unused, in the box books" when in all reality, they are brand new, but have been published elsewhere (offshore), and have circumvented the royalty fee.
Kaplan, Ebay, and obviously nobody else can verify that these goods are indeed original kaplan material, and they end up losing their $. What if boils down to is that Kaplan (and others) can file a suit against ebay for marketing these items, so ebay will pull the entire list, instead of trying to determine which items are legit, and which are not. The same thing happens w/CD's, comp programs etc. as well as other aspects of our market (pawn shops,who do have to verify their goods)
Don't get me wrong, I hate the fact that we can't sell our books (I too have a set I want to sell), but what you can do is sell them at school, online at other sites, or possibly here on SDN. Also, when you sign up for Kaplan (I could be wrong) but read the fine print that the material is non-transferrable, as I know that we all signed the dotted line/check box after the huge page of legalities.
As far as a Kaplan monopoly, yes they do have one in this area, but there are plenty of other choices as well, some better (BRS), some upcoming (USMLEasy), and others that should jump into the market (princton?). It is a free market.
sorry, I am not super pro kaplan and am not affiliated w/them, I just think that people are trying to sugarcoat what is basically theft, which is now starting to hurt our ability to sell goods.
Kaplan, Ebay, and obviously nobody else can verify that these goods are indeed original kaplan material, and they end up losing their $. What if boils down to is that Kaplan (and others) can file a suit against ebay for marketing these items, so ebay will pull the entire list, instead of trying to determine which items are legit, and which are not. The same thing happens w/CD's, comp programs etc. as well as other aspects of our market (pawn shops,who do have to verify their goods)
Don't get me wrong, I hate the fact that we can't sell our books (I too have a set I want to sell), but what you can do is sell them at school, online at other sites, or possibly here on SDN. Also, when you sign up for Kaplan (I could be wrong) but read the fine print that the material is non-transferrable, as I know that we all signed the dotted line/check box after the huge page of legalities.
As far as a Kaplan monopoly, yes they do have one in this area, but there are plenty of other choices as well, some better (BRS), some upcoming (USMLEasy), and others that should jump into the market (princton?). It is a free market.
sorry, I am not super pro kaplan and am not affiliated w/them, I just think that people are trying to sugarcoat what is basically theft, which is now starting to hurt our ability to sell goods.
i tried selling books (originals) and they closed my auction, then SUSPENDED my account. $6 in fax fees + a major hassle = i was reinstated.
my intent with this thread was to see how many others have had this problem, selling books and getting auctions closed. i wasnt referring to the CDs being sold, which for some reason seem to be more abundant than the books.!? why does Kaplan not shut them down??? here's a link to an Ebay discussion baord regarding this matter... Ebayers care to ad your $0.02?
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jsp?forum=4&thread=410145575&modified=1085516363838
the way i see it, if you are not the original user (ie. did not sign anything), you should be able to dispose of the books as you see fit, if in fact any binding agreement was made between Kaplan and the original seller. that agrrement was not passed on.
my intent with this thread was to see how many others have had this problem, selling books and getting auctions closed. i wasnt referring to the CDs being sold, which for some reason seem to be more abundant than the books.!? why does Kaplan not shut them down??? here's a link to an Ebay discussion baord regarding this matter... Ebayers care to ad your $0.02?
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jsp?forum=4&thread=410145575&modified=1085516363838
the way i see it, if you are not the original user (ie. did not sign anything), you should be able to dispose of the books as you see fit, if in fact any binding agreement was made between Kaplan and the original seller. that agrrement was not passed on.
Guys, don't try to sell Kaplan materials here, either. This has been discussed ad nauseum in the mod forum and here is a statement regarding it: (This can be found as an announcement in the for sale forum)
"The materials (including all books, tests, Q Banks, online components, study aids) from Kaplan courses are not offered for retail sale. Rather, the materials are a proprietary component of Kaplan?s test-preparation course and are provided to enrolled students. All course information, techniques and materials provided to enrolled students remain Kaplan?s exclusive property. Students who enroll in our course are merely provided with a license to use ? but not to own -- this information for the duration of their test preparation. No student ? or someone who obtained these materials from a student ? has any right to sell the materials to a third party or reproduce them in any way. Accordingly, any attempt to sell the materials amounts to willful trademark and copyright infringement and unfair competition.
Please know that Kaplan takes the protection of our intellectual property rights seriously."
Thanks guys!
"The materials (including all books, tests, Q Banks, online components, study aids) from Kaplan courses are not offered for retail sale. Rather, the materials are a proprietary component of Kaplan?s test-preparation course and are provided to enrolled students. All course information, techniques and materials provided to enrolled students remain Kaplan?s exclusive property. Students who enroll in our course are merely provided with a license to use ? but not to own -- this information for the duration of their test preparation. No student ? or someone who obtained these materials from a student ? has any right to sell the materials to a third party or reproduce them in any way. Accordingly, any attempt to sell the materials amounts to willful trademark and copyright infringement and unfair competition.
Please know that Kaplan takes the protection of our intellectual property rights seriously."
Thanks guys!
