Downloading materials...is it wrong to sell what you downloaded?

This is the "business" my mate runs...

He downloads random things, from movies to games, burns them and sells them to people who have no experience or the brain power to do it themselves?


Would you consider this wrong?


I say yes despite him being a friend...why?


BECAUSE I CAN DOWNLOAD ALL THE MOVIES AND GAMES HE DOES!



And a few "businesses" here do that as well...a look in some local markets reveal pirated movies made to look legit and sold 1/2 price of proper retail, games as well (plus horrid r4 games preloaded with games...which is also illegal ).


I'm not asking if what some people do is illegal, just if it's morally right to sell something that you can get yourself for free, heck me and other friends just do swap and share rather than pay for our goods XD

 

I think it is morally wrong.
The people who uploaded the files didn't charge him anything.
They are sharing their stuff with the world without any charge, and taking a big risk at that.
If your friend wants to help these people who can't download themselves, he should charge only for the hardware (cd's and stuff), but not make a profit.
If he's making a profit, he has no interest in helping these people, he is being selfish.

 

your friend should give lessons on how to do it....more profit to him

 

I was told the same thing with my psp hacking guide here XD


I learnt now to avoid making profit...especially with one time where I offered to help someone hack a psp, he paid me..it was a 3000.


He paid $50, he also got 3 games.

Thing is...he could have paid $25 at other places (though they may not offer 3000 jobs) and this guide...he just couldn't follow.


I felt so guilty I cut all contact, he wanted me to hack his friends...now I just swap and all of my data about rather than charge...though I may offer the odd psp hack with games...$5 is resonable since it's more or less petrol money now XD

Less actually, he burns it in bulk and sells, like any smart person in australia he over charges...he has yet to make a profit off me because I "sweet talk" my way out of it...even got a free nintendo wifi adaptor off him saving me $50 XD

 

dude...''sweet talking'' always works XD

 

Wrong, even if it is profitable.

Lots of people at my place has been doing that...
for century...

Download some software/games from Internet,
and then burn it into DVD's,
Make own DVD cover, put it into case and then sell it.

Result?
Profit.

but beware of some officer that always patrolling..

 

As I once said...anotehr mate who I occasionally call my "master" knows.


He once helped the markets sell pirated dvds, however the police only fine people for parking and not the content of what is being sold there...


He did get a raid however because of the masses of crap he onced downloaded to keep the stalls running (must have been a tracked torrent..).


He kept a backup however which the stupid officer's didn't see XD



No idea how smart my other mate is, but from what I know it's a matter of time...he doesn't check if it's safe until he's got the whole file (virus scan) but if it was tracked he'd be screwed unless he's got the ip adress worked out.


And I'm sure from past experience he won't be caught dealing online via msn, facebook etc, and then trading the goods in public, I seen him do this in fast food places...


Unless he picks up a tracked torrent he might never be caught...and yes he doesn't give a damn who he's ripping off, in a topic posted long a ago one quote (which...I can't find) suits him...

"If someone is stupid enough to pay for something, then you have the right to exploit them"


He has no moral boundries....with downloaded goods.

 

i think it's wrong. i didn't charge anything for my wii guide or to my friend who i hacked his psp phat.

if you get something for free, then you shouldn't charge for it.

i gave my friend 5 dvd discs full of psp games as well!!XD

though i'm getting tired of my friends asking me for programs and computer info.....

 

Well, when there is a checking around the are.

What the shop owner do is,
They put the original software/games infront of the counter,
but at the back, lots of pirated CD's,
It can be done in haste because of some "insider".

Like you said, it's only a matter of time. XD

 

I reported a dude for doing that once...NO ONE COPIES MY DEVIL MAY CRY 3

 

it's not that bad, people are not naive enough to think that they can't get things them selves.
most people buy pirated stuff because they can't be bothered to do it them selves.

i've sold copied DVDs and games to people that have asked, where there is a demand there is always going to be someone to supply.
i've even offered those people for me to just show them how to do it but would rather not learn anything and pay next to nothing for what they want.

it's the same principle as pre-cut carrots, you can chop them your self but people will still pay just that bit more to make their life a bit easier.

to be honest the whole moral debate is a farce, if you download it in the first place your stealing from the developers pockets so if you bitch about a friend or the Chinese guy on the corner shouting "you buy D-V-D, £5 D-V-D you buy" then you need to bitch at your self for downloading it as well.

 

Very much agree with this and Loonylion's point. There's piracy then there is that-backsideface-on-the-street-corner-piracy.

 

I copy it, though I don't sell

I was curious about just the situation I stated.

Downloading something yourself, compared to someone selling that same stuff.

I was hoping people would ignore the legal values, and other complaints...I already took these into account...but I may not have said that clearly...or at all.

It's the later I dislike.

 

I also made that observation with the PS games bought here in our country mostly in the quiapo area..like when i didnt knew about romU, i bought the cd's there. but since i knew this site and other sites that offer free download, i seldom go there anymore.

But sometime ago, i went there to buy something, i saw the same vendor selling PS1 game... i really wanted to tell him he should just download it but well, i feel awful to destroy someone's business...

So in my opinion, selling it to make a profit depends on the situation... most of my country men has no access to the net, maybe because of the place they live so, maybe, selling them these programs is a help to them...

 

True, however in a country like australia where alot of people have the net...it makes you wonder...

 

the problem about selling this free programs is guilt. if you have shame and consideration for you fellow human, you will give them, and just charge what you are really owed. if you just spent a dollar on a cd and 1 dollar for using the net and comps, you should just charge 2 dollars... but many of those vendors increase with the reason of labor, time and like you said petrol... so it rise up from 2 dollars to the actual prices. like if you bought the game originally, it would cost 20 bucks, but since you just downloaded it and burned it to a cd, it would only cover you for like 5 bucks, then you will sell it half the original price of 10 bucks..

so final thought, if you're a honest person, just charge what you are owed. but if your business minded, charge what the market might dictate.

also, dont do what I do, i gave them for free, even the price of the cd, i shoulder it... damn me for being so nice.... many people abuse me for that.

 

problem is USUALLY legal values are the things keeping immoral things from happening. you can't ignore them since most people obtain their morality through legality. "its illegal therefor its wrong" and since you obviously have a problem with the guy selling downloaded content you also need to have a problem with downloading things illegally otherwise you're a hypocrite. and before you say that its completely different consider person A downloads a game illegally. This person just obtained something that should've been sold to you for an amount of money. therefor you didn't download it for free you downloaded it for that company's loss of that sale. which is wrong morally. now person B downloads this same item and sells it regularly so not only did this person download it for the price of the company's loss but each copy person B sells is not only a loss to that company but a ill-gotten gain, HOWEVER since a service has been offered and payment had been agreed upon regardless of the terms attached it was a sale of service even though the service was an illegal copy of a digital item. yes this person is more wrong and that will be my stance in this particular debate but the thing is that people will buy anything and if you don't want to get money for it good for you but holy crap don't chastise someone for getting money. i mean yeah you can get sex for free from anyone but does that stop people from paying certain people for their services? no. does that make it wrong? probably, but the fact [is] that someone was willing to pay for it so you can't say anything about it other than its wrong.

 

well if you sell what you download for free, you are the streotype pirate. unless of couse just to cover your cost, afterall blank DVD doesnt grow on tree.