Ethically Challenged

I know you will have looked at the image accompanying this post and be thinking “Here we go again!” but I promise, this is not just another post about the luscious Mr Corcoran… there is a bigger issue here altogether which has really got me irked.

I set off on one of those peculiar Google journeys this morning… I wasn’t even looking for him, I promise… I was happily researching a completely unrelated topic when I saw the name pop up in a result, not a page of any consequence to my research, but today being a fairly productive one thus far I thought I deserved a little diversion… then I find myself on another search tangent, which eventually had me at this Ebay listing for Chris Corcoran's Random Thoughts:



Even those amongst you (how?) who are as yet unfamiliar with the book itself can clearly see the label: £1.99… that is all this book costs… yet this store is selling it on for a whopping £4.69.

“Fair enough,” you say, “the seller has to cover costs” – um, no actually… because firstly this seller is clearly representing a book store given the huge volume of stock he is carrying so is even making a profit by selling at £1.99. Also, his allowance of £2.99 for postage is MORE than it costs to ship from the UK to the US… I checked...and the packaging itself is going to cost pennies to someone mailing out a high volume of goods so what is the justification for blatantly ripping people off in this way? Especially given that these US buyers could easily order from Amazon for $0.68! (In itself another irritation… sixty-eight cents for all that effort! Gah!!)

The thing is it isn’t just the buyer being sold short here; whilst the prospective buyers are paying double the value of this book is anyone mailing off a cheque to Mr C in recompense for the inflated royalties? Um, doubt it!

And don’t think I am only complaining because it is this book in particular, it’s just that I noticed it because I know the book; truly, it would have irritated the crap out of me whatever book it may have been… but you will have to take me at my word on that one!

I am all for free enterprise and people being allowed to earn a living, but this really takes the piss… in a BIG way!

I mean, is it really so different to someone who buys a DVD, copies it and sells both on? The financial boost to the seller is exactly the same, yet only one is technically illegal. Time for artists to make a stand, I feel!