How to sell an e-meter on Ebay.

If you have an e-meter you would like to sell, you might think about putting it up for auction on Ebay. Unfortunately, Scientology has a policy that only licensed ministers of Scientology should be able to buy an e-meter. They abuse the law by complaining to Ebay that e-meters are copyrighted. This is not only untrue, but impossible, as an e-meter is a piece of electronics. But even if it were copyrighted, people are selling original e-meters, not copies. Ebay's policy is to pull any item that receives a complaint, and allow the sellers to file a counterclaim under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). To date, many e-meters have been sold on Ebay, but many have been blocked. So how can you have the best chance for selling an e-meter?

1) Price it right On today's market anything below a Mark VI will typically bring under $100. A Mark VI could bring $100-$300. Mark VIIs $300-$1000. Quantums could bring $1000-$1,500. Don't put a starting bid above these guidelines if you really want to sell it on Ebay.

2) Make it work An e-meter sold "as is" without any charging cord, leads or cans is much less likely to sell than a full set in its case. If you're missing a cord, go to an electronics repair store and see if they can supply one. If the meter works, make sure you mention that in the auction listing. A listing that says "I don't know if this works or not" sounds to buyers like "broken e-meter."

3) Keep track If your auction is ended early, you will have no records of who bid for it or how much. Check your auction frequently and keep records of the amount each person bid. If there is a bid you would like to accept, you can contact them through the Ebay mail system, or if they have a web page, directly.

4) Buy Now Ebay has an option called "Buy Now." It allows a seller to put a Buy Now price on an item which a seller can bid to end the auction immediately.

Only the first bid on an item can end it with Buy Now. So if you're willing to sell for $250, put in a $250 Buy Now and perhaps somebody will end the auction before Scientology can complain.

5) Complain If your auction is ended early, you can file a counterclaim with Ebay under the DMCA. According to their policies, they should reinstate your auction and leave it up to Scientology to pursue any legal action. To file a counterclaim, you will need to tell Ebay under penalty of perjury that the e-meter is not a copyright violation.

Resources:

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/showtell/jump/0,23009,3323990,00.html http://www.cmsu.edu/dmca/counter.html http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/ -- Rod Keller / rkeller@voicenet.com / Irresponsible Publisher / Black Hat #1 Expert of the Toilet / CWPD Mouthpiece / Shelly Thompson in Drag The Lerma Apologist / Merchant of Chaos / Vision of Destruction Bigot of Mystery / OSA Patsy / Quasi-Scieno / Mental Bully / Killer Rod

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