Photo Theft!! Amazing

LILBUDDHA · Apr 1, 2010

Gary ,
All I can say is " WOW " or like the ladies say @ work OMG !!!
I can't remember but do your pic's have your logo embedded in them. If not you might want to do so . Not that it'll help in what already happened .

NANOYED · Apr 1, 2010

You definately need to put a company logo or your name on your pics. That is the most famous ph pic out there, apparently everyone except this guy knew it was yours.

aerius007 · Apr 1, 2010

I think this exact situation happened a few months ago with one of the mods here. Your hornets, sold to a mod, showed up on craigslist by a scammer. I could be wrong though.

mike_dani · Apr 1, 2010

Gary or is it Mr. Hissy Fit has a new name. J/K Gary you are in the right and this guy wants to blast you. Not hood but karma is a itch and I have contacted eBay.

soccerbag · Apr 1, 2010

Crazy - exactly why I put my mark on my photos. The response is just crazy. Ignorance on the highest level!

KCMO Reefer · Apr 1, 2010

The listing has been removed. What was the Seller's ID? Didn't catch it so I know never to buy from him.

soccerbag · Apr 1, 2010

Aquariumz I think? Something similar to that...

engineeronh2o · Apr 1, 2010

Ok, I gotta question. I understand that its wrong to use someone elses picture to sell your own coral. But here's the question.....

How is it ok to use the same picture for year or two to sell a single polyp. I have never actually seen a WYSIWYG Purple Hornet sold by Reef Pets. I have bought two or three packages from him and its great stuff, but I am confused.

So it is ok to take a picture today. Reuse that same picture for sale after sale. A year later still say, this is the colony that you will receive the polyp from? Seriously? Is it? Do you know how much it could change in a year. How about a pic of what the buyer gets, and not the same picture used 50 times, just because it looks good and misleads unaware buyers that might think its a WYSIWYG. Just my opinion....

Typhon · Apr 1, 2010

That is pretty sad!! Best thing you can do is start adding water marks to your photos.

El Camaron · Apr 1, 2010

that is retarded, its people like that why i have not used ebay and over 3 years. I would not be surprised if he was one of the members in this site either.

NanoNano · Apr 1, 2010

I wonder if this is the same guy that was trying to sell a big PH colony on N-R.

Can you post the picture?

Reef Pets · Apr 1, 2010

WYSIWYG is not what this is about..

But, if they would have changed I would have taken a new photo. There are several people on this forum that have purchased them from me on eBay and if they ask for a photo of the polyp they were getting then I ALWAYS sent a photo, always. If you are getting a polyp that is identical to the photo then whats the point?

Anyhow, I finally got eBay to take the auction down. This guy is amazing! Hopefully he can stop stealing from people. I would not have cared at all and would have never even started this thread if he would not have sent a threatening message like he did.

engineeronh2o said:
Ok, I gotta question. I understand that its wrong to use someone elses picture to sell your own coral. But here's the question.....

How is it ok to use the same picture for year or two to sell a single polyp. I have never actually seen a WYSIWYG Purple Hornet sold by Reef Pets. I have bought two or three packages from him and its great stuff, but I am confused.

So it is ok to take a picture today. Reuse that same picture for sale after sale. A year later still say, this is the colony that you will receive the polyp from? Seriously? Is it? Do you know how much it could change in a year. How about a pic of what the buyer gets, and not the same picture used 50 times, just because it looks good and misleads unaware buyers that might think its a WYSIWYG. Just my opinion....

650-IS350 · Apr 1, 2010

what are these guys user names again?

wishntoboutside · Apr 1, 2010

thanks for the pictures, i can not believe how much i got for those with your pictures=).

just kidding blown away at the nerve of some peeps

Reef Pets · Apr 1, 2010

His eBay ID is aquariumz

650-IS350 said:
what are these guys user names again?

No problem, you are welcome :wink:

wishntoboutside said:
thanks for the pictures, i can not believe how much i got for those with your pictures=).

just kidding blown away at the nerve of some peeps

Reef Pets · Apr 1, 2010

I watermark all of my photos now, I started watermarking them about10 months or so ago. But, by then that photo had been spread al over the internet.

Its good to see that eBay done something about the situation. He actually removed the photo before eBay saw it but then they removed the auction due to the remarks he left on the bottom of his auction.

Typhon said:
That is pretty sad!! Best thing you can do is start adding water marks to your photos.

afboundguy · Apr 2, 2010

The guy from bostonreefers.org is aware of that guy stealing his picture... What an outstanding individual this guy is...

acronautical · Apr 2, 2010

My comment on Reef Goddesses thread also applies to this fine individual:

I don't often wade into these issues, but I've followed too many of these threads on reef boards over the past year and feel compelled to comment. What a strange and pathetic subset of "hobbiests" these sociopathic little thieves and con artists are. These labels apply to both private parties and vendors who manipulate and steal from people who entrust to them, in good faith, their hard-earned money or livestock. The most pitiful of bad-faith traits seems to be present in this current case: The purposeful "communication cut-off" technique. It never ceases to amaze me how many posts and/or photos these people can produce at the inception of their scam, contrasted starkly by a disappearing act on the boards upon the receipt of the forwarded funds or livestock. The lame excuses they (or, more often an acquaintance of theirs) finally, and fleetingly provide are not sufficient in this age of instant messaging and streamlined communication and do not hold up to even the simplest scrutiny. Sadly, I am convinced that the primary reason this malevolent behavior seems to be on the upswing is due to the collapse of simple moral values and forthright character in our society. In other words, a growing number of citizens no longer feel empathy for others, or shame for their own misdeeds. What a sad state of affairs.