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Is it not ethical? Illegal or just another way of doing business?

by wassim
13 replies
Hello Warriors,

What do you think about someone who purchase a web template from a company like Template Monster, and then he sells it to several people at a cheaper price? Do you think it's illegal? not ethical? or is it just anotehr way of doing business?

I asked this question to one of my friends and he said ... consider I bought a Nokia mobile for a $100, and then I decided to go and sell it to someone for $120... This would be a similar situation and it's totally legal and ethical since the buyer is accepting in advance to pay for the mobile, and the mobile is mine.

What do you think fellow warriors?

Best Regards,
Wassim
#business #ethical #illegal
  • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
    That answer to your question depends on the terms and
    conditions of the sale from Template Monster to the would
    be reseller.

    Tsnyder
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    • Profile picture of the author Tim Whiston
      Sounds like business to me. One of the factors in price setting is what the buyer is willing to pay,

      IMO the only things that matter in a transaction are:
      (assuming of course no deception and high value products)

      1. Buyer sees value and is happy to invest.
      2. Seller makes profit or generates business lead.
      Issues like "Hey the buyer could have gotten that for cheaper elsewhere, could have gone right to the source without middleman," and etc. are just a lot of blah blah to me.

      I'm sure I've paid for items online I could have gotten for free/less had I kept looking. So what? I got what I wanted and felt fine with the monetary trade.

      I've also made thousands of dollars selling software I see other people just giving away for free. But the products are all quality, and the buyers made an informed decision to invest in something they wanted so all is well.

      All of this is just my opinion of course but it seems to me buying templates for cheap and selling them for a fair price to buyer who feels great about the exchange is perfectly fine.

      CONSIDER ALSO:

      I can go to many dollar stores and get lamps, vases, etc. that would cost $40 at Peer 1 type stores - often the same brand name and everything! Do I think the high end stores are "wrong" for charging 40 times more?

      Heck no! Their clientèle wants to spend money on fine things and wouldn't be seen in a dollar store LOL.

      Same token: I know two landscapers who sell the same service for vastly different pricing. Each caters to different neighborhoods and has very high customer satisfaction.

      There are enough buyers and sellers for everyone to get what they want and be happy.

      Consider too that maybe seller in OP example will take better care of the buyer than some "Template Monster" site with thousands of numbered users. Just a hypothetical variable to toss in.
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
        Originally Posted by rondo View Post

        You can't sell a nokia phone to several people.

        Templates usually contain graphics which are under license and cannot be redistributed.


        Andrew
        Originally Posted by jmidas View Post

        I think your example of selling a used phone is not "apples to apples."

        And, although I have not read TM's TOS, I would guess it is prohibited to resell a template right in the TOS. My guess is that a template is someone's intellectual property as well as physical. I think when you buy a template it is really buying the "right to use" on your site - not ownership of the product.

        When you own a used item like a cell phone or a bike or any widget, I would think you can sell it, throw it away or do whatever you want to it. I dont think this is the same.

        Just my thoughts.
        WOW! I swear those answers appeared WHILE I was typing my response.



        Glad to see I'm not alone in thinking that way.

        ~Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author danielmcclure
    As long as it's within the terms of the contract then I believe that would be considered fair use, especially if providing associated services. Again, as long as it's within the TOS you are essentially buying a "Resale Rights" license even if it's not called that.
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    You can't sell a nokia phone to several people.

    Templates usually contain graphics which are under license and cannot be redistributed.


    Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author jmidas
    I think your example of selling a used phone is not "apples to apples."

    And, although I have not read TM's TOS, I would guess it is prohibited to resell a template right in the TOS. My guess is that a template is someone's intellectual property as well as physical. I think when you buy a template it is really buying the "right to use" on your site - not ownership of the product.

    When you own a used item like a cell phone or a bike or any widget, I would think you can sell it, throw it away or do whatever you want to it. I dont think this is the same.

    Just my thoughts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    But, the difference is, if you buy one Nokia phone - you can only re-sell one Nokia phone.

    If you buy the template once - you can re-sell it many times. Assuming, of course, that you have the explicit right to do so.

    That's a simplisitc answer, but also one of the reasons digital licensing is necessary. It's not the same.

    I know that doesn't answer the OP, but wanted to point out that it's an "apples to oranges" comparison. Or, in this case, an "apples to endlessly duplicatable digital representations of oranges" comparison.

    All the best,
    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidTheMavin
    There's usually two ways you can buy those:
    1. pay like $300 for one time use
    2. pay like $3000 for exclusive rights

    Even with the $3000 I'm not sure if a lot of those places would allow you to resell the templates, I'm pretty sure that it's just so that they don't keep reproducing your website's design?
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidTheMavin
    Ok, I took two seconds to look it up and it's illegal:

    You may not:
    • Resell or redistribute templates (like we do).
    • Claim intellectual or exclusive ownership to any of our products, modified or unmodified. All products are property of content providing companies and individuals.
    • Make more than one project using the same template (you have to purchase the same template once more in order to make another project with the same design)
    c) BUYOUT PURCHASE LICENSE
    You may be granted a Buyout Purchase License in case of purchasing a website template at a Buyout Purchase Price. This type of license guarantees that you are the last person to buy this template. After the buyout purchase occurs, the template is permanently removed from the TemplateMonster sales directory and is never available to other customers again. You can not redistribute or resell templates after Buyout Purchase Price.
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  • Profile picture of the author wassim
    Thanks a million guys for your answers... In fact I also found this page:

    Licensing | Frequently Asked Questions

    The second question is as follows:
    ---------------------------------
    2) Can I resell the template as is?
    No, you can not resell the template as is.

    Now I know this is Illegal and won't even think about doing it. It was interesting to know :-) Thank you guys for your responses...

    By the way, I am thinking to make modifications to templates that I have, minor modifications such as changing the colors, changing objects positions and swapping some images... This way I will get a new template and possibly a unique one. This way will be fine I think right? What do you think?

    Best regards,
    Wassim
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    • Profile picture of the author DavidTheMavin
      Originally Posted by wassim View Post

      Thanks a million guys for your answers... In fact I also found this page:

      Licensing | Frequently Asked Questions

      The second question is as follows:
      ---------------------------------
      2) Can I resell the template as is?
      No, you can not resell the template as is.

      Now I know this is Illegal and won't even think about doing it. It was interesting to know :-) Thank you guys for your responses...

      By the way, I am thinking to make modifications to templates that I have, minor modifications such as changing the colors, changing objects positions and swapping some images... This way I will get a new template and possibly a unique one. This way will be fine I think right? What do you think?

      Best regards,
      Wassim
      Sure, as long as you designed them yourself by hand. You can alsol hire a designer or design your own and do the same thing. Then you'll just have to check the licensing on the images you use. ;-)
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      • Profile picture of the author wassim
        Thank you guys for your tips :-)

        Regards,
        Wassim
        Originally Posted by DavidTheMavin View Post

        Sure, as long as you designed them yourself by hand. You can alsol hire a designer or design your own and do the same thing. Then you'll just have to check the licensing on the images you use. ;-)
        Originally Posted by howudoin View Post

        In case you're trying to make changes to the templates and then sell them as business model...That will come under fair use provided you change them to a decent extent. Reselling Digital products is Not a problem but it would be better to sell them to a limited crowd so that they continue to get exceptional value. This also helps in getting repested customers.

        In ALL MY WSO's, I usually Limit the Number of Copies sold to 30 and almost everytime I release a product, it is sold within a few days and a lot of them are repeated customers. Just something to think about!

        Bhupinder
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  • Profile picture of the author howudoin
    By the way, I am thinking to make modifications to templates that I have, minor modifications such as changing the colors, changing objects positions and swapping some images... This way I will get a new template and possibly a unique one. This way will be fine I think right? What do you think?

    Best regards,
    Wassim
    In case you're trying to make changes to the templates and then sell them as business model...That will come under fair use provided you change them to a decent extent. Reselling Digital products is Not a problem but it would be better to sell them to a limited crowd so that they continue to get exceptional value. This also helps in getting repested customers.

    In ALL MY WSO's, I usually Limit the Number of Copies sold to 30 and almost everytime I release a product, it is sold within a few days and a lot of them are repeated customers. Just something to think about!

    Bhupinder
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