If you originally purchased them on eBay illegally (i.e. without the hardware) then you should [attempt to] get a refund from the seller. If you bought them legally (i.e. with the hardware) and are simply trying to make a few £'s by selling them on as you've no use for them then Microsoft/eBay are correctly preventing you.

Don't see why you're annoyed really - it's always been that way. You can resell retail copies of all of their software (at least I'm not aware of any you cannot) but OEM is different. You could try to 'bundle' the licenses with some hardware but even then you may not be successful.

I binned my old NT4 CD's 😀

I am wondering whether or not it is legally possible or meaningful for Microsoft to enforce restrictions on buying and selling of pukka OEM disks and licence keys once they have been sold by the OEM manufacturer.

Mabe read the EULA on one of the OEM disks.

Sell them with a power cable or similar and then you have fulfilled the 'with hardware' requirement.

Go to your local parts dealer and get a $1 CD audo cable, then pad that into the cost. Heck, it could easily be considered a handling charge, and most people won't begrudge it unless you try (like some,) and set a rediculous amount (S&H for a 5lb item is $120+, now that is rediculous.) You are technically obeying the letter of the rules, and it isn't that much of a hardship.

Would a computer screw work? xD

Or maybe a jumper cap! 😜

I hope you have come to the conclusion of how flawed the said laws created by men themselves are. Laws are meant to be a guide. Of course, what most people leave out is holding the spirit of the goodwill and for the reason the law comes in.
The first time an "OEM" software is sold, the revenue already goes to the owner of the copyright, in this case, Microsoft. Microsoft already made the money from this OEM software, in which all the "hardwork of many people, cost of development,..bla,bla,bla..." was initially invested.
If the OEM software is bought "legally" or "illegally", what the holder of the copyright wanted, already gets it. I'm sure Microsoft wouldn't give out it's precious latest Windows Vista Business DVD "OEM" free to the manufacturers/distributors, and wait till these retailers finally sell the system with the software, to get back it's earnings.
When we can include the jumper cap or the screw to satisfy the law of OEM distribution, it just shows for what most people are debating for.
Laws can't really differentiate a good thing from a bad thing. Laws can be manipulated to make good things look bad and bad things look good. That's how the judgements are being made. A false witness can make a crap, non-sensical incident, for example, to make it look real and a happened story.
In the end, all that matters is not how much to the letter of the law you have followed but to what extent you have acted upon your good conscience.
I saw many lengthy posts in 'Abandonware - Make It Legal' thread, discussing the ins and outs of copyrights and so on. While we are debating this, things are moving and happening on its own.
I'm sure many of us are divided in our views. But all will finally fall into two opposing categories. That's how life is.

ebay isn't the only way to sell items. I use craigslist to buy and sell plenty of things. I don't know if there is a local craigslist or an equivilent where you live, but I'm sure there are other ways for you to sell things.

As far as EULA's go, technically it's illegal to re-sell newer pc games too. But I don't see ebay threatening people over that. ebay is too big (like MS). People need to use alternative services.

My feeling is that whatever you buy you can later on sell. Cut and dry, that's one of the basic rights of the marketplace.

olemogamer wrote:

My feeling is that whatever you buy you can later on sell. Cut and dry, that's one of the basic rights of the marketplace.

Ahh!! But did you buy it, or did you license it? Tried selling your drivers license recently?

olemogamer wrote:

As far as EULA's go, technically it's illegal to re-sell newer pc games too.

Doesn't such resale-preventing EULA violate first sale doctrine? Yes, I know it is an area of legal confusion in computer software, but IIRC in Softman vs Adobe the court ruled that software purchases be treated as sales transactions.

Nonetheless, how about moral issues? Yes, software piracy is immoral, but reselling your legally-purchased software? Or buying old games on ebay? What's wrong with that? It seems to me that the only thing being "infringed" by such resale is the vendor's protected market (because the vendors don't want inter-competition with older products, etc) instead of intellectual property.

This is a strawman statement. A drivers license is a government permission to be able to drive. It's not a private transaction for a product. I don't know about you, but I don't remember taking a test to use Windows or play a game.

olemogamer wrote:

This is a strawman statement. A drivers license is a government permission to be able to drive.

I bet Microsoft see it the same way: You get a permission, a license, from Microsoft to use their software in a certain way.

EULAs haven't been totally ok'd in the court system. As a matter of fact in some jurisdictions some EULAs have been found illegal. If ebay wants to wimp out, let them. Like I said, there are plenty of ways to sell items outside of ebay.

Or just avoid all the problems, and use Linux. 😀

temptingthelure wrote:

Or just avoid all the problems, and use Linux. 😀

And gain new problems. 😀

swaaye wrote:

temptingthelure wrote:

Or just avoid all the problems, and use Linux. 😀

And gain new problems. 😀

Yes of course, new problems, instead of the same old ones. 😀

Linux isn't for everyone, but I still think it would work better than Windows for 90% of the population. It's great for power users, and it's great for people that don't know how to use a computer. The problem occurs in that space between "doesn't know things" and "knows just enough to be dangerous".

Snover wrote:

it's great for people that don't know how to use a computer.

Yup. Many netbooks come with desktop linux, which is sufficient for basic tasks like internet browsing, media playing, and office works.

One of my ex-gfs is an "average user"; she merely uses computer for typing, chatting, browsing, and presentation, and it wasn't so hard for her to switch to Ubuntu for such purpose (I took the opportunity to "convert" her when her laptop caught virus).