Has anyone else noticed lots of quilt patterns on eBay from magazines?
 

Not that I need any more quilt patterns ( :p )! Decided to kill a few minutes by browsing eBay, lowest price first. Looks like quite a few people are taking vintage (and maybe non-vintage) magazines, tearing out individual patterns (sometimes copying a page or two for a pattern in order to get all the directions), and selling them on eBay.

I don't know why this bothers me, but it does.

This doesn't bother me, because it's perfectly legal. I've also seen COPIES of magazine patterns sold on ebay, which is not legal. If you see that, you can report it to ebay and the item will be removed.

I saw them, too. Some people have left negative comments for the seller if they were not aware of what they were buying. I remember a couple of the sellers were very creative with their ads, and you had to really read the fine print to understand that it was a copy, not the actual magazine.

It bothers me too. I fell for it!

And I bought one!!! It was only a dollar something and a cute pattern. They mailed it in a clear folder with nice keeping. Even patterns on Etsy (that you have to download) are more than that.

jody

A few years ago, I ordered several patterns from an Ebay seller, unaware that they were coming from a magazine. Each pattern did come from a magazine but they included original pages, no photo copies. Each individual pattern came in clear plastic sleeves perfect for a 3 ring binder. They were cheap so I wasn't upset.

As long as the seller is upfront about it what's the big deal? How often do we see people on here asking about a quilt they had seen in an old magazine? It's just another source of patterns

I think this is a creative way for the seller to earn income.
Things are so tight now, that probably provides her with fabric money. It is legal if it is the original pages.

Good for the buyer too, you are getting a pattern you may have missed in the original magazine.

Well, there are a lot of magazines that we cannot even give away at our guild. Even at 10 cents. Getting the patterns out there from old magazines can help the whole industry because people dont get much for the patterns but then the buyers will need fabric, thread, batting, etc.

I would not take the time, but when i am gone, there are two lateral file drawers full of patterns I pulled from my old magazines and I have three shelves of newer magazines from rummage sales, garage sales, guild give away tables, etc.

I have 3 large ring binders full of these patterns I have purchased off Ebay, hundreds and hundreds of them. I have been buying these for 3 or 4 years now. They are all in plastic page protectors and I have them organized by theme, season, size, etc. I love quilt patterns and when I can't sew I just love to relax and look at my library. I don't subscribe to quilt magazines so this is a way for me to get patterns that I love and want. I have paid as little of 50 cents to as much as $15 for a quilt pattern off Ebay. I usually bid against other buyers so I am not the only one that appreciates that these patterns are available. Only negative thing I can say is sometimes the seller forgets to include all the pages to the pattern, I have ran into this several times when starting to use a particular pattern. This can be very frustrating so now I examine the pattern when it comes to make sure they have included all the pages and corresponding templates. Call me crazy but I love having these patterns available!

I purchased patterns this way having not read the fine print of them being pages from a magazine. They were not copies. It taught me to read the fine print better.

I've bought patterns this way. The descriptions were very clear and I had no surprises. I think it's great! If I decide to bid on one, I generally look at all the patterns from that seller as the shipping / pattern goes down with additional purchases. Makes me feel like I get more for my money!

I'd rather pay for just the pattern then buy a magazine for $5-$8 and only get one pattern from it.

I wouldn't think that legal either. and getting one out of a magazine would irritate me no end!
but if ya'll like them, i have tons to sell. kidding. but i do have lots of them myself. when done with them or don't use them at all i put them in my charity bags.

Years ago...(decades, actually!), when I was in college, I worked part time at Woolworths...one of my duties was to take a shopping cart and load it up with all of the magazines that had not sold the previous month. We would tear off the front covers and send them back to the companies...(I think there was a refund or a credit system in place)...but the magazines were up for grabs by any employee that wanted one.
When I saw this on E-Bay..that's what I thought..these people probably have some connection through a store or market where they can pick up the out of date magazines.
I don't see anything wrong with this, as long as they are honest about what you're getting. The price is certainly right, and a pattern is a pattern...after all...people buy used or recycled things on that site every day.

i have actually purchased a few not realizing they were from magazines i do think that should be clear in the posting and no one bothers. but i feel that its really not false advertizing as long as its all there. so ive never left bad feedback. and in theyre defence it was really reasonable in price as well. mine werent copied, they were originals.
carla

Ditter and Stitchinwitch are spot on. I am a fierce supporter of federal copyright laws as we all should be. So long as they are original copies there is no problem; HOWEVER, any copy is clear copyright violation. How would you feel if you designed or published these patterns? No one in the quilt design or publishing business is making bunches of money and their "products" deserve to be protected so that they can continue to work for all our consumption. If this type of scofflaw behavior continues among us, eventually designing and publishing will diminish. Sure it's great to get a deal but it's not fair to those who have labored for us and our hobby/craft to risk being put out of business this way. REPORT this to ebay!

There's far too much wonderful free stuff out there for us to tolerate copyright infringement.

I have purchased many of them too. What a great way to get patterns. I've paid $6 or $7 for a magazine that had only one pattern, so I don't feel bad paying $1 or $2. I also figure it is helping someone make some extra money..what's wrong with that?

Well, many of these posts have made me feel better about the practice. I like that a good pattern can continue to live on. Unfortunately, it makes the temptation to give in to the PAS I suffer from (Pattern Acquisition Syndrome) even stronger!

What bothers me most now about the pattern I wanted to buy, that prompted my original post, is that the selling price was $2.50 with a shipping cost of $2.50. There was no mention of a plastic cover, or not folding to fit into a standard envelope. Seems excessive, and that auction ended without a sale.

I already have hundreds of quilt magazines acquired over the years. Maybe I should cut out the patterns I want to keep and place the remains in the recycling bin. I know I can take old quilt magazines to the library and leave them for people to pick up for free (I called). That seems like the generous thing to do. But, after all, I did pay for the magazines originally. It just feels like I am mutilating them if I cut out a few pages and throw the rest away! And it also doesn't seem right to give away a mutilated magazine.....

I bought a pattern from Ebay (my one & only time). Then when I discovered the pattern was from a magazine I guestioned the seller about it since I was angry about it & was told she did mention it in the item description & it's perfectly legal.
Even if it is, I still had a huge problem with it. So I stick to the free online ones. Ok, so I have stacks & stacks now & should have stock in printer ink.

Pat

I guess if selling pages from the original magazine is legal, then OK, go for it. But copies of copyrighted material, no thanks. That's stealing. Same as using pirated software. Someone is making a living by designing and creating patterns. Wouldn't like to think someone is making money off another persons efforts.

Prism99 writes
(It just feels like I am mutilating them if I cut out a few pages and throw the rest away! )

I always felt that way too until I started getting magazines that was so full of advertising that a pattern
did not show up until page 32, so now I tear out the pattern, place it in a plastic sleeve in a notebook,
toss all the rest. Takes up less storage space and I don't have to spend half a day searching through
magazines to locate a pattern.

My quilt guild just had a quilt show and our second hand treasures booth sold 12+ magazines for $1.00 in a mesh bag. They flew off the shelves. One woman bought $86.00 worth because she give free quilt lessons at her church. Get buy for her.

I have no problem with someone selling an original pattern from a magazine (original pages).

I think it is great idea in fact and don't understand why anyone would be displeased with the seller.

I don't know why it was a surprise, however, as I would think that the picture in the auction would clue you in on the fact that it is from a magazine.

What bothers me, is seeing handmade quilts on Ebay for such low prices! It's like a slap in the face to me -

I don't even know the legalities of this ,however, it seems very trivial in these hard times to even worry about it . There are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse issues out there :)

These are hard times , I think to go to the trouble to even list these patterns the seller must really need the cash .

I have a friend who gives me her "mutilated" magazines, I "mutilate" them some more and then pass them on to others to do the same, until there is nothing left but advertising. I just think it's the ultimate way to recycle.

Carole

Donna said Years ago...(decades, actually!), when I was in college, I worked part time at Woolworths...one of my duties was to take a shopping cart and load it up with all of the magazines that had not sold the previous month. We would tear off the front covers and send them back to the companies...(I think there was a refund or a credit system in place)...but the magazines were up for grabs by any employee that wanted one.
When I saw this on E-Bay..that's what I thought..these people probably have some connection through a store or market where they can pick up the out of date magazines.
I don't see anything wrong with this, as long as they are honest about what you're getting. The price is certainly right, and a pattern is a pattern...after all...people buy used or recycled things on that site every day.

I know that it is illegal to profit from books that have their cover ripped off, so I think it would be illegal for magazines as well.
I think most of us are uncomfortable with purchasing something like a pattern that isn't being sold by it's creator, or the publishing company that owns it. I would guess that selling the pattern that has been removed from the magazine would be considered your property if you bought it. But copying someone else's intellectual property is illegal. I wonder if we have a lawyer, or someone that knows the ins and outs of copyright law?