Why Can Other Sellers Download My Files For FREE When One Buyer Buys Several Files?

greetings puzzler,

today i got a tradebit sales notice. when i clicked on the buyer's download link, as i sometimes do to see which file the buyer purchased from me and got to the tradebit download page, i saw not only my file, but three other sellers files.

apparently the buyer bought my file and three other seller's files all in the same day.

just to test the system, i checked all of the files on the page, and pressed "download" and sure enough i was able to download not only MY files, but ALL of the files from OTHER sellers. For Free.

similarly, i know all of the other sellers had easy and FREE access to my files through that sales notice.

this is a problem for me, because for my files to sell they need to remain unique and competitive.

my file will not remain unique if other sellers can simply download my file thru a sales email like this where there are several sellers files on the same page, and resell it for over 50% less, which in fact is already happening.

some sellers are selling my file on other sites like ioffer, then using tradebit to send shortlinks to these files they sell on these other websites.

the issue is, not only do they draw search engine traffic AWAY from tradebit, they are also selling a file that took me years to put together and costs $39.99 on tradebit, for like $12-$15, so naturally they are selling many more files than me and it has hurt my business.

and when all sellers are allowed such easy and free access to each other's files when one buyer decides to buy all of these files on the same day...or within three days of each other...then all the sellers can easily obtain the other sellers files.

i am concerned about this and wish that there was some way to prevent other sellers who did not pay for my file being able to just download it for free.

this is something i feel tradebit needs to work on.

thanks

digitaldiva360

hi, if you think it through, there is no easy solution to that! We are a mall and it is easyer for one shop owner to walk over to the other shop and steal just because he is in the building and close all day.

means: if a buyer buys 3 products from 3 different merchants and you need to help him to log in, you see all 3 products as well. we have played the alternative and the amount of support is enormous!

there will be no change in the near future of that part, sorry!

yes puzzler, but if i buy 3 albums from amazon.com from 3 different merchants, those merchants will not be able to also download those music files for free - only the buyer.

i think it is a simple matter of giving each buyer a separate seller page to download their item on.

if they wish to download a particular file, then they can look up the individual email for that particular file, and go to the page for that file.

surely people are not buying 10-15-20 files at one time here on tradebit where it would be that much of an issue to look into?

and in a real mall , if one buyer buys from 3 different stores, the store owners will then not hold up a sign that says "anyone who has had x buyer buy from them today, feel free to come get the same item free".

also, at a mall, just because someone steals something does not mean the police will not arrest them if the shop owner calls for security.

at least at a mall it is understood that theft - whether from buyers or from other merchants - will be punished and is severely discouraged.

and if it is discovered that any merchant has stolen from another merchant, usually that seller's store is shut down and they will not be allowed to sell at that mall anymore.

hi, I totally agree, but we had it this way a few years back. the amount of confusion and support was too high. we will revisit that topic during the next few months, but it will not change until September for sure. It is just not in our list of urgent matters of which we have a few hundred open at the moment.

on amazon, there is are no different merchants for downloads, just amazon...

cheers,
ralf

Thanks for looking into this!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2009 11:11PM by .

that's horrible!

I sell only my own work here: art and writing that I have created myself. I don't want anyone to get it free just because they also sell stuff here.

The problem could be solved by not sending sellers the download links that are given to the buyers. FWIW I don't see this as a large issue. or even a medium one. Tiny.

digitaldiva,

I asked Ralf about this same security issue almost a year ago today on this thread:

www.tradebit.com/forum/6/2785/file_security_bug__704_views_
See the thread here: [www.tradebit.com]

And a year later the situation is exactly the same. Tradebit is good at what it does but if you want to true security you might want to promote your files on a site that you have control over and allow Tradebit to process the payment and handle the digital delivery, that way buyers won't be able to make purchases from multiple sellers in a single transaction (they would be shopping on your site after all) and you would be the only buyer to receive the download confirmation email. Just a suggestion. Oh and the bonus is you keep 92% of your sale as opposed to the 75% that you keep when your file is sold directly from Tradebit.

Has this issue been resolved yet?

Well, frankly: no - but we do not see it as a major issue, rather a feature to have a big download mall. Yes, if a merchant logs into the download section of the buyer, he can download the other sales and that is recorded in the download log. It is a good way to get banned from tradebit if you do that every time....