BIAB's - buyer beware
Ok, ok - I'll post this one and hold off for a while on the whole "Content Theft" controversy. But I'm not promising anything, as I am prone to PMS, lol.
After looking at the posts of individuals responding to some of the things I have written I would like to clarify a few things.
First of all, I do not consider each and every BIAB a fraud or full of stolen items, I am sure that there are a few of them out there that are real and legitimate but I have yet to hear about them or see them.
Second - I do not consider those who buy BIAB's to be criminals (for the most part). The reason is that if you are new to the grid, you just may not know about the whole content theft uproar or that people actually want to cheat you. Unfortunately a lot of people have learned the hard way that these BIAB's are mostly fraudulent and full of stolen textures, objects and just not what they stated.
If you have bought a BIAB and had a DMCA filed against you - you should in turn file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against the seller of that item. They have defrauded you and caused damage to your reputation - which, as we all know, can be devastating if you are starting a business. If the amount is big enough (I'm talking thousands of USD) or you are being sued by the designer - you may want to consider hiring a lawyer to go after the person who sold it as well. I am not saying that people should all start suing each other - but what other option is there? Linden Labs obviously has taken a neutral role in this and has been very unsupportive of content creators, not to mention the thousands of people defrauded by those selling the stolen content BIAB's or stolen texture packs.
If you do decide to buy a BIAB even after reading about all of the problem's people have had - I would suggest that you investigate the product and the seller before you buy. You also have to ask yourself "If I can buy this pack so easily and the items are full-perm, what's to stop others from buying it and selling it in-like?" What I mean is that by the time your stuff hits the market there may already be 1,000's of those packs floating around the grid - market saturation is bound to happen which leaves you with a business that goes nowhere. Please consider your purchases beforehand, it could save you money and grief in the long run.
I would like to leave you with one last thought though.
Remember the old adage: If something seems to good to be true, then it probably is.
Great blog.
Some more thoughts on BIABs:
Many of the people using these items to scam you out of money have their boxes filled with freebies as well that are free and full perm anyways. You will end up paying for something you can easily get for free with a little searching.
Make sure that your BIAB has exclusive rights in writing. There are legit sellers of BIAB who will state there will only be # of kits sold. Beyond 5, I would avoid it. Someone who often has this type of deal is Sinnocent Mirabeau. If you look on SLX at her items you will see examples of legit BIABs, how they should be presented, and what details to look for.