I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but no matter what you print on ARCs, it’s not illegal to sell them.

I realize that a lot of people don’t want to hear this. It is in fact the law. It’s called the right of first sale. Once you give an ARC to somebody, it is their property, and they get to do what they want with it.

I’m not saying this to be ornery or mean. I understand why people don’t like ARC sales.

But it is in fact the law, and please think about this—if corporations could prevent resale of items just by printing “not for commercial sale” on them, it would be bad for everyone.

It is also legal to say “I prefer you not buy my ARCs” or “ARCs are not finished copies and I’d rather you see the final effort” or “please don’t tell me if you’re selling my ARC.”

It’s also okay to dislike legal transactions that other people engage in.