Have You Had Issues with Restricted or Prohibited Items?

by: bitbybit

I remember ebay would even remove items with the color ivory. All those endangered ivory shirts and pants must be removed! Not a violation but listing a 18th century Catholic wafer cast iron, ebay would state my shipping was too high since they were comparing it to a wafer cookie. For some reason ebay would never allow anything with the word "cookie". Anyone remember that one? Mentioning the word "check" when listing a metal coat or employee check fob, would be removed or not allowed to list. Perfume seems to be something ebay likes to restrict with certain sellers and also to certain countries. I once sold a few old ivory cue balls right before ebay's ban. Between ebay's restricted items and hiding sellers' listings in search, it is no wonder sales are pitiful.

by: silent anarchy

Most ebay employees dont understand their own restricted/prohibited  policies. I have listed vintage obsolete railroad marked keys and locks and had all those auctions ended by ebay as the fake reason being illegal to sell by the u.s government, and i have had collectable militaria such as ak slings & pouches ended as being "illegal" highly regulated assault weapon parts when  their is NO usa law prohibiting such items. I should know, i have been a gunshow seller for 4 decades.

by: Ming the Merciless

I'm going to change the exact words in my case so I can't be identified by the ebay facists.

In many, many years of selling I received my first VeRo last summer.

According to ebay an individual claimed that his one person company had the legal rights to two very specific and commonly used words.

This company claimed they owned the exclusive rights to these two words regardless of whether they were used together as a phrase OR appeared separately anywhere in a product description.

An analogy would be if someone in Canada copyrighted the two words ''Canadian, truck'' under the pretext of selling trucks in Canada.

The alleged rights holder then contacts ebay and tells them that since they own the rights to these two words under the conditions as described above that a specific seller's listing must be pulled because it contained both of these words.

While several sellers had the exact same words in their product descriptions, I was the only one ebay went after because I was the only one the alleged owner of these two words went after.

It took less than an hour to determine exactly what was going on.

First I checked the other 'guilty' but unpunished sellers using these same two words. I was the only TRS and the only one with 100% feedback.

Next I contacted the alleged copyright holder, who coincidentally had two listings at the time on ebay along with an abysmal sales history.

This con artist wanted to work a deal. In exchange for withdrawing his Vero complaint and clearing my pristine record, I had to agree to sell his products in my store. Of course, he wanted full control over pricing, photos, shipping, etc.

What I told him isn't repeatable here.

I made several calls to ebay and even forwarded his blackmail email, and ebay REFUSED to remove the Vero complaint from my record. I called ebay multiple times a day for a week until they no longer would take my phone calls.

No one at ebay has a clue about honesty and integrity.

One wonders how much stock the mob owns in this corrupt corporation.

by: comet

@JULIA---

While I completely understand what you are saying---ebay's bizarre behavior in these cases IS the problem;  not so much the fact that there is a perceived issue with any particular item.

I too remember the "Ivory Sweater Ban"  days.  And also the reason ivory--actual living animal borne ivory---was banned.  AND I have to say---I am still conflicted about "vintage"  ivory sales.  I have some pieces that I would like to sell--and I know how to get "around" the ebay ban---but---I still have to wonder---does this encourage poaching?  Should I just keep this stuff that I will never wear?  Or in the case of a large teak and ivory carving from Pre-War Burma---do I really NEED to take up the space for this?

I guess I am "lucky"  in that I do know my furs--this WAS my families business for several generations sadly---and so when I find them I know HOW to sell them.  

I have gotten "Policy Violations"  more often for "Native"  items---we are supossed to know exactly which tribe or individual made the item.  Somehow this is not possible.  Because ya know---some of this stuff is--ancient.  And they didn't have a Sharpie handy to sign a basket.  Guess it's a good thing I paid all that money for that whole college degree in this stuff huh.  

And ebay has no clue.  They have it all "robo copped"---anytime you list an item as "Native"  some electron gets all hyper and reports you as a criminal.  

And I have also had the "you can't sell Tiffany"  etc.  Again--they have NO clue.  There is the remotest possibility that some one legit has a Tiffany or a Coach or a Louis that they DON'T want?  Or they found at a yard sale?  Nope---according to Their High And Mightiness All Seeing Ebay---not possible.  The fact that I sell these sort of things ALL the time---nope.  And I am not making them in my basement sweat shop either.  Altho surely this IS happening---if you know what to look FOR.  
'
And if you WANT to find this stuff on ebay---just ask.  "Designer inspired" anyone?  Bone ---"With lines"?  

Yeah---we got that.  

by: cfrphoto

It is not possible to list stamps from some countries because eBay is blocking listings based on string matches. For example, it is not possible to list a postal cover canceled Cuba, New York or United States stamps overprinted Cuba issued immediately after the Spanish American war. It is not clear to me how selling these items would benefit the present government of Cuba.

I would chalk the implementation of certain import restrictions to shear laziness. Instead of trying to determine what kind of items and the era of manufacture or use, eBay tries to paper over their incompetence with string matching in the title.

by: NetWatch

Ebay Stockholders and Sellers Calling For Immediate Termination of John Donohoe CEO
Send To:
Ebay Board of Directors
http://www.petitiononline.com/petitions/jdonohoe/signatur
es?page=7

by: Theresa

I can think of three things that were pulled as restricted that caught me by surprise:

1. Instructor edition textbooks - just so happens I listed several of them the exact day that ebay changed the policy banning these books on the site.

2. A cute little framed print that was one of many "occupation" type gifts that I listed. You know, quirky knick-knacks that are career/job specific, such as accountants, mechanics, hair stylists, etc. The one pulled was a man wearing brown shorts, a brown shirt and he was standing beside a brown panel van with a large shipping box in his hands. Really? This was in violation of UPS copyright/trademark rights?I cant remember now but that might have actually been a vero issuee. Whatever.

3. A necklace with an authentic bear claw. I now know that real bear claws can only be legally owned and thus sold to, a genuine American Indian. Of course a buyer's heritage/ethnicity cannot be verified, so all authentic bear claws are banned from the site. Am I the last person in the world to know about the legalities of owning a bear claw?

I have no problem with these restrictions, but I do have a problem with ebay's expectation that seller's know every single rule, policy and procedure that exists. You know, just like their employees do! Playing off the words spoken by Pierre many years ago, I believe that most good sellers don't break rules on purpose. It has always infuriated me that ebay doesn't give warnings for first time offenses, using the infringement as an opportunity to educate and empower vs. punishing and belittling. But we all know by now that ebay will never change; afterall, that would require that they invest in hiring and training capable employees.

by: gejbooks

I have had postcards of Cuba robo-pulled once (I suppose listing anything from the town of Cuba, New York is right out).  And I remember the old days of the 'cookie' word ban.

My favorite is from a long time ago when ebay reps would actually call you if you listed something with a vioilation and give you a chance to change the wording:
A rep called me to explain that listings involving 'discipline' weren't allowed - 'bondage' was OK but 'discipline' implied violence so was not.  I pinted out that the book in question included 'The Discipline of Architecture' in the title - they apologized and the listing stayed.  Couldn't happen that way today, unfortunately.

by: FREDDY

Maybe it would be easier for ebay to list the items that are ALLOWED. Also a list of words that are NOT allowed in title or description.
Wonder if the banned words and or items are okay for the diamond preferred seller???
ebay doesn't want any neg associated with the site. Would attract potential unwanted inquiries re business practices at ebay. Easier to just pull all listings from the ''noise''.

by: Leesantiques

Some things I've had pulled were antique RR locks (I've yet to know why, really) and a vintage security guard badge from a company that no longer exists.  The woman I talked with on that last even admitted that Ebay realized that the company doesn't exist, but wouldn't allow the listing anyway.

Makes no sense, to me, why clearly vintage items such as these - that have serious collectors buying, selling, and trading them - shouldn't be allowed on Ebay.

Lee

by: dr shock

I had a 1960's First Grade Teachers Guide Dick & Jane Book pulled.
I also tried to sell a pin given away for subscribing to Mad and you can't use the word subscription in the title. You'll get flagged for selling magazine subscriptions.
Also has anyone noticed if you try to use the words ''deadbeat bidders'' in your listing you  can't submit the listing (at least it won't submit through Blackthorne) I guess ebay doesn't want to hurt deadbeat bidders feelings.

by: timeaftertime

The railroad items (and other transportation related items) have been banned since after 9/11. I asked back when this first happened and was told the Bush Administration demanded that eBay stop selling locks, keys, uniforms, etc. etc. which could be used by terrorists to take over transportation infrastructure.

There is a clearly spelled out list in eBay of prohibited items. Unfortunately with many of them, it's been ''THAT'' long since the prohibition began, and many (especially new) sellers are unaware of the bans, because Ebay does not publicize them. It's a good idea to once in a while review the list(s).

The RR prohibition on locks and keys does seem stupid because even collectors have trouble matching up locks with keys that will work, but the blanket arrangement covers ''ALL'' -- which includes new ones that do work; so no eBay employee has to check listings and have to make a determination what actually is an antique or obsolete.

eBay is full of prohibited item listings because (1) un-knowing sellers list anyway not realizing; (2) knowing sellers carefully word listings to avoid eBay search filters and employee screenings; (3) eBay depends on shoppers to ''report'' prohibited items, and they may hate eBay so much they don't report what they find; (4) there are so many listings that a good number get through anyway.

Especially in violation are the NEW items - take a look at all the AMTRAK and other currently operating RR lines items listed for sale!! that are younger than the 10 years old requirement.  

They ban antique keys and locks that no longer work, yet a DYNAMITE DETONATOR went through with no problem, despite numerous shoppers (that I know of) who say they reported it.

Make up your listing - take your chances!

by: timeaftertime

Here is a link to the eBay list of prohibited items:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/items-ov.html

by: Puck

I was nailed for selling a few books on taxidermy and grave robbing that belonged to Ed Gein.

by: rc

I sell fashion handbags on eBay, using the term 'Designer Inspired' or even just 'Inspired' is questionable, I have not figured out their pattern yet.

I had an issue with the word 'Hobo' about a year ago.. Any title that had the words 'Designer Inspired'/'Inspired' & 'Hobo' would get VeRO'ed

Apparently, Hobo is a brand name, and for that reason I was not allowed to use these terms together in the title. Now, for people who do not know, Hobo is also a specific style of handbag. It would be equivalent to copyright the term 'T-Shirt' and flag everybody who uses it in their titles.

I knew I would lose this battle so I just changed all the listings that were in violation and changed the way I phrase my titles.

by: Philip Cohen

Ultimately, as the above reader comments so comically indicate, the effect of eBay’s primitive application of its rules on the listing of so-called restricted or prohibited items, is to demonstrates how utterly incompetent and unprofessional this, demonstrably most unscrupulous, commercial organisations is; what more do you need to know to tell you that the situation will never get better but will most likely further deteriorate under the current gaggle of headless turkeys …

Some funny ones in commenting: I’ve had “POS”, which is commonly used to mean “point of sale”, rejected by Forbes: regardless of the context, they think it can only mean a term one might use to describe Johnny Ho; another site rejects “paypal”: now, I can understand that …

by: Puck

@Phillip

Lithium regularly **bleeped** NIP (New In Package) as an ethnic slur against Japanese.
POS is now on their tight-butted censorship list.
The most commonly used nickname for Richard is also proscribed.

by: Philip Cohen

No, we can't have any mention of genitalia, no matter how oblique, it might frighten the horses ...

by: sickandtired

INTERNATIONAL SALES is the key to this issue as far as I'm concerned.

I have no problem with being responsible as a seller to know what items are restricted or prohibited to sell or mail within my country (Canada).

I think it is unreasonable to expect a seller to know the restrictions for every country in the world that we choose to ship to. That should totally be on the shoulders of the buyer. It is their responsibility to know whether they can import a certain item into their country. It is the destination country's customs department that makes such determinations......not our outgoing shippers.

If ebay wanted to, they could certainly take care of this issue - input restricted items country by country into their data bases so that a buyer would get a message blocking them from buying a item that they cannot legally import.

SILLY ME.....that would cost ebay real money and require hiring competent coders......easier just to make sellers operate in the dark and then slap us down if we slip up.  

by: timeaftertime

@sickandtired - I don't know about Canada Post but the USPS provides a detailed list of what is prohibited to ship to any country. Of course this puts it back on you (Seller) to refuse sales to particular nations for every item you offer, which means tweaking each and every listing individually.

Yes, buyers should know but many don't and the whole thing is a problem. You could put a disclaimer in saying you won't ship to countries where the item is prohibited; then you risk Negs from angry buyers whose sales you must cancel.  Can't win for losing.

I gave up international sales after horror stories about scam buyers and return problems. I haven't had any trouble yet but just don't have time to begin with. I sell internationally in an online venue where I have a store, but not on eBay any more.