posted on October 18, 2001 12:13:00 AM
I did a search today on Ebay using Anthrax as a keyword. It returned over 1200 listings including people who are blatantly using it for profit.
I came accross a listing for a homeopathic preparation of Anthrax, Smallpox and Botulism. This person claims that this Homeopathic remedy ** *******TM can protect you against exposure to biological agents. This is a blatant lie!
Is this kind of thing even legal to sell? Why does Ebay alow it?
[ edited by outoftheblue on Oct 18, 2001 08:41 AM ]
posted on October 18, 2001 06:59:58 AM
Ebay allows these listings because, as is usual, they refuse to police their own site, even though now they could easily afford to hire people to do so. They want us to do it for them and that's just not efficeint(sp?). Besides, there is just no stopping people with too much greed and time on their hands from listing this garbage. If it bothers you I say turn in as many as you can. It's the only tool we have.
posted on October 18, 2001 08:55:22 AM
If they aren't policing their sites, then why do I feel they have me on a watch list or something?
I am a licensed business (t-shirts, decals etc) that at first refused to make anything related to these terrible acts. But customers kept pouring into my shop requesting items. I thought to myself, this economy needs to keep going, so the more I sell, the more taxes I pay, the more the government gets to help with the needed funds to keep up safe.
I decided to stick a few on eBay to see how they'd do, since it seems to be what the people want.
The response was tremendous. (for me anyway)
They pulled one auction stating it was too closely related to 9/11. I was stunned at first, because it is NOT my intention to go against the rules at all. I got to looking at the item they pulled, and after awhile I tended to agree, ok... maybe it can be construded as too closely related. So I put up some different items. 2 of them got pulled as well. This time, I disagree whole heartedly that they were closely related.
All of my bidders are writing me wanting to know when I'll be putting more stuff up, and most of these requests are coming from people in the New Jersey and New York area!
The ones that eBay are stating they are trying to be protective of.
I'm not complaining about them pulling my auctions really, I love eBay and it has done me very well, but I get confused as to what is accepted and not accepted. I try hard, but it seems someone is watching me closely and I have to watch my political correctness more than most people.
Especially when I see people that download copyrighted images all over the net, slap them on a shirt and sell hundreds of them and nothing is done about them. Which is very illegal to make a profit from stolen copyrighted images
To me THOSE are the ones that are profiting from a tragedy.
Maybe I'm totally wrong in my thinking. I'm willing to admit I'm wrong when the truth is pointed out to me. This is only my opinion.
But I don't want to jepordize my status as a seller.
I try to do the correct thing, but I keep running into a wall.
Is there any way I can submit what I want to auction for review BEFORE I make it live to make sure it's withing the guidelines before I have it yanked and I feel like I've committed a terrible crime?
It wouldn't bother me but I hate seeing people get ripped of by health scams. I wonder where they got the smallpox pathogen for their preparation? From the terrorists or the Russians?
For 3 weeks now, Cipro has been touted as the ONLY antibiotic approved by the FDA for Anthrax...NOT true..!! Penicillin, Amoxicillin, Ampicillin, etc are all approved for treating...
Every talking head IS making us believe that "Cipro" IS the only antibiotic to take...
Whats up with that...???
Check to see what Politicio/s have a large amount of stock in Bayer (the asprin people)
and that will answer the question...
posted on October 18, 2001 10:03:17 AM
Is there any way I can submit what I want to auction for review BEFORE I make it live to make sure it's withing the guidelines before I have it yanked and I feel like I've committed a terrible crime?
***********************
Don't bother. I did that. I was given the ok, then when a different person pulled my item which I have sold over 500 of here in NY..and gotten many letters from eBayers, thanking me for not evercharging on the shipping or the price!), I sent the first persons note to the second person, and was told..tough, it's a "call" and we may see the criteria different. I rewrote the first person, and she said she was wrong, sorry..even though we had several notes back and forth, since I wanted to be sure. It can only be put up on A4A auctions (and I don't want that discussion, since I don't have a problem with the A4A per se), so I guess, it doesn't hurt people if it's there.
Other people seem to get by with very similar stuff..especially the power sellers. I can't figure out the reasoning.
posted on October 18, 2001 10:12:50 AM
Ebay has told me to write to them at [email protected] to ask questions about an item before listing it if I thought there might be a problem. So far, I have tried it and haven't gotten a response in 3 days now.
What with the spotty enforcement and ebays refusal to police themselves, this is why some items seem to run with no problems and others get yanked, even when the item is perfectly legal and unoffensive. It's all up to some schmo ctuising the catagories who thinks that an item is a problem and that ebay pulls things on the "better safe than sorry attitude" without checking out the facts first.
I listed a stick made of hardwood and nothing else and had it pulled by ebay, all because someone complained that it constituted "an illegal and dangerous weapon", even though it was not on the prohibited weapons list on ebays site! My protests did nothing; they didn't apologize or even respond to my emails when I showed that it wasn't prohibited by their own rules. Typical. Good luck trying!
posted on October 18, 2001 06:33:17 PM
We had a book listed recently on eBay titled "The Master Terrorist." It is a book about Abu Nidal, the Palestinian terrorist for whom an entire terrorist movement has been named. The book was written by a prominent Israeli journalist, and is a serious work. It got 220 hits in three or four days, and then eBay yanked it saying it violated one of their policies. I protested but got one of their silly canned responses. It is incredible that they would allow hazardous stuff to be auctioned, and then kill off an auction of a book that attacks terrorism.
posted on October 18, 2001 07:04:48 PM
"I sent the first persons note to the second person, and was told..tough, it's a "call" and we may see the criteria different. I rewrote the first person, and she said she was wrong, sorry.."
Ebay has too many ignorant people working in the dark without clear guidelines.
This may also pertain to Meg herself -- as we all know, sh** floats to the top.
