posted on August 4, 2002 09:22:27 PM new
I had a very old, antique police Billy Club listed for 2 days and then E-Bay pulled the ad. This is Billy Club is a real antique and I would suspect highly collectible. I am confused because there are and have been other billy clubs running and closing with no apparent problems from E-bay. The e-mail said something about it being a weapon and California law. Well, I also see plenty of knifes and other weapons being sold. Why do you think mine was pulled?
Weapons - Certain hand weapons are not permitted on eBay. Weapons not permitted include: nunchaku, brass or other metal knuckles, leaded cane/staff/crutch/stick, zip guns, shurikens, hand grenades or metal replica hand grenades, throwing stars, billys, sandclubs, sandbags, or slungshots (also known as saps or blackjacks.)
Why yours was singled out - someone doesn't like you, and reported your auction to eBay. Possibly your competition.
I wouldn't try listing it again, because if you do, they could NARU you.
posted on August 4, 2002 10:06:43 PM new
Find all of the auctions you can selling the same thing and turn them in. It is true that most likely your competition turned you in. Turn the tables in your favor. Ebay does not go looking for violations on their own. So if no one complains, the auction will never be cancelled.
posted on August 4, 2002 10:09:39 PM new
IT WOULD REALLY TAKE SOME DOING,,,,,,BUT,,,,,JUST TURN IN ALL YOUR COMPETITORS FOR THE EXACT SAME VIOLATION.....IF THEY CAN,,,,,SO CAN YOU. SCREW E'M..E BAY DOES NOT SEARCH FOR,,,,,,HAHAHAH,,,,,, VIOLATORS OTHER IDIOTS DO.
posted on August 4, 2002 10:38:31 PM new
I did send an e-mail to safe harbor asking for a clarification on why my antique item was pulled and yet newer, similar items were allowed.
This has happened to me once before when one of my ads was pulled for some lame, alleged violation and yet 14 other identical (exactly the same) items were allowed to continue.
I don't want to have anyone's ads pulled. I am certainly not an "E-bay Cop or snitch." I just want a better explanation from E-bay about the inequity.
I haven't heard anything yet but then again, maybe they will not respond to me. Will let you all know if they do.
posted on August 4, 2002 11:07:32 PM new
dont hold your breath on getting an explanation from ebay for why they do anything. they did the same thing to me even tho other auctions for the same exact item were still listed and even completed. i did go the route of turning them in once but all it said was that those auctions were currently being investigated tho they were never pulled.
posted on August 5, 2002 06:34:03 AM new
The auctions currently running for this type of item are listed by Power Sellers. Is this why they have not been pulled? Silly me!! One is listed as a vintage police colectible/memorabilia. What a joke.. The one I had pulled is about 75-80 years older than his.
posted on August 5, 2002 06:45:13 AM new
Firstly, PowerSellers do get to do things that us peons can't. That's a fact of eBay life and there is nothing we can do about it.
Secondly, many eBay experts have told us that SafeHarbor will not end a single listing based on a complaint received by another member particularily when other listings for similar items are allowed to continue. They will tell you that as they cannot "see or hold" the actual item, they are not in a position to make a judgement.
Maybe PowerSellers who rat out their competition get special service in that area too?
posted on August 5, 2002 08:57:08 AM newThis has happened to me once before when one of my ads was pulled for some lame, alleged violation and yet 14 other identical (exactly the same) items were allowed to continue.
This is not a "lame, alleged" violation, it is simply a violation:
PowerSellers do get to do things that us peons can't.
That is not true at all. Powersellers must follow the same rules as everyone else. They *may* get an extra warning or more personal service. A powerseller may be dumping $10,000 per month into eBay, so that's not surprising. However, the idea that the rules don't apply to powersellers is simply false.
A while back, eBay's top-rated seller posted here that she was warned by eBay to remove links from her auctions, or else face suspension.
What you do have is eBay support reps who are not familiar with the rules, or else too lazy to follow up on complaints. And then, there are some cases where eBay does not have the knowlege of an expert seller and can not identify a particular item as a violation.
I have sold as a powerseller and a regular seller and from my experience there is no double standard. (Yes, I have had auctions ended.)
posted on August 5, 2002 03:00:28 PM new
I have two vintage Ku Klux Klan parade robes for women, plus a banner. I have had them for years and would like to sell them on Ebay. I think my auction would probably get pulled as "racist". Is there any way I can present it and not have it pulled? There is a power seller that lives about 45 minutes from me that also takes others items to sell on Ebay. Would I have a better chance of ebay leaving it alone, if I turned it over to him? They really should be preserved. They are made of silk and I have them stuck in a box probably rotting away. I looked into donating them to our State Historical Society, but they rotate their displays, and it might only be on display every ten years or so, which I consider a waste.
eBay has always exercised judgment in allowing or disallowing certain listings consistent with the spirit of a worldwide community. Therefore, eBay will judiciously disallow listings or items that promote or glorify hatred, violence, or racial intolerance, or items that promote organizations (such as the KKK, Nazis, neo-Nazis, and Aryan Nation) with such views. For example, eBay will generally remove items that bear the marks of such organizations, such as relics from the KKK or Nazi helmets.
Examples of items that will generally be removed:
Items that bear symbols of the Nazis, the SS, or the KKK, including authentic German WWII memorabilia that bears such marks.
posted on August 5, 2002 03:21:52 PM newkasue wrote:
I have two vintage Ku Klux Klan parade robes for women, plus a banner. I have had them for years and would like to sell them on Ebay. I think my auction would probably get pulled as "racist". Is there any way I can present it and not have it pulled? There is a power seller that lives about 45 minutes from me that also takes others items to sell on Ebay. Would I have a better chance of ebay leaving it alone, if I turned it over to him? They really should be preserved. They are made of silk and I have them stuck in a box probably rotting away. I looked into donating them to our State Historical Society, but they rotate their displays, and it might only be on display every ten years or so, which I consider a waste.
posted on August 5, 2002 03:22:40 PM new
I guess eBay doesn't want to acknowledge that there was a history and some other bad actors around before they came upon the scene. I wonder if their idiot ruling extends to history books, stamps, coins, encyclopaedias etc. that may have a Swastica hidden somewhere on them, or within them.
Trying so hard to pretend that they are not anti-semantic or racist has the exact opposite effect IMHO ...
posted on August 5, 2002 06:41:06 PM newIn fact, eBay PowerSellers do get preferred treatment.
It depends what you mean by preferred. They may get an extra warning, but the rules apply equally to powersellers as well. Remember the big stink about the eBay-sponsored company, Return2Buy (or whatever the name was)? eBay gave them a couple of extra warnings, but eventually they lost their PS status because of bad feedback.
Trying so hard to pretend that they are not anti-semantic or racist has the exact opposite effect IMHO....
Historically, eBAy will allow ANY item to be sold. They withdrew sales of MS Office OEM under extreme pressure (threat of lawsuit) from Microsoft. They withdrew firearm sales only after the feds became involved. They created an Adults Only section only after many, many complaints from community members. Believe me, eBay has no scruples whatsoever when it comes to what is sold on the site.
Regarding Nazi memorabilia, eBay was under great pressure from Simon Weisenthal Center and other activist groups. That is why they changed the policy.
posted on August 5, 2002 07:41:10 PM new
The Simon Weisenthal Center had a very minor role in Ebay's decision to ban Nazi items from the site. Ebay was under pressure from the governments of France, Austria and Germany where such items are illegal to display. After Yahoo's experience in France, Ebay was faced with blocking their site from these three countries or banning the items altogether. They decided they wanted to keep the lucrative European market. So as to avoid looking like they were caving in to France's demands, they decided to outlaw "hate" items in general and make it look like their own idea. They included KKK and Aryan Nation items in the same category as Nazi and SS items and axed them all.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on August 6, 2002 01:20:42 AM new
eBay turns over a million items a day. It is in eBay's own interest to apply its rules fairly, and to halt sales of *all* questionable items to the best of its ability. The sale of 200 bootleg videos a day is a drop in the bucket compared to eBay's total sales, but the adverse publicity those sales generate has the potential to cost eBay much more.
If you think eBay is bad, truck on over to Yahoo, where every other software item is a homemade "backup" CD. Piracy is rampant on Yahoo, to the point where honest sellers will not even go there.
posted on August 6, 2002 06:08:23 AM new
Well stated on both counts
I wonder if Yahoo should post some kind of ad on their home pages inviting all bootleggers to come over from eBay and list their junk on Yahoo? It would boost Yahoo's numbers, be more in line with Yahoo's current philosophy of anything goes, and help eBay become a little more respectable.
posted on August 7, 2002 04:07:27 PM new
After reading this thread I stepped over to eBay and did a search using just the word "nazi" and lo and behold, up came 1,195 auctions. A number of the auctions were using "nazi" and "SS" and "3rd Reich" as keywords, but quite a number of them boldly proclaimed that you could find a swastika on their item.
posted on August 7, 2002 05:03:17 PM new
HEY CHECK THIS ONE OUT....SEARCH HITLER. $5000.00. BUT SAYS IT'S NOT AN AUCTION. ONLY WANTS INFORMATION. WHAT GIVES? WELL AT $5000.00 SOMEONE OWNS THIS SPOON WHETHER HE KNOW IT OR NOT. $5000.00 WOW!. I DID A NOTHING IS FOR SALE INFORMATION AUCTION ONCE AND E BAY ZAPPED IT.
posted on August 7, 2002 06:46:27 PM new
That was an interesting auction, Jack. It says it's not an auction yet it had a reserve and went up to $10,000.
Are these items legal to list on ebay? If not, it just may be a way for the seller to get his money from the high bidder by listing it this way?
posted on August 10, 2002 03:48:11 AM new
I think after reading all these replies that Power Sellers DO get special treatment and possibly some of their other "favorites" such as people known to them. This is called "Unfair Business Practices". Go to this website www.ccag.state.ca.us/ this is the Office of the Attorney General, Dept. of Justice of California. Report the entire incident to them. Ebay is NOT A PRIVATE CLUB they are a PUBLIC BUSINESS and any J.Q. Public can list auctions as long as they follow the rules. The rules apply to 100% of those people listing auctions so to remove yours and let others remain is unfair business practice and a form of discrimination. You also want to report this to the California Better Business Bureau and the FTC and the Consumer Advocate Group in California. These should also be easy to find online, if not get the addresses from a Yahoo or Finger search. It all must be reported to the State of California because reports must be in the proper venue and that is where Ebay lives. Take the time to do all of this because sort of thing MUST BE STOPPED. The Atty. General's office may take as long as 3 months to get this investigated and take action, I had to do this once about my insurance company and yes, the Attorney General's Office is interested in these things and will help you but most people do not know this. You will be paid in the satisfication that ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL and this applies to Ebay whether they like it or not!!
posted on August 10, 2002 06:52:58 AM newThe rules apply to 100% of those people listing auctions so to remove yours and let others remain is unfair business practice and a form of discrimination
And you know what eBay will say?
"We don't actively police our site, but rather look at each auction on a case by case basis when it is reported."
posted on August 12, 2002 05:49:27 AM new
I know what Ebay will say and that is WHY an individual must go to another place to make the complaint. As for it not being discrimination, if you want to list something questionable and you look to see where others are listing this type of thing and then in good faith you list it where they have and overnight your auctions dissappear and you get a nasty Ebay letter and then you see all the other auctions are still on and you report this to Ebay and get ignored and get an unpersonal email back that says, we'll look into it and those auctions stay on....this IS indeed discrimination because you have been picked out from the others and been excluded while others are being allowed to continue!!! No one "owns" this word, look it up in The Random House Dictionary of the English Language. Ebay is NOT a private Club. What an individual needs to do to prove this is print out EVERYTHING. First the other auctions, showing they are already on and then yours, and then the nasty letter and then your letter to Ebay reporting the other auctions and whatever response you get from them, usually zip, and then you print out those other auctions DAILY showing Ebay allowed them to stay on..that is PROOF.
Now on to the another subject I mentioned in another thread..nudist or nudists. This came to my attention through a friend who is actively involved in searching out kiddie porners..she emailed me an auction that had a photograph of a nudist family and said it would be a good idea to alert Ebay about this and at least get this sort of thing in the adult section if not prohibit it entirely if children are in any pictures, which is why I wound up doing the nudist search. I am certainly not Victorian..full frontal nudity of mom and dad and little preteen sister and brother. I don't know why people seem to think kiddie porners only want pictures of children "doing" something..these people are voyeurs and would love any pictures of nude children, they don't care if the kids are "doing" anything they want to look at them and pass them around and to think they might be picking stuff off Ebay and passing it around isn't something I want to think about..and the bad thing is that they can download that photo on to their computer without even signing up on Ebay!!! Real nice. At least if they were kept anthing with nudes in the adult section these sort of people would HAVE to sign up just to look. Nudist magazines are filled with family photographs of children, granted the pictures were not taken to "enchant" those with sick minds but in this day and age we know they have been made aware of these warped people and we need to be vigilant and go out of our way NOT to even innocently help them in their sick agenda's. I have even withheld putting on a Victorian postcard with, not a photo but a painting type, of a budding naked little girl budding out of a flower. It is adorable but now what I see is some sicko buying it or downloading it because it shows teeny budding breasts on the child. I would agree with anyone that says I might be over reacting but I think we must over react for awhile until this sort of thing can be stopped so they can't get anything like that from Ebay. I think we all want Ebay to be a healthy place where anyone can go and just look around even if they are too young to bid and also I think it would be nice to be able to say Ebay is a place for EVERYONE, no favorites because of auction numbers or amounts of money they bring in. They seem to zap the auctions on people with low numbers, new comers who might bring them in even more money, Ebay is a business after all. To zap their auctions and let them see the others remain will make them consider other internet auctions.
There was an exhibit of flowers done by Georgia O'Keefe in California recently and people put up such a fuss about one picture that it had to be removed, seems people thought it looked too much like a female vulva. How can it be that the people in California would jump all over that and NOT jump all over nude pictures of children???
One last thing, about Nazi items. They have always been offensive to me. I worked in an Antique shop with multi dealers some 20 years ago. One day a dealer who I have become friends with came in very excited about some photographs she had found. She showed them to me and I almost fainted. They were photographs of the inside quarters of the Third Reich. I asked her why WHY she would want to even touch them, she was Jewish after all. She told me that a great many Jewish people collected things from the holocaust because in her words "we do not want the younger generations to ever forget what was done and this is how we will do it". I understood her point. I am glad these things aren't supposed to be on Ebay anymore but I wonder why there was a change of mind??
