My legitimate Forever stamp listings being taken down by Ebay for no reason...WHY ??

[sngnl]

Recently 3 listings I placed for USPS issued Forever Postcard rate postage stamps were removed. I had zero luck consulting with Ebay help with this. I was told first to put "Not Counterfeit" in the title and relist which seemed an incorrect response to me. Then told It would be appealed to the highest level only to be denied immediately  with no reason or explanation. Now several more listing of Forever stamps, some of which I've had listed up to  a year or more and sold many with no complaints have been removed stating they do not state that they are Replicas or counterfeits and can't be sold if they are counterfeit.  ??  These are genuine Postage stamps purchased at the USPS post office and are not counterfeit or replicas so why would I need to put that in the title. No reason as to how these were deemed by Ebay as replicas or counterfeit were given it is just stated in the emails of removal from Ebay. I am a 20+ year seller here on Ebay in great standing and am a Dealer member of the APS here in the US. Ebay sales account for a good sum of my lively hood. I'm certainly not a beginning seller that might be selling counterfeit goods for a quick turn. I see many forever stamp listings on Ebay by sellers with waaay less experience. Why are mine singled out. I'm not selling these at huge discounts of face value either in fact most are over current face value and sold as collectibles. Please can someone at Ebay or in the community that has a real answer as to why this is happening and how to fix it please reply.

[eizner23]

Been finding many 100 roll of 2017 Forever stamps listing for ~$30 on ebay.  For sure there is something fishy going on with fraud and stamps maybe there are enhancing enforcement.

[onefootflipper]

The majority of the secondary forever stamp market is fueled by crimes on some level. People buying stamps with stolen credit cards, people stealing stamps from work, money laundering, tax evasion and counterfeit stamps.  Even when the ebay sellers themselves are perfectly honest their sources may not be.  So of course ebay is wary about them.

I am of course not talking about you specifically. For all I know you buy all your stamps directly from the post office and sell them at a loss or go to every estate sale in town and find that one stamp hoarder.

[12345jamesstamps]

My thoughts are maybe not use the word "forever" anywhere in your listing. Just post "stamps" being sold. Might not add" face value" either. Lately, I have seen a lot of sellers with no feedback selling forever stamps at such a big reduced rate. I think eBay is cracking down on this. And the post office might be too.

[sngnl]

But I wasn't speeding and probably most all others selling these stamps aren't speeding either. I was selling legitimate stamps not counterfeit and not at some ridiculously low price that should trigger any report or concern as the China replicas were being sold as. A report taking place shouldn't constitute removal of an item just because it was reported. And Ebay's help operators should say to me that it was reported and automatically removed if that was the case. Instead I got "well you cant sell counterfeit stamps without putting that in the description". I mean come on.

[sngnl]

Been in the stamp business for 20+ years and discount postage has always been a legitimate thing. Yeah recently I've seen sellers selling forever stamps at 90% off face value which is very  suspicious and those listings should be looked into. I'm selling at or above and sometimes triple face value as some Forever stamps have increased in value and scarcity and people want them for their collections and or wedding invitations.

[sngnl]

Yes it's always possible that some stamps are stolen. I own a brick and mortar stamp shop and have seen these guys come in with 50 rolls of Forever stamps selling at a discount. However tons and tons of stamps including Forever stamp sheets, rolls, and booklets come in each week from people selling their inherited fathers, uncle's, etc. collection. Absolutely I buy these at a discount of face and sell some wholesale to other dealers/collectors as postage or for their collections and sell some of the better more popular ones here on Ebay where there is a different market than my shop. This is how I make my living and have to make a profit. I can tell you that all the listings on Ebay for example of the Sesame Street Forever are not counterfeit and mine weren't either as I personally purchased them for resale at a minimal profit.  Mine should not have been singled out. 

[sngnl]

I agree if it is some ridiculous cost below face they should be looked at. I thought about the same thing you suggested and maybe the word "Forever" was a trigger for a bot, but I searched Ebay for listings of the same stamps that I had cancelled bay Ebty and most of them say "Forever" in the title. I mean there's not just a few there are 30-40 listings of one particular stamps at similar prices as I was selling them at.

[luckythewinner]

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@sngnl wrote:

Been in the stamp business for 20+ years and discount postage has always been a legitimate thing. Yeah recently I've seen sellers selling forever stamps at 90% off face value which is very  suspicious and those listings should be looked into. I'm selling at or above and sometimes triple face value as some Forever stamps have increased in value and scarcity and people want them for their collections and or wedding invitations.

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All good points.

But that does not change the fact that eBay has a policy that says you cannot sell Forever Stamps on eBay without explicit permission.

The people posting here are just fellow sellers trying to give you information.

You can argue with fellow sellers all you want that you should be able to sell them.

You can argue with fellow sellers all you want about the definition of "eligible seller".

You can argue with fellow sellers all you want about whether eBay's policy is fair.

You can argue with fellow sellers all you want about why others are able to violate policy.

You can argue with fellow sellers all you want about why there is demand for Forever stamps.

You can argue with fellow sellers all you want about how much experience you have selling stamps.

You can argue with fellow sellers all you want about whether "speeding" is a good analogy or not.

But your arguments are directed at the wrong audience, because arguing with fellow sellers does not change the fact that eBay has a policy that says you cannot sell Forever Stamps on eBay without explicit permission.

One of your fellow sellers has already suggested a way for you to contact eBay and request approval to sell Forever stamps. I hope that works out for you if you choose to follow up on it.

[sngnl]

Sorry not arguing with anyone. Just conversing as to a get  solution to the issue and hoping Ebay will look and maybe take notice and step in and say hey there is a problem here is the absolute fix. And I really do not think that all sellers selling Forever stamps have asked Ebay if it's OK to sell them, but that's my opinion and not trying to argue with you. Skeptical of that solution but I'll give it a try. 

[mam98031]

"The more common reason why a listing is pulled is because it was 'reported' ... rather than because it was removed by a 'bot'."

Where did you learn this from?  I find it interesting as discussions have been had many times on these forums regarding reporting items and the lack of action by Ebay.  As long as I've been on Ebay, except during the height of the pandemic, have I had a single listing I've ever reported removed before it closed naturally or was sold out.

I'm just interested where this info came from as I'd like to better understand this as I may be missing something.  Please don't read more into my question than is actually typed here.

[mam98031]

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@sngnl wrote:

Sorry not arguing with anyone. Just conversing as to a get  solution to the issue and hoping Ebay will look and maybe take notice and step in and say hey there is a problem here is the absolute fix. And I really do not think that all sellers selling Forever stamps have asked Ebay if it's OK to sell them, but that's my opinion and not trying to argue with you. Skeptical of that solution but I'll give it a try. 

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Great idea, but not likely.  These are boards for members to members.  Not Members to Ebay.  This thread is not going to make Ebay change their mind on how they handle this subject.  And the people at Ebay that have the power to change it will likely never see this thread.

I get your points and I agree with some of them.  For the foreseeable future unless you get preapproved by Ebay you will not be able to sell these stamps here.  Sorry!

[sngnl]

Thanks for the link which I tried as suggested but unfortunately it basically keeps going in circles stating you have to be qualified and when I state I have all qualifying standards  met as described by Ebay under their policy  it just refers me back to the same policy stating not to sell counterfeit stamps etc. Tried questioning in my reply  back to Ebay for them to explain what item in the policy I do not qualify for and again the same canned response is given. I really don't think they know the answer which is a shame. Thanks for trying to help though. 

[simba6]

There is a country I will leave nameless that has been selling fake forever stamps at a discount.  This has caused "issues" with the US postal service and they must have asked eBay to stop those sales.

Seems you need some special approval from eBay to make sure your only selling legit ones.

[sngnl]

Unfortunately  I've pretty much given up on this issue. I am still at a loss for an explanation by Ebay or the community for these listings removals and/or solution. I have been selling Forever stamps practically since their inception. I checked all requirements for selling Forever stamps from every link I have found regarding this issue and I qualify for every single one and am well over qualified for most. I see hundreds of other listings of Forever stamps on Ebay, some which I deem very suspicious with the seller having very minimal feedback, origin location and priced well below the market pricing structure. My question still is how are these staying on the site and several of mine were removed. I am a Top Rated seller with 20+ years selling time on Ebay and am nearing 10,000 almost  all  positive feedbacks. I'm not asking for special treatment, just equal treatment and a reasonable explanation of my supposed non-qualifying part  of the policy. 

Thanks for everyone's previous suggestions/replies. Good luck to you all.

[luckythewinner]

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@sngnl wrote:

Thanks for the link which I tried as suggested but unfortunately it basically keeps going in circles stating you have to be qualified and when I state I have all qualifying standards  met as described by Ebay under their policy  it just refers me back to the same policy stating not to sell counterfeit stamps etc. Tried questioning in my reply  back to Ebay for them to explain what item in the policy I do not qualify for and again the same canned response is given. I really don't think they know the answer which is a shame. Thanks for trying to help though. 

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Forever stamps are a restricted item and you cannot sell them unless eBay approves you to do so. 

"Forever Stamps can be sold by eligible sellers only"

You seem to be hung up on a personal interpretation of the word "eligible" that eBay does not share. The fact that eBay's policy page is poorly-worded and says "eligible" when it probably should say "approved" is not going to change that.

The fact that others have them listed means that either (a) they have been approved to sell them, or (b) they have escaped scrutiny thus far. And as far as equal treatment is concerned, you need to go back and read the user agreement ...