Time for eBay to lift their banning of selling fabric face masks

[crafter_at_heart]

It's time for eBay to lift their banning and canceling auctions for handmade fabric face masks.  

The President of the United States even said they are recommending Americans wear fabric face masks and still continue the social distancing guidelines.  

Wake up eBay, they may not be a perfect solution, but they can't hurt.  People are getting very sick and even dying.  Time to reverse your stance on this.

As far as price gouging, that's up to the buyer on what he/she wants to pay.  No one is making them spend more than they want.  

[2dz_a2z]

I think if folks want to wear a mask they can make it themselves from a tshirt etc.  I would be wary of purchasing a homemade mask from someone I do not know and wear it on my face.   If I get sick I blame Ebay.   Most people can spare a piece of fabric and craft their own.   

[nkmipgolf]

Well said, and other than grocery store, wash your hands often,  stay 6 feet apart from people and STAY home.

[inhawaii]

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@2dz_a2z wrote:

I think if folks want to wear a mask they can make it themselves from a tshirt etc.  I would be wary of purchasing a homemade mask from someone I do not know and wear it on my face.   If I get sick I blame Ebay.   Most people can spare a piece of fabric and craft their own.   

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I guess you don't have pizza or any other food deliverd to you.  It's prepared by someone you do not know and delivered by someone you do not know and you put it in your mouth!

[avidune]

Well said Crafter.

Price gouging should never be applied to auctions that start at or below manufacturer's suggested retail price.

People are in need of these supplies and they can't get them anywhere else (not because of hoarders). Previous mask, glove and sanitizer supplies would never come close to satisfying the immediate need of the populace, especially when manufacturers are now diverting their products away from store shelves.

If people need masks, don't cut them off. Let them purchase what they want and need.

[picknparley]

I just now searched hand made face mask right here on ebay and this is what I found:

3,866 results for hand made face mask

[mam98031]

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@picknparley wrote:

I just now searched hand made face mask right here on ebay and this is what I found:

3,866 results for hand made face mask

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Yes there are lots of them out there.  The ban is on medical face masks which are completely different than these fabric ones.

[this*old*attic]

No kidding.

My daughter spent the day yesterday making ones from stuff at home. No sewing machine, so hand sewn.

There are patterns and instructions all over the Internet.

[2dz_a2z]

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@inhawaii wrote:

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@2dz_a2z wrote:

I think if folks want to wear a mask they can make it themselves from a tshirt etc.  I would be wary of purchasing a homemade mask from someone I do not know and wear it on my face.   If I get sick I blame Ebay.   Most people can spare a piece of fabric and craft their own.   

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I guess you don't have pizza or any other food deliverd to you.  It's prepared by someone you do not know and delivered by someone you do not know and you put it in your mouth!

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You are right..... I eat at home.  My hubby and myself have been self isolating for years.   Growing up my parents always went home and mom made a tuna or pb&j sandwich.   My momma taught me about the difference between essentials (food clothing shelter) and everything else were luxury items.  I had to earn money if I wanted a poster on my wall.   Thanks Mom.  This is the Rainy Day and while I am newly retired I have saved my money, paid off my home and have very few bills.   My vacations when they happened was camping.  To this day I have never set foot in a five star hotel.    Hubby and I bought unclaimed storage and estates throughout the eighties and nineties and I can make a dollar go along way.   And thankfully we kept all the cleaning stuff and toiletries etc for the past ten years cause it is all handy now.   I hope the takeaway from this crisis is to save money.   My NWT dollar sunglasses are just as flashy as those broke folks need to put on their credit card for hundreds of dollars.  

[badassbugs1]

fabric for mask?  you can still buy and sell mask on ebay with no problem just search KN95

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HNN-BRAND-KN-95-4-Ply-20-pcs-Free-1-3-Day-Priority-Shipping/274326967586?ha...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-PCS-95-KN-Certified-Cover-Free-Shipping-Same-Day-Handling-USA-Stock-Us/2...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Distributor-KN-95-Filter-2-pcs-In-1-pack/274326863277?hash=item3fdf27bda...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-STOCK-Personal-Health-Pollen-Face-Shield-Breathable-For-men-and-women/13...

[mam98031]

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@badassbugs1 wrote:

fabric for mask?  you can still buy and sell mask on ebay with no problem just search KN95

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HNN-BRAND-KN-95-4-Ply-20-pcs-Free-1-3-Day-Priority-Shipping/274326967586?ha...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-PCS-95-KN-Certified-Cover-Free-Shipping-Same-Day-Handling-USA-Stock-Us/2...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Distributor-KN-95-Filter-2-pcs-In-1-pack/274326863277?hash=item3fdf27bda...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-STOCK-Personal-Health-Pollen-Face-Shield-Breathable-For-men-and-women/13...

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Link 1 Ebay must have caught up to it as it is closed now.

Link 2 Is an auction and as long as the seller starts an auction at a reasonable price, Ebay doesn't typically step in.

Link 3  Is a new listing and likely to be closed with 24 hours.

Link 4 Doesn't appear to be price gouging.  Ebay does have some pre approved sellers to sell these items but they must stay within the guidelines of that approval.  I do not know the specifics.

[scstool]

I agree sales should be allowed. Let the market set the price. The argument that masks are needed for health workers won't fly because medical professionals won't be buying handmade masks off Ebay. By allowing production people would start getting creative and keep improving the designs.

Would be fun to watch Ebay do the balancing act of additional profit vs product liability. I wonder which way they will go.

There are a lot of people who are not crafty, can't sew, and would rather not go out for supplies.

[mam98031]

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@scstool wrote:

I agree sales should be allowed. Let the market set the price. The argument that masks are needed for health workers won't fly because medical professionals won't be buying handmade masks off Ebay. By allowing production people would start getting creative and keep improving the designs.

Would be fun to watch Ebay do the balancing act of additional profit vs product liability. I wonder which way they will go.

There are a lot of people who are not crafty, can't sew, and would rather not go out for supplies.

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They are allowed, so this is a moot point.  There are thousands of fabric masks for sale on Ebay and have been throughout this health crisis.  Ebay is not shutting down those listings.  Ebay is after medical masks and N95 masks that have outrageous prices.

What does the highlighted statement above mean.  Are you of the opinion that Ebay has some liability for homemade masks sold on Ebay?  Or did you mean something else?

@scstool 

[mam98031]

@scstool 

Here is a link to some handmade masks in case you are interested.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xfabric+face+ma...

And this one is just for fabric masks.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=fabric+face+mask&_sacat=0&_dmd=1&rt=nc

[scstool]

No, I don't think they would have any liability, but I am also not a lawyer. It is the risk of getting sued even if it a frivolous lawsuit. Or even just complaints vs lawsuits.  Also the cost of policing the listings, I saw someone mention Ebay was restricting sales of cloth to make N95 masks. 

And what exactly is an N95 mask? I know what it is as far as NIOSH certification and FDA "clearance". If you advertised elastic cord for use to construct a face mask is it okay as long as you don't say N95?  Can you list fabric as having a 95% particulate filtering efficiency? I wonder if just the number "95" will activate the bots. It seems very easy for Ebay management types to get bogged down in all these details and just issue broad draconian guidelines which sort of fixes the problem for them, but may be cutting people off from needed masks.

I think you should be able to sell home-made masks, but just not claim they are NIOSH N95 masks.

edit: thanks for the links