We have recently had two Air Gun/BB gun/Pellet Listings removed from eBay for violating the "firearms policy" because there isn't an orange tip on the item or a disclaimer stating the item has an orange tip.
Only recently has this become a problem for us as we have no issues with other listings as we know they are compliant to eBay's policies. MY concern is that the interpretation or even the existence of this policy contradicts itself with the orange tip and contradicts it's sister policy, Airsoft, air rifles and BB guns policy. We're not sure why BB guns would be included in this policy as you cannot find a single Steel BB gun anywhere in the United States that has an orange tip. Let me clarify, that Steel BB guns or .177cal/4.5mm Air guns, rifles, etc. Are used within compliance of state law (including California's) for hunting small game.
Federal law specifically defines an Airsoft gun as a device that fires plastic BBs no smaller than 6mm hence .6mm Caliber. Federal law specifically defines that ONLY these style of items need to have an Orange tip and Traditional imitation firearms/bb guns/pellet guns are exempt from this law as they are 4.5mm/.177cal (smaller than 6mm)
Since we've had this happen to us twice in 5 days, I've decided to bring it to the community and see if anyone else has had a similar experience with the Seller Support team stating that a BB gun needs to have an orange tip where as it is impossible when not a single Umarex, Daisy, KWA, VFC, Red Rider, Hatsan, Crosman, etc. offer a traditional Air gun/BB gun with the style defined in eBay's incorrectly defined policy.
Our listings remain compliant with a clear indication of what the item is, it's caliber, and the disclaimer
"This listing complies with eBay's air gun policy and I will only ship air guns to buyers in jurisdictions where permitted to by applicable laws https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/airsoft-air-rifle-bb-guns-policy?id=5..."
We also sell product on another platform that properly restricts these items by state. Their name begins with an A. You would think that the company that restricts these items more than eBay would have a similar policy and they do not because, the Replica, toy, and prop firearms policy does not make any sense applying it directly to BB guns as it contradicts Federal Law and the United States standard of how these items are manufactured.
Lets use a little logic here: If Federal Law and the ATF explicitly state what requires an orange tip and what doesn't, why would any manufacturer that sells these items in the United States suddenly start applying Orange Tips to these items? There is clear definition on what each one is, what it's purpose is, and what states restrict these item. Also, California State has passed SB-199 in the last decade which still only applies to what? AIRSOFT guns. eBay seller support has stated to me "The purpose of an orange tip is to determine the difference between a real firearm and an imitation firearm" BUT, SB-199 clearly indicates the law only applies to 6mm, 8mm or higher. ALSO, eBay clearly indicates BB guns may be sold if they do not exceed .25 Caliber but .25 Caliber is what? 6.35mm so it can be understood in the State Of California, any projectile exceeding a .22Caliber would be subject to this law where as anything below is still exempt under Federal law. But although eBay allows the sale up to .25 Caliber Air Guns but even then, none of those products come with orange tips because they remain compliant under federal law and they are not required.
Basically, with eBay's policy that contradict the laws of the state required for compliance, it also contradicts Federal law. They are also basically stating that if these items that do not naturally have orange tips under the protection of Federal Law, SB-199, and California State Law, that sellers must TAMPER with these products to add these tips to them. It does not make sense. They don't require us to ask everyone for ID because you must be 18 to use eBay, so why would we damage a brand new product to add an orange tip to them? I hope it is realized that if these policies were followed consecutively on every single listing within the Air Gun category, eBay would potentially lose tens if not HUNDREDS of millions of dollars because of their contradictory policies. An Imitation Firearm DOES NOT require an Orange Tip unless it's projectile diameter is 6mm or above so are tens of thousands of listings going to vanish overnight because you literally cannot find a single BB gun in the United States with an orange tip? Or will eBay correct their policy to adhere to THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA'S regulations and SB-199?
I would love to hear everyone's input on this.
P.S. it doesn't matter what the product is capable of. The policies are contradictory to the laws that they use to define them. What they should be worried about is HOW PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK CITY, CHICAGO, AND WASHINGTON D.C. (plus a few others) ARE ABLE TO PURCHASE THESE ITEMS ON EBAY WHERE OTHER eCommerce PLATFORMS CLEARLY RESTRICT THOSE STATES/REGIONS FROM PURCHASING. But, we're contracted by Umarex and we will not ship to those restricted regions on our own accord since eBay doesn't restrict this.
