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Railroad keys and locks
Today, 12-01-20, I attempted to post vintage railroad switch keys and a switch lock. EBAY's system blocked me then ultimately deleted my posting. I spoke with a Rep and I was told that the RR's (unnamed) had communicated with ebay and advised them that even though keys may be vintage that some may still be in use thereby becoming a safety issue. The ebay rep stated that they were in the process of deleting these online sales. Has anyone else been given this statement?
9 comments
kh-stanley1
·3 years agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
sonomabarn67
·3 years agoI think they should keep us safe from weather balloons first and then go after the obsolete RR locks and Pez dispensers that threaten our freedoms.
I wonder if those that make such rules have ever been on a train. I think a bigger threat is the guy who gets on board with a liverwurst giant sub and a couple of tall boys then passes out.
maxine*j
·3 years agoI think the greatest threat to our Great National Nation is the growing number of people who believe that if their desires are thwarted, even in the most minor way, the entire country should sit up, take notice, set its hair on fire, fling itself about, and, by heavens, make sure the desiree is henceforth gratified.
Well, that and extra-large liverwurst subs in the hands of the sozzled.
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sonomabarn67
·3 years agoYes, in a word TicToc. 🔥
questor1
·3 years agoIn the past, eBay's policing, detection, and removal of eBay auctions was inconsistent at best for supposedly prohibited railroad keys. Many auctions completed through eBay were skipped or ignored by eBay staff until I recently asked eBay why the RR brass key auction I bid upon was abruptly removed by eBay and why eBay did not evenly and fairly apply this "prohibited items" policy to other auctions on eBay.
eBay alleges they were contacted by "several railroads" to remove any railroad switch keys auctions for supposed railroad security and public safety reasons. In fact, railroad switch keys were often given by railroad staff to retiring railroad employees as departing gifts for many decades. It is strange that Railroads complain about the need for railroad security by eBay restricting vintage/obsolete railroad key auctions, yet the Railroads often break their own recommendations when they give away undocumented and uncontrolled railroad keys as retirement gifts to retiring employees. IMHO, railroad companies should enforce their own retention and documentation rules about railroad keys with their own employees before threatening eBay Users over eBay sales the railroads should not control.
I suggested to eBay they only remove Railroad Key auction sales for the keywords or abbreviations of the several specific railroads that may have complained to eBay Corporate. Apparently, eBay cannot validate or verify vintage/obsolete status nor if the Seller has clear title to sell the item solely based upon eBay Sellers' auction descriptions. EBay's excessive and unnecessary response is to ban ***any and all*** hasp lock's key auctions on eBay – regardless if the padlock was or was not used in the railroad industry or any other industry.
As a result, eBay has apparently removed any and all eBay auctions for hollow-barrel Brass Keys used for padlocks - regardless of when the matching locks were made or if a Railroad name inscribed on the Lock is no longer in business. The eBay ban seems to include the eBay auction item I bid upon regarding a PRR brass Hollow-Barrel Key that can only be used with a 1912 -20 PRR Adlake Lock. eBay removed my bid and the Seller's auction without comment or prior notification. I asked eBay what had happened to remove this auction and they only told me to email the Seller for an answer. This is yet another example of bad eBay Customer Service in response to specific questions about vague eBay policies that are not evenly enforced.
I then pointed out to eBay the PRR Railroad key I bid upon was obsolete because it only fits a 1912 Lock (this PRR key is over 100 years old!) and the PRR line has not existed for over 50 years (the PRR was merged into the Penn Central RR in 1969). I explained none of these vintage and obsolete PRR Locks/Keys are in service and the Adlake company that made these Locks/Keys quit making any railroad locks or keys over 15 years ago.
I suspect that eBay will eventually lapse or change its policies enforcing this unfair prohibition of vintage/obsolete Railraod Locks and Keys. It seems the railroad in industry is still in the dark ages because they are afraid about the use of vintage/obsolete railroad padlocks.
questor1
·3 years agoIn view of this confusing eBay "prohibited items" and auction removal policy that is excessive and unfair, I will be contacting several public media reporters for public coverage about this auction removal concern that eBay seems to think is a closed issue.
maxine*j
·3 years agoOffer your items for sale on one of the other sites that allows them -- Etsy, Bonanza, Mercari, RubyLane, et al. not to mention innumerable auction houses and auction websites, including those which specialize in railroad collectibles.
eBay is perfectly within its rights to decide what can or cannot be sold here, and since the general public does not a hoot what eBay decides, its decisions are hardly newsworthy.
If someone wants something not sold on eBay, he'll go shopping for it where it is sold.
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questor1
·3 years agoYes, I can choose to sell on any auction venue that I choose, however I have been on eBay for over 25 years and want to see it improve instead of continuing a restrictive sales policy that is biased and is unfair. I do not raise any question about the legality of eBay's removal action. As far as I am aware, there is no federal law or government guidelines that restrict the sale of vintage/obsolete padlocks or keys.
I do question eBay's fairness and application of its "prohibited items" policies about railroad padlocks/keys due to their past unequal enforcement based upon several unknown or unspecified railroad company complaints.
This vague and outdated eBay policy prohibiting some railroad-related padlocks for unspecified reasons apparently was first declared almost 20 years ago and has not changed over time.
The vintage/obsolete Adlake Brass Padlock key that I bid upon came from a Seller who said they purchased it from a deceased person's Estate sale who was probably a retired railroad employee for the PRR.
Railroad companies have often violated the terms of their own complaints to eBay by giving undocumented Railroad padlock keys to their retired employees with no employee signature, no audit trail, nor security documentation that restrict the future sale or use of these items.
There is no "chain-of-command" for railroad ownership that can be obtained because railroads no longer assign key numbers for RR keys issued to employee numbers.
As a result, it is very hard for Sellers of ANY vintage/obscure padlock key, regardless of manufacturer or industry, to prove the legality and/or the provenance/history of padlocks/keys use or ownership.
Why should eBay Seller/Buyers like me be penalized by eBay because several railroad companies complained their current padlock lock keys were found on eBay, while the railroad companies cannot prove if the padlock equipment even belongs to those complaining nor how the equipment made its way onto eBay ?
It seems this small group of railroad companies that complained to eBay ignores the past actions of previous railroad companies that often made these padlocks/keys available to the public through retired employees in the first place.
If the railroad industry is so concerned about railroad security, why don't these railroad companies move to more secure electronic locks instead of these vintage/obsolete manual key padlocks that are no longer available from the padlock OEMs?
maxine*j
·3 years agoeBay is not penalizing you. You are free to sell here, or to not sell here. To sell here is put up with all the vagaries of eBay policy, which is often unclear and is randomly enforced, as sellers in many categories will tell you. Ask people who sell Americana, books, coins, and militaria, to name just a few we hear from on these boards on a routine basis.
It's partly vague policy but it's mostly because this place has around 20 million sellers with 1.5 billion listings on any given day, and that necessitates the use of primitive AI / bots to monitor it all; so, naturally, banned items do go undetected and legitimate items do get falsely flagged.
eBay is under pressure from the megacorporations, using the VeRO program, to protect brands. eBay is under pressure from law enforcement to root out stolen merchandise being sold on eBay by, literally in two cases, warehouses full of goods from organized retail theft. eBay is under pressure from partisan political activists, and "concerned citizens" of every other stripe, to ban this or promote that. eBay is under pressure, of course, and at all times, to be profitable for its shareholders.
I guess you can get in line with the big corporations, the police, the true believers, and the stockholders.
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