A Lyft thermos mug is not permitted under government shipping policy?...anyone? | Selling

magicjohnsonsvariety · 2026-04-20T01:36:37.746000Z

Trying to sell my promo Lyft Business thermos mug and I get a message that it's not permitted under Government transit shipping policy...has anyone experienced this restricton? Been doing this long time and never seen this one... I mean it's just a thermos

krazzykats

·4 months ago

5712 View listings

Interesting, probably not a piece of this puzzle, but Lyft also seems to be a company in Japan for Planning, manufacturing, and sales of the fitness apparel brand "LYFT".

ᓚᘏᗢ

fm2000

·4 months ago

8153 View listings

I can explain exactly why. eBay's bots/AI/automation-nonsense-by-any-name-that-doesn't-work thinks it is a Lyft driver sign, the kind you put in your car to signal to people who asked for a ride that you are a Lyft driver. eBay is afraid people will buy Lyft/Uber signs and use them to pick up unsuspecting people and kidnap them or other horrific things. So for liability they are banned... it is just a thermos, harmless, but their bots/AI/whatever think it is a Lyft sign, so eBay is yelling at you and demanding in a not-so-friendly way you are not to list it. This is what happens when we turn over human common sense to so-called "AI", it isn't really "intelligent" and can't always discern what something is and what it isn't.

They ban UPS uniforms, transit uniforms and other such items for the same liability reasons.

"Thermos" has been legally generic since the 1960s when talking about the item itself, the company name is still registered. The original generic term for a thermos was a "vacuum flask". I remember seeing old Dell comics with ads for a "Roy Rogers vacuum flask" from back in the 1950s.

krazzykats

·4 months ago

5712 View listings

You can easily find electric lighted Lyft signs for your car on eBay, along with other Lyft driver signs and accessories listed under eBay Motors. So, a lighted sign isn’t a sure sign that someone is an official Lyft driver, since anyone can purchase one here. Be careful.

Anyway...

I only came across a couple of Lyft cups and mugs for sale, including the one I mentioned earlier.

ᓚᘏᗢ

inhawaii

·4 months ago

Ebay's most handsome seller.4909 View listings

Makes sense but still just a guess.

krazzykats

·4 months ago

5712 View listings

Maybe a word ban, except for Lyft items listed in car accessories.

A word ban like Shabby Chic or Velcro....?

ᓚᘏᗢ

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@krazzykats wrote:
Maybe a word ban, except for Lyft items listed in car accessories.

A word ban like Shabby Chic or Velcro....?

ᓚᘏᗢ

Perhaps...Oh yeah...I learned never to use the word Velcro unless it's genuine Velcro.

Thanks! to everyone who posted their advice....

ebay sure has a lot of Wacky policies...but at least it's never boring here...😋

tools*

·4 months ago

474 View listings

I think thermos has entered the lexicon and can't be retrieved.

slippinjimmy

·4 months ago

4 View listings

@tools* wrote:

I think thermos has entered the lexicon and can't be retrieved.

So has Velcro or Kleenex but if you use those words to describe an item NOT made by Velcro or Kimberly Clark there is a good chance you will be blocked or the listing will be taken down.

tobaccocardyahoo

·4 months ago

5533 View listings

@tools* wrote:

I think thermos has entered the lexicon and can't be retrieved.

You are incorrect.

Thermos continues to be a registered trademark and it may be enforced by the trademark owner or any site which makes a practice of preventing trademark infringement.

https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/search/search-information

albertabrightalberta

·4 months ago

I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

@tools* wrote:

I think thermos has entered the lexicon and can't be retrieved.

So have "Velcro" and "Onesie" but that doesn't prevent legitimate infringement claims.

If the problem is with "Thermos," it can be listed as "thermal travel mug."

tobaccocardyahoo

·4 months ago

5533 View listings

The problem may be Thermos.

It is a trademark, and the Lyft Mug may not be made by Thermos and is therefore infringing.

It may also be that a Thermos is a vacuum bottle and may be subject to some restrictions on its shipment.

tools*

·4 months ago

474 View listings

List it as "Thermos" and edit it later.

books_n_more

·4 months ago

16642 View listings

Could it be a public safety issue? I've had trouble selling USPS and UPS branded stuff because baddies can use them for nefarious purposes. That could affect something like Lyft. Sometimes the bots go for a bit of overkill and catch innocuous things.

krazzykats

·4 months ago

5712 View listings

I was thinking it might have something to do with licensing. Did you check with Lyft to see if there are any issues with reselling a promotional item? I don’t notice many Lyft promotional items for sale on eBay, mostly just Lyft car accessories.

If you were a Lyft driver and received this, could it violate Lyft’s contract terms?

I did find another one for sale on eBay where Lyft was spelled as Lift.

ᓚᘏᗢ

funfactorychannel

·4 months ago

10596 View listings

I think AI thinks your selling a Lyft account. Maybe removing Business might work.

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@funfactorychannel wrote:
I think AI thinks your selling a Lyft account. Maybe removing Business might work.

For the fun of it I tried it with just the one word..... Lyft ......in the title and got the same message....lol

onefootflipper

·4 months ago

4245 View listings

It is the word Lyft. I would just start using the darn thing and sell something else instead. It isn't the sort of item that was ever likely to sell in the first place. People don't collect "Lyft" merchandise and likely wouldn't want people to mistake them as a gig driver.

If you are a gig driver then give the thing away to the next person who gives you a nice tip.

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@krazzykats wrote:
I was thinking it might have something to do with licensing. Did you check with Lyft to see if there are any issues with reselling a promotional item? I don’t notice many Lyft promotional items for sale on eBay, mostly just Lyft car accessories.

If you were a Lyft driver and received this, could it violate Lyft’s contract terms?

I did find another one for sale on eBay where Lyft was spelled as Lift.

ᓚᘏᗢ

Thank you. ...I did find the listing you mention where Lyft is spelled Lift. I never was a lyft driver.

But i dont know about the problem being copyright in nature...as the restriction is under ebay's government items policy?

bashort

·4 months ago

11885 View listings

every time I see something like this it gives me assurance that AI is not going to be taking over the world anytime soon

jonathanbrightlight

·4 months ago

0 View listings

Every time I've seen something like this, there was something in the wording of the title, item specifics, or description that was incorrectly being read by the filters/AI as something else. Do you have the full text you used in the description available, and/or the Item Specifics?

meme6253

·4 months ago

3964 View listings

It doesn't make any sense,but for some reason the A.I. bots caught something in your listing that they deemed to be not permitted, I would not try to re-list it or you can put a burden on your account.

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@meme6253 wrote:
It doesn't make any sense,but for some reason the A.I. bots caught something in your listing that they deemed to be not permitted, I would not try to re-list it or you can put a burden on your account.

Thing is it was never listed or taken down...ebay is actively blocking it from being listed...

onefootflipper

·4 months ago

4245 View listings

@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:
@meme6253 wrote:
It doesn't make any sense,but for some reason the A.I. bots caught something in your listing that they deemed to be not permitted, I would not try to re-list it or you can put a burden on your account.
Thing is it was never listed or taken down...ebay is actively blocking it from being listed...

People try to sell Lyft accounts, there is very little else with that keyword that anyone would ever sell, probably a blanket ban on the word.

slippinjimmy

·4 months ago

4 View listings

@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:

Thing is it was never listed or taken down...ebay is actively blocking it from being listed..

Could you try again and this time take a screen shot of the notification. I suspect the text you originally posted is not 100% accurate.

I have a semi-possible idea of what the issue is but I would need to see the actual words used by eBay to confirm.

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@slippinjimmy wrote:
@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:

Thing is it was never listed or taken down...ebay is actively blocking it from being listed..
Could you try again and this time take a screen shot of the notification. I suspect the text you originally posted is not 100% accurate.

I have a semi-possible idea of what the issue is but I would need to see the actual words used by eBay to confirm.

This is the message i get...I've tried rearranging the words around....add/subtract..but I still get this same message. I've read it thru it but it's very confusing...

krazzykats

·4 months ago

5712 View listings

What page does the link go to?

ᓚᘏᗢ

albertabrightalberta

·4 months ago

I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

@magicjohnsonsvariety

Is the listing mistakenly (by AI) going to the wrong category and not one of the household or collectible categories?

These are what I'd expect to list under:

1.

Screenshot 2026-04-20 at 6.43.56 PM.png

or

2.

Screenshot 2026-04-20 at 6.44.55 PM.png

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

The category is under Collectible metal thermoses.

The link goes to ebay's policy page...which says nothing about Thermoses or vacuum travel mugs.

gurlcat

·4 months ago

1986 View listings

@slippinjimmy I'm so glad you asked to see the exact message. There's a big difference between 'Government Transit and Shipping' vs. 'Governement, Transit and Shipping.'

Up til then I was thinking, "Government transit???? What do they think he's slinging here, Airforce 1 merch? I.C.E. merch?"

slippinjimmy

·4 months ago

4 View listings

@gurlcat wrote:
@slippinjimmy I'm so glad you asked to see the exact message. There's a big difference between 'Government Transit and Shipping' vs. 'Governement, Transit and Shipping.'

Up til then I was thinking, "Government transit???? What do they think he's slinging here, Airforce 1 merch? I.C.E. merch?"

@magicjohnsonsvariety

Well it isn't what I thought it might be but it does fall under another somewhat obscure eBay policy that is at the link in your screenshot and the coma after Government is actually critical, the keyword in this case is "Transit". As in companies that offer transit services, anything from a taxi or a public transit bus, train, airline etc. Normally this refers to uniforms and identification not a Vacuum Flask so while I would agree that it's a bit heavy handed I suppose that it could be used to fool someone to think that it's safe to get in that Lyft car.

The policy is here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/government-items-policy?id=4318

There have been a few posts here over the years about similar blocking and takedowns under this policy. I recall things like hats or shirts with logo's of the (wrong) company. Most common of course are police related items, those fall under the "Government" part, UPS/FedEx etc stuff would be under the "Shipping" portion of the policy.

gurlcat

·4 months ago

1986 View listings

@slippinjimmy Well clearly that's it right there, and affirms what @fm2000 was saying, but with the link spelling it out, where it talks about 'ride share' etc.

But did you see @krazzykats msg 36?

So apparently as far as the AI is concerned, pulling up to a bar with drunk people waiting for rides, in a car with a Lyft sign isn't really so bad .... but holding a Lyft mug, now that's serial killer stuff right there.

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@gurlcat wrote:
@slippinjimmy Well clearly that's it right there, and affirms what @fm2000 was saying, but with the link spelling it out, where it talks about 'ride share' etc.

But did you see @krazzykats msg 36?

So apparently as far as the AI is concerned, pulling up to a bar with drunk people waiting for rides, in a car with a Lyft sign isn't really so bad .... but holding a Lyft mug, now that's serial killer stuff right there.

lol.

I'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks this AI crap has the potential to eventually devolve the entire human race...

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@slippinjimmy wrote:
@gurlcat wrote:
@slippinjimmy I'm so glad you asked to see the exact message. There's a big difference between 'Government Transit and Shipping' vs. 'Governement, Transit and Shipping.'

Up til then I was thinking, "Government transit???? What do they think he's slinging here, Airforce 1 merch? I.C.E. merch?"
@magicjohnsonsvariety

Well it isn't what I thought it might be but it does fall under another somewhat obscure eBay policy that is at the link in your screenshot and the coma after Government is actually critical, the keyword in this case is "Transit". As in companies that offer transit services, anything from a taxi or a public transit bus, train, airline etc. Normally this refers to uniforms and identification not a Vacuum Flask so while I would agree that it's a bit heavy handed I suppose that it could be used to fool someone to think that it's safe to get in that Lyft car.

The policy is here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/government-items-policy?id=4318

There have been a few posts here over the years about similar blocking and takedowns under this policy. I recall things like hats or shirts with logo's of the (wrong) company. Most common of course are police related items, those fall under the "Government" part, UPS/FedEx etc stuff would be under the "Shipping" portion of the policy.

Thanks...You may be onto something...I do see someone was able to list the exact same thermos simply by not using the word Lyft in the title, and instead spelling it as Lift in item specifics...

Proves it definitely has something to do with using the word Lyft and/or ride sharing....not thermos or copyrights.

animal-house-8

·4 months ago

2935 View listings

Ebay new AI "Artificial Ignorance" it does the majority of the police work now.

funfactorychannel

·4 months ago

10596 View listings

What did you put as your Title and Description?

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@funfactorychannel wrote:
What did you put as your Title and Description?

Lyft Business thermos mug Stainless steel New

albertabrightalberta

·4 months ago

I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:
@funfactorychannel wrote:
What did you put as your Title and Description?
Lyft Business thermos mug Stainless steel New

I wonder if they think you're selling a "business," possibly circumventing proper categories?

bonanza125

·4 months ago

8845 View listings

Yes I have seen situations where certain items are prohibited to be shipped which I wasn't aware of until I got the message and had to look it up.

yeswayrecords

·4 months ago

17203 View listings

We have seen restrictions for seemingly innocuous items like this before.

Could there possibly be an issue with the branding, or possibly the material of the thermos?

magicjohnsonsvariety

OP4 months ago

2754 View listings

@yeswayrecords wrote:
We have seen restrictions for seemingly innocuous items like this before.

Could there possibly be an issue with the branding, or possibly the material of the thermos?

It's stainless steel...

I feel like ebay is confusing this with something else somehow because of their lousy programming and glitches...

yeswayrecords

·4 months ago

17203 View listings

@magicjohnsonsvariety

You may be right about there being confusion with your listing, especially because you mentioned something about transit, and you are trying to sell a Lyft branded item.

We have attempted to list items in the past that are common and have encountered the same difficulty with recognition.