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Hundreds of listings removed. Reason: Only eligible sellers may list airbags. They are not airbags.
I sell used auto parts and suddenly suddenly every listing I have for clock springs have been taken down for policy violations. The specific reason stated is "Only eligible sellers may list airbags. At this time you are not eligible to list this item." My items are not airbags. They are not listed in an airbag category. The word airbag is not in any of the listings. I've been selling these for several years. First it was 1 listing. I called, and the first person said they put the listing in for review. Then about 10 minutes later I get a message saying hundreds of my listings have been removed for the same reason. I called back and the second person I spoke to was no help at all. Did a person do this or is it some mistake the system has made?
transamcc
·4 years agoI am not a professional mechanic, but still would agree with ebay's stance. Anyone servicing or replacing a failed clockspring is exposed to the same physical dangers as one servicing the bag itself, which must be deactivated and removed before you get to the spring. All of the independent shops and dealer service departments that I have been around have specially trained a limited number of individual mechanics in airbag service procedures to avoid the liability for an employee who is unfamiliar with the danger from diving in and being injured at dealer's expense. There is probably product liability issues for both Ebay and sellers of any component of airbag systems whereby the unsuspecting consumer (buyer) with a good attorney can stand to get substantial compensatory damages for injury if so desired through the courts.
swappart
OP4 years agoIt has nothing to do with any hazards regarding installation. The restrictions on airbags are regarding shipping. They contain an explosive charge so they cannot be shipped via USPS. Again though, I don't sell airbags. Seatbelts are part of the airbag system too, and also contain an explosive charge, but they are not restricted. Airbag control modules also don't seem to be restricted. I'm not going to just give up on an item which brings me $100,000 a year in sales because someone suddenly thinks it's an airbag. I have every right to want to speak with someone at eBay that makes these policy decisions and can definitely say whether this is a mistake or not. Low level CS can't make any technical determinations. They've told me that before.
transamcc
·4 years agoGood argument, but my position is unchanged. The only person that I know who was injured by an airbag during servicing is a certified dealer employee who was injured (permanently disabled) AFTER removing the bag and while transporting the uninstalled bag across the shop to the disposal bench. Danger is present any time an airbag is handled, not just shipping! I have permanent vision problems for the past 19 years from a bag that deployed when it was supposed to do so during an accident. The bag did prevent me from being decapitated by the windshield upper edge when it entered the driver side of the car, but the bag crushed a pair of aviator sunglasses into my eyes causing both nerve and muscle damage which can never be completly corrected. The passenger bag also deployed and my wife is still dead. My position is that airbags and any auto part that requires manipulation of the bag, or removal thereof to adjust, change, service or replace that part should only be done by a certified mechanic and that certification should be done by a state or national entity. Other parties should not be allowed to purchase airbags and/or any part that requires removing the airbag to service that item. That is my nickel's worth.
itsjustasprain
·4 years agoSo that is one incident. There must be more details out there about how or why that one bag discharged - when there are thousands out there being handled every hour of every day without incident. (What is the 'disposal bench' anyway? It sounds like just a reinforced box with a car battery and some jumper cables to fire the bag. Are you sure the incident didnt happen there?)
I dont mean to sound unsympathetic but a bag that deployed when it was supposed to is not what we are talking about here. The fact that you did not walk away without injuries does not minimize the fact that the airbag may have reduced what you could have sustained. I know we dont have enough details to say much more.
You are entitled to your position but it does not comport with reality. Mechanics are certified as specialists in specific areas but that does not mean that they are prohibited from working in others. Airbags are a mature technology and have been standard issue in cars for 30 years at this point. Installation and removal is no more hazardous than any other system requiring specific procedures, such as brakes, suspension or air conditioning.
My own experience is that the wiring is prominently labeled and the harness connectors carry backup locks of their own to ensure that the connector cannot work itself loose. You remove the backup lock pin - unplug the harness - and you are then free to remove the three or four screws or bolts securing the bag assembly to the steering wheel or other mounting. The factory service manual covers this in just a few steps and less than one page. They do include a Warning about careful handling of course - but the fact remains that these things are simply not exploding of their own accord every day.
Its also worth remembering that clock springs were around even before airbags. They are not a part of the airbag system. Trying to limit their sale here due to some belief that they are an airbag 'accessory' is overreaching and misguided.
transamcc
·4 years agoYou seemingly just want to question everything I have said. The failure occurred when my mechanic friend was walking across the shop floor with it!. Their disposal bench is where they keep the bag in a lockbox until reinstallation or intentionally detonating it. Despite your repeated reassurances about safety, if you sold ME an item that required disturbing an airbag in any manner to R&R that component, I would first contact my attorney before proceeding. Although many like you continually minimize the inherent dangers in life, they still exist. Millions of defective airbags have been recently recalled due to the danger of personal injury or death from shrapnel formed by internal components because of the manufacturer's procedures and design problems. I still say that buying and selling of components that require disturbing an airbag to service that component should be tightly controlled and require proof of qualification to even purchase same. Ebay should be able to regulate any item listed for sale on this platform.
lacemaker3
·4 years ago@transamcc.,
I am very sorry about your injury and loss, and about your friend.
Airbags are designed so that they can be handled safely, when they are not installed. And so that they will not deploy inadvertently, whether they are installed or not. Inadvertent deployments only happen when airbags are damaged in a particular way AND not handled correctly.
The only way that an airbag can deploy inadvertently while being handled when not installed, is if it has been damaged. In that situation, there are special protocols and precautions that must be followed in order to prevent the damaged airbag from being deployed. I'm sorry that your friend was injured while handling an airbag, but the only way a not-installed-airbag can deploy is if it has been damaged AND it is not being handled correctly.
I am very sorry for the injury you incurred from your glasses shattering, but the injury could have occurred during any kind of accident: automotive or not, airbag or not. All of my glasses are shatter-resistant, to minimize the chances of injury related to my glasses. I prefer to wear them when I'm driving and participating in sports. That is because shatter resistant glasses protect me from injury, airbag-related or not, whereas contact lenses don't provide any protection at all; and I can't legally drive without corrective lenses of some type.
I'm sorry, but you could have been injured by your shattered glasses in any kind of accident, automotive or airbag related or not, so the injuries were caused by the glasses, not the automotive accident.
Yes there are some defective airbags in the field, which can cause damage if they deploy. Even those defective airbags are prevented from inadvertent deployments by the protective features that are built into all airbags. They are only dangerous if they deploy while they are installed or damaged, which is why car manufacturers have been trying to get them replaced ASAP for years now.
Yes, eBay should be able to regulate any item for sale that can cause injury. Clock springs cannot cause injury, no matter what might or might not be wrong or defective about them.
transamcc
·4 years agoI stick by my statements. I wear shatter resistant glasses, the lens and metal frame portion were driven into my right eye nearly intact, less deeply on the left. It could have happened without an airbag impact to my face, but not likely. I probably would have been decapitated by the upper edge of the windshield instead. It is history and required 17 days hospitalization, the first 10 in ICU, with surgeries and many broken bones. I now have a very strong respect for anything that can explode in my face! I never stated that clocksprings are dangerous. The AIRBAG IS. One has to remove an airbag to access a clockspring in any car equipped with a bag in the steering wheel. If bags were not questionable, specialized training and procedures would not have to be followed, ever. There would not be automotive recalls for millions of defective bags from manufacturers like the Takata recall. The difference in my position on this issue is that my concern is PERSONAL SAFETY: the opposing position from the OP and the seller/responders is one of PROFIT. Safety protocols should always supercede profit. I spent my career as a computer engineer, but have done my own auto mechanic work for over 60 years, except mfg. warranty items and dangerous procedures.