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New List of Prohibited Words for Sellers Who Sold an Item Using the "I" Word.....
So the eBay robots and back room dictators decide whether an item you are selling violates their Ivory policy. It does not matter if the item is actually bone or Ivory Soap or Ivory colored, once you are in their sights, nothing you can do to correct the "violation". If you have been convicted without the benefit of judge, jury or trial, they punish you by forever preventing you from using certain words in your Title or Description. Don't try to ask them for a list to save time, the list is a "secret". If some ignorant agent gives you a list, it is very brief, like "vintage and antique". Through trial and error, here is a list that may still be incomplete. Keep in mind this list is some knucklehead's attempt at preventing listing ivory from endangered animals. If you are confounded by some of the words, join the club.
VINTAGE
ANTIQUE
VICTORIAN
CARVED
CARVING
EBONY
HORN
BONE
IVORY
ELEPHANT
BOVINE
TUSK
DAMASCUS
TOOTH
TEETH
whereonearth
·3 years agoThis was done to me too, and more.
Also re: shark teeth.
Ebay expanded the prohibition to include Appendix II shark teeth in October 2022.
But they didn't tell me that, they just ended a few auctions, let me guess, took two phone calls to ascertain this. If they would only send affected sellers a heads up "you've got a week to take X down", then take them ALL down a week later if sellers don't comply - fine. But they just end some like "you've always been in violation", then you have a "record". I took down 1800 auctions once I knew. They even made me take down FOSSIL Makos and FOSSIL great whites because "they don't know the difference". Then they reached into 2/3 of the rest of my 18,000 auctions and "froze" them so I can't even change prices on cameos (ivory colored pine resin), moose antler carvings, petoskey stones, tagua nut carvings etc. as "punishment".
IF they applied this enforcement to all, then we could just sell on our websites. But NO, they just ended MINE. There are still 1200+ mako shark tooth auctions, 700+ great white shark tooth auctions running, which then basically kills any search results for my website listings. They did the same thing with MAMMOTH TEETH which they added to the prohibition of mammoth ivory and bone. But they only ended mine. So there's still 114 auctions for Mammoth Teeth still running six months later, meaning I haven't sold a single one of the 80 mammoth tooth necklaces I run exclusively on our website.
Is this the definition of insanity? Selective enforcement. Not a way to run an auction site. Ebay is teaching sellers effectively how to hate them.
caking1960
·3 years agoDealing with this since August. I just found out that my two listings that ebay removed landed me in the forever banned from using certain words category. I have had many conversations with the ebay drone workers and I finally got wind of something called the ivory circumvention penalty box (Penalty box is my emphasis). Said penalty box is permanent according to the person I spoke with. What I gleaned from that conversation is that I was banned because they determined that I had or was trying to circumvent the prohibition on listing Ivory. They sent a warning. Ebay removed an item so I went through my listings and removed the rest of the questionable listings. Ebay then found another questionable item a week later and now I am forever banned from using the questionable words.
During my multitude of discussions with customer service as to why I couldn't list an item, they eventually told me to substitute for this word or that word. Voila! Its a miracle - through much angst and many rounds of trial and error, I came to the same list as you did. That said, they have since removed antique and vintage from the banned list and now I can use it!!!
That is all well and good, except for the fact that in order to list an item that has "Carved, or carve, or carving" in its title, I gotta change the word. And, according to ebay seller item description policy, I am required to accurately describe the item listed. So, for example, I have a ceramic mold by Duncan Ceramics that features "Carved Rosettes". Duncan Molds naming, not mine. I was blocked from using Carved in the listing. Listing without the word Carved fails to accurately describe the listing. So, when someone buys something and complains that is not as described - what does ebay do? side with the buyer? And, take away the seller's birthday. Yep...
Its been an experience.
kh-ornesh
·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.