"offensive material"
eBay in their infinite wisdom has removed one of my items, and frankly I'm offended that they did so!
I had a listing of 3 mid-century dolls (204162356899 - Three Vintage Black Cloth African American Doll Handmade) that were probably among the first dolls that children of color could play with that were theirs, not white dolls that didn't look like them.
I'm very upset that they were removed, and don't see any logic in eBay's decision----of course, I'm responding in this format because there is no way to reply to or appeal eBay's "final decision"!!
18 comments
house*of*paws
·3 years agoHi @cogcog
We are unable to see listings that have been removed ... so we have no idea what your dolls looked like. IF you had listed black dolls that actually looked like African Americans ... they likely would NOT have been removed.
It is the dolls with exaggerated, cartoonish features: bulging eyes, overly-thick lips, and frizzy hair sticking straight out of their heads ... often called 'Black Americana' ... that are considered offensive and are banned on eBay.
In general, sellers should NEVER relist an item that's been removed ... even if they think it was removed by mistake. Once pulled, the item is on a bot's radar ... and will be discovered and removed again quickly. Serious penalties will then start that will escalate to being permanently restricted from selling on eBay.
cogcog
OP3 years agoYeah, good advice about relisting. These dolls were certainly not offensive, and very generic and I truly don't see how anyone could be offended. I think eBay as they often do made a knee-jerk judgement.
soh.maryl
·3 years agoAm nearly 90 years old. As a young child, probably 4-5 years, had two African-American dolls, so I guess such dolls were available by at least the mid 1930's. They were lovely playmates. Later on, as the Amos and Andy radio show became popular, there was an Amosandra doll, named after a child on that show. It might have been made by either Ideal or Sun Rubber, the latter of which was located in my town.
whatmorefabric
·3 years agoThe first black dolls made for African Americans were at best ugly. They were mostly clothed in servant attire or poor people clothes. They were not pretty or dressed in nice clothing.
They had exaggerated features.
You would not sell a doll dressed as a Nazi as they are offensive to Jews, so why is it OK to sell dolls that are offensive to blacks?
These dolls represented what a white person thought black girls wanted to play with in the Jim Crow era.
cogcog
OP3 years agoI think you're reading way too much into this.
coolections
·3 years agoIt's a catch 22. You are offended because Ebay will not allow you to sell your dolls. Some other people are offended because they think your dolls are prejudice. No, there is no way to appeal the take down as it is Ebay's rules.
maxine*j
·3 years agoYou just need to sell them somewhere else. Do not relist and thereby risk permanent suspension of your selling account.
All of the eBay Restricted and Prohibited Items policies in all categories are vague and subjective, but most especially so as to "Offensive Materials." Policy enforcement is then done by primitive AI, which is not up to the task, and you are left with capricious enforcement of fuzzy policies. Issues of right, wrong, fair, unfair, sensible or senseless, all go out the window so, in effect, there can be no appeal.
-
cogcog
OP3 years agoThanks Good advice.
simba6
·3 years agoAlphabet blocks with the letter Z on them will be next.
dbfolks166mt
·3 years agoEverything offends somebody these days. In all reality eBay's ever growing list of prohibited items along with a couple of other less than stellar business moves was one of the initial reasons I began to diversify off of this forum and platform. I have found MANY other platforms and venues that have virtually no restrictions on what you can list or sell there.
s.scharmu0
·3 years agoHi!
There are other venues you can use😊
nobody*s_perfect
·3 years agoeBay decided to prohibit golliwogs and anything resembling them, a couple of years ago.
toomuchstuffagain35
·3 years agocloth black dolls aren't necessarily golliwogs.
next they'll be banning black and Asian barbies.
bonjourami
·3 years ago"next they'll be banning black and Asian barbies."
If they are racially offensive with exaggerated, or cartoonish features, I hope they do.
cogcog
OP3 years agoExactly I remember when the first widely produced black dolls hit the market. Maybe because of the backing of toy manufacturers this was praised as a step forward. I guess I should have had a publicist write the item description for me.
richard1rst
·3 years agoIt is quite simple: You are offended eBay took it down, someone else was offended you put it up.
2 sides of the same coin.
ed8108
·3 years agoWhite doll supremacy ?
You are complaining ebay is effectively practicing race discrimination by the removal of the listing of dolls of color ?
Unavailable member
·3 years agoYour item was probably reported as offensive.
May have been a word or group of words in the title that triggered the take down.
Whatever it was I would advise you not to list it again.
Prohibited and Restricted items policy