True crime book listing removed because it was deemed "offensive" by ebay

[kena1956]

Ebay removed my listing for the O.J. Simpson book titled "If I Did It" for violation of their policy. Strange thing is that I see there are currently numerous other ebay sellers selling this same title and their listings have obviously not been removed. Has anyone else experienced this type of situation and if so were you able to resolve it? According to their policy, which was sent in their notice to me and which I posted below, it would appear that any book in the  true crime genre involving a murder could be prohibited from being listed if my understanding is correct.

"We had to remove your listing because it didn’t follow our Offensive material policy. Listings that promote or glorify hatred, violence, or discrimination aren’t allowed.
What activity didn't follow the policy
Out of respect for the families of murder victims and victims of violent crimes, we'll remove listings of items closely associated with individuals notorious for committing violent crimes or murderous acts regardless of whether or not the criminal is living or deceased."

[lamber9347]

I've never heard of anyone resolving these types of removals. That is a particularly offensive book which has been banned in many places. If you are still seeing listings, it's only because they haven't been reported by anyone and have managed to skirt by the bots. They will eventually be taken down. It's like getting pulled over by a cop for speeding and saying but look at all the other drivers- you simply got caught. Once your listing is on the radar, the best thing to do is never list it again, or you risk having your entire selling account removed. Best of luck to you.... 

[animesalesandmore]

I cant wait for this |offensive| fad get over with bc it worse then offensive things themselves lol

[kensgiftshop]

There's another book seller that just had that book removed.

[biggymoe]

The explanation, that you received, seems pretty self explanatory.

I wasn't aware of that policy, but it does make sense.

[taylor_memorial]

eBay does not actively search these out, but will respond to reports. 

You can try again with a different approach to the title of the listing. Or sell it elsewhere. 

[ozarkjoe]

Realistically you have to be able to sell on several platforms to get around these problems.  The River will tell me that I am restricted from selling a book because it is in refurbished condition.  Refurbished?  Not sure what they mean but I don't waste any more time so I just list it here.   

[axcess06]

I have had books removed and succeeded in getting them to allow it, but you have to get them on the phone to do that.... even then, you have to speak to a rep in the USA.   Almost all calls are fielded by someone in India who speaks broken english, but what they don't understand is America itself.  Take the case of a history book that has a picture of rebel flag on its cover.  Its HISTORY, not hate, there is a distinct difference and if you can get an American representative to talk to you you can get them to understand the difference.  I don't know about OJ Simpson... a book is a book and if someone doesn't like it, well don't buy it, but there are others that do.  Ebay does not offer the ability to list but with a warning that the subject may be offensive.  If they did, perhaps this wouldn't be as a big an issue overall.  It appears to me that as eBay grows its profits off the backs of its sellers it whips them a bit too much.  Book sales overall in the last decade have declined.  Its getting tougher every year to sell.  I stopped selling for about 7 years because of that but the economy and the price of eggs et al have forced me to sell once again.  This span of delequency as a seller brought me to the conclusion that as a category, eBay doesn't do enough for its sellers.  Rather, they spend too much time monitoring what you offer,  For example, why aren't there more choices for listing books?  No... two.  Antiquarian and Books and Magazines.  No subcategories to choose from when listing.  This pushes the seller into listing into non-book categories where they make more money off our backs.  In the seven years I was gone I noticed what eBay has done is tighten restrictions, limit sellers categories in order to push you into other categories where they make more money.  If a new selling site popped up that offered choices and could generate an audience, ebay would see its sellers flock to it.  Am I right?  Power to the First Amendment as we do not live in Fahrenheit 451.

[wri-8727]

First and second amendment guarantees are being tested. Should woman pose with a pink AR-15 after a school shooting? Should someone profit from murder. It's iffy. 

After the attacks on the World Trade Center no one dared to even include those words, (World Trade Center), in an item description knowing they would suffer the wrath. 

(OTOH, I don't suppose East Palestine, Ohio would be a problem.) 

It's a matter of power and privilege who gets to do what they want, when they want. All you can do is embrace the suck because life isn't fair, etc., etc . . .

[jrwsales1]

"What activity didn't follow the policy
Out of respect for the families of murder victims and victims of violent crimes, we'll remove listings of items closely associated with individuals notorious for committing violent crimes or murderous acts regardless of whether or not the criminal is living or deceased."

Does that mean that eBay have reviewed the evidence and decided that OJ can indeed be deemed a criminal, even though he was technically acquitted back in 1995?

[47acc_37]

"eBay does not actively search these out, but will respond to reports. "

And why not? If it's against the rules, it's THEIR job to uphold those rules, not the end users. They could set up the bots to catch all of them but they do not. It seems they go deliberately lazy because if a listing isn't taken down it might sell, netting them some extra FVF profit, while they get to tell shareholders & press that they work really hard with their rules in place.

The whole "just because others haven't been caught doesn't mean you are allowed" excuse is flimsy. If the other 99 are getting a free pass, why target only the one seller?