Account Restricted For Listing What Other's have, sold, and are listing with no problem

[etvideo1ataol]

I received a message from eBay that my account was restricted because of an Item I listed.

An item that others have listed and sold recently and that another person has listed.

A Playboy video that I listed under VHS as all the others are.

There are currently 36 Playboy VHS videos listed and 29 that were listed have sold including one that was identical to my listing, there is one listed for sale now.

But for some reason, mine was a problem, so big a problem that my account was restricted.

They claim it A Playboy Celebrity Video, should have been in the adult section, but there are a dozen of these celebrity videos that have sold with NO PROBLEM by other sellers.

EVERYTHING, I list, I research first to see if it sold and where it sold and I saw that this item was no problem.

There are rules for everyone or no one, but not maybe rules.

Playboy Celebrity videos do not have sex scenes and just about every "R" rated movie has nudity, even the animated ones and they DO often have sex scenes, all the teenage horror films have a lot.

Over 20 years I have sold a lot of Playboy items with no problem and society in general is far less concerned with nudity than 20 years ago.

IF, eBay must have standards, they should reflect the times we live in and apply EQUALLY to all sellers, not just some.

Not that eBay has forced me to use Sixbit for bulk listing, I can easily list in many places where before, with Turbo Lister, I had to just list on eBay.

Great thinking eBay.

[zcmi11]

Sorry this happened. I know it doesn't seem fair if others manage to list an item in a manner other than as required but rely on your research next time as item classification is a no win fight

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/restricted-adult-items-policy?id=4278

[etvideo1ataol]

If it was one or two I could see their point, but there are dozens and dozens, and there is no problem with the magazines, which have far more that the videos.

I just sold VHS copies of 'Pledge Night" and "Night Of The Creeps" and both of these Teenage horror film have lots of nudity, no problem.

Art museums around the world are fill of nude art, no problem, it's culture.

To actually enforce this policy, MILLIONS of listing would have to go.

[postingid7659]

Unfortunately what others are doing has no bearing on what you have done.  When eBay decides you have violated the rules, you have violated the rules, and unless you have a lawyer on standby to sue them for millions they won't pay any attention to your defense or really care about it at all. 

Sometimes sellers of items like this will report other sellers to eliminate the competition, and other times busybodies with nothing to do in their lives will look for things to report.  And eBay has bots that look for certain things and pull them down.  Any one of those things could have happened here.  Unfortunately you're now guilty until agreeing you're guilty and will have to work out whatever penalty they have given you. 

[etvideo1ataol]

Actually, what hundreds of others are doing does when the rules make no sense and eBay only selectively enforces them.

It makes a laughing stock out of eBay.

For example, the following rule.

"-- The following magazines and books can be listed outside the Adult Only category as long as the listing and product don't contain nude images or explicit content: Playboy, Playgirl, Mayfair, and Penthouse"

Think about that, does that make the smallest amount of sense?

What issues of Playboy or Penthouse don't have that?

And yet  there are now 55,266 listings of playboy magazine and 16,056 have sold.

ALL of them have had the centerfolds removed?

And that doesn't include Penthouse.

This doesn't make eBay look foolish, it makes them look crazy.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Basing what you do, by what others do, can spell trouble. Now you are on eBay’s radar, you have to be extra careful. Ebay doesn't usually lower the boom on a first offense. Have you had issues come up before now?

I know nothing about Playboy save for their reputation as pornographers. But if eBay says your item must be in the Adult section, then that is where it goes. It doesn’t matter if we disagree, eBay is implacable and has the final word. It also doesn't really matter what other sellers are doing, it is your account that is in peril here. How long is your restriction?

[etvideo1ataol]

I have been on eBay's radar for decades.

I have called them about this and am waiting for a reply.

However, my outrage has not resulted in the removal of a single one of the other offending items as there is a limit to how much money eBay is willing to lose.

I actually believe that a computer makes these decisions and that no human is involved.

Actually, Playboy is milder than Penthouse.

I have met many of the young ladies and find the Penthouse girls more attractive.

[mobley120]

I've read other posts very similar to yours, and may I note something in my reviewing of the issue: a lot of those sellers had this in common: they were freelance type sellers, in other words they didn't have an eBay store subscription: just noting such for what it's worth.

[kensgiftshop]

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@etvideo1ataol wrote:

To actually enforce this policy, MILLIONS of listing would have to go.

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Maybe they haven't got to the other listings yet.

Just because other sellers are doing it, doesn't make it right, you just happen to get caught before them.

[chapeau-noir]

This was for the OP - I'm not sure why it posted to the previous poster.

I've had this happen three times down through the years - each time I checked policies before listing, but then the items were taken down by either VeRO or policy change - two of the items had already sold.  I did not relist the third item.  In all three cases there were plenty of other same items listed, sold, etc. 

Just don't mess with it - if they say list in adult, just go with it.

Playboy seems so past it - I keep being amazed that it still exists.

[pardonedtreasure]

Welcome to eBay.  They decide who can sell and who can't.  Been there, done that and they act like they are larger than the government.  Now you know why there are other venues like ETSY, RUBY LANE, 1stdibs, etc.  

[pardonedtreasure]

Oh, I forgot.  Next time you speak to ebay, maybe you can ask them why they allow certain sellers to sell active POLICE patches online, since their own policy prohibits it!  CRICKETS!!!

[postingid7659]

The eBay reps won't care, they aren't paid to care.  They will just see your violation and perhaps if common sense is working that day one will remove the defect on the basis you saw other people selling these things and believed you were correct to list yours the way you did.   However common sense rarely rules the day at eBay. 

If through some miracle you get the defect removed I would not play with fire by listing it again. 

[lightlily_arts]

I'm curious as to whether eBay has a problem with nudity. For example what if I wanted to sell a replica of Michelangelo's  statue of David or of Venus de Milo.

[powell-memorabilia]

We've just traversed into cringe-worthy territory.  

In all seriousness, if your best argument is that you are in violation of eBay policies, but others have gotten away with what you have tried to do, you aren't making a great case for yourself.  One bit of advice - take a look at those other listings, and see how/if they differ from your listings.  Sometimes, it can be just a word in the description or title that makes a difference.  

If you have found amazing alternatives elsewhere, with the enablement of Sixbit, why are you cross about your eBay experience?