Ebay banning R rated movies? Or just overzealous banhammer?

[metal5407]

So I recently had a couple of movies listed that ebay removed due to a supposed infraction of their restricted items policy. The problem is, my listing was for an R rated movie. If you haven't looked at the movies section in ebay for a while, they have a filter for R rated movies. As of today, 895k+ strong. They actually have one for NC-17 as well. The meaning is that they accept these movies as being qualified for listing, otherwise why have the filter? Gruv, the company that gets their own logo next to their search results, has more of these movies than anybody.

I tried 4 times via chat to ask an ebay customer support agent what was going on and you can imagine how far I got. Mostly I heard that ebay has prohibited R rated movies, which is preposterous of course.  They kept telling me R rated movies are prohibited even though the policy doesn't state this and that I should have checked with ebay on a movie-by-movie basis, which is ludicrous given the 895,000 R rated movies out there on the site. And how I was supposed to know to do that is beyond me and my admittedly limited psychic abilities. 

I was hung up on both in chat and on the phone. I have a feeling the item was targeted simply because of the title- The Erotic Misadventures of the Invisible Man. But still, they can only get away with so much and maintain an R rating. Meanwhile, Striptease, Orgazmo, Showgirls, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre NC-17 version are all over the place (as a reminder, with a specific NC-17 filter). One of the reps told me that ebay was going to be removing all R-rated movies. I have serious doubts about this, but you never know with ebay.

I was also told not to list unrated movies (there is also a filter for that), even after mentioning that Dora the Explorer is unrated. Has anyone else heard anything about this nonsense?

[bonjourami]

The only thing I can tell you is do not relist the movies, you are on Ebays radar now, and it doesnt take much to lead to a suspension.

[donsdetour]

could be the cover shows to much: do no0t know.

eBay's site they can remove any listing for any, or no reason: you agree to such by using eBay.

Never go by what other list.

It is advisable to never relist a removed item even if you get permitting to do so: NOT worth the risk to losing the ability to sell on eBay.

[metal5407]

I've asked them to look into it again and try to reinstate the listing. I've sold probably 30 copies of that movie, and seeing as it didn't violate any policy (as they're written) and it never got taken down, I'm out a couple hundred bucks for the dozens more I bought. I guess there's always ecrater.

[metal5407]

You'd see more on the cover of a Baywatch DVD.

[Anonymous]

It's not the R-rated movies you need to watch out for, it's the unrated ones.

[metal5407]

The other one they removed was unrated, though really, really tame. I didn't even bother asking about that one. The R rated movie just baffles me though.

[donsdetour]

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@metal5407 wrote:

I've asked them to look into it again and try to reinstate the listing. I've sold probably 30 copies of that movie, and seeing as it didn't violate any policy (as they're written) and it never got taken down, I'm out a couple hundred bucks for the dozens more I bought. I guess there's always ecrater.

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Might be best to do so:

again not worth the risks involved to fight em:

Oh and we have seen folks come here saying the got permit to list item, and then found self no longer able to sell when they did so... Just saying.

[lacemaker3]

@metal5407 

It appears that eBay has been cracking down on listings that violate their nudity policy. Even if you don't think there was any nudity on the cover or in the picture, eBay's definition of nudity includes when a female model's nipples are visible through tight or see-through clothing. The item you described seems a very likely candidate for this kind of policy violation.

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

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@metal5407 wrote:

... that I should have checked with ebay on a movie-by-movie basis, which is ludicrous .... 

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Recently, there have been several threads from comic book sellers who had listings removed because of this issue. Several of them were told that there was a secret list of titles, which as you said, is ludicrous. Even if there is a list, the evidence is that eBay is adding items to it as they are discovered or brought to light.

Now that you know what you need to avoid, you need to make sure that you check your current listings to make sure that you don't have any other items that violate the nudity policy. Read the link above in full to make sure you understand all the nuances.

[luckythewinner]

I sincerely doubt that eBay customer support reps understand the logic used by the bots that are enforcing prohibited item policy. I would not assume that anything customer support told you is accurate. 

[hartungcards]

In all fairness, I always hang up on anyone who mentions Dora the Explorer too.

[metal5407]

Yeah I'll cover them up or something. I don' t know. It looks like they're cracking down on cleavage more than anything else based on my own experience.  But that's at worst PG-13. Just seems like nonsense. I don't mind whatever rules they make but they need to be clear and consistent. Otherwise I'm expected to be a mind reader

[metal5407]

@hartungcards Well played. 👏

[metal5407]

@luckythewinner   Really all I wanted was for someone who can do so to reconsider. Actually take a pair of human eyes and see that it's not really that bad. No nipples or whatever are visible.

[donsdetour]

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@hartungcards wrote:

In all fairness, I always hang up on anyone who mentions Dora the Explorer too.

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LOL that is funny..