eBay

micalos · ‎06-15-2021

The new adult content restrictions on eBay are archaic and embarrassing. What was the purpose of this change? Who is this policy really supposed to protect? The company already had two or three step adult filters and disclosures before someone could view the cover of, say, an x-rated magazine with a explicit cover. This policy is RIDICULOUS. America and it’s companies need to get over it’s sexual hang ups and stop buckling to people and groups complaining about something they really don’t have to view. Is this not 2021?

luckythewinner · ‎06-15-2021

@micalos wrote:
What was the purpose of this change?

I suspect it is because Adyen (the payment processor that eBay Managed Payments uses) does not allow it.

https://www.adyen.com/legal/list-restricted-prohibited

@micalos wrote:
Who is this policy really supposed to protect?

I suspect it protects eBay from violating the terms of their agreement with Adyen.

@micalos wrote:
America and it’s companies need to get over it’s sexual hang ups and stop buckling to people and groups complaining about something they really don’t have to view.

Adyen is not an American company. They are Dutch.

m60driver · ‎06-15-2021

Given that the Dutch, as well as most European countries, are not nearly as puritanical as Americans, I find it highly unlikely that Ayden is the cause. Have you ever seen European ads or watched European TV? Or ever ridden an escalator up from a British tube station? I suspect that there are other forces at play unrelated to Ayden.

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎06-15-2021

I suspect it protects ebay and its shareholders. This has nothing to do with "morality". It is a business decision.

I see at least two possible concerns (beyond the Payments Processor):

Legal. Congress has recently shown a distinct willingness to chip away at the Internet's "Safe Harbor" provisions. Craigslist is instructive (this is from Wikipedia) :" When the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) was signed into law on April 11, 2018, Craigslist chose to close its "Personals" section within all US domains to avoid civil lawsuits About their decision, Craigslist stated "Any tool or service can be misused. We can't take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services." (The FOSTA removed Safe Harbor provisions) ebay might feel its just a matter of time before similar laws are passed impacting marketplaces selling adult videos, etc. (And the US is not the only country looking at reducing Safe Harbor provisions.)

"Family Friendly" I don't think ebay is run by prudes, nor is it bowing to outside pressure (at this point). There's a reason Target doesn't openly display porn in its stores. There may be a huge demand for porn in this country, but that has never translated into a huge buyer demand for access in basic retail businesses. Yes, ebay walled it off, but ebay was always playing whack a mole with sellers who ignored the rules. We might not have come to this point if sellers had all played by the rules. But at this point, if you want to market your site as family and small business friendly, offering even walled off porn poses a business risk, as it would if Target suddenly decided that porn was fine as long as it was behind a curtain in the back of the store.

I don't know how much revenue ebay is giving up by closing this down, but ebay didn't decide to cut off a revenue stream on a whim. I would say keep an eye on Congress to see if there's a push coming to reduce safe harbor....

southern*sweet*tea · ‎06-15-2021

Google "Adyen prohibited content". You'll get a PDF.

Under "Prohibited for all transaction types"

"Adult entertainment, websites & content (such as)
Adult book stores, video stores, toys
Any products on the internet containing graphic or nude content
Audio (phone sex and adult phone conversations)
etc, etc

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

luckythewinner · ‎06-15-2021

@m60driver wrote:
Given that the Dutch, as well as most European countries, are not nearly as puritanical as Americans, I find it highly unlikely that Ayden is the cause. Have you ever seen European ads or watched European TV? Or ever ridden an escalator up from a British tube station? I suspect that there are other forces at play unrelated to Ayden.

I gave you a link to Adyen's policy. It clearly states that they do in fact prohibit these items from their platform.

And yes, I have ridden British tube station esclators hundreds of times - but I fail to see how the posters on those walls trump Adyen's written policy about adult items.

And eBay's own prohibited item policy also hints at payment processing as dictating policy changes, when they wrote this:

Why does eBay have this policy?
When eBay manages the end-to-end payments experience, there are additional restrictions on what items can be sold. We are working to expand the types of items allowed by sellers in managed payments, and ensure we are compliant to support them in the future.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/managed-payments-restricted-items-policy?id=5009

But again, you are free to get your information about Managed Payments policy from European TV ads instead of the written policies of eBay and Adyen.

evry1nositswindy · ‎06-15-2021

What is the end date of the adult listings?

evry1nositswindy • seller since 2013
Volunteer Community Mentor

luckythewinner · ‎06-15-2021

@evry1nositswindy wrote:
What is the end date of the adult listings?

"Effective July 15, 2021, the Adult Only category will no longer be available for new listings on the U.S. site."

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

jewelbiz · ‎06-15-2021

Today.

I just ended 1 listing as I don’t want problems…

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎06-15-2021

I believe the end date is actually today, existing listings will remain up until ebay takes them down. In any event, those in the actual "Everything Else>Adult Only category" will be gone by July 15th at the latest. It's not clear whether ebay is going to actively take down listings between now and then, or just let them run out the clock. Hopefully, sellers of this material haven't waited until today to make plans to offer their wares elsewhere.

micalos · ‎06-15-2021

Great info! Thanks!

micalos · ‎06-15-2021

I have been to Europe and you’re spot on. Great response.

micalos · ‎06-15-2021

Cool.

pinupables · ‎06-15-2021

Thing is, both Amazon & Etsy have allowed Adult listings for years and never had an Adult section. With Etsy, you just have to tag the word "Mature" in the listing so those who don't want to see it, can be blocked from doing so when they set their settings accordingly.

eBay's rules state that a list of about 10 magazines can be listed in the regular Books > Magazine section. However, when you list ones other than Playboy, Playgirl & Penthouse, such as Playguy, it gets rejected saying it's not allowed and that those specific 3 are the only ones allowed, which isn't true according to eBay's new rules.

The new rules seem like a joke though contradicting itself from one paragraph to the other.

popblox · ‎06-16-2021

@pinupables wrote:
Thing is, both Amazon & Etsy have allowed Adult listings for years and never had an Adult section. With Etsy, you just have to tag the word "Mature" in the listing so those who don't want to see it, can be blocked from doing so when they set their settings accordingly.

Etsy allows mature content to an "artistic" extent, but they don't allow porn/adult/mature items in the context mentioned by OP.