Hello-
Last night, I listed three different copies of the Dr. Seuss book "And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street". In each listing, I showed the front and back cover, spine, publication page, title page and one page from the book showing artwork that was the cause of the book being banned. This last part was my bad, since I did not think about how that looked in a listing and I wish I would not have put it in. The illustration in question has not aged well and is culturally insensitive.
However, I got 4 emails from eBay saying they have ended all three listings because of "offensive material"- that one page which I showed in my photos of the book. I also got this in one of the emails: "Dr. Seuss Enterprises has stopped publication of this book due to its negative portrayal of some ethnicities. As a courtesy, we have ended your item and refunded your selling fees, and as long as you do not relist the item, there will be no negative impact to your account. Please review our Offensive Materials Policy prohibits this item for more information."
I understand that part of the book is offensive, and I can understand why Seuss Enterprises pulled the book. However, when I went onto eBay today, I found at least 3 dozen listing of the book that were still gathering bids and views. Apparently the Seuss estate did not take those ones down.
My question is this- I was just trying to sell this book because it is now out of print and is very rare. I understand that there is a page with a slightly offensive illustration on it, and I agree that posting a picture of that page was a bad decision- however, every other edition being sold has it as well. Is the reason that mine was taken down because I included a photo of it on my listing, and would it have stayed up had I removed the photo?
I am pretty sure I can't relist the item now, since they said "You can't relist items we've ended. Please ensure your current and future listings follow this policy." But once again, there are tons and tons of other listings that are still up for the exact same book (and the exact same EDITION, by the way). Is there anything I can do, or should I not try to relist the items in case something worse happens?
Once again, I want to reiterate that the only reason I was selling these books was because they are now rare and out of print. That one illustration on that one page was not in any way the focus of my sale. However, I do understand that illustration is offensive, so I completely understand why I was contacted.
Thank you!
