Where does eBay really stand on hemp?

[thcrib]

After being notified that my listings were removed with the explanation that they "didn’t follow eBay's Illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia policy", I decided to further review said policy which did not explain why the listings were removed. 

Naturally, I contacted support who affirmed that the policy applied to hemp also. So I reviewed the policy again and appealed the action based on the following:

According to eBay's Illegal Drug and Drug Paraphanalia policy - substances listed in Schedules I, II, III, VI or V of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 801 are prohibited. 

Whereas the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 801 specifically excludes any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that falls within the definition of hemp set forth in 7 U.S.C. 1639o, which in turn reads - "The term hemp means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.", I believe it is unreasonable and a blatant contradiction for sellers of non-drug products to be unfairly persecuted in such a unscrupulous manner.

Replies to other posts of this nature generally look something like "don't do it because they'll suspend your account" and "eBay doesn't allow hemp" which, to me, is a counterproductive response at most. This discussion needs to be had and if eBay has a "No Hemp" policy they need to explicitly state that so that seller's can take their business where it is welcome.

In the event that eBay's response to the appeal is not favorable then their whole spew about Social Impact,  Diversity, Equity & Inclusion really isn't worth much, is it?

[chapeau-noir]

This is a simple administration issue.  It's impossible to regulate formulation and use of hemp, CBD, etc., products on a site like this, so they disallow all of it.  In point of fact, there's nothing wrong with hemp - clothing, cosmetics, etc., is made from it, and it has the same gentle relaxation properties as hops and lavender - actual hemp has less than 0.3% THC - you don't get stoned on it.  I give it to my 19-year-old arthritic cat for her rear leg pain (suggested by her vet).  But it's still impossible to administer in a largely secondary market.

Ugh - forgot to tag. @thcrib 

[bonjourami]

When you open your own site, you can make your own rules, but a sense of entitlement doesnt go far on Ebay..their site, their rules.They dont owe you a 'formal acknowledgement'.Maybe time to move on?

[house*of*paws]

Perfecto @lacemaker3 !  😊

[chapeau-noir]

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@thcrib wrote:

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It has nothing to do with the founders vision.

They don't want the stuff sold on their site and that's all the explanation that is needed.

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Quite possibly very true, at which point I will accept their formal acknowledgement of such and move on.

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The 'formal acknowledgement' is in the take-down.  That's basically all the notice any of us get when we have products taken down (I've had three take-downs, none of which I expected). 

[thcrib]

You are absolutely correct in that they owe me nothing... except for clarity regarding what kind of business they are in and what their true values are. If my products are not welcome here (which really seems to be the general consensus thus far), then I would not insist.

I really don't feel the need to be where I am unwelcome, but in all honesty it is not for a sense of entitlement; but duty, for which I initiated this dialogue and voiced my thought.

Please, don't feel that I am inconsiderate of whatever views others may hold as it is in great part an important factor that must also be addressed imho, although on another platform maybe.

[thcrib]

I could see that; but please don't fault me for not simply taking your word for it and instead putting myself in a position in which I can actually second (or hopefully not) that assertion.

[bonjourami]

"You are absolutely correct in that they owe me nothing... except for clarity regarding what kind of business they are in and what their true values are".

Are you joking? Ebay owes you nothing. 

[chapeau-noir]

@thcrib  This shouldn't be a personal issue.  It's not that you are unwelcome, it's just that eBay doesn't allow a particular product you want to sell to be sold here.  As I said above, it's an administrative issue.  eBay has well over a billion products on its site, and it's impossible to regulate everything, particularly an emerging product like hemp/CBD.  They have no discrete hemp/CBD policy in their help pages that I've ever found (I had some supplements to sell so checked), but Ask eBay tweeted this a couple of years ago:

The sale of CBD products is highly regulated in many countries. While they may be legal to buy and sell in some countries, they are regulated by the FDA and enforced by some law enforcement agencies. For this reason, we have decided to prohibit the items globally.

There's all kinds of weird dark ages thinking around hemp, CBD, cannabis, etc. but some payment processors like Square are making it easy to handle money for legal transactions, but in this case to me restricting it is perfectly understandable because it's impossible to regulate on this site. 

ETA: I would look for a smaller/specialist venue for your products.

[thcrib]

Absolutely not joking... but what is it to you? You are obviously very well off and seem pretty upset with the concepts of progress & honest business, so why are you insisting on taking this dialogue any further? Please, do not expect any further interaction from my end; but try to wrap your head around this one if you can - As anyone who transacts on any platform and is looking to contribute to another business, it nothing less than reasonable for one to expect such transparency and cooperation from the other party.

[bonjourami]

I find your attitude interesting..with over thirty million sellers here, we are all but a drop in the bucket...except you, of course..carry on.

[thcrib]

I was not offering CBD or any consumable products, and if their stance is such - then it becomes personal being that it is an offensive one to me.

I agree that is absolutely unviable for them to try to filter each product as such; but not to so much for them to live up to what they preach. All it takes is appropriate guidelines; but if that is not something they are willing to take on, it is undoubtedly their prerogative. 

Nonetheless, it is an issue which impacts myself and other members of this community and one I feel could use some attention after "a couple of years".

[chapeau-noir]

Hemp seeds come under the same heading - we're not looking at individuals sensitive to the issue making thoughtful distinctions - this is a huge site that has a crude mechanism for making these kinds of distinctions because of how resources are distributed.  "A couple of years" is as good as it gets - they have seen no reason to change the policy.

My only suggestion if you want personal attention to this is to check in on the Wednesday chats (they're posted at the top of the selling board) and ask your question there - be specific about what exactly you're selling.  I suspect as hemp/CBD products become more and more common eBay is going to need to decide if they're going to reclassified in 'supplements' or not.  Similar with the seeds being reclassified in gardening. 

Right now, it's just one big lump.

[lacemaker3]

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@thcrib wrote:

You are absolutely correct in that they owe me nothing... except for clarity regarding what kind of business they are in and what their true values are. If my products are not welcome here (which really seems to be the general consensus thus far), then I would not insist.

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OK, @thcrib, so why are you still insisting? I'm not sure how eBay could make their position more clear.

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

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@thcrib wrote:

Where does eBay really stand on hemp?

After being notified that my listings were removed with the explanation that they "didn’t follow eBay's Illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia policy", ...

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I think that could be most accurately described as "enough said". No more discussion is necessary.

eBay's stand on hemp is made abundantly clear by your experience.

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[wastingtime101]

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@thcrib wrote:

if eBay has a "No Hemp" policy they need to explicitly state that so that seller's can take their business where it is welcome.

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I agree that the policy isn't clear enough. Hemp is used to make so many benign things like clothing, bags and other fabric items. I've seen sellers get policy violations for listing plain t-shirts with hemp fabric content. The lack of clarity can be found in many of the restricted item policies.

Having said that, I think seeds are different than clothing. Clothing really surprised me when I saw it removed. A removal of seeds doesn't surprise me at all. I wouldn't even attempt to list seeds after reading the drug policy, no matter how they're packaged or labeled. Even tobacco that's decades old in sealed collectors' tins can't be sold for the collector value. You have to open up the package, remove the tobacco and sell the tin separately.

I don't think you'll win the appeal - that policy violation is stuck to your account. eBay doesn't give you a first time warning. Now you know that the product is prohibited on this site, so if you care about the health of your seller account, don't attempt to list it again.

[thcrib]

I appreciate the input and can even empathize with your point of view to a degree.

As the seeds were not prepared or packaged as a consumable product; but offered instead as collectable items or memorabilia, what do you suppose happens if we just compare them to actual seeds or memorabilia instead of clothes or a product that was originally distributed for smoking or I don't know mass genocide... 

What if we stopped making up incoherent and counterproductive policies based on blatant misinformation, ignorance & prejudice; and started treating things for what they actually are? What would happen then? I wonder.