Why Did Ebay Cancel My Auction? Freeper advice/analysis requested

[UnsinkableMollyBrown]

On Friday I posted a regular old auction on Ebay. It was for a Government produced document entitled "Handbook on Fighting Corruption". Unlike all my other auctions, I added a bit of commentary/personal opinion. Within a few hours, I received notice from Ebay that my auction had been cancelled. I was, and still am, flabberghasted! The reason stated in the email was "Inappropriate Item". I have looked on their list of auction restrictions, and I can't find that "category." In addition, my email requesting clarification has been ignored. And so, I am presenting the information to Freeperdom, and asking for your ideas on why this auction was cancelled. For the life of me, I don't get it....

The auction text:

I am very disturbed by the events that have taken place in Florida with the Judicially mandated death of Terri Schiavo. That a county judge to so blatently abuse his office by ordering (from the bench) that another human being not be given food, even by mouth, is a travesty of justice. That Federal Jurists looked the other way and did not attempt to correct the obvious corruption in Florida is a travesty. The black robed, bench sitters have become a menace and great threat to our society and the fundamental freedoms upon which this country was founded. Though this text was written with an eye to fighting corruption in a specific organization, the principles may well be applied to our current Constitutional Crisis. The Inventory of Anti-corruption Measures may provide ideas and methods to effect changes to the way things are right now. /soapbox

A HANDBOOK ON FIGHTING CORRUPTION

U.S. Agency for International Development

This 1999 handbook on anti-corruption programming contains five sections. Section II lays out the development problems posed by corruption and articulates the need for anti-corruption programming. Section III provides a framework for developing responses to these problems. It identifies root causes of corruption which call for both institutional and societal reforms to address them. For both categories of reform, the handbook presents an inventory of anticorruption measures. The handbook then lays out a framework for selecting among these measures to design a USAID anti-corruption strategy in a specific country. This framework includes a methodology for assessing the nature of the corruption problem and the opportunities and constraints for addressing it. The framework links the assessment to a strategy, offering guidelines for prioritizing and sequencing anticorruption activities in various situations.

40 pages in electronic format. Winning bidder to receive data via CD in PDF Format.

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Here is the email that I received... PI NOTICE: eBay Auction Ended by Customer Support - Inappropriate Items

We regret to inform you that your eBay auction:

xxxxxxx HANDBOOK ON FIGHTING CORRUPTION Terri Schiavo

has been ended. All fees associated with this auction have been credited to your account.

The item you have listed does not appear to be consistent with eBay guidelines.

We have determined that your item is inappropriate for listing on eBay.

For information on infringing, prohibited or questionable items, please view: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/items-ov.html

For more information on why eBay has ended an auction, please visit: http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-endauction.html

Future auctions listed that fail to meet our listing guidelines will be ended early and repeated violations may jeopardize your account status. We value you as a member of our community and wish to continue our relationship, so we respectfully ask you to refrain from any violations of the Listing Policies or User Agreement in the future.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department) eBay Inc

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[UnsinkableMollyBrown]

So... What's your opinion? If I delete the commentary regarding Terri and Judges, would it pass the Ebay scrutiny test? If so, where in there list of prohibited auctions, is there the statement "unacceptable opinions/editorializations". If not, why is it against Ebay policy to sell a public domain document produced and distributed by the United States Government?

[ClintonBeGone]

Do people actually buy these government documents?

[Rebelbase]

Someone probably filed an abuse report with Ebay.

[Izzy Dunne]

Have you consulted THEM about it?

Sounds like they have pages explaining their policies.
Perhaps a phone call would be useful to you.

[scott7278]

In addition, my email requesting clarification has been ignored.

That happens to everyone.

[BunnySlippers]

Suck it up.

[UnsinkableMollyBrown]

Yes, they do. Most of the publications that I sell are long ago unavailable.

[Experiment 6-2-6]

Clearly your attempt to "cash in" on the hoopla annoyed someone on ebay.

Perhaps you ought to "tone down" your item description.

[Imaverygooddriver]

They cancelled it? I find that hard to believe but what do I know. Ebay exists to make money and they will literally sell anything unless it is illegal, from used panties to dog sh*t. Unless this book is selling something that is illegal they will not take it down. If they did I suspect it is because this book is telling people to break a law.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

eBay was created by a French gentleman. It was a dot-com darling. It is based in the greater San Francisco/Silicon Valley area, as are its execs and sympathies. Now things may be a little more clear....

[Andy'smom]

Somebody complained. Wait a bit and re-list it without mentioning Terri.

[FreedomCalls]

It's a private company. They can do whatever they want. Go somewhere else.

[Shannon]

I'd had an item canceled on ebay once and received the same notice that you did. When I wrote back asking for clarification I got no response at all. That annoyed me so I wrote an email to the president of ebay.

It took a few days but one of his assistants wrote to me. She explained why the item was canceled and I had no problem with that. She even apologized for the lack of response to the email I'd sent asking for clarification. She said things went awry at their end. She did say that they have too many listings to review every one but when someone complains about a listing..... You get the gist. That's probably what happened with yours. If I had to make a guess, I'd bet someone didn't like the mention of Terri so complained. And the person receiving the complaint was probably not very bright so just canceled it.

Write to the president and you'll get it sorted out. I'll never again bother with just sending off an email to whoever happens to receive it.

[Boundless]

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html
"5. Listing and Selling.
5.1 Listing Description. ... Your listings may only
include text descriptions, graphics, pictures and other
content relevant to the sale of that item."

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/noitem.html
"... not permitted on eBay. These types of listings
include, but are not limited to:
...
Listings with the apparent, primary purpose of
expressing the seller's personal views"

Chances are someone complained. I doubt that eBay
routinely looks for this stuff, but they may well
be keeping an eye out for Schiavo-related items,
and you triggered the keyword 'bot.

Do it two more times and you risk suspension "NARU".

[Museum Twenty]

Since you asked...

I would guess it has nothing to do with any of your text.

I would guess that anything with "Terri Schiavo" is being preempted.

I would guess eBay doesn't take the time to read your description.

I would say, "Don't worry about it. Try relisting without mentioning Schiavo."

Hope this helps.

[SteveMcKing]

Some jerk doesn't like your political views, so they're f--king your eBay account.


Simple as that.

[Imaverygooddriver]

Just to give you an example of what can be sold on ebay, last year I put up an ad selling "nothing"... My ad said "I am selling nothing and you will be shipped nothing" and I actually sold "nothing" for $9.99 (Yes there are people out there that stupid). Like I said, Ebay lets you sell anything unless it is illegal or legally questionable. If your handbook was taken down they felt it was legally questionable. It is cheaper for them to cancel an ad then pay for a lawyer if they get sued, and they obviously must have thought your handbook might get them sued.

[VeniVidiVici]

Unless this book is selling something that is illegal they will not take it down.

Can't list guns on EBay. Don't know where you're at but they are legal where I live.

My guess is that EBay picks and chooses. Of course they have guidelines to follow, but they can ignore them.

I'd relist the item as-is until a real person explains why they consider it "inappropriate".

[Mamzelle]

Amazon will also "get even" for reviews that are not appreciated by well-connected authors.