age verification...
Summary: A participant expressed frustration about the requirement to use a credit card to purchase a hedge trimmer due to it being classified as a bladed item. This condition seemed unreasonable, especially for someone over 80 who has never used a credit card and has been an eBay user since the early 2000s. Another participant agreed, stating that the situation was nonsensical and needed to be addressed.
bonkers cant even buy a hole saw..dont have a credit card..god knows how many years ive been a member..over 3000 100% pos feed back...what the hell coud i do with a 2 inch hole saw that cant be done with a glass bottle from any supermarket....absolutely very angry
97 comments
hondamanrobcole
·1 week agoThis is so stupid, time it was sorted.
albert-jackson
·2 months agoWhat a ridiculous condition, only a credit card to buy a hedge trimmer owing to a bladed item category.
I am 80 plus, never had a credit card for 50 years, not a prolific user of Ebay but used it from the early 2000's.
Can't believe they suggest asking a friend or neighbour to use theirs.
AJ.
wheretheloveb
·3 months agoI think it's still early days with this verification thing.
Ebay have obviously weighed up the costs of losing some customers, and what it would cost to implement a more sensible verification method, but I reckon the numbers of people shopping elsewhere might grow substantially. Also... a lot of sellers from what I'm hearing have also had enough (it's affecting my tool / DIY sales significantly).
Add to this...... all the promoted listings nonsense, broken search engine, and weird algorithm stuff.... it's the 1st time in 18 years of successful selling I feel Ebay are losing it.
Part of me is hoping for new owners...
da1545025
·3 months agoThe worst of it IS, it's not just blades.
Being a draughtsman, I need to use a compass with a sharp point, so that it anchors the middle of the circle,
through the paper it's drawn on. eBay insists that compass points should be blunt so some stupid schoolkid
can't stab his classmates or himself. These are totally useless for professional work, but these are the ONLY ones available on eBay.
Worse STILL, manufacturers supply technical colleges with these. What's a kid going to learn from that ?
How NOT to draw a perfect circle. I sure hope they never end up designing hi-rise apartments or bridges.
karlboat
·3 months agoaccurate course while the vessel is in motion? 👍
da1545025
·3 months agoMy point (sic) EXACTLY. ☝️👏👍
I'm not a big stickler for accuracy, to the nearest 1000th of an inch will do me !! 😊
da1545025
·3 months agoI can't blame ebay for this, I can only blame governments who are only too willing to adopt and
implement ridiculous liberal policies for the 'good' of humanity, and votes. 😖
We was alright until THEY came along. 😊👍
smorrisby
·3 months agoIt is not the government. Read the act in question and you will see there is lots of leeway.
ebay have misinterpreted the law on multiple fronts. Their lawyers are probably American with limited understanding of UK law or lazy UK lawyers who used AI.
Everyone else ie Amazon and almost every other on line retailer, got it right.
da1545025
·3 months agoIf there 'woz' no act in question, we wouldn't
be dealing with the consequences of liberalisation. 👍
smorrisby
·3 months agoI know, I know, I know. It niggles the hell out of me too.
It's not fair and it's not right but unfortunatly it is what it is.
What can be controlled is ebays stupidity.
I have voted with my wallet and at risk of repeating myself very rarely use ebay anymore.
lucy_farmer
·3 months ago'We was alright until THEY came along'
-----------------------------------------------------
You spelt 'was' wrong.
sb 'woz'. 🙄
da1545025
·3 months agoI'm sorry, my apologies, I'm Lysdexic. 😏 xx
da1545025
·3 months agoUpdate : You verify your OWN age on Temu. Just bought cutlery and scissors, no problem.
Didn't have any Samurai swords in my colour, 'tho. 😊
da1545025
·3 months agoAgreed, it's pathetic. 😒
Just moved into a new place and can't even buy CUTLERY. 🤨
Need scissors too. 😠
Why can't they use a UK Citizen card ? I paid £15 for the damn thing and
nobody seems to accept it, even though it's got your D.o.B printed on it. 😡
Looks like I'll have to hit the streets for my Samurai sword. 🥸
Good luck, mate ! 😊👍
jonatjonatjonat
·3 months agoThey've had you with the citizen card there.
£18 and you have to renew it every 3 years apparently!
A passport might cost a bit more per year but at least it allows you to leave the country!
da1545025
·3 months agoYeah, I think they saw me coming ! 😣
Again.
karlboat
·3 months agosmorrisby
·5 months agopeters3865
·5 months agoeBay are clearly intent on destroying their own company with their dumb "AI" bots. If tradespeople can't buy holesaws, files and other items which are OBVIOUSLY not weapons or knives on eBay, they will stop looking on eBay for things like drill bits, power tools etc. and will just go to Amazon or Screwfix. eBay will be gone within 5 years as their management seem to be completely stupid and bewitched by AI
seaandmountain
·5 months agoI had my wife's unused cake slice listing removed under the knife violation policy, so just goes to show. I've had antique butter knives removed from my listings as they are deemed too dangerous also. Unless you post with age verification requirement label which costs an arm and a leg - no pun intended.
So obviously the cities are awash with crazed youths running amok with cake servers and butter knives.
godfather9588008
·5 months agobetter way to check age no credit card nonsense since not everyone have one
or want one shame on eBay for not spending time to get a proper way to
check for age.
tressygirl
·5 months agogameshowpete
·5 months agoI’m in a similar situation, but trying to buy a replacement blade for my mitre saw. Don’t own a credit card, so not even allowed to bid on the item OR even buy from a commercial seller.
Just means eBay will be losing my custom, but I do feel for the sellers who will, in the end, lose the sales!
Very poor show eBay, you need other means to verify - including the fact I’ve had my account for over 20 yrs…….
sml192
·5 months agoAgreed, eBay really should add another way to verify age. There was another thread recently where the OP was asked to use 'VerifyMyAge' when buying a bladed item so maybe they are starting to do something about it. They also really need to do something about the number of listings that are being incorrectly flagged for verification.
As for the age of your account that only proves the age of the account holder and not necessarily the age of the person making the purchase.
smorrisby
·5 months agoblinkin-bonkers
·5 months agoeBay are so backward that if you tried to sell a blade of grass the buyer would have to provide a credit card to prove they are over 18 because it has the word "blade" in the title. I have spoken to them about this and it applies to any item that includes the word "blade"! You'd swear eBay was some cheap WIX website that someone had started up in their spare bedroom and not an international behemoth of a company. Honestly, it is so badly run and they listen to nobody! If common sense was a commodity they'd have shut down years ago.
davihawort7
·5 months agoHaving exactly the same issue with trying to buy a Lawn mower replacement blade it is absolutely stupid.
godfather9588008
·6 months agoEBay has not got a clue driving license or passport that could be linked to account with photo what a nonsense and shame on them they will loose customers at the moment they do not care they have become to big for their own boots to care member for over 24 years trying to buy a jigsaw and a reciprocating saw and I had to buy elsewhere from a tool shop
This is very frustrating .
tressygirl
·6 months agoTrue, those documents could be linked to an account, but it would then need a team of people to verify those documents, and that cost invariably would be passed on to eBay members. Not a popular move.
eBay ask for a credit card for verification, because those companies have already done stringent tests on their card members so eBay use their verified process for their own benefit, cutting down that cost.
Not taking away the fact it's not ideal, not everyone has a credit card, my parents never did , but those are eBay's rules !
@godfather9588008
staticjim
·6 months agoMate we don't want to "bend" the rules we just want more options. Other online sites like Amazon etc they do have the same age policies about bladed items or alcohol but what they do is ask proof of age (passport or drivers licence) on delivery. It's very simple but eBay just don't want to sort it out and help their customers it's simple as that.
tressygirl
·6 months agoI'm just informing of eBay rules, certainly not inferring to ' bending them ! '.
It's down to a matter of cost.
I'm sure their vast team who cost these issues, have found it's cheaper to use a credit card companies previous verification processes to validate that credit card, rather than pay a team of peeps verifying driving licenses / passports / birth certificates.
They must have found the number of buyers lost due to not being in possession of credit cards does not equate to what it would cost to pay people to verify other documentation.
I am not disagreeing with the frustration this is causing those with no c. cards wishing to buy these items on eBay.
@staticjim
staticjim
·6 months agoEven if it is a matter of cost as you say cos that's not an official argument they have to do it.
Ebay is not a local corner shop is one of the biggest online sites out there.
jonatjonatjonat
·6 months ago"they have to do it."
They don't have to do anything around taking particular forms of ID.
All ebay have to do is show they have done due diligence to check the age of the customer.
Now - ebay should look at what they are doing age verification on - because there are some items they don't legally need to do it on.
One of the things that also says isn't likely to pass due diligence is below...
"only accepting payment by credit card. Credit cards are not available to under 18s, but certain debit and prepaid cards are. Your payment systems are unlikely to be able to differentiate between the different types of cards, so it is essential that you have additional age verification in place"
But, as I understand it, its not accepting payment by credit card - ebay is asking you to provide credit card details separately to payment - and I assume that system IS confirming the card provided is a credit card.
As such - ebay is doing the bare minimum they need to. I agree it would be far better if they did accept other forms of ID - even if sellers accepted the costs would be passed onto them for those product sales.
smorrisby
·6 months agosmorrisby
·6 months agokarlboat
·6 months agostaticjim
·7 months agoEbay's age verification is a paradox way bigger than Fermi's !!
I message them regarding the age verification that I'm not against to be verified but I asked them why they don't have other ways to verify my age as Amazon and other stores do with display your ID on delivery or some other way. Their response was to look and buy the item on an physical shop !!! or ask a family member that have a credit card to buy it for me.
And now comes the paradox ..... I said excuse me but first of all I don't have a credit card .... second even if I had I wouldn't give my details to you or anyone else for safety reasons ..... isn't that the reason we use Paypal so our detais are not visible to anyone and for safety ?
Does the fact that our eBay accounts created 18 years plus ago doesn't prove our age is over 18 ??? (mine 2007)
Does the fact that we have Paypal account prove that we are above 18 ???
Does the fact that having a bank account to link it to Paypal prove that we are above 18 ????
And I read people saying go buy elsewhere and the same excuse eBay told me as well and it's riDONKEYlous because eBay is an auction site that have used items mostly not only new from shops.
That's the reason many people buy from ebay for used bargains or used items.
The handling of this matter has caused me to question the value of ebay company places on its customers and the lack of meaningful response underscores a disappointing level of commitment to us.
This is the first time I've seen such indifference towards customers it's sad !
jonatjonatjonat
·7 months agoDoes the fact that our eBay accounts created 18 years plus ago doesn't prove our age is over 18 ??? (mine 2007)
Does the fact that we have Paypal account prove that we are above 18 ???
Does the fact that having a bank account to link it to Paypal prove that we are above 18 ????
Not legally no - none of those indicate due diligence. To be fair, I'd suggest neither does having a credit card if you read the regulations around distance selling of bladed articles.
sml192
·7 months agoAll of those things only prove the age of the account holder (except for the fact that you don't need to be 18 to open a bank account). The account holder and buyer are not necessarily the same person so age verification has to be carried out at the point of purchase in order to comply with the legislation.
Unfortunately, eBay currently only accepts a credit card for age verification purposes as that is the cheapest method for them to use. The credit card details entered for age verification are not stored.
smorrisby
·7 months agonicki2064
·7 months agosmorrisby
·7 months agosml192
·7 months agoDid you not read my post directly above yours? The account holder and the buyer are not necessarily the same person (could be someone else using the account either with or without the account holder's permission) so age verification has to be carried out at the point of purchase in order to comply with the legislation.
That is a separate issue which, I agree, eBay really does need to do something about. That can be resolved with better programming.
jonatjonatjonat
·7 months agoThe code would be irrelevant as it wouldn’t meet any of the legal requirements. Age of your eBay account doesn’t cover the due diligence required under the government legislation.
agreed on the second point.
smorrisby
·7 months agosmorrisby
·7 months agosmorrisby
·8 months agoblinkin-bonkers
·8 months agoIf you think that's bonkers we sell a wooden axe handle (just the wooden handle) and the buyer has to verify their age!!! All because it has the word "axe" in the title. eBay are losing so much business because of this stupid policy and what do they do about it? They tell us that they are increasing their selling fees! Honestly, they couldn't run a p**s up in a brewery!
nicki2064
·10 months agoSadly this member since 2006.59 yr old carpenter by trade is not allowed to buy chisels.looking to spend my average 2000+ a yr on amazon going forward.ebay will lose custom by not allowing driving licence or passport as verification.
smorrisby
·10 months agoforbiddentruth
·10 months agoI just finished talking to someone and pointing out that there is voter registration also, they just spouted the same thing over and over again, useless. What if I used a another persons card and made said account, doesn't mean I am 18 and the proof it was fraudulent takes ages so who knows the damage that could be done. I noticed alcohol isn't age checked and last I checked you need to be 18 to buy it, stupid system.
blinkin-bonkers
·5 months agoYou would still have to prove you are 18 at the point of delivery so if a 12 year old used their fathers credit card to buy a bladed item they wouldn't be able to receive it on the doorstep.
davidninetynine
·10 months agoAh, thanks. An American abbreviation meaning "positive discrimination".
It's too modern to be in my copy of Webster's (that my dad brought back from a visit to the States in 1959) ...
I'd say the problem here is more likely due to the Peter Principle.
smorrisby
·10 months agodavidninetynine
·10 months agoWhat is a DEI appointment?
stephenclancy180769
·10 months agoSent from Outlook for Android<>
smorrisby
·10 months agoI suspect some DEI appointment probably made this decision. With no understanding of the law or products involved they had to try and look clever.
jonatjonatjonat
·10 months ago"I suspect some DEI appointment probably made this decision"
ahhhh. yeah, that explains it 🙄
blinkin-bonkers
·5 months agoI fail to see what diversity and equality have to do with having to prove your age by way of a credit card.
lucy_farmer
·5 months ago'...loses eBay thousands upon thousands of sales,...'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, but ebay will have done their sums and worked out they'd lose even more than that if they paid for their own age verification system. So they use credit card companies' existing systems.
It's the lesser of two evils for them.
'I fail to see what diversity and equality have to do with having to prove your age by way of a credit card'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because equality is the root of all bad things in the modern world. 🙄 (at least that's what GB news have told him...)
jonatjonatjonat
·5 months agono doubt they feel age verification is 'woke'
smorrisby
·10 months agoI stand by my original comments.
To suggest someone might have highjacked my account and then killed someone with a Japanese pull saw is patently absurd.
I bought the product I wanted from RS - no verification required.
Good luck ebay.
jonatjonatjonat
·10 months agoRS fortunately are safe in the knowledge that what they are selling is a saw.
if I were CEO of eBay uk and was told I could face a large fine or a stretch in prison, I’d err on the side of caution too if all I stood to lose was a few £100k in fee revenue.
*guinevere*
·10 months agoIt's a necessary evil really.
Yes, you all have had ebay accounts for donkey's years and some of you are pensioners but once you hit Buy it Now how does ebay know you are the legal account holder? Laptops and phones could have been left logged in just waiting for a teenage child to buy themselves a dangerous weapon, or an account could have been hacked.
It's better IMO that all these checks are made, and from ebay's POV imagine if a minor was apprehended for killing someone with a knife they bought from ebay and it was discovered that it was bought fraudulently.
Ebay would have questions to answer.
Having a credit card on file in the name of the buyer s not perfect, but it is the best safeguard I can think of.
sml192
·10 months agoStored credit card details on their own aren't sufficient to comply with the legislation. The card details need to be provided at the time of purchase or at the very least the CVC2/CVV2 code as that can't legally be stored.
blinkin-bonkers
·5 months agoPassport? Driving license? Only accepting a credit card as proof of age is so backward and loses eBay thousands upon thousands of sales, not to mention sellers. But do eBay listen? They never do, never have and never will!
smorrisby
·10 months agoThere is no legal requirement to verify age when buying a saw.
I do not have a credit card.
I have been with ebay for longer than 18 years.
What kind of idiot comes up with rules like this?
jonatjonatjonat
·10 months agoYou are correct saws don’t tend to fall under the age verification but eBay’s issue is what could sit within those categories on site and the generally broad definition within the offensive weapons act of bladed articles.
EBay, considering the fact their execution board would be the ones looking at jail time if any bladed articles were sold to under 18s, have decided to be more risk averse on the matter.
Given it is their site, they can do what they want. They could request age verification to buy anything if they wanted.
karlboat
·10 months agofargvs
·1 year agoArguments aside, the Bottomline is --- Sorry, only a ( monthly statement ) Credit Card to confirm your age is acceptable to eBay --- nothing else will do !! --- an everyday use Debit Card will not be accepted.
neptune357
·11 months agoI HAVE a credit card, been using it for years and still I have to put it in to 'verify' my 64 years on Earth. OK so I enter the details already on my account and the AI machine does not recognise them and wont let me verify! End of sale..... anyway of linking the Verify AI bot to the Payment AI bot? No one home at eBay?
etena1970
OP11 months agoGood luck..dont want a credit card...once bitten twice shy..so i buy a simple hole saw from a real shop..we have thousands of people wandering around..no id who can get numerous dangerous items from a kitchen draw..bonkers
stephenclancy180769
·1 year agoEbay are the stupidest bunch of eejits for this rule. There are other ways to verify a persons age...a passport or drivers licence are the two most easiest ways, but no, ebay choose a credit card which not everyone has or for that matter wants...good to see ebay thought this through....
crafty_cat_lover
·1 year agoNot everyone has or wants a passport or photo driving licence. I don't agree or disagree with Ebay's method for age verification but there are no documents that everyone has that can be used so they have chosen credit card. Anyone without a credit card can always buy elsewhere.
stephenclancy180769
·1 year agojonatjonatjonat
·1 year agoThe age of your account is simply not enough for eBay to show they have done due diligence LEGALLY to verify the age of the buyer.
eBay absolutely could do an ID check however I firmly believe this is down to how the third party services that carry out age verification price.
credit checks to show age are generally on a monthly fixed fee, while id checks generally cost for EVERY check. No doubt if ebay did ID checks and it cost the seller 50p a sale there would be complaints there as well.
it also is questionable why eBay have selected the list of items then have as bladed products, though this is likely a mix of inability to police sellers who list incorrectly to avoid age checks (because they absolutely would) and just being overly risk averse (as the onus would fall on eBay if a sale occurred)
crafty_cat_lover
·1 year agoI'm retired so don't have any potential employers to prove anything to. I do drive but still have my paper driving licence which does not need renewing until I'm 70. I haven't been abroad fo 20 years as I love the UK for holidays especially Scotland and Northern Ireland so I'm not going to waste money on a passport.
I don't klnow how Ebay have decided which items need age verification but it's their site, their rules, and I personally don't have a problem with them.
Why don't you just buy the electric planer somewhere else?
stephenclancy180769
·1 year agoIve been a registered ebay user since 1998 so that in itself shows ebay at the very least im 27 years of age. Although i can go elsewhere to buy items, I use Ebay as does everyone else for convenience, pricing and the fact items can be mailed to you, rather than trekking across the uk to pickup items. It seems daft to only let you prove your age with a credit card when not everyone has one. If ebay wants to appeal to everyone, why don't they offer alternative methods of proving ones age and identity?
Sent from Outlook for Android<>
crafty_cat_lover
·1 year agoIn answer to your first question, I'll repeat what I said in my previous response. Ignoring the fact that a passport does not prove residence, I'm retired so don't need to prove to anything to any potential employer.
And to quote Jonat "The age of your account is simply not enough for eBay to show they have done due diligence LEGALLY to verify the age of the buyer"
If having the electric planer mailed to you is important then buy from somewhere else that delivers. A quick search this morning and I've found that both Amazon and B&Q stock these and offer delivery.
Again, Ebay's site, Ebay's rules.
karlboat
·1 year agoTotally agree, absolutely stupid, im 64 and cant buy gardening tool to cut my shrubs, as i have a debit card and not credit card!
thepillenwerfer
·1 year agoRather than being angry hit e-Bay by buying elsewhere.
They are right about there being laws about such things but are putting the most strict definition on what a "Bladed Item" is that it's possible to think of. Besides that there are other ways they could verify your age besides a credit card, like the fact if you are under eighteen you must have joined e-Bay in utero, but a credit card is the easiest and therefore cheapest.
sea-breeze-designs
·4 months agoI don't know how I got verified to buy vape juice I thought I used my driving license and birth certificate I have never owned a credit card
I am already verified on eBay to buy vape juice but today they want me to verify using a credit card to buy a power tool for the garden I guess I will have to shop somewhere else
jonatjonatjonat
·4 months agoThat is a true oddity - but for some reason ebay have different age verification methods for different categories of items.
There's no explanation at all for it. It's just ebay being ebay.
sea-breeze-designs
·4 months agoI bought the power tool from Amazon instead
Verifying my age should only need to be done once. My age does not change via change of purchases.
Amazon automatically verified my age it was so simple over there
sml192
·4 months agoThe legislation requires age verification to be performed for each purchase as it is the age of the person making the purchase not the account holder that needs to be verified and they may not necessarily be the same person (not that the legislation applies to power tools anyway).
karlboat
·4 months agojonatjonatjonat
·4 months agoWhat exactly is woke about age verification for bladed articles?
karlboat
·4 months agojonatjonatjonat
·4 months agoOk. What’s woke about eBay age verifying other items in general?
lucy_farmer
·4 months agoOh come on jonat.... you know 'woke' is just the insult du-jour, to be attached to anything you don't like!
🙄
(and I bet it's all the fault of Rachel-in-accounts anyway....)
smorrisby
·4 months agosea-breeze-designs
·4 months agoThanks all for all your replies
This message is replying to all of you.
Unfortunately eBay lost a sale because of this as I purchased what I needed from Amazon instead.
My age should not need to be verified every single time I make a purchase as it is not when I purchase nicotine products - I verified my age once and every purchase is now automatically verified. But the loser from it all in the end is not myself I made my purchase over at Amazon it is eBay losing my custom and probably a lot of other people because of this issue. I have now resolved this problem with eBay I went and bought what I needed from Amazon instead.A credit card shouldn't be the only way to verify your age especially after I am already verified to buy nicotine products and never have to verify my age again for nicotine products. It is frustrating but I have bought my product now from Amazon . This is ebays problem. I have solved my problem!
Again thanks every one for all of your messages. 🤗
fargvs
·1 year agoSorry --- Only a ( monthly statement ) Credit Card is acceptable by eBay --- nothing else will do --- an everyday use Debit Card will not be accepted. Anyone among your family or friends who could order on your behalf ?.
etena1970
OP1 year agoNo credit cards ....just checked ive been with ebay since march 2006...so that should be proof of age..or maybe not in a world where common sense has left...knives i can understand but now it seems tools aswell..i guess chain saws,circular saws..all cordless tools..wow even more dangerous..i am very angry because it was suggested here but somewhere else..the hole saws were on auction..couldnt even put a bid on...anyway if i joined in 2006 at birth that makes me at the very least 18...old enough?