The farce of violating a policy
Summary: kath3735_wxmjn expressed frustration with a policy violation on eBay, where a tie they listed was mistakenly identified by AI as a police item. They struggled with ending the listing and eventually decided to stop selling on the platform. cobwebcottage and theelench shared similar experiences with items being wrongly flagged by eBay's AI system. A participant pointed out that other sellers continue to list questionable items without issue. suelel1968 provided tips on listing strategies, while others commented on AI's growing influence and eBay's inconsistent enforcement of policies. The overall sentiment was frustration with eBay's AI handling and policy enforcement.
I have recently returned to e bay after a year. Thought i would give it a try again even with SD. Must admit i am not impressed. Hardly any views, 1 sale and another one with a bid but thats life! However i apparently violated one of their policies in regard to a tie. (as far as i know and researched it is a school one but apparently AI (after its been on a while now) suddenly decided it was a police one. I appealed but as usual it was upheld within a short space of time. I only appealed on principle, not worth much so not really bothered whether i sell it or not but what really gets my goat is that i could not even end the listing, all it does is come back with failed, try again later. They tell you to end the listing and then do not allow you to. I know no one can see it etc but why bother telling me to do it???? Once this latest bid is done i will be ending all my current listings, do not need this stupidity.
theelench
路3 weeks ago@al*chemist
"I bet if you altered the description to "Cutlery rest", it'll be fine"
It probably would be but where would my item appear in the search results of anyone searching for "knife rest"?
I suppose I might be really, really lucky if it appeared in one of the numerous stripes of Similar Items, but I wouldn't hold my breath as items usually have to be Sponsored to get on any of those.
Thanks for the advice but I think I'll leave it to someone else to try to make sense of this sort of nonsense. If a human couldn't tell the difference between a knife rest and a bladed item, they'd be out of a job. So should the Artificial Idiot be, as it can't do the job properly.
bisphambargains53
路3 weeks agoThat鈥檚 eBay for you a law unto themselves ,I have a return request violin,buyer has sent photos of a complete different violin,in fact much better than the one I sold,eBay say I must accept return,? It鈥檚 not my violin
theelench
路3 weeks ago"The world has gone mad!"
No, only ebay has gone mad.
It doesn't even attempt to enforce it's own policies on businesses being correctly registered as such. Condoning their illegal activities when buying and selling on the site, flouting UK law on misrepresentation when engaged in either with private individuals.
Instead it rolls out an untested, not fit for purpose, Artificial Idiot that invents its own policy of banning all kinds of listings like spoons as being 'bladed', purple ties as being 'police uniform' and an old key for 'inciting crime'. Then marks its own homework and denies any appeal.
It hands out Late Delivery Defects which are plainly wrong and puts Holds on sellers sales earnings without any reason that anyone can fathom and just as erratically removes the Holds weeks or months later with no explanation or apology.
Is this what any sane person would describe as a "Safe and secure site" ? It's more like the mad hatters' tea party in 'Alice Through The Looking Glass'.
theelench
路3 weeks ago@kath3735_wxmjn Good to hear from you again. Hope things are going well for you :)
Last weekend I found a pair of glass knife-rests at the back of a drawer and was nearly tempted to try them on ebay. But then thought "What's the point" having read the continuing saga of ebays' Artificial Idiot being totally confused when it's confronted with "Bladed" Items.
If I had, it's now so long since I sold anything that ebay would hold my funds for 30(?) days if they did sell and I'd probably get a defect for late delivery into the bargain by using SD.
While I was here I had a look at my Saved Search for the manufacturer, plenty of listings but plenty of mis-attributed items including a PINK Uranium glass trinket bowl (a physical impossibility) all lovingly described with A.I nonsense.
I still look in several times a week, but more for the entertainment value as it comes apart and becomes ever more demanding for such an unreliable 'service'.
Best wishes for the future.
kath3735_wxmjn
OP3 weeks agothings are going well elsewhere but i have decided that i do not want the hassle of here anymore so i have now deleted all the items i have put on here. I am too old to want to be messed around with like this. I would not mind so much if you could easily sort this type of thing out but with e bay 'easy' is a word they do not understand. Never mind, i tried - for the final time.
al*chemist
路3 weeks ago 路 EditedI had a similar problem with a small brooch in the form of a sword. I removed the word sword from the listing. and the problem went away. Prolly just the dim AI spotting bladed keywords. I bet if you alter the description to "cutlery rest", it'll be fine.
department28
路3 weeks agoI honestly thought for a minute the AI thing must have decided ties could be a strangulation risk, so they would all have to be removed from sale... 馃槀
Unfortunately, we won't be laughing when AI outsmarts us all... 馃槺
suelel1968
路3 weeks agoHi @kath3735_wxmjn welcome back! I understand the frustration of AI removing items, but also appreciate any attempts made by eBay or others to prevent crime etc.
Looking at you listings I wondered why you are doing auctions? You items seem better suited to BIN.
Also, the postage seems wrong to me. Clothing must be SD but they are not large heavy large items so I woild think they should be lower priced. So check the weight SD has selected for you. With click and collect most items should show as 拢2.34 i think. You have some as high as 拢4. The wool scarf for instance would be 拢1.90 if on custome postage which it can be. JMHO good luck
cobwebcottage
路3 weeks agoAnd yet there is a police surplus store who sell 'Genuine Ex-Police Issue kit at reasonable prices!' on here. So you can kit yourself in nearly full uniform and equipment for whatever purpose you can imagine and Ebay will not remove them.
Another one is selling 3D printed tasers and other hand held devices for your enjoyment.
And of course, they are both selling on a private account.
The world has gone mad!
kath3735_wxmjn
OP3 weeks agono, just e bay! I worked alongside the police for many years and i never saw one wearing a maroon tie either!!!. What annoys me greatly though is that the appeal is so obviously done by another AI and not a real person. I know i could phone up but i just cannot be bothered. What makes it even worse is that this tie was on e bay for a while before i left last year and it was okay then!
kath3735_wxmjn
OP3 weeks agoUPDATE! my tie has now appeared on my active listings, no e mail or any other message or explanation from anyone....... I am assuming (ass of u and me!) that they decided that i was right and it is not a police tie but then again maybe i will be blamed for relisting it even when there was no option to do so! I am losing what little faith i had in this site.
kath3735_wxmjn
OP3 weeks agoOKAY that is it now, just gone back in to active and it is still suspended. Either i am going crazy or the machine is....
missdollydaydream
路3 weeks agoHad a similar problem. Item infringed "inciting crime" violation.
it was a vintage collectable key!