age verification...

[etena1970]

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

[fargvs]

Sorry --- 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 ?.

[thepillenwerfer]

Rather 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.

[etena1970]

No 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? 

[karlboat]

Totally agree, absolutely stupid, im 64 and cant buy gardening  tool to cut my shrubs, as i have a debit card and not credit card!

[stephenclancy180769]

Ebay 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]

Not 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]

Whilst I agree that not everyone has a credit card, drivers licence or passport, the majority of people have at least one of them or particularly in the case of a passport, how else do you prove to a potential employer that you are a uk resident?

Ive 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?

Im 56 years old and trying to buy a electric planer...how that comparts with the law governing sharps and blades God only knows. It has to be plugged in first and unless someone stands still long enough for me to plain 1mm of skin off themselves, I can't see how it is any more dangerous than any other power tool...

[jonatjonatjonat]

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.

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]

I'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]

Whilst I agree that not everyone has a credit card, drivers licence or passport, the majority of people have at least one of them or particularly in the case of a passport, how else do you prove to a potential employer that you are a uk resident?

Ive 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]

In 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. 

[fargvs]

Arguments 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]

I 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]

Good 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

[smorrisby]

There 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]

You 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.

[*guinevere*]

It'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.

[smorrisby]

I 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]

RS 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.