Listing Violation - Gas Mask

[mattwelbourn]

I recently listed an Avon FM12 Gas Mask as a Buy It Now. After 4 or 5 days it was taken down by ebay because they said it violated their Military Sales Policies. The initial email from ebay said they had been made aware of my apparent violation by a ebay member and that an ebay operative had taken down my listing as a result. I was a bit perplexed by this, as there are currently over 1000 active listings for gas masks on ebay and some are for the exact make and model of gas mask I was selling. Yet none of these are being delisted. And although I appealed and sent screen grabs indicating the 1000+ listings and a listing for the similar item, my appeal was rejected very quickly and without reference to my evidence. It’s no big deal, but it feels like something not quite right is happening here. I’d be grateful if any comments.

[red_magpie]

Yet none of these are being delisted.

eBay usually only removes items from sale when reported by another user, or in the case of counterfeits by the brand owner.

I suggest that you read eBay's Military Sales Policy to check whether you think it covers this mask. The trouble is that it can take longer than it's worth to persuade eBay that an item shouldn't have been removed. And if you relist it, there's no guarantee that it wont be reported and taken down again!

It's a relatively modern gas mask and so shouldn't be removed for asbestos, as can be an issue with older masks.

[mattwelbourn]

Thank you for taking the time to reply red magpie. It is much appreciated. I will re-read the policy but even if my listing were in violation and was rightfully taken down, that does not explain why 1000+ gas masks and plenty of identical Avon masks to mine remain listed, and have had no action taken against them. This was the essence of my appeal but it is frustrating that it was left unaddressed in the judgement, which merely reiterated the original decision.

I shan’t be relisting the item, but did wanted to air this issue because I doesn’t feel like the appeal process was transparent, fair or thorough.

[tressygirl]

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@mattwelbourn wrote:

Thank you for taking the time to reply red magpie. It is much appreciated. I will re-read the policy but even if my listing were in violation and was rightfully taken down, that does not explain why 1000+ gas masks and plenty of identical Avon masks to mine remain listed, and have had no action taken against them. This was the essence of my appeal but it is frustrating that it was left unaddressed in the judgement, which merely reiterated the original decision.

I shan’t be relisting the item, but did wanted to air this issue because I doesn’t feel like the appeal process was transparent, fair or thorough.

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The question... ' why was my item removed when 1000's of the same are still listed? '  is a question often asked.

The reason is because the others haven't yet been spotted and reported like yours was. 

There are over 7 billion listings on eBay at any one time,  so just impossible to check each and every one.  eBay  bots ' work as hard as they can ', but some items still slip the net and become listed.

eBay also rely on members to report listing breaching their selling regs,  there's a report button , a ? mark,  on each item.

When the others are reported,  they too if in breach of a selling policy,  will be removed.

You are correct not to relist as you've been flagged up and a relist would incur a serious selling penalty.

@mattwelbourn 

[mattwelbourn · Accepted solution]

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@tressygirl wrote:

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@mattwelbourn wrote:

Thank you for taking the time to reply red magpie. It is much appreciated. I will re-read the policy but even if my listing were in violation and was rightfully taken down, that does not explain why 1000+ gas masks and plenty of identical Avon masks to mine remain listed, and have had no action taken against them. This was the essence of my appeal but it is frustrating that it was left unaddressed in the judgement, which merely reiterated the original decision.

I shan’t be relisting the item, but did wanted to air this issue because I doesn’t feel like the appeal process was transparent, fair or thorough.

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The question... ' why was my item removed when 1000's of the same are still listed? '  is a question often asked.

The reason is because the others haven't yet been spotted and reported like yours was. 

There are over 7 billion listings on eBay at any one time,  so just impossible to check each and every one.  eBay  bots ' work as hard as they can ', but some items still slip the net and become listed.

eBay also rely on members to report listing breaching their selling regs,  there's a report button , a ? mark,  on each item.

When the others are reported,  they too if in breach of a selling policy,  will be removed.

You are correct not to relist as you've been flagged up and a relist would incur a serious selling penalty.

@mattwelbourn 

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Thanks so much for taking the time to add your experience to the conversation tressygirl. I’m beginning to understand the process a bit more, along with red magpie’s contribution.

The only part of my listing that could possibly have fallen foul of the eBay policy was the wording “GAS MASK” (although his was erroneously described in the judgement as a GAS MUSK). If eBay use bots, and an eBay operative had twice reviewed my case, surely the bot could quickly have picked up the 1000+ listings which indicated a GAS MASK was being sold on eBay and they could have been removed automatically and immediately. It is a strange system that only reacts to member comments in such an isolated fashion, and it is not really surprising that eBay sellers will feel they are being targeted personally because of this.

Anyway, all that said I’ve accepted the adjudication and will move on, and stick to selling all the other contents of our garage and loft which will hopefully prove less contentious.

Thanks for confirming that the decision not to relist my item was a good one! I did think about relisting as a matter of principle, but thought initiating a bit of a conversation in the community was a better idea.