@nutrafituk wrote:
Having been on eBay for 18 years it has become obvious that this platform allows to sell and buy illegal substances. And all of that happens despite bold claims for caring about health & safety of the members as well as making pledges to prevent unsafe goods being sold on this online platform.
The reality is different. A quick search returns plenty of these items being available for purchase. eBay takes pride in their tools, eg. search engine, AI or agents and teams who are apparently so-called experts in their fields. The fact is there is very little done or nothing at all.
Here’s an example: yesterday we reported a product (sports supplements) containing illegal substance – offered by 5 different sellers. That brilliant Safety Team removed only one listing and stated that there was no policy breach when it came to the other four listings. That is quite astonishing as that was the same product, with text & picture evidence including the illegal substance even listed in the Item Specifics. Not enough, eBay allowed to list this item to start with, but also refused to remove it upon our report. We contacted an agent afterwards to make them aware of their flawed decisions just to learn that there must have been clearly no sufficient evidence to support our claims.
Here is the thing eBay: you are not asked a favour or about your opinion. You are obliged to act by law, and by failing to do so you are an active part of this sale, literally profiting from illegal sales. We asked months ago what happens with those profits, especially from sales that had been reported but never received any response, and these are 5– or 6-digit figures per year. However, what eBay did was blocking our option to receive a copy of email sent to them – again never rectified that despite requesting so.
Just to make it clear – it was not one-off. That is just a common practice, and we have endless examples of selective actions being taken by eBay. As result, eBay collects from these sales as an item is still available on the market. Most likely the price is going to only increase due to higher demand and lower offer availability (‘funnel’ effect).
The conclusion is that a regulator should have a proper look into that and get to the bottom of it. It is unheard of that an expert fails to act based on plain evidence, and it is not a gross misconduct, or no responsibility taken for lack of actions. Your case outcomes contradict each other and that is sufficient to show the case.
Moreover, every time a report is filed, and no issue is found that counts against the user who has submitted that report as per False reporting policy. So, eBay allows to sell these items at first, then refuses to act and finally penalizes a user who does their job.
Having said that, due to being constantly ignored, it is time for the regulators and other institutions to look into eBay’s approach and decision-making process. Having seen other topics that also applied to other reports.
Enough is enough. eBay - you are legally obliged to protect the public. When we take our time to report, it is expected to respect it. Please respond here and explain why you fail to follow the law.
Hi @nutrafituk
We in no way allow traders onsite to break the law and will remove any listings that do so as soon as we are aware of them.
I can’t say why some of the listings you reported were removed and others were not, you will need to speak to customer support. They will have agents trained on the different polices and will be able to better advise you on what happened.
Thanks,
Dave
