EBay - New "Military Items Policy"

[Alan de Enfield]

As I recently sold some parts on ebay that were entered under 'militaria' I have received an email from EBay informing me of their new "Military Items Policy"

I quote :
Prohibited Military Items in terms of this policy are articles or services specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application

I therefore assume that a No4 butt, or a No5 rear sight will now be banned.
They are both 'specifically designed' for use on a military weapon. (Well it was a military weapon when these parts were made)



Although - a Butt or a sight for an Enforcer would be allowed - its a non-military rifle !!!

[PrinzEugen]

That would be a bit of a catastrophe if rigidly adhered to. Us enthusiasts won't be able to get hold of bits we need (and whatever you think of it, ebay's useful for that).
The anti gun people will be putting in complaints about almost anything and it seems like it's now ebay's policy to remove anything 'military'. Why even have a militaria section then - how can you sell 'militaria' which isn't designed for a 'military application'?

[duggaboy]

of course, we all know that buying on Ebay is and will become more supporting of the antigun crowd, llok at what is happening now.

[spinecracker]

Time to start gunbay...for the military history enthusiast....

[Jc5]

I haven't read the new policy on eBay, so I'm assuming for now that this is legit.

eBay needs to get bombarded with emails, letters, and phone calls from VETERANS groups, demanding to know why eBay has a problem with anything "military." After all, it was the MILITARY that defended our freedoms from Iwo Jima to Korea to all the places that our boys (and girls) in uniform continue to put their lives at risk in the service of their country.

When it comes to the military category, eBay cannot hide behind the excuse of being cautious about gun laws, etc. They need to be called out on this. Memorial Day, Veteran's Day and such occasions are good opportunities to get the mainstream media to notice a story like this.

It's not simply about some crusty old bayonet collectors who can no longer sell their stuff....this policy is equating "military" with something inherently bad. Most people in the general public would find that offensive, if it was brought to wider attention.

....
I did a quick check, but cannot find anything on eBay regarding a blanket ban on anything military. Alan, can you please quote the whole email, or point us to the policy at an eBay URL? Maybe eBay US and eBay UK have different policies?

Thanks!

[jonnyc]

So...it would be a violation of Ebay policy for me to sell some of my old Israeli Army underwear???

[spinecracker]

So...it would be a violation of Ebay policy for me to sell some of my old Israeli Army underwear???

That would probably violate the "militaria" policy and the "dangerous substances" policy :P

sorry - could not resist...

[ireload2]

That would probably violate the "militaria" policy and the "dangerous substances" policy :P

So would MREs.....

[Alan de Enfield]

The message was from Ebay.com (not ebay.co.uk), If you put "military policy" into ebay "help" it will bring it up.
It is here that its states :
"Prohibited Military Items in terms of this policy are articles or services specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application"


Here is a cut and paste of their message to me :

We would like to inform you we have changed our policy for military items. You may be affected by this since you recently listed in a military item related category.

Due to the change, the sale of items regulated by the US International Trade in Arms Regulations is now prohibited.

Please read our military items policy before you list such an item again.

You can also find more information on which items fall under the US International Trade in Arms in the US Munitions List.

Please ensure your listings for military items follow these guidelines. If they don't, they will be removed. You may then be subject to other actions, such as a limitation on your buying and selling privileges, suspension of your account, and/or referral of the matter to the police.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Yours sincerely,

eBay

[John R.]

The message was from Ebay.com (not ebay.co.uk), If you put "military policy" into ebay "help" it will bring it up.
It is here that its states :
"Prohibited Military Items in terms of this policy are articles or services specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application"


Here is a cut and paste of their message to me :

We would like to inform you we have changed our policy for military items. You may be affected by this since you recently listed in a military item related category.

Due to the change, the sale of items regulated by the US International Trade in Arms Regulations is now prohibited.

Please read our military items policy before you list such an item again.

You can also find more information on which items fall under the US International Trade in Arms in the US Munitions List.

Please ensure your listings for military items follow these guidelines. If they don't, they will be removed. You may then be subject to other actions, such as a limitation on your buying and selling privileges, suspension of your account, and/or referral of the matter to the police.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Yours sincerely,

eBay

Why don't you tell them to put that one where the monkey put the nut? US LAW is US law and does NOT apply OUTSIDE the USA.You are in the UNITED KINGDOM not the United STATES of America last I heard.Tell these A$$holes as much.What a crock !

I gave up on fleabay the moment they started screwing with what you COULD or COULDN'T flog on their site.When they awarded themselves EXTRA profits by ONLY ALLOWING PAYPAL especially after my banker VP pal told me a few HORROR stories about PAYPAL atrocities I killed the fleabay site on my "favourites" list and haven't been back since.
They are control freak pot smoking LIEBERAL DWEEBS who HATE GUNS AND GUN OWNERS anyway so up their's.I DO get a larf out of ONE factor in this tale though.ALL the GREEDY goofs and con artists and fraudsters like LIAKOS and a few others are going to be declaring bankruptcy pretty quick HOPEFULLY.
I'll never forget my calling a guy in England about a LE part and was told"I HAVE to put it on EBay"dipstick was SO WORRIED that he might lose a farthing the greedy SOB.I told him what I thought of him and the whole eBay crew with their gallopping GREED syndrome and rang off.
THREE WEEKS LATER he calls ME wanting a BRIT hinged front band for a No4 since he knew I had a few as well as the early front sight protectors to boot.
I took GREAT PLEASURE in telling him that"Ooooh,I MUST SELL IT ON EBay as I would lose SLEEP if I couldn't squeeze the LAST FARTHING out of it".Then I told him that I would CRUSH it flat before I sold it to him OR anyone I figured he might know and slammed down the phone.Greedy SOBs like that I can live happily without .

You are probably better off WITHOUT eBay anyway.I sure as hell don't miss it OR the greedy buggers who MUST "auction" every widget they own in case they miss a penny.JR