Ebay.com like most big businesses are getting more and more greedy as they grow and they are starting to impose more and more of “their” way or NO WAY rules.
I saw this type of stuff coming back in 1996-7 when they banned the sales and listing of Nazi labeled antiques – even coins from that part of our world history. Now they are pushing to stop the sale or listing of firearm related items i.e. clips, parts etc…
Then they started imposing strict rules in 2002 on where I could even place original antique condom machine decals because they advertised “condoms” that are considered by them to be a birth control item. I even got slapped by the administrators of this oldgas.com site because I posted them for sale here in the forum. Even though these are original collector items and they are just decals they banned them to an “adult” area of ebay, an area that is for selling adult toys… Bet you did not know they even had an area like that huh?
Ebay is getting mad about people selling “off site” because they want to get their “CUT”. To do this they are no longer as of 2004 letting anyone link or post links to outside of ebay. Their next posted rule / step is to stop letting us put our telephone numbers with our auctions as well. You should have noticed their latest update where they STOP letting us email the seller after the auction is over… That really sucks as I like to email the seller if the item did not sell or hit a reserve.
It will get worse. You will get your fees back, but you will have to remove the links and telephone numbers. Have no fear, as they get streamlined there will be sites that will come into play that deal in your area of collectables. Ebay banned the sale of guns and may firearm items, and
www.auctionarms.com opened up and just took off. I just sold my 357 S&W model 66 on
www.auctionarms.com this week for $405.00.
In time ebay.com will make enough of you mad that maybe
www.oldgas.com will open up an auction site for old gas items. If they do I hope they do it like auctionarms and let you list your item for a one time fee and re-list automatically if not sold for free until the item is sold.
Travis E. Towle
Topeka, Kansas
785-357-1004
