ebay removing auctions

[daishobohi]

I listed an auction on ebay and paid i think it was an extra 40 cents so the uk ebay site can see the sword auction, I recieved an email from ebay informing me that they have removed the uk ebay from viewing my auction... can someone contact ebay and let them know the legality thanks

yitzy

[Kevin]

Dunno about legality - it's their site and they can do as they like. They could decide tomorrow to drop all sales of knives and swords worldwide, and there'd not be a damned thing we could do about it.

 

However, I'm not surprised given the paranoia about swords and knives over here in the UK, and that Ebay have recently been the subject of a sting by the BBC on buying knives. Ebay said that they were going to do something so that people in the UK couldn't see foreign auctions of knives and swords, so it looks as if they have.

 

Kevin

[Brian]

Yep. eBay is paranoid, and ultra leftist bunny hugging feel-good hippy morons.

They won't allow any swords, because maybe one slips through the cracks. They really don't care about what is legal and what isn't. They can't police it, so easier for them to just ban them all.

We have seen this is other items such as empty brass cartridge cases. Just a lump of brass, but because there may be a single country out there somewhere that doesn't allow them, all are banned.

Don't bother trying to explain the laws to them, they won't care.

This is what you get in a paranoid politically-correct world. Over regulation and attempts to think on your behalf.

It's only going to get worse. How did the UK even get this far? From a proud and strong empire to someone that quivers at the thought of someone owning a long steak knife?

Rest of the world is headed there fast too. Sorry for the rant, but we are all affected by this. UK law means i can't even list my Parker Hale target sights anymore.

 

Brian

[loiner1965]

Yep. eBay is paranoid, and ultra leftist bunny hugging feel-good hippy morons.

They won't allow any swords, because maybe one slips through the cracks. They really don't care about what is legal and what isn't. They can't police it, so easier for them to just ban them all.

We have seen this is other items such as empty brass cartridge cases. Just a lump of brass, but because there may be a single country out there somewhere that doesn't allow them, all are banned.

Don't bother trying to explain the laws to them, they won't care.

This is what you get in a paranoid politically-correct world. Over regulation and attempts to think on your behalf.

It's only going to get worse. How did the UK even get this far? From a proud and strong empire to someone that quivers at the thought of someone owning a long steak knife?

Rest of the world is headed there fast too. Sorry for the rant, but we are all affected by this. UK law means i can't even list my Parker Hale target sights anymore.

 

Brian

off topic brian but i am a fellow shooter and i have 2 parker hale rifles amongst others

[kusunokimasahige]

It is indeed spectacular to say the least......

 

Performing a worldwide search on the word Katana on ebay.com now gives 8.867 results

 

That is a big big difference from a few months back!!

 

I think all Nihonto sellers who do this professionally should join forces and sue ebay for deprivation of income.. even thoug this wont work and they probably wouldnt win..

 

KM

 

Also, you could start changing your wording...... in stead of Nihonto or samurai sword, start using NHT or SMSW

 

just like the people offering waffen-XX stuff........

[Kevin]

Hmm! Well, thinking about it, if anyone is interested, I might be persuaded to set up an auction site for nihonto (and possibly other knives and swords at a later date), thus taking advantage of the gap in the market created by Ebay's actions.

 

However, before I devote lots of thinking time to the issue

 

a) Anyone interested?

b) Anyone suggest some good auction software? Just been looking at some, but perhaps someone here has more experience.

 

Failing that, I do list swords on commission.

 

Kevin

[Stephen]

well we had a fellow do just that just not to long ago, it worked for some for a short time then it dropped off, lack of bidding i think, ebay was strong then so it might be something to look into, we have close to 1K member list, so your not getting the cover that ebay does, guess you could put up a auction on ebay selling the idea, wonder how long that would last he he lol

[Brian]

Forget it.

For the 1000 or so that we think we know onlinB ebay has probably 100K people watching these auctions. We have no idea how huge the viewership is. Specialistauctions.co.uk and others have tried. It doesn't work without a few million viewers.

Just have to carry on with the devil we know.

 

Brian

[kusunokimasahige]

Quite true... however the XX stuff does work......

 

 

KM

[Kevin]

For the 1000 or so that we think we know onlinB ebay has probably 100K people watching these auctions.

 

Or 100k people looking for replacement auctions if Ebay decides to stop carrying knives and swords on a worldwide basis. :-)

 

Still, I'll put the idea on hold for now - I've got enough kerfuffle as it is, without looking for more work. :-) Gives me time to casually explore things should I ever feel the need to dust it off and put it into action.

 

Kevin

[Brian Hancock]

Hi All, This notice is on Ebay UK this morning.

09 February, 2009 | 08:00PM GMT

 

 

We wanted to inform you of a change to our policies regarding the sale of knives.

 

All knives except cutlery will be banned from sale on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie.

 

This will impact UK, Irish and international sellers who currently list knives for sale to buyers on the eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie sites.

 

Over the last year we have made several changes to our policies regarding sales of knives and also Samurai swords to ensure that only legal knives are available on the UK and Irish sites. However, the criteria for what constitutes a legal knife are increasingly complex, and this step is necessary to help further protect our members and provide them with the highest safety standards.

 

We will be updating this AB post shortly to ensure that any sellers of knives have full notice, details and timings for the changes.

 

Thank you for your support in continuing to make eBay such a vibrant and trusted marketplace.

 

Regards,

 

The eBay Team

So there you are.No more Nihonto I suppose next they will ban the fittings on the grounds they "Incite people to use swords to kill each other"

Cheers,

Brian.

[uwe]

I`m afraid it`s only the beginning ..........

However, ebay.de did the first step years ago

 

Uwe

[gumanthon]

I recently purchased three Japanese swords from Ebay two of which are being held by customs in the U.K. and it took two weeks for them to notify me that they were there the third one whish I bought a week ago I expect the same thing will happen.They say in their letter they require proof that they are either hand forged or made prior to 1954. When I spoke with them on the phone they informed meit had to be both of these obviously they have made an error in that statement also me giving a description of the swords is not acceptable that they will only accept a copy of the sales description from where I bought them. This is amazing to me as to how this description would be any more informed than mine.....so I hope I receive my swords in the end. They say if I cannot proove this satisfacorily they will confiscate the swords. Any advice on this matter would be very much appreciated. Kind Regards John P.S. I agree the U.K. has totally lost the plot.....like a sword is any more dangerous than a golf club what will they be banning them next ???

[kusunokimasahige]

Fascism galore....... On youtube Warner Music Group is deleting peoples videos without warning because of background music, ebay is destroying the market for nihonto amongst other things...

 

and very very soon Big Brother will be watching us all..

 

KM

[Kevin]

ebay is destroying the market for nihonto amongst other things..

 

They're not destroying the market for nihonto - they're just making Ebay UK irrelevant as far as that market is concerned. There is however no problem in logging on to Ebay US and bidding or selling there, which I do frequently. If they have problems with that in the future, well one can get round it with either a proxy or via friends in the US.

 

Never understood why Ebay a) never pointed out that it isn't a retailer and has no more responsibility for items sold than someone who hires out a field for a car boot sale b) didn't adopt a solution that I offered them, namely to either accept only nihonto with papers or have someone sign a legally binding declaration that the swords conform to the Act, or both. With the declaration, breach is equal to fraud, so someone selling a forgery can be nailed.

 

However, the market for nihonto existed before Ebay and will no doubt continue even if Ebay went bust.

 

Kevin

[kusunokimasahige]

you are of course right about the Ebay US thing... however it wont be long (who knows) before ebay will add your IP to a country list after which selling and buying in other countries will be much more difficult....

 

conspiracy theories? dunno.. but i am starting to see patterns all around us now......

 

KM

[Marius]

 

conspiracy theories? dunno.. but i am starting to see patterns all around us now......

 

 

Actually, no conspiracy here, just a simple calculation by eBay:

 

how much of our fees comes from nihonto sales?

does it make sense to provoke anger of (admittedly not too bright and rather populist) authorities, or worse, suffer a PR debacle at the hands of a hysteric press?

 

The answers to both questions result in a logical conclusion - let's call the whole thing off. eBay is neither good nor evil. It is a company whose goal is to earn money. It is not a club of like-minded people or a charity, or a public service of any kind. And as clients, we, the nihonto collectors, have no bargaining power with eBay.

[Jean]

Mariuszk,

 

Thanks for this shoshin thought :D :D . You are right.

[kusunokimasahige]

Indeed, he is, and it was a lovely zen moment for me!

 

 

KM

[reinhard]

eBay is paranoid, and ultra leftist bunny hugging feel-good hippy morons.Brian

 

Cool down, Brian, you are a MODERATOR. Say "hello" to my good friend Harvey.

 

reinhard (alias Alice in wonderland)

[Brian]

Cool down, Brian, you are a MODERATOR....

Have I been demoted?

I stick by most of what I said there. eBay has every right to do as they please. It is their site. However we have every right to bitch about it too.

Whatever happened to sellers being responsible for what they do? Do we really need other people to think for us? Newspapers are responsible for what their classified advertisers do, auction houses are responsible for what sellers do. It is just getting to a point where we are over regulated in everything we do. And because the UK has banned swords, now we can't list them for sale with "will ship internationally" in the description. Yes, I'm cross.

As an example..a year ago I listed a very rare SA bayonet on eBay, and as proof that it is a recognized pattern, I included a one-of-a-kind photo showing it used by a SA soldier on parade.

Well..eBay pulled the auction. Shock horror! The picture showed a gun! Even though it was only a bayonet for sale and that was clearly mentioned, eBay told me that it was too offensive to list with that picture.

Anyways..enough of this. Taking it too off-topic myself. Let's get back on topic now.

 

Brian

[Henry Stewart]

Stephen & Kevin

Gentlemen;

I am trying this auction/sale site business coupled with talk facility peculiar only to Nihonto and Samurai history. To be fair I have spoken with a member of staff who advises against it,but did wish me luck. I'm doing so with a slight twist. Its about halfway through now; We shall see on Monday next. I expect it will be live in less than a week. Host site and domain name already set up.

 

Henry

[nihonto1001]

Yitsy:

 

If you call or message Ebay they will probably refund your money.

 

In my opinion, for whatever it is worth, the best thing that could happen to Nihonto is having ebay ban it. Fraud is hurting our hobby more than anything else.

 

Jon