eBay Bans the Sale of Spells and Magic Items 295
Starting in September bidders won't be able to snipe curses, spells, or potions on eBay anymore. The company has decided to ban the sale of magic and magic items. “EBay regularly reviews categories and updates our policies based on customer feedback,” a statement from the company read. “We are discontinuing a small number of categories within the larger metaphysical subcategory, as buyers and sellers have told us that transactions in these categories often result in issues that can be difficult to resolve.”
Does this also include (Score:5, Insightful)
Judeo-Christian prayers, sayings, incantations, blessings, and similar?
From TFA:
“Ebay bans alternative religious items.But! Not for Christians. Holy water and other sundry ‘holy’ items are discriminately allowed. Hm. Let me get this straight. Some guy in Rome wearing long robes can wave his hand over some water and imbue it with something, and then it’s very ‘powerful?’ How is that different fromany other magical item previously sold on ebay?”
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Holy water is still for sale http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blessed-Holy-Water-4-fl-oz-118ml-/110919177479?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d34c5507 [ebay.com]
Sounds like a case of "who backs up your magic?"
Re:Does this also include (Score:5, Insightful)
This just in: businesses have control of what actions they will allow others to do on their property.
Re:Does this also include (Score:5, Insightful)
This just in: Doesn't mean we have to be quiet with our complaints.
Ebay has long deserved the hate speech it receives online. Such as forbidding negative feedback for buyers that rip-off the seller via nonpayment of goods, keeping the new shoes but returning old/wornout shoes, claiming nonreceipt of item when they have it in their hand, et cetera. (No neg feedback == No way to warn other sellers to stay away from the buying scam artist.)
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" People contact me through email & demand a 25% or 50% discount or else they will neg me. (I have no choice but to give in because I can't neg them back. They are holding the weapon and I have nothing.)"
Then call the police and have fucking blackmail/extortion charges filed against them after you obtain a reliable address, you fucking moron.
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Sounds like a case of "who backs up your magic?"
well, up to a week or so ago, it would have been demonoid...
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Sounds like a case of "who backs up your magic?"
well, up to a week or so ago, it would have been demonoid...
I'm curious how this will impact items from Co$ for sale, such as LRH autographed e-meters and such.
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The URL doesn't say who blessed it. It does say iot is sold as a curio only with no warranted claims of special power. It's also not September yet
To be fair, eBay seems to include prayers as well, I see no Christian exception.
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What part of "starting in September" was unclear to you?
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What part of "starting in September" was unclear to you?
S'cuse mi, I havve onlye two wijks to clen out the dun^H^H^Hcellar. See my lystyngs for Homonculi!
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Which part of "Starting in September" didn't you understand?
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Just start reporting them then *shrug*
"As seller claims this Crickett Bat is fully capable of whacking Zombies, as Zombies are creatures of magic (alternatively: Magyk, of Magical Enchantment, Spellbound or upon retainer to dark and nefarious fiend(s)) they are therefore out of compliance with eBay policy and this item has been withdrawn."
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When it comes to hiring practices, yes. There is nothing illegal about eBay limiting what things it wants people selling on its property.
Complaints (Score:5, Insightful)
The issue for eBay is complaints. They don't really care otherwise and they're not really interested in fairness or equality or any other bogey men you might wish to throw up. Here's how it goes:
People buy magic, spells, potions, what have you and when it doesn't work, they dispute the purchase and complain to eBay. This increases eBay's administrative overhead significantly for stuff that, we'll all agree, is ridiculous.
Meanwhile, Christians purchase holy water or whatever. But, when it doesn't work, they say that it was God's will. Or God has his reasons for my magic water not working and they do NOT complain to eBay. Making these transactions nothing but a profit center for eBay.
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What is holy water actually supposed to do that you would be able to come up with any kind of complaint about? Maybe if it arrived with a dead fly floating in it, but I do not think that would be "difficult to resolve".
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Well there you have it! It's curing pestilence one fly at a time.
Re:Complaints (Score:5, Interesting)
Generally holy water isn't supposed to be "magic" or anything. It's sanctified. What does sanctification confer on the water? Not a blessed thing. It's a symbolic act meant to convey solemnity or respect for participants (as in someone being baptized) and God. Selling items that claim to be magic is not wrong because magic is evil or because the religious beliefs of people who want the items are bad. It's wrong because the item does not do the thing it claims to be able to do, which is just plain false advertising. Holy water really is sanctified and that's the only claim. If some specific item is put up claiming to be holy water and to do X, Y, and Z, which it clearly doesn't, then that would warrant a takedown. Holy water being a religious item does not.
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What if I get the holy water and find out that it hasn't been properly sanctified? Should I get my money back?
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Sure, if it turns out hasn't been blessed by a catholic priest. That doesn't seem likely, but it could happen (e.g. if the seller boasts elsewhere of not getting it blessed).
It's much the same as selling non-kosher meat as kosher. Or selling a sketch you've drawn yourself, saying it was drawn by Munch. If it turns out the item wasn't made as advertised (and "make" in this sense includes tapping water into a bottle) then the customer has a legitimate complaint, even if you think it's completely silly to care
Jeasy-peasy! (Score:3)
Holy water failed to exorcise demons from possessed. Would not buy again.
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Re:Complaints (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you claiming that holy water blessed by a level 10 Cleric is the same as that blessed by a level 1 Cleric?
Well, you're right. It's a level 1 divine spell with no level modifiers.
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Wait a minute, a
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So what you're saying is that if I buy holy water off of eBay and complain that it wasn't as holy as described, they'll ban Christian items too?
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Re:Does this also include (Score:5, Informative)
Holy water, et alia have no form of guaranteed effect or power whatsoever. None. Any religious-affiliated individual who makes such a claim should be reported to his/her superior, if they have one, and if they don't, should probably be ignored. A magic spell that "make your partner desire you with lust & pasion.only you . spell" [ebay.com] 9sic] is, I would say, slightly more assuring of a definite effect. Which, given it won't work, is most likely the source of the problem for eBay. They don't care if you offer a blessed item that is simply "blessed", with no promise of some particular effect.
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Yes, it does claim effect and power:
Wikipedia:
"holy water is water which has been sanctified by a priest or bishop for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil."
Catholic church:
"In this context Catholics distinguish sacraments from ‘sacramentals’. In the strict sense, sacramentals are signs, instituted by the Church and rooted in the baptismal priesthood of all believers. They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a gesture suc
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> " A magic spell that "lets you repel evil" is, I would say, slightly
> more assuring of a definite effect. "
> The only difference is you are more used to one then the other.
That's not the only difference, there is also the wording here, at least in these examples. Their claims are so general as to be meaningless. What does it mean to 'repel evil'? Its so open to interpretation. Hell you could be killed, while tossing the holy water in the face of your serial rapist murder, and I could still spin t
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I have seen this happen a couple times.. some group notices that a site has support for non-christian values and throws a hissy fit, then the site does the math and decides it is less trouble to get rid of what the people do not like... mostly because these groups claim to speak for 'Christians' even though their outra
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Because the Christian Lobby (both political and economic) is really powerful in the US...
I'm not sure what you're saying about the Lobby, but according to Wikipedia 79.5% of the US is Christian. I would expect that any democratic republic would reflect the wishes and desires of four-fifths of its population--unless something like Apartheid was going on, but I understand Apartheid is frowned upon.
I haven't seen that in the churches where I've attended. In fact, i
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Or they agreed with a customer and processed a refund on bogus curses only to have the whole department overrun with malaria carrying mosquitoes.
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Also, people would know immediately if the spells etc.work or not, while holy water would have more of a placebo "it might have worked" effect.
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From my understanding as a Roman Catholic, holy water is not "very powerful" in a physical sense. From the olde Baltimore Catechism:
Question: What is holy water?
Answer: Holy water is water blessed by the priest with solemn prayer to beg God's blessing on those who use it, and protection from the powers of darkness.
And I think that most of the other Catholic prayers etc. would follow the same idea. Mainly: we petition God, he does what he wants. (i.e. results not guaranteed) So I doubt there is quite as much
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Some guy in Rome wearing long robes can wave his hand over some water and imbue it with something
The beauty of holy water is that a drop of holy water in a bucket makes the whole bucket holy water. There's no concentration limit, so you can manufacture this stuff all day long.
I seem to recall dropping some holy water into the Atlantic when I was a kid, so by the hydrological cycle, odds are your tap water qualifies by now too. Actually I don't know what happens to the holiness during phase changes - perha
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How is that different fromany other magical item previously sold on ebay?â
I see what you're trying to do there but holy water isn't "Magic" and I don't recall ever hearing anyone say it is. It's symbolic. A "Magic" potion, curse or hex being sold under the premise it will perform something "magical" is going to be subject to intense scrutiny when it just doesn't do what it said it was supposed to do. When Ebay has to reimburse the people when the "magic" doesn't work costs them, apparently, quite a bit of cash. Otherwise they wouldn't be turning down the business.
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Besides popular vampire books and whatnot... Holy water is just water that is considered by some to be Holy. There isn't any promise that it will cure you, or if you drink it it will cure cancer, it may quench your thirst.
In contrast Magic Items, Often come with a saying that it will do something, that is measurable.
Holy Water, Apply to self, as a sign of being purifying yourself in the eyes of God.
vs.
VooDoo Doll, put pins in areas to make enemy suffer.
Holy Water. There isn't any measurable result, the fa
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Allowing holy water (which any priest can create BTW) doesn't represent a pro-Christian bias, it represents allowing tangible items. They also allow pagan items like amulets. Banning sale of spells is akin to banning sale of prayers to a Christian saint.
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Slash dot needs to go away, its a hateful site.
How about you go away instead? Less to move that way.
Yes, this is a fun site! Where else can we gather to make sport of crazy corporate dictums?
Next they'll ban the sale of slashdot mod points, the bastards!
Re:Does this also include (Score:5, Insightful)
Holy water is a tangible item that can at least can delivered, even if its supposed quality can not be proven.
A hex or prayer can not be shown to be delivered, leading to a higher rate of contested payments.
Re:Does this also include (Score:5, Informative)
Bingo. This needs to be rated up well above the other people trying to make this to be some conspiracy.
Holy Water: Ordered a vial of water, get a vial of water
Order a Spell: Receive a piece of paper saying it was cast.
Can people really not see why EBay would treat these differently?
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Bingo. This needs to be rated up well above the other people trying to make this to be some conspiracy.
Holy Water: Ordered a vial of water, get a vial of water
Order a Spell: Receive a piece of paper saying it was cast.
Can people really not see why EBay would treat these differently?
What if the sellers were sending a video of themselves casting the spell, in whatever ritual/dance it required? Maybe a built in "hi reddit!" style sign to ensure they're not using the same video over and over.
I don't know who Ebay's got working for them, but it seems to me that if spiritual issues cause so many problems during disputes, shouldn't they just disallow disputes and put disclaimers on those pages? That way you can keep the believers, collect commissions, and wash your hands of the metaphysical.
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What about japanese prayer scrolls, and spell papers?
Those are physical items, and actually quite intricate in their designs. Much more interesting aesthetically than a tobasco bottle filled with water.
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Actual, When you sell holy water, you are selling water with a spell cast on it. If you can't prove the spell was cast, what's the difference?
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Actual, When you sell holy water, you are selling water with a spell cast on it. If you can't prove the spell was cast, what's the difference?
Feed some to a vampire bat. If bat doesn't succumb to rapid phase change, shit is fake.
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As a mineral collector, one of the things that has irked me is constantly running into auctions for crystals that are supposed to "do" something: increase your libido, etc. For example:
Yeah, I have even gotten some incredible samples (a sunstone, a moonstone and a tourmaline crystal, to be exact) from a guy who was respected by the geologic communtiy in the country, as he regularly provided samples that were extremely valuable (Sadly, he died prematurely without revealing his locations. While living, he provided a steady supply). He claimed that the samples I got had healing properties, which obviously must be correct since my health and physical state since I got them are (is? Sig) way a
Well there goes my plan (Score:5, Funny)
to sell magic brownies on Ebay
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to sell magic brownies on Ebay
To say nothing of Magic Mushrooms
Or little tea cakes with the lettering EAT ME on them
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To say nothing of Magic Mushrooms
But what about Fire Flowers?
Re:Well there goes my plan (Score:4, Funny)
Try Etsy.
This is stupid. (Score:2)
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Exactly what I thought. Dumb rules to placate dumb people.
Curses be upon them!
A curse upon them! (Score:3)
So they may know the sufferings endured by their customers, may a great lamentable curse be upon them!
Not like using ebay isn't some kind of curse, from both buyer and seller perspective .. every try to get online help from these goofballs? Have a lot of spare time to kill.
Could be a problem (Score:5, Funny)
Does this also include oxygen-free cables and that CD that's supposed to re-tune your speakers?
Re:Could be a problem (Score:5, Funny)
Does this also include oxygen-free cables and that CD that's supposed to re-tune your speakers?
Sounds to me like any sufficiently advanced technology will now be banned as they are indistinguishable from magic.
You're telling me! (Score:5, Funny)
transactions in these categories often result in issues that can be difficult to resolve.
I have to sand down these horns every morning, and the seller keeps giving me the run around about the antidote and seapony tear scarcity.
Expeto Viagrus potion? My shiny metal ass!
Seriously, it's metal now.
Re:You're telling me! (Score:5, Funny)
My Wizard6/SwordSage2 (Score:2)
Now he'll never get that ring of wizardry III
Curses! (Score:2)
And my plan to flood the world with magic would have worked if it weren't for you meddling kids at Ebay!
More seriously. If you're going to ban people for buying stupid useless things, you might as well shut down Ebay right now.
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And my plan to flood the world with magic would have worked if it weren't for you meddling kids at Ebay!
More seriously. If you're going to ban people for buying stupid useless things, you might as well shut down Ebay right now.
This does not prevent you starting your own magic item online auction service, they've left that door wide open.
EBAY - Getting our cut while helping rearrange the world's junk.
Sparlock the Warrior Wizard (Score:3, Interesting)
Instead of bobcat, (Score:5, Funny)
potion turned me into newt. Would not buy again.
Re:Instead of bobcat, (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Instead of bobcat, (Score:5, Funny)
He got better
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Unusual (Score:2)
Usually Ebay tries to enforce joke sales where neither side wants to go through with the deal (remember the "drawing of a spider" fiasco?) and encourages sales of stupid shit because it advertises the "anyone can get rich by selling crap on our website!" angle. They must have been having major issues with returns on "magic items" to do this.
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You must be new here.
Just about complaints and reversed transactions (Score:4, Insightful)
This is really about the number of complaints on these types of auctions, nothing more. People who scream discrimination are wrong.
The problem with bidding on an intangible item is a simple matter of delivery. If I pay you to cast a spell over eBay, did you do it? How do I know? If what I want didn't happen, I can blame you and just use buyer protection to get my money back.
Tangible goods are still largely acceptable (magic potions seem to be an exception). Which is why holy water is alright - it's a physical thing that doesn't promise to do anything in particular.
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If I sell ya a vial as something that I say a catholic priest blessed into holy water and a catholic priest did do so it's pretty straight forward I can prove the action was done. I can not prove that it is anything more than water some guy from some organization did something to. Most of your less prominent religions etc don't have a sanctioning body to fall back on.
they banned ass-kickings, too (Score:2)
an oldie classic from the ebay archives, back when they were just starting out:
http://www.othercinema.com/otherzine/otherzine4/auction.html [othercinema.com]
Greatest wrong (Score:2)
Is ebay's terms of service that prevents the selling of "ghosts in a jar." The outrage.
I predict a protest... (Score:3)
Indulgences (Score:3)
There goes my plan to sell indulgences. I was looking forward to being able to forgive sins by proxy. There is a long tradition in western culture of fiscal forgiveness. I fail to see why E-Bay gets to decide what is right or wrong. They nailed a 95 Theses into the door of my plans for material success.
And I am firmly of the opinion that black indulgences is an underdeveloped market. Why limit yourself to merely helping people? With a black, or anti-indulgence, you can take the battle to your enemies. Surely, he who laughs last laughs best, and what could be better than to see your foe's unshrivened soul burning with sins he didn't even know he possessed.
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'Buyers husband was already a toad, therefore he was unchanged'
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Or "your private detective lied - your husband isn't cheating on you"
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Or "The private detective you're banging lied - your husband isn't cheating on you"
FTFY
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Where can I get my MANA!?!?!
Or the typical complaint is: "This potion didn't turn my cheating husband into a toad! I want my money back!"
The potion takes 150 years to take effect.
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First they ban used underwear and now I can't even buy magic spells? Sheesh. It seems like there's nothing left on eBay worth bidding on.
Yeah, you can't even sell your spare body parts anymore. What's the world coming to?
But you are free to sell all the grilled cheese sandwhiches depicting Jesus or the apostles your heart desires (gette thee the compleat sette nowe!)
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Have they banned providing free shipping and using used underwear and magic spells as packaging?
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Have they banned providing free shipping and using used underwear and magic spells as packaging?
Better do your shipping labels with Sharpies, risk not their ire by employing a Magic Marker.
I'll get me coat
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Better do your shipping labels with Sharpies, risk not their ire by employing a Magic Marker.
Is a trace element certified (TEC) sharpie any better than a normal sharpie or is the difference just a bunch of superstitious voodoo?
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First they ban used underwear and now I can't even buy magic spells? Sheesh. It seems like there's nothing left on eBay worth bidding on.
What about unused Magic Underwear?
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What about unused Magic Underwear?
Depends, are they edible? (pun intended).
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Now how will the Charmed ones defeat Gandalf The Black?
You just don't think these things through at all, do you eBay?
They're in league with Sauron, didn't you know that?
U.S. Dollars are not baseless (Score:2)
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Let me get this straight... ebay is trying to protect people from the, ahem, fraudulent sales of magic and potions?
The only people they are trying to protect are the ones who answer the phones at 1-800-EBAYCOMPLAINTS. They want to waste not one more second of payroll on this crap.
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Damnit! Now what am I going to do with these scrolls of Firebolt? I already bought the book!
Drop them off at either political party headquarter, they'll come in handy during the Fall debates and you can write them off on your taxes (I've yet to see the IRS prevent me writing off donations of magical items.)
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