eBay Shutting Down Vape-gear Suppliers

[Jibbu]

Please forgive me if this has already been discussed. I did a Forum search on "eBay" and didn't find anything for 5 pages.

Only very recently I gave eBay a shot for one hard-to-find item, and was so happy with the results that I was just about to post a favorable supplier review when I got this message:

"If you’re not already aware, I wanted to let you know that Ebay is in the process of shutting down the account of any seller that deals in vaping products. I believe that my account will be terminated soon, so I have opened a web site for my products called (not-sure-I-can-post-URL)."

How can this be? Is there another thread with more info? Anyone know a good mailing address for me to send a notice of boycott and cancellation of my account?

Dang, ignorance gets tiresome.

Update:
Thank you to everyone who read/replied. I feel better knowing it's probably a temporary measure to protect eBay from liability issues, and I can work with that.

 

[Sgt.Rock]

Nasty rumors is all...plenty of ebay merchants selling related merchandise and will continue selling it.

This "discovery" keeps popping up here and there and never materializes. Seems some who were selling items designed more for the use of illegal substances had their accounts pulled and so the "Oh Noes...they're gonna close us down" rumor mill starts up once again.

Ebay makes too much money off these vendors to shut them down..

 

[SingedVapor]

Unfortunately this isn't new. vaping gear is against ebays tos policy. The only vendors that usual get shut down are the ones that advertise "vape". The others use other terms such as battery box and such.

 

[smittytoo]

Scared me there for a minute. It's a shame that we have to worry about something that has
the potential of saving thousands of lives being taken from us.

 

[Singaw]

Sounds like the dealer would rather have you go through their website and them not having give eBay and PayPal their cut. I get messages from dealers plenty of times asking me to make my next purchase from their website "for my convenience". I know eBay won't allow selling e-juice with nicotine but I think everything else vaping related is ok to sell.

 

[TheJakeBailey]

Sounds like the dealer would rather have you go through their website and them not having give eBay and PayPal their cut. I get messages from dealers plenty of times asking me to make my next purchase from their website "for my convenience". I know eBay won't allow selling e-juice with nicotine but I think everything else vaping related is ok to sell.

Per there terms of service, it actually isn't ok. Same with PayPal. As to the ops question... They can do it, because they own the company and make the rules. There are lots of things you can't sell on ebay. Fortunately it doesn't seem like there is more than a token gesture to enforce it.

 

[Cariessa]

I'm frequently browsing ebay for ego's, cheap clearo's and such to hand out to family to encourage them off analogs, or sell to friends (I can't afford to give them to everyone) cheaper than they could ever get them at the gas station.

I've noticed just in the last week steep decline in the number of merchants selling the items I look for and prices have gone up dramatically. I wonder if it's a trend though. It seems the market was flooded and things were going insanely cheap, then it just dried up, especially the asian sellers. Is ebay cracking down, or are the sellers holding their items until prices go back up?

 

[SingedVapor]

I'm frequently browsing ebay for ego's, cheap clearo's and such to hand out to family to encourage them off analogs, or sell to friends (I can't afford to give them to everyone) cheaper than they could ever get them at the gas station.

I've noticed just in the last week steep decline in the number of merchants selling the items I look for and prices have gone up dramatically. I wonder if it's a trend though. It seems the market was flooded and things were going insanely cheap, then it just dried up, especially the asian sellers. Is ebay cracking down, or are the sellers holding their items until prices go back up?

I believe from what I have heard that PayPal is cracking down on sites that use them. PayPal will not support e cigarettes and had threatened to stop doing business with websites that support it.

Don't quote me on it though, it's just what I've seen browsing the forums

 

[Cariessa]

I believe from what I have heard that PayPal is cracking down on sites that use them. PayPal will not support e cigarettes and had threatened to stop doing business with websites that support it.

Don't quote me on it though, it's just what I've seen browsing the forums

Fasttech takes Paypal... I'm skeered

 

[amolson]

Heh. If I can, I use Bitcoin as much as possible. One of the reasons being crud like this. Both eBay and Paypal, one company really, are insanely controlling. If I could go completely to BTC for my on-line purchases, yeah, I'd probably do it.

And there are some ecig and juice companies that take BTC. They also get first crack at my vaping budget. It's all good.

 

[K_Tech]

Scared me there for a minute. It's a shame that we have to worry about something that has
the potential of saving thousands of lives being taken from us.

Fortunately Ebay isn't the be-all, end-all of anything.

 

[Iffy]

At least we can pay our ECF membership fees via PayPal! <hint, hint>

 

[Steamix]

FT, chinabuye and others do paypal.
Vaping gear is only part of their product portfolio.
Seems they selling pretty much anything that isn't nailed down - plus the nails left over from tearing it loose
And it always says 'gift' - worth ten bucks, no matter if its a small envelope or a shipload.
Paypal would have a hard time pulling the plug on them.
It's one thing leaning on a small vape-vendor who nets them a few greenbacks a month.
Looking at my order history with FT and the speed with which order numbers increase ( assuming they are in sequence ), FT must be a sizeable client for paypal, the size where the upper management comes running with tissues when the client happens to sneeze...

 

[jclifford]

ebay's does not want to be part of selling a non-proven product. In the event that there are issues, they will be legally liable because the item was purchased through their service.

I had a discussion with an ebay employee several days ago. (I had several Ego items knocked out). He stated that due to the nature of the problem, e-cig items are being eliminated manually. the process is expected to take quite awhile.

He also agreed with me that as soon as the FDA gets their stuff together and OK's everything, e-cig stuff will be back on ebay in a heartbeat.

 

[dr g]

Fasttech takes Paypal... I'm skeered

Paypal's overseas TOS doesn't prohibit ecigs. Its domestic one does though, and most likely the reason they do what they do is that they are a domestic company and thus subject to domestic laws. Like with many online processors, the sale of "tobacco products" online is considered very risky due to the age restrictions, so it is prohibited. Face to face sales are often OK with many processors.

 

[Jibbu]

ebay's does not want to be part of selling a non-proven product. In the event that there are issues, they will be legally liable because the item was purchased through their service.

I had a discussion with an ebay employee several days ago. (I had several Ego items knocked out). He stated that due to the nature of the problem, e-cig items are being eliminated manually. the process is expected to take quite awhile.

He also agreed with me that as soon as the FDA gets their stuff together and OK's everything, e-cig stuff will be back on ebay in a heartbeat.

jclifford, thank you very much for this info as it explains another message from a second vendor saying to contact him directly when the item I want says it's unavailable. I think his wording was something like "they take down my items almost nightly and it can be a day or so before I can restore them" (paraphrased).

And I'm positively thrilled to learn the problem isn't tiresome ignorance, but self-preservation. I can work with that one without upset. Thanks again!

 

[Amy87]

I bought some vaping gear off ebay this week from 3 different vendors. I noticed when browsing that all of them are putting disclaimers at the bottom of the listing to the effect of "This is not a tobacco product/e-cig etc"

I'm not sure how they can say its not an e-cig (when talking about ego style batteries), but it looks like they are doing what they can to cover their butts for now. I was a little nervous using my Paypal for it, with the rumors of people getting their accounts yanked, but all three transactions went smoothly and I received my items.

 

[Tomthern]

I think Ebay has a lot of issues. They do decide what and how things can be sold. I have sold on there but now may not because they have doubled fees on me and you have to check accounts daily. If you don't catch it in ten days then they have the right to double fee. A friend of mine sold $300 worth of items and only received $120 and they just said sorry you didn't catch it fast enough. I am pretty well done with them.

 

[want to quit]

Oh so I can buy a dog and a cat legally on ebay but not a tube to hold my battery? ...... everywhere I go.

It's just like GA allowing people to bring their guns into bars. That makes just as much sense. Idiots idiots idiotsss

 

[realsis]

I've heard this as well and it angers me to no end. Especially paypal not wanting to be a part of the vaping industry. As for ebay, the sellers are just getting clever on how they post and list their items. They also have didlaimers. But ebay prices are getting ridiculous. They have the Dna30 cloupor was listed from 89 to100. Dollars no cheaper than 89. When you can buy a brand new one now for 69 dollars! It's a rip off most of the time. You hands to search very closely for a genuine bargain.