eBay purges Vintage Passports – again
As reported last year in this article, eBay is at it again and purges massively vintage passports after 1945 on its German platform. Also, in my last article, just from two weeks ago, I highlighted eBay’s ongoing ambiguity regarding its policies.
I was punished twice with a 10-days sale restriction on documents which was never an issue in the past. I learned it the hard way yesterday, when listing an old German 1956 (!) passport.
What does eBay DE policy says?
The following or similar items are not authorized: … official documents issued by public authorities such as ID cards, passports, driving licenses, vehicle registration documents, permits and licenses …
Vintage passports, except from the NS period, were always allowed/tolerated. eBay even promotes such to list/buy passports!
Moreover, there are currently hundreds of vintage passports listed online...
eBay is not adhering to its own policies and is punishing members unfairly. One of the key issues with the relevant policy is that in the US, vintage US passports are allowed to be listed, even though the policy states otherwise!
Here, the current eBay US policy, clearly stating that passports are NOT allowed!
eBay DE is very intrusive IF they communicate with members
What’s even more frustrating is that eBay members in Germany cannot email eBay DE directly, unlike in the US or UK. Instead, eBay DE requests to call you back, which is a significant intrusion into someone’s private space. Also, only if you hold a German, Swiss or Austrian phone number they do so. If you are a member abroad, there is NO WAY to contact them. So far to a global internet.
Conclusion
eBay continues to be inconsistent regarding these items with unclear policies and unjustified punishment of members. They seem to enforce rules arbitrarily.
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