EBay Pressured To Block Sales of Ivory Products

RickRussellTX writes "eBay is being pressured by an animal welfare group to ban sales of ivory and animal tooth products on its site. Although eBay is in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species when it warns users that such postings may be inviolation of national and international law, the International Fund for Animal Welfare is demanding that they go a step further to search for and delete any posting of ivory products."

Re:Won't happen.

[Anonymous Coward]

> Ebay does not give a crap, so long as they get their cut. Want proof?

Will happen. E-Bay does not allow auctions of guns or gun part or most other gun related items, though they could make money from the sales.
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1017-221898.html

Politically they lean on the side of the tree huggers, so I'm sure they will help the animal lovers.. :)

Re:Pianos

[morgan_greywolf]

a lot of pianos, even many old pianos, use plastic rather than ebony and ivory keys.

Even when ivory was legal everywhere to buy, it was very, very expensive; thus it wasn't used in many pianos once plastic keys were invented

Re:Vintage items?

[Clairvoyant]

Are you kidding me? RTFA:
"IFAW is hoping that eBay will ban all ivory sales".

IFAW wants all ivory to be banned from eBay because these tree(sorry, animal) huggers are to darned lazy to filter out the authentical ones themselves. They want eBay to do it for them.

Re:Vintage items?

[mparker762]

I also collect and shave with straight razors, and there are definitely new razors being made with ivory scales, though the manufacturers all claim to be using mammoth ivory. I always assumed there were certificates and licenses that they had to have to use any sort of ivory, but maybe I'm wrong. Anybody know what German law is on ivory (the DoVo company that makes these is in Solingen Germany)?

The bigger problem is that it can be tough to tell real ivory from ivory-looking celluloid just by visual inspection, even if you're holding it in your hands. There's no way to tell from a low-res ebay picture, and most sellers IMO don't have the foggiest idea what real ivory is like. I've had sellers claim that the genuine article was celluloid and vice versa, and I've had celluloid ivory in my hands that I had to test with a hot needle to see if it was celluloid or genuine.

Re:So...

[Otter]

I have not checked for ivory but it would not be surprising if both statements were true.

Well, if you RTFA, the Fish and Wildlife Service guy states that permits are not required, in contrast to what both IFAW and EBay are saying.

Re:The more serious issue

[0xdeadbeef]

Ebay's own list of prohibited and restricted items [ebay.com]:

* Adult Material (see Mature Audiences)
* Alcohol (see also Wine)
* Animals and Wildlife Products - examples include live animals, mounted specimens, and ivory
* Art
* Artifacts - examples include Native American crafts, cave formations, and grave-related items
* Catalytic Converters and Test Pipes
* Cell Phone (Wireless) Service Contracts
* Charity or Fundraising Listings
* Clothing, Used
* Coins
* Contracts
* Cosmetics, Used
* Counterfeit Currency and Stamps
* Credit Cards
* Drugs & Drug Paraphernalia
* Drugs, Describing Drugs or Drug-like Substances
* Electronics Equipment - examples include cable TV de-scramblers, radar scanners, and traffic signal control devices
* Electronic Surveillance Equipment - examples include wiretapping devices, and telephone bugging devices
* Embargoed Goods and Prohibited Countries - examples include items from Cuba
* Event Tickets
* Firearms, Weapons and Knives - examples include pepper spray, replicas and stun guns
* Food
* Gift Cards
* Government and Transit Documents
* Government and Transit Uniforms
* Government IDs and Licenses
* Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Items - examples include batteries, fireworks, and Freon
* Human Parts and Remains
* Importation of Goods into the United States - examples include CDs that were intended only for distribution in a certain country
* International Trading
* Items Encouraging Illegal Activity - examples include an eBook describing how to create methamphetamine
* Lockpicking Devices
* Lottery Tickets
* Mailing Lists and Personal Information
* Manufacturers' Coupons
* Mature Audiences
* Medical Devices - examples include contact lenses, pacemakers, and surgical instruments
* Multi-level Marketing, Pyramid and Matrix Programs
* Offensive Material - examples include ethnically or racially offensive material and Nazi memorabilia
* Pesticides
* Plants (see Weeds and Seeds)
* Police-Related Items
* Political Memorabilia
* Postage Meters
* Prescription Drugs
* Prohibited Services
* Real Estate
* Recalled Items
* Slot Machines
* Stamps
* Stocks and Other Securities
* Stolen Property and Property with Removed Serial Numbers
* Surveillance Equipment
* Teacher's Edition Textbooks