Ebay firearm policy I saw the new policy that Ebay is instituting this month and I wanted to send them feedback on it. I couldn't find a general complaint email address so I sent this to the account closing help email:

Message: I will be closing my account if new policy goes into effect:
http://www2.ebay.cm/aw/core/200707301000452.html

I didn't expect a response but I got one:

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to closing your account.

We're sorry to hear that you've decided to close your eBay account. To
have your request processed as quickly as possible, please go to:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/closing-account.html

Follow the directions you'll find there.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Mervyn N.

eBay Customer Support

The standard RTFM response.

I couldn't leave that alone:

I would appreciate some response other that the standard form letter, but I have come to expect a great lack of respect for customers form the Ebay
family of companies

From that I got a what seems so be one of the standard form letters:

Dear Joat,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your concern about the change in
policy for gun related items.

After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, eBay's Trust & Safety team along
with executives at the company felt it was important to re-examine our
existing policy and evaluate if it still met the needs of our
marketplace and our company. At eBay we constantly review and update
our policies and, after careful consideration, we determined that this
policy change was in the best interest of our marketplace and our
company.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Marv L.

eBay Customer Support

I read this at work and fired off a quick response, reading it again I don't like the way I worded it but it's a little late to change it now.

The killing at Virginia Tech was the result of a criminal it was not
caused by a firearm. Is Ebay going to stop selling cars? Automobiles
cause far more deaths that firearms in this country. How about pool
supplies and swimming related items many more children drowned every
year
than are killed by firearms. What the criminal's actions at Virginia
Tech
showed us is that the police can not be everywhere all the time and we
Can
Not rely on them to protect us. If one student or teacher would have
violated the government owned schools unconstitutional ban on keeping
and
carrying arms many needless and tragic deaths could have been avoided.

And the response I got was a longer version of the last form letter:

Dear Joat,

Thank you for writing eBay to express your concerns about the pending
changes to our Firearms policy.

While many everyday items can be used to cause harm to an individual,
most items we permit for sale on eBay are not designed with the intent
to cause harm or are not likely to be used to cause harm. In general, if
items are legal to buy and sell in an unrestricted manner, we allow them
to be sold on eBay. Many firearm-related parts that can legally be
bought or sold have historically been allowed on eBay.

However, after the tragedy at Virginia Tech, eBay's Trust and Safety
team along with executives at the company felt it was important to
re-examine our existing Firearms policy and evaluate if it still met the
needs of our marketplace and our company.

While no items related to the incident were purchased illegally on our
site, it was important to make some changes to ensure we do everything
possible to provide a safe marketplace. After careful consideration, we
decided to restrict listing any part that is required for the firing of
a gun.

We've decided that these types of items are not right for our
marketplace or our business. You can still purchase these items from
other businesses in the United States.

We appreciate the time you have taken to write to us and for your
contribution to eBay.

Sincerely,

Shea
eBay Customer Support

I've got to type a response to that but it's 2:00am and I need to go eat diner.

Another version of the letter from Xavier:
Letter to Ebay  ¶ 11:46 AM 1 Comments