SPOOKY: eBay Bans “Advice” And Anything Considered “Metaphysical”

Not a good week for folks selling items on eBay classified as “metaphysical” because they were just kicked off of the the popular auction website…

Wired.uk.co detailed the situation,

Haunted gypsy rings, a portal to the realm of the immortals and creepy 40s dolls that promise to “come alive” will soon have to find a new home, along with nearly 100,000 other products, after eBay announced it would be banning the sale of items classed as metaphysical.

The online auction house announced the changes as part of a routine cleanup that will also see recipe and dieting advice lots stricken from the site. The decision, it says, is down to “a large number of misclassified items and eBay policy violations” that often lead to “issues that can be difficult to resolve”. Presumably a few angry customers unable to get a love spell working have caused eBay strife over the years. One seller, magickandmysticism, promises to “offer my services not just for the compensation, but for the experience of mystical co-creation shared between two people — that is something that never gets old.” With a sales pitch like that, all the terms and conditions in the world can’t protect some people from the disappointment that goes hand in hand with magickandmysticism’s curse turning out to be a dud.

Among the items that will be taken down and prohibited from 30 August, 2012, are “advice; spells; curses; hexing; conjuring; magic; prayers; blessing services; magic potions; healing sessions; work from home businesses and information; wholesale lists, and drop shop lists”.

Potions and tarot readings will also take a hit, and a community of buyers is up and arms at the prospect. A petition, “Don’t ban our psychics on eBay” was published on 11 August 2012 and has so far gained 1,009 signatures. The premise of the petition is that eBay’s perception of what makes an “intangible”, and therefore unviable product, may not be the same for an entire community of people who regularly pick up charms and blessings on the site.

“What is alarming now is that the blanket term of ‘intangible item’ is being used to ban actual items,” the petition organiser says in a letter. “What concerns me is your purposed selective enforcement of what you (eBay) terms ‘intangible’. It seems you only have targeted those sellers who offer items of a certain occult or esoteric nature — for instance, pagan beliefs and witchcraft.”