This post involves a SALE – read (or skip) to the end for details.
Those of you who shop with me on ebay should know that this is your last chance to book light setting services through my ebay shop. You can still book them at my website – and they are less expensive there anyway – but ebay is banning the sale of advice and services.
They are also banning quite a few things in the “metaphysical” and “other” categories. I am waiting on confirmation of what their definitions of a few key terms are, but I don’t expect I will get clarification. I suspect I will get obfuscation and them leaving things vague so they can do what they want at their whim, just like with the “bath salt” debacle earlier this year. They refused to put the exact wording that was supposedly forbidden in writing anywhere, and refused to mention this specifically in their “prohibited items” info page. They also refused to answer my direct questions about it, and refused to explain to me in terms that made sense what (acc. to them) I had done wrong. (They could not point to the list of prohibited items as their authority for censuring me and removing my listings, because the list made no mention of anything even remotely like anything I stock at ebay).
So I got a strike against me for “selling drug paraphernalia” because their computer couldn’t tell the difference between “money drawing bath crystals” and “homemade drugs that people are calling bath salts.” And then they refused to follow up with me, on multiple occasions, or have the situation reviewed by a human being. They accused me of violating a rule that is not written down anywhere. I asked them to show me where it said this was against the rules, as I wanted to be sure I understood the rules and abided by the guidelines. (I do know the guidelines quite well since I’ve been selling on ebay for ten years; my whole point was that there IS no rule saying certain phrases like “not for internal use” or “bath salt” are against the rules – rather, than information about forbidden phrases and key words is top secret for some absurd reason.)
So I was censured for breaking a rule that is not published or written down anywhere, and my attempts to get clarity or consistency were ignored over several weeks by multiple ebay employees (doubtless acting on instructions from their superiors). In short, my attempts to be a rule-abiding seller were ignored. They set this up to keep us in the dark and make it impossible to be sure that we were not violating some unpublished rule for which we could be suspended at any moment.
The reason for this, I believed, was that they don’t care about people selling metaphysical items and don’t really care if we get upset and leave. These latest changes confirm that suspicion; they want sellers of metaphysical stuff gone, (with the possible exception of more mainstream stuff that is tangible, like Llewellyn books, chakra posters, and rosaries). But rootwork and witchcraft products and services? I think they want to leave the door open to kick us out. I don’t think I will ever get a clear answer from them.
So one of the things being banned as of the end of the month is “magic potions.” Another is “metaphysical services.” “Spells” and “prayers” are also banned as of the end of t August. I have asked for a definition of these terms but I’m still in the dark as to whether this means that oils, powders, incense, etc will be banned or not. I am in the dark on whether pakets will be allowed, since they do involve a physical item but the creation of the item involves a metaphysical service or spell. I would not be surprised if my store is completely gutted of conjure formulas as of the first week of September.
What I do know is that after this month, you will not be able to book light setting services on ebay anymore. So I am going to put them on sale. Whatever is sold will not be relisted and whatever is not sold as of Aug 31 will be pulled from ebay. If I don’t get any clarity on hoodoo oils, I will put them on sale too in anticipation of pulling everything that is unsold as of the end of the month.
eBay has changed a lot over the last decade, and sellers have been really unhappy about some of the changes. Many are designed to get rid of sellers like me, who do custom work, who will never ship in one business day, who will not accept returns on most inventory (I can’t restock herbs or items that have been customized, so I can’t comply with their changed guidelines on top seller status, which means I can’t maintain my position in the search results, which means, among other things, that my sales on ebay have dropped by 50% in the last 3 months). If you are a reseller of mass produced items with brand names, they love you and want to keep you. If you liked ebay because it was like the fun, funky worldwide flea market, well, those days are over. They want to be “taken seriously.” In their quest to do so, they are opening themselves up to charges of religious discrimination, since those items and services that they find embarrassing are part of the religious practices of a lot of folks, but since when have they cared about that? They can ban whatever they please, says them, and they will and do. And are.
What this means for you: sale on the last of the light setting services.If I do the same for oils etc, I will post again.
Big Lucky Hoodoo 