Hello all ebay.ca sellers. Most of you know that ivory is not supposed to be sold across the border. But did you know there are also restrictions on selling jadeite?
I recently found out when I sold a pair of vintage Chinese jadeite earrings to an American customer. Paypal froze my account and cancelled the transaction, saying the sale was in violation of U.S. law.
This is what Paypal sent me:
1. The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 banned the importation
into the United States of products from Burma.
2. The JADE Act of 2008 banned the importation of jadeite and rubies mined
or extracted from Burma, regardless of when the items were exported from
Burma to a third country.
PayPal cannot facilitate a transaction where a customer located in the
United States purchases gemstones of Burmese origin because PayPal and the
U.S. buyer would be in violation of U.S. law.
It was my mistake to mention Burma in my description, because I doubt they would have done anything if I hadn't. What they don't realize is that gem quality jadeite is almost exclusively from Burma. China has imported vast quantities of Burmese jade over the years because it values jadeite more than any other stone. (Jadeite is not found in China; only nephrite jade is mined there.)
The vast majority of vintage Chinese jade jewelry being sold on ebay, therefore, is Burmese jade. According to Paypal, Canadians cannot sell it to anyone living in the U.S.
Just wanted to give Canadian sellers a heads-up on this. I had never heard of this restriction before.
Anyone else had a similar experience?
