Prohibited items policy confusion for- GIFT CARDS with NO VALUE !!

[lina-mallows]

eBay has a "CLEARLY ???" stated policy respecting the sale of Gift Cards:
Gift Cards





eBay permits the listing of gift cards, with the following restrictions:


• The value of the gift card may not exceed $500.


• Gift cards may not be sold as pre-sale items and must be in hand at the time of listing.


• Only one gift card may be listed per week, per seller. No exceptions will be made for sellers with multiple accounts. For the purposes of this policy, eBay defines one week as seven days from the end of the previous Gift Card listing close.


• Multiple Gift Cards cannot be combined under a single listing
eBay, at its discretion, may approve 1st party suppliers, or authorized 3rd party contractors, to sell gift cards in excess of these restrictions.
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:


• Listing cancellation


• Limits on account privileges


• Account suspension


• Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings


• Loss of PowerSeller status






Here's the problem:
WE SELL "GIFT CARDS" as collectable items- where the Gift Card has NO CASH VALUE. (In many case- there never was a Cash Value- as the card was never activated!)
Does eBay's Gift Card policy apply? If so- how, and why?
Well- regardless, sometimes overzealous eBay staff remove our auctions- then after much correspondence concede that an auction for a Gift Card WITH NO CASH VALUE, was removed in error.



So sometimes we get an e-mail that reads
"I have reviewed the auction in question and have determined it was ended
in error. On behalf of eBay, I would like to sincerely apologize for
any inconvenience this may have caused you. "
I have reviewed the auction in question and have determined it was ended
in error. On behalf of eBay, I would like to sincerely apologize for
any inconvenience this may have caused you.




And then, like today- I get the following:


"I have reviewed the item in question (Starbucks Gift Card) and found
that it was removed correctly. Our policy states that sellers are
permitted to only sell one gift card a week. Even if there's no credit
on the card, our policy states only one per week. Thanks for your
understanding."





BOTH SITUATIONS CANNOT COEXIST !!!!


Our future on eBay depends on the ability to sell COLLECTIBLE items.
Just as many other eBay seller, and POWER SELLERS do every day.





HOW does one convince eBay to make the policy NOT ambiguous, by clearly stating that Gift Cards WITHOUT VALUE are not covered by the eBay Prohibited Item Policy ??
Even as a POWER SELLER I am unable to escalate this to get action.


ANY PINK OUT THERE THAT CAN HELP ?????

[vesivus]

I am even simply confused as to why you can't sell more than 1 gift card per week.

What is eBay's rationalization for THAT policy? It doesn't make sense to me...

John

[lina-mallows]

vesivus - to answer your question- In a one simple word- FRAUD !



eBay brought forward this policy as a way of stemming the fraud committed by some sellers of Gift Cards. (similar fraud exists in the sale of coupons for FREE products- where eBay limits the sale of NO MORE THAN TWO coupons, per auction. Though, multiple, and duplicate "FREE COUPON" auctions are allowed.)



I am not sure that detailing how to commit fraud on eBay is a good idea. (I could write a book!)



So lets just say that having been one of the people pushing for this policy , I agree with the policy.



However, there is a small error in the way that the policy is drafted, so that Gift Cards with no value, or those that have never had any value, may be removed by overzealous eBay staff, believing that these NO VALUE cards are in violation of the stated eBay policy.



I do thank the person who clarified the part of the "contact us" form that takes you to the reporting of "Gift Card" Listing Violations-
This person had the common sense to write- "ITEMS WITH A FACE VALUE (CURRENCY, COUPONS, ETC.)