@mjwl2006 wrote:
This thread has been cited as a source three years later.
If anyone here still cares, it is, in fact, against ebay policy for a seller to collect a buyer's data and use if for purposes outside ebay.
I don't think it's a good idea to make a definitive statement like this until we actually do get clarification. At least in fairness to anyone reading this thread, I think it would be appropriate to state the other side of the argument as well. Clearly we have different interpretations of the subject in question.
I and many other experienced sellers believe there is a distinction between eBay's jurisdiction in making rules for its own site and activities that take place entirely beyond that site. That is, as long as communication takes place between private emails, outside of eBay, there is nothing eBay can do about it from a legal standpoint, and the laws of Canada are then the only laws that apply.
All Raphael may be able to say is whether or not in his understanding eBay has any control once communication takes place outside eBay's site(s) or facilities. I don't think he has the authority or purview to go any further, and to be honest, I'm not sure he can even go that far. He can certainly explain how eBay's rules apply within eBay, but he he's not in a position to give a legal opinion on the use of email marketing outside eBay under Canada's anti-spam legislation. He may have a personal opinion about it, but that's not the same. To get that confirmation, we'll have to wait for a response from the OCA (Office of Consumer Affairs) to my query.
I've re-read the .ca User Agreement and I can't find any language which refers to eBay owning its user (buyer) email addresses or controlling use of those emails once communication occurs outside of eBay's site(s). If someone can point to such a clause, it might be helpful to submit it to an independent authority to obtain a ruling (which can certainly be done -- outside of eBay of course). I'd be happy to do that.
There is one other thing I have to point out. In your post above you neglected to include the preamble paragraph in eBay's anti-spam policy (which is at the very top of the page in your link). You've quoted the section further down the page out of context before, but the preamble makes all the difference. It sets out the limits of eBay's jurisdiction with respect to spam, and needs to be read together with the text you quoted. Here is the preamble at the top of the "Member-to-Member Contact" policy page. (I've added the emphasis).
"Members can send messages to each other through eBay. We encourage open communication between our members but we don't allow our members to use these options to send spam, offers to buy or sell off eBay, threats, profanity, or hate speech. We also don't allow members to exchange email addresses, phone numbers or other contact information, web addresses, or links within eBay messaging systems (Best Offer, My Messages etc.)."
The words "these options" refers to the various internal eBay messaging that is detailed further down the page. Here is the .ca page on eBay that sets out the whole policy: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/rfe-spam-ov.html
The operative sentence is in the third paragraph from the top of that page:
"Please remember that we don't have control over communication unless it takes place through eBay."
This acknowledgement by eBay is consistent with Pierre's understanding of the policy (and mine). Still, it won't do any harm to have this statement confirmed or denied (assuming Raphael is the person to do so). If Raphael does tell us that in his view contact outside of eBay is beyond eBay's purview to control or regulate, then we need to be sure we're complying with Canada's anti-spam legislation, a clarification of which I'm hoping to have next week from the OCA, as you know. In that regard, I specifically asked the OCA about our situation as eBay sellers, i.e. whether the "implied consent" exception under the statute would apply to emails garnered from an eBay and/or Paypal transaction even if those emails weren't obtained directly by the seller but by eBay itself.
In the meantime, until all of this gets cleared up, any sellers who may be concerned about whether outside contact by email with former buyers is permissible or not can simply postpone such activity.
I think Pierre understood eBay policy better than most, but if he was wrong (which I don't think is the case), then certainly many of us will have to adjust our practices.
However, this issue turns not on whether eBay has an internal anti-spam policy (which it clearly does, and which I'm the first to admit), but whether eBay's rules extend out into the non-eBay world. Is Raphael the appropriate person to answer that question with authority and without prejudice? I'm not so sure. I think it would take an independent expert in international corporate/commercial law to be able to answer it fully and in an unbiased manner. To be frank I'm not even sure I'd want to rely on eBay's own lawyers to answer that question with complete candour and fairness.
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