Would it be okay to sell these things "for amusement only"? Or "for the prevention of disease only"?

And will the policy be enforced in an arbitrary and capricious manner? I'd be surprised if it weren't.

Looks like a case where the cure is worse than the disease....

And how about extreme audiophile gear, some of which James Randi included in his $1 million reward for demonstrating any supernatural phenomena.

And what about other religious items that cause harm, such as Christian books advocating the subjection of women, or Christian Scientist works advocating the denial of medical treatment to minors?

It really should. But if I stop off in Lourdes next week when I'm in the area, and buy myself one of those little vials of Very Holy Water Indeed, I bet you eBay will let me resell it. And if I were to put my rosaries in a shop with Foinah's runestones, I know which one would be likely to be hit by this ban.

And, in case anyone's wondering, this is not a distinction I'm in the least bit charmed by. As it were.

I wonder whether collections of myth and legend from various non-Semitic European cultures (eg Greece, Rome, the Celtic regions, the Norse lands etc) would count as "promoting the supernatural", considering how they've been incorporated into various brands of pagan worship? Might be worth finding out.

Also, does this mean I'd be unable to sell my second-hand collection of "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" books? (After all, if there's anything that more firmly promotes the supernatural than the "urban fantasy" sub-genre, I've yet to run across it - ghosties, ghoulies, and long leggedy beasties galore there!)

It would also be interesting to see the War on Drugs applied equally according to how addictive and harmful drugs are. Businessmen would sneak down alleys to score a fifth or a carton (of questionable purity), and be afraid to use phones for fear of surveillance.

Broad-brush scenarios aside, it would be best to see freedom and sense prevail, and perhaps end this mania for banning whatever legislators (and the relevant decision makers in private concerns with the reach and clout of eBay) don't use openly.

There's no indication whatsoever in the official announcement that they are planning on banning pagan-themed auctions where the buyer receives something tangible. I suspect that most of the sellers currently selling in the "Everything Else: Metaphysical: Psychic, Paranormal > Spells, Potions" category (which is currently dominated by "I'll cast this spell for you which will do X") will switch to selling "spell kits" (a bell, a scroll, and a candle, say) or some such instead.

BTW, spending 15 minutes looking through some of the spells currently on sale in that category is well worth it for the amusement factor: aside from promises to enhance sexual attributes (no, there is NOWHERE on the internet free of penis spam), you can get anything from a "POWERFUL MAGIC SPELL OF WEREWOLF/VAMPIRE TRANSFORMATION" (only 10 quid) to a "Custom Djinn Conjuration" (sixty bucks) to an "Illuminati Lord-Level Transference COMMAND Your Future" (for three thousand dollars).

I'm not sure they do have the right to do that, even though they're a private company. IANAL but I've heard there's a thing called a "public accommodation" rule.

I already hate eBay because they won't let you use any payment system but PayPal (which has serious integrity problems), so I can't, as with Chik-Fil-A, "boycott them even more," but as with CFA I wish I could.

The phrasing 'any item that promotes...anything supernatural' really ought to include bibles, but I bet it doesn't.

This is eBay sucking up to the religious right.

I've already used their "Tell Us About It" form to tell them why I won't be doing business with them after August 30th, but I'd really like to email someone directly (or even phone them).

(it sounded familiar to me, too, and I was almost sure I'd read it here, so went hunting)

As 'Lourde' is the French word for 'heavy', if you combine that with 'water', does it mean you'll be getting a Holy Hand Grenade?

Etsy, here I come.

See: Regretsy and the Insane PayPal Clusterf*ck

But if you could—could you sell your soul more than once?

I get the sinking feeling that the ban is exactly what I initially reported, despite vague references and responses from ebay.

New Age tat is even harder to call, since the same mineral may be sold as magick, interior decoration, spiritual healing, psychological therapy, or fashion jewelry, and they're forever repurposing spiritual practices from other cultures.

Something I observed when I lived near a shop that sold religious supplies for African immigrants is that to most first-worlders, they looked like occult supplies. I'm not sure how you'd begin to make that distinction. Not all cultures think that religion and occultism/magick are a natural dichotomy.

Damn I'm angry. It's not good to be this angry.

I mean, there's a reason Protestants complain about the smells and bells...

Heck, there isn't even a hard/bright line between religion, occultism/magick, and medicine.

Because they don't want to put anything in writing?

Things that are said on the phone get into "she must have misunderstood" and "the rep wasn't authorized to make that statement" fully-deniable territory.

Of course, all bets are off if EBay's enforcers are too illiterate to be able to tell the difference between a tarot deck and a tarot reading.

Heck, having a firm division between science, magic and religion is relatively recent in our culture. When Isaac Newton wasn't pondering physics he was experimenting with alchemy, and he thought both activities flowed naturally from his Christianity.

Assuming that Foinah correctly transcribed what the rep told her (and I see absolutely no reason to assume otherwise), then (a) someone at eBay sent out an internal memo as the rep quoted it, or (b) someone at eBay sent out an internal memo with the policy as listed on the website, and the rep fails at reading comprehension.

Either way, my bet is that eBay's enforcers either can't or won't tell the difference between a tarot deck and a tarot reading, or a spell book and an offer to cast a spell.

eBay needs to immediately clarify, publicly and to its customer-service reps, what categories of items will still be allowed, and that the ban does not encompass all items relating to magic, witchcraft, the supernatural, etc.

I'm thinking of how some of the stricter Christian sects around here would interpret that kind of ban, and it's giving me the willies.

And badly-written policies are a bad idea, just as badly-written laws are. Doesn't anyone think to run these things past a legal department first?

That sounds like good customer service anyway, because the tape is my customer's verification that I blessed the earwigs.

(Please don't tell me that somebody out there uses earwigs for religious purposes. Very few things creep me out, but... earwigs. Ewwww.)

It's the principal of the ban, with it's wonky wording, that disturbs me.

Whackadoodles and frauds give good pagans a bad name. Yes, yes they do.
And earwigs??? Bleh!!!!
Great visual, though.

"The following items are also being added to the prohibited items list: advice; spells; curses; hexing; conjuring; magic; prayers; blessing services; magic potions; healing sessions; work from home businesses & information; wholesale lists, and drop shop lists." (from higher on that particular web page)

That, to me, is not an unreasonable list in itself. For most Wiccans, I think, making a "magic potion" commercially would not be something reasonable to do, and there's a certain amount of consumer protection that goes into making sure that something people will ingest is actually safe (most potions are intended to be ingested, no? They'd be unguents if they were intended to be used on the skin, or am I wrong?). And "magic potions" are one of the few tangibles on that list.

The question is exactly how they're going to enforce it.

The quality of magic is not strained,
It droppeth from the eBay lists like apples
On Newton's head beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that sells it not and him
Who does not buy: 'Tis mightiest in its
Moneylessness: it becomes the naked
Witch (or warlock) in his (or in her) grove
Better than any woven cashbelt could;
His wad of bills shows force of temporal power,
The attribute to cop and gun and club;
Wherein doth sit the fear of banks and kings;
But magic is above this silvered sway;
It is ensconced in hearts and minds of all;
It is an attribute to God or Goddess,
And earthly power doth show most like justice
When cash controls not mercy.

eric, #58: *snerk* You're on a roll today!

The rep I just spoke with said he can't find any information on this at all. Nothing. Not a hint.
He said it appears to be a proposal that will be discussed and then promised to email me (gasp! It will be in writing) when he gets the correct information.

Have enough people called to register their dismay?
Has this all been one big "oops, my bad!" moment?
Who knows. Perhaps I should consult a psychic -- quickly just in case the ban is real -- and go from there. Cackle™

I have blessed
the plums
that are in
the coolroom

and which
you had been planning
to list
on eBay

Forgive me,
they are delicious
so super
and so natural

This extremely low-church Protestant doesn't complain about them. They're just outside my experience and comprehension.

And I'm wondering if it's got anything to do with the guy emailed me last week (and presumably he emailed other folks; he used my WitchVox.com listing) with a request for commissioned spell-work. Maybe he used to shop eBay.

Tom, #49: Prayers, blessing services, and healing sessions would also apply in Christian formats. Are those being banned, or only the pagan ones?

In most Christian traditions, selling those things is considered seriously wrong. So banning their sale on eBay would probably be perfectly OK with most Christians.

That "demon for sale" link? priceless.

Also eric@58 . That was the one where I choked publicly.