Big Business Ain't So Big

by Michael R. Hamilton

The federal government has gotten so big that even big businesses like Ebay.com are afraid to do anything that might make Big Brother unhappy with it's business practices. Since the ruling by the FDA to ban products with the natural herb ephedra in it, effective on April 12th, 2004, Ebay has started to cancel early those auctions and sales on its web site that are selling products with this natural herb in it, even though these products are still legal to sell.

Ebay states that it is in its right to stop these sales quoting their policies.

I have sold many bottles of NVE Pure Ephedrene on Ebay since the notice was published on February 6th, 2004. We started getting email notices sent to us from Ebay after the company had canceled our auctions. All but two of these have been canceled after we had sold what we had to sell, but all traces of he sales were erased from Ebay's history. I guess they did not want anyone to see that free and legal enterprise was taking place on their web site.

Ebay quoted their policies when they sent their email notices stating specifically;

"eBay appreciates the fact that you chose to list your auction:
2996076504 Pure Ephedrene Ephedrine Ephedra ~ 5 BOTTLES ~ NR
with us. Unfortunately your listing was in violation of our Prescription Drugs and Devices listing policy.(Emphasis added) Specifically, eBay does not permit the listing of any controlled drug or item that requires a prescription from a licensed practitioner (such as a doctor, dentist or optometrist) to dispense. This includes, but is not limited to, prescription drugs, in-the-ear hearing aids, contact lenses, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulators (TENS) units, Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) units, CPAP machines, and cardiac defibrillators. Additionally, eBay does not permit the listing of any components of prescription or over-the-counter drugs unless the sale of such components without a prescription has been approved by the Food & Drug Administration. Other examples of prescription items not permitted on eBay include prescription eyewear (vintage eyeglasses sold for collectible purposes are permitted), ear candles, and syringes/needles. These items are considered prescription devices by the FDA. Therefore, we have ended this listing and all fees have been credited to your account."

The reader will notice that Ebay listed a policy that has nothing to do with what was being sold. At the time of this writing and at the time of the sales, products containing ephedra were still perfectly legal to sell and consume. As a matter of fact, these products have never required a prescription or were regulated by the FDA, nor were they ever a component of a prescription drug. Ebay has taken it upon itself to do as the federal government has and dictate what you may or may not consume. So much for the free enterprise that made Ebay what it is today.

There email continued with:

(I did load the Prescription Drugs policy that Ebay has posted directly onto my server. I know how some documents tend to dissappear when someone has been exposed of something as ridiculous as this.)

"For information on Prescription Drugs and Prescription Materials, please view:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/prescriptions.html

Once again I was pointed to a policy that regards Prescription Drugs and Devices. Something that has nothing to do with selling a NON-controlled substance.

Then the email continued with:

"For a better understanding of our listing guidelines and how they affect the way you list your items, please visit the following URL: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-ov.html

For more information on why eBay has ended an auction, please visit: http://pages.ebay.com/ebaymotors/help/confidence/listing-ended.html

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please be aware repeated incidents of this nature can lead to the suspension of your account. We value you as a member of our community and wish to continue this relationship, so we must ask you to refrain from any violations of the Listing Policies or User Agreement in the future.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)"

You will notice when following these links that there is nothing regarding the sale of perfectly legal dietary supplements.

We have plenty of busy bodies in our free country doing everything they can to dictate and regulate what the free market does. These are typically socialist who think that the government's responsibilty is to do more than that outlined in our Constitution. One such site has a page up about this very subject.

You will notice that this site has the attitude that people who use effedra usually do not understand the potentially dangerous effects of using this product. One group of people this site lists are "people who work out". I have been working out for over twenty years and I can tell you from experience that MOST people who work out are intimately familiar with the dangers of the supplements they use. Their attitude is that of people who beleive that since it is their bodies that is being risked, it should be their choices to risk it.

Historically when the government has interferred with the free sale of supplemental products to human consumption, those who desired to use the products continued to use products that accomplished what they were seeking, but the products that became available were, many times, more dangerous than those banned by our ever knowing federal government.

Update, 2005

The ban on ephedra has been repealed. Ebay still does not permit its sale on their site.

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