Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26123293-20150306160300/@comment-15636815-20150624182834

Caveat emptor.

Many legitimate sellers sell many legitimate products on eBay every second of every day. The fact that criminals also use eBay to sell counterfeit products does not make eBay implicit in those crimes.

Providing a mechanism for lawful commerce, which criminals then abuse, is not the same thing as "promoting crime". It's not even close. It's not even in the same galaxy. Using that logic, a gun shop owner who sells a deer hunting rifle to a person who then uses the rifle to kill a human is promoting crime. Using that logic, a bartender who sells a drink to a person who then gets drunk and drives home in that condition is promoting crime. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I am a businessperson. I despise fraud. eBay dislikes fraud, and they say so in their documentation--many times. eBay also lacks the resources to investigate its sellers' products to be certain that the sellers' claims are genuine. Because they cannot certify the products, eBay stick to what they CAN do: certifying transactions. If the buyer pays and seller delivers, eBay's job is done. If the seller chooses to advertise one product and deliver another, the buyer must seek equity from the seller. eBay help when and where they can, but they lack the resources to investigate thoroughly every one of the millions of transactions they oversee daily, as stated previously. Ultimately, eBay protect their own interests, which is reasonable to expect of any business.

It is senselessin fact, uselessto punish a bartender whose patron is guilty of DUI. It is equally senseless and useless to punish eBay for the actions of its sellers. If it makes you feel better about yourself, though, you are free to engage in a one-person crusade of such punishment, despite the obvious absurdity and futility of doing so.