Listing removed due to Recall?

[Zach]

I received a message from eBay informing my that something I listed yesterday has been removed because it is recalled. It’s a brand new hair dryer from the 1980s. I can’t find any record anywhere (government recall site, Google search) that this is a recalled product. Worse yet, eBay has removed my products from search for 3 days. Anyone ever had this decision (or suspension) reversed after calling eBay, or is this a lost cause. I’m very frustrated and don’t know why the listing was flagged.

[Jay]

yep, old hair dryers are notorious for removal. I bet its a ConAir? We’ve learned to just not list old hair dryers. They dont sell well anyway.

Have you had any other violations in the last six months? How new is your store? eBay usually just gives you a warning after the first violation. Suspensions happen with repeated violations.

[Zach]

It’s a Windmere Curly Top hair dryer. Don’t think I’ve had any violations recently, but hard to remember for sure. I guess it technically isn’t a suspension, but rather a restriction (removing me from search). I have 1800 items for sale and have been selling on eBay since 2013. 100% feedback and top rated seller.

[Jay]

It wouldnt hurt to call eBay to ask them about the 3-day search penalty.

We soemtimes accidentally list restricted items or get VEROs. We always just get warnings because I assume they see we dont have a pattern of violations.

[Sharyn]

Definitely call eBay up. Just be professional and explain what happened. Say that after the listing was taken down, you searched for a recall notice and didn’t find one. You are sorry that you unknowingly listed a recalled item, but you aren’t sure how you would have known. It seems excessive for them to punish you given what you’ve said.

I didn’t have this issue, but I did call them recently because I was being removed from TRS due to really minor issues. They did fix it for me.

[Zach]

I called up ebay and had probably the best customer service experience in my years of selling online (it was a US rep). Even she seemed a bit confused by why it was pulled and she did some research. My specific hair dryer model was not recalled, but in 2011, the CPSC said all hair dryers need to have the little auto-shutoff submersion switch on them for safety reasons. The eBay bot goes through and removes all dryers it somehow determines were manufactured before 2011. She said if I put it in a collectibles category, rather than the hair dryer category, I can safely relist it.

Also, eBay did not put any restrictions on my account. It was just a (very confusingly worded) warning message. “Listings that don’t follow this policy in the future will be ended. In addition, there will be a temporary 3-day restriction placed on your account, and your other listings will be hidden from search during this period.”

So anyway, if anyone is listing a vintage hair dryer in the future, do not put in the Hair Dryer category. List it in a collectible category.

[Jay]

Awesome. eBay can be frustrating but we usually get the info we need. Good to know they can be listed as Collectibles. So arbitrary.

[Zach]

Well, the eBay rep was wrong. I had relisted the hair dryer under the category Collectibles ⏩ 1980s. It just got pulled again for the same reason.

[gargolfer]

Hey Zach, I’m glad I stumbled on this thread. By coincidence, I just listed this exact same hair dryer yesterday and Ebay pulled it down last night. Looks like you saved me a call to Ebay for the details on it. I guess I’ll just take my lumps on this one and donate it. Too bad though, it is brand new in the box. Thanks for posting about your issue with this.

[Author]

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