eBay Wipes Out Tobacco Sellers?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
That's price gouging, and illegal in many states.
It's usually when there's a natural or man-made large scale disaster, and stores jack up prices on the above items.
Joe Blow, buying ten tins of Rare Stuff for $15 and then offering them for $50 is perhaps reprehensible but not immoral nor illegal.
I thought scalping was for tickets to upcoming events, but may be wrong as to usage in other parts of the world.

 

logs

Lifer
Apr 28, 2019
1,873
5,069
I always bought them when it’s a win-win
Buying anything else on ebay is a win/win, provided the seller gets his money and the buyer receives the item he purchased. The price has to be agreed upon buy the two of them for the transaction to even take place. So that's a win/win.
Tobacco on ebay is akin to a black market. It's not technically permitted and legally it's a gray area. The prices are higher than any B&M or online retailer, but then so are the costs and risks to the seller. Both Ebay and Paypal take a hefty percentage of the proceeds, plus you risk having your account frozen. On top of that, the transaction is between two strangers and the chances of being tricked or cheated are always at the forefront of people's minds. If you don't think that accounts for higher prices then you're not thinking about it very clearly.
If you want a bargain on tobacco, then buy from Smoking Pipes. If you want access to old and hard to find tobacco at a reasonable price, then build a relationship in your local pipe community including your nearest B&M, so you can trade and get special discounts for being a good customer.
Ebay is for the lazy-bones buyer who wants rare tobacco RIGHT NOW and is willing to take the risks involved and doesn't mind paying a premium for it.

 
@logs

Agreed. I don’t think I said anything different.
I will give another example of a win-win. I bought a ton of tobacco from a eBay seller at about 20% premium to

Market price. He was trying to get rid of excess tobacco he cannot smoke so he was happy to get a premium. I was planning to buy them anyway, and that 20% premium gave me a 7+ years of age. It included a tin of 7+ Age Penzance, so that was also good.
I paid the 20% premium for age.
Also patience- Being patient has landed me most of the tobacco which I wanted but hard to obtain. I now have a 3 years worth of cellar.

 

eggrollpiper

Can't Leave
Jul 27, 2018
378
38
I was selling tins on ebay very resonably mostly along with my ussual tobaciana. I had all the tins canceled and lost seller privalges for a day about two months ago. At the time the others seemed unaffected. I thought maybe I was targeted for some reason but maybe I was just the first up. All things considered not such a terrible fate.

Meanwhile I was stocking an excessive amount of tins so now I'm just more prepared for the tobacco apocalypse.

 

logs

Lifer
Apr 28, 2019
1,873
5,069
@cshubra, got it. Sorry if I misunderstood your original point.

 

briarbuck

Lifer
Nov 24, 2015
2,287
5,492
This has happened a half dozen times over the past 5 years. EBAY seems to ebb and flow regarding their enforcement of their own rules. They will lose interest in a month and it will be business as usual.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
There is theoretically nothing wrong with scalping as well - but you can ask a neuroscientist - It is psychological and violates many people’s sense of fairness. If Smoking Pipes sold Penzance at 75$ then a lot of people would not bat an eyelid to pay 75$ solution surendettement. This was a link to a spam site. But if it is sold at 15$, someone hoards it at 15$ and then sells it next day at 75$, it will violate many people’s psychological belief.
Me anyway, I'm not against the fact that people smoke a pipe, but they do not do in public places. As for the price, I find it quite profitable.
How good of you, you clever little shit, using a quote to insert your spam link. Sod off.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
It will be interesting to see how the flippers react to this new reality. Can tobacco be sold on social media like Facebook or Instagram? If not their options are limited.

 

donjgiles

Lifer
Apr 14, 2018
1,571
2,522
I believe there was just recently, a crack down on Facebook banning obvious tobacco sales. Seems folks are finding their way around it... as folks do.
DOn

 

litup

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 16, 2015
722
2,206
Sacramento, CA
Yeah, my suspicion was that eBay was following the lead of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram who have all stepped up their crusades against selling tobacco on their platforms recently.

 

jpberg

Lifer
Aug 30, 2011
2,905
6,544
eBay has had policies against selling tobacco for years. Will everybody talk shit about this and other forums when big brother catches up with them?

 

logs

Lifer
Apr 28, 2019
1,873
5,069
I've seen Facebook pipe groups allow posts about selling/trading provided no one lists any prices or talks about the cash value. Everything has to be done via PM. Not sure if that complies with FB policy but that's what I've seen happening.

 

logs

Lifer
Apr 28, 2019
1,873
5,069
To follow up on the FB question, there's a guy selling Christmas Cheer right now on the FB group Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society.

 

3rdguy

Lifer
Aug 29, 2017
3,472
7,293
Iowa
There is a lot on FB. Gentlemen’s is one, there is also for tobacco only sales, can’t remember the name offhand. The sale groups are mostly going by initials now. Prices are frequently drawn on the pictures themselves.

 

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,126
12,193
In answer to your question "what happened?" it's clear to me that the 20% - 10% of the members of our community who are a little overactive and zealous in their "policing activities" and created an insurmountable headache of reported eBay listings over the course of this last year's McClelland and Esoterica waves. The "do-gooders" who ruined our chances at being able to afford a rare tobacco at auction for reasonable prices, rather than having it all channeled to expert re-sellers who know just how hard they can squeeze your wallet.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,844
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
The whole eBay tobacco thing is really odd. On the one hand, they've had a no tobacco selling rule for years. On the other hand, they have listing categories for sealed tins, unopened tins, specific blenders, etc. Seems more than a little contradictory.

If they really wanted to stop the sale of tobacco on their sites they could do so at any time by not offering the category at all. So I guess this is another their occasional attempts to pretend to be enforcing their rules.

 

briarbuck

Lifer
Nov 24, 2015
2,287
5,492
Sabes, this has happened several times. Maybe 4-5 years ago they took down every can. It lasted about 45 days and then it will start to trickle back.
To me, there is a difference in selling tins that are discontinued. Then, they are in fact collectors items and should be OK to sell on EBAY. Just re-selling stuff because it may be hard to get, isn't in the spirit or rules of the platform.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.