Ebay

jdh

Member
May 21, 2010
1,555
Geneva, FL
Is it just me, or is ebay starting to actively remove all listing of lights whether or not it is antique or vintage?

Is there another site somewhere that is more light and siren friendly other then here, craigslist and face book?
 

Nolines

Member
Apr 5, 2018
1,678
Margate, FL
Is it just me, or is ebay starting to actively remove all listing of lights whether or not it is antique or vintage?

Is there another site somewhere that is more light and siren friendly other then here, craigslist and face book?
The newspaper?!
 
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Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
It's not just you.
Ebay apparently has been on a tear as of late.
 
May 21, 2010
2,201
Elmira, ny
Ive noticed one thing with ebay and thats they price gouge on shipping for lightbars, either that its sellers (no offense to anyone here)

Last time i checked it didnt cost 200 just for shipping for a 4 foot lightbar
 

MtnMan

Member
Dec 20, 2012
1,533
Eastern PA
Is it just me, or is ebay starting to actively remove all listing of lights whether or not it is antique or vintage?

Yeah, it's been a thing recently. Apparently, eBay is now saying listings of "police equipment" violate federal law. I know it's up to them what they want to list, but don't make up that BS.

I had my eye on a PA-10 earlier today, but it's vaporized. I'm sure some impersonator would have snatched it up
 
Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
True.......but not if it says usps ;)


Not to rant off topic too much, but shipping via ALL carriers has gotten waaaaay out of hand price wise. It's all about dimensions and zones anymore. I was able to ship 2 lightbars from AZ to PA, for less then $100 less then 5 years ago. Now I am lucky if I can ship a box of parts to CA for less then $100. It's gotten really out of hand.
 

rcfd34

Member
Oct 24, 2011
503
Illinois
I agree with shipping cost I had a bar I was gonna sell on ebay but now with shipping it would cost just as much to ship it as its worth.. most people on ebay put it has clear lens for led that way it shouldn't get deleted
 

jdh

Member
May 21, 2010
1,555
Geneva, FL
I do not know what has set them off, but with world economy on a brink of collapse due to covic, (maybe not collapse but it has hit some ppl hard)one would think they would not shoot themselves in the foot. They are also changing around payment options, by pushing or eliminating the use of PayPal. This is going to have sellers look at other on-line selling platforms. Not a smart move if you ask me.
But...what do I know.
 
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Spruce

New Member
Oct 21, 2020
3
Long Beach , CA 90807
Yeah, it's been a thing recently. Apparently, eBay is now saying listings of "police equipment" violate federal law. I know it's up to them what they want to list, but don't make up that BS.

I had my eye on a PA-10 earlier today, but it's vaporized. I'm sure some impersonator would have snatched it up
MtnMan I may have saved you from wasting your money on that PA-10. Before eBay shut it down I placed a bid on it. After eBay shut down that item, I was able to locate the seller and I purchased it outside eBay. The unit arrived Monday. The seller had no information on its history. What is evident in looking over the circuitry inside is that the siren manual button had been removed and all it's connection wires have been cut. Initially the Selector control was blocked and could not be put into WAIL or YELP. There were a number of dangling wires with no identification outside the unit. The speaker harness had three wires not just two. I have been looking for a PA-10 for over 20 years and this is the first one I have found available for purchase. If you are interested and willing I would be happy to send this unit to you for an assessment and I agree to cover your time for this. After that, let me know If it is salvageable and the cost to repair. Hope to hear from you ...Spruce
 

Tango7

Member
Jul 7, 2020
186
Chicago Metro Area
Yeah, it's been a thing recently. Apparently, eBay is now saying listings of "police equipment" violate federal law. I know it's up to them what they want to list, but don't make up that BS.

I'd love to see exactly what law prevents selling "police equipment" when I can go to a hundred websites and buy almost anything short of firearms, badges and tasers without providing my credentials.
 

Jarred J.

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
11,580
Shelbyville, TN
Ebay has had a ban on stuff way before that movie was thought of.. mid 2000s
 
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jdh

Member
May 21, 2010
1,555
Geneva, FL
Ebay implemented the ban on colored lights in 2002-2003. I have been selling on ebay since early 1999 - 2000??? But even with the ban, if it was no longer in use, ie antique or vintage (Twinsonic, Whelens 8000 bar, 17 series beacons) it was ok. You could still sell domes and filters. I had a set of red jet inserts pulled. WTF. Where does that violate anything. Its not a light. Ebay says you could put a flashlight behind it and impersonate. What kind of B.S. is that. Then ban anything non-opaque that is red.
 
May 21, 2010
1,256
Minnesota
I pretty much gave up on selling on ebay. I do not sell much but the majority is light related. I did have one auction pulled early this year and have not listed anything since. It appears maybe it was just a temporary crackdown? Been seeing lots of visibly red and blue lights plus the descriprions say red and blue the last couple times I was price checking.
 

tactiblox

Member
Mar 11, 2021
27
Maryland
A few months ago I had a UPKM-3 listed that came with a siren harness I didn't need. They took it down for something like "you are not aloud to sell police stuff".
 

Nolines

Member
Apr 5, 2018
1,678
Margate, FL
Maybe it's state specific that they take down, it's not like they have a clue what each state allows color or equipment wise... Annoying though aren't they
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
I am sorry to say a lot of it starts with users reporting one another. Someone has a cheaper similar item and now you can't charge $850 for a beacon ray so you go on a mass reporting spree. Then they update their algorithm and their overloaded staff get to picking through stuff that's not filtered. The ebay market is not seller friendly for emergency collectables. I mean it isn't really even seller friendly at all. Refund abuse runs rampant, cases are decide for the buyer 99% of the time. Item moderation is algorithm and report based with no real oversight as far as the actual polices. Every few years it gets a little worse. I will sell the occasional ebay item but never anything I can't afford to have returned broken for a full refund.
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
Once they stopped sending to my paypal, and wanted to hook up to my bank account I stopped all ebay sales.
This is also a good point. Freezing my paypal was one thing (I only use it for hobbies), having access to a bank account is another. I ended up getting a separate checking account for ebay with all the protections built in which was a good thing too because ebay overdrew it the first week refunding some yahoo before the payment was deposited.
 
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jdh

Member
May 21, 2010
1,555
Geneva, FL
This is also a good point. Freezing my paypal was one thing (I only use it for hobbies), having access to a bank account is another. I ended up getting a separate checking account for ebay with all the protections built in which was a good thing too because ebay overdrew it the first week refunding some yahoo before the payment was deposited.
I did the same thing. I do not trust ebay as far as I can throw them. I still sell on that site, but again as you mentioned John, it is items I can afford to lose, or someone I trust that are over seas.
 
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Impala9C1

Member
Sep 28, 2018
189
Arizona
Amazon may have an opposite issue. Here is a shop light that a friend had ordered for his shop and when they went to try it, they found a R/B feature. He went to the ad where the purchaser got it from and zero mention of it being anything more than an ordinary shop light. There is no reason to put those color LEDs that we could think of and why not mention it if there was a reason. I have heard of other encounters similar to this online.
 

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NCAP126

Member
Jul 28, 2013
202
New York
Maybe at the end of the job you have a dance party lol. I do see it as something you could use at a DWI checkpoint etc if it was more robust and on a tower. Like a Whelen par46 dual color or summit.
 
May 21, 2010
2,201
Elmira, ny
Can someone tell me HOW ebay thinks it will cost $42.50 to ship JUST 2 of the mx7000 lower flasher/takedown lightheads??

they probaly wouldnt cost more than $10 to ship.

couldnt find the ad, but found this one......almost $13.00 to ship one??

47646934-B187-41C2-8892-17F2EC0C8B20.png
 

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