rich steed
United Kingdom
Stoke-On-Trent
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I've seen everthing now.
I recently listed a copy of the original version of Escape from Colditz on eBay recently - in their Escape from Colditz category.
Everything went well - after 10 days it finished at a very respectible £26 and I sent the invoice to the winner in america.
Sounds good so far? I then get an email from eBay saying that they had cancelled the auction as the item was inciting racial hatred! WTF - they have a category for the game! Ok so the old version of the game has a swastika on the cover but come on!
I wouldn't have minded as much if they'd rejected the auction when I listed it or during the auction but after the auction is taking the mickey a bit. Especially as I've lost a sale!
I've sold a number of copies of this game before with no problem so why now?
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Simon Hilsdorf
Germany
Mannheim
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Wow, that sucks. I am glad that I got a copy from you before they caught you
Jokes aside, I think it was a user who reported you to ebay. Maybe someone not knowing the game... But again: it really sucks to take down the game after the auction ended.
Hope everything turns out good for you mate!
Simon
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Counting down to the London Marathon
United Kingdom
BRISTOL
but I'd rather live in the south of France
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King Zombie wrote: so why now?
Unbelievable! Presumably they'll pull any auctions involving the film, the books or the TV series too?
I imagine there must be someone trawling through listings looking for things to complain about. Bad luck!
Edit: I have just looked at some of the current listings of the same game and it would appear to be the use of photos which reproduce the swastikas on the box front or on the backs of the cards that is causing this stance to be taken by ebay. I suppose that if a user in Germany searches for, and finds, these images, there is potentially a contravention of their national laws on this matter and so ebay are having to change their stance.
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Paul Sauberer
United States
Hendersonville
Tennessee
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If the auction was done and you sent an invoice, why can't you complete the sale? Don't you still have the e-mail address of the buyer?
Did they refund all of your fees, including the listing fee?
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Mik Svellov
Denmark
Copenhagen N
EU
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Psauberer wrote: If the auction was done and you sent an invoice, why can't you complete the sale? Don't you still have the e-mail address of the buyer?
My thought as well.
If the buyer really was interested in buying it, wouldn't he contact you?
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Rolling bad dice in wargames since 1977
United States
Austin
Texas
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If there is a special category for the game on e-bay, perhaps they track sellers and buyers for this item and while the sale may be outlawed to/from Germany, it may still be okay somewhere else?
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Counting down to the London Marathon
United Kingdom
BRISTOL
but I'd rather live in the south of France
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I don't think it's the sale as much as the display of images. Ebay would have a job stopping only users in Germany from viewing these images. The internet doesn't stop at national frontiers (unless of course you're Google trying to get a foothold in China).
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Mark Chaplin
United Kingdom
Nottingham
Ice-choked tower, Mondavia, Nanglangka.
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Send the buyer a PayPal invoice. Complete the transaction. Bypass eBay in this instance for having no common sense.
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it is surely the swastika
My friend on ebay had the same issue, and relisted covering the swastika with smily faces which was rather hilarious.
He crossed some emails with ebay support, and concluded that somebody had reported the item as offensive. At least that is what ebay replied to my friend, if a third person report they act and remove the advert.
I dont understand why you can not now complete the sale anyway? And wave the ebay comissions all together 
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By the way, did you know that the swastika inverted is the same symbol as some type of budhist symbol, which is commonly seen in many parts in Asia?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisdrum/403613774/
So, I often wonder what would happen if in Europe a devote Budhist put that symbol on the window? or on your balcony? Would THE LAW go "mistakenly" after you?
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Mik Svellov
Denmark
Copenhagen N
EU
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It doesn't have to be inverted to be positive.
This American postcard is from 1907
And the Danish brewery Carlsberg had the sun-sign registrated as a trademark in 1881:
http://www.netetiket.dk/hvidt_ol_skattefri_carlsberg_mork.ht...
The symbol is still featured on their building - although they for obvious reasons dropped the trademark after the German invasion of Denmark in 1940.
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steve perkins
United Kingdom
Telford
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What!! I can't believe it...£26, I got my copy at Beer & Pretzels 2006 in Burton for £12.50.
Oh yea the banned thing, I can't believe it!! It is after all one of my top 10 games of all time, if you look on my geek profile. I've been playing it since I was about 9 years old.
As others have said it's the PC brigade and the swastika (or more likely their complete ignorance of the game)
Mind you wasn't ignorance and misinformation the breeding ground of Nazism.
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John Marsella
United States
Modesto
California
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The achilles heel of the sheeple...Symbolism over substance.
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Tony Cutcliffe
United Kingdom
Devon
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When Orwell's 'Thought Police' become a reality, eBay will be right up there with them.
eBay rely on a subversive informer element to find out what they should be banning. The whole eBay system has a dark side that is quite scary.
And PayPal are no help either - they're owned by eBay.
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Came across this a while ago bidding on a copy that had Swastika covered up, didnt win though. Found a copy in Cancer research shop arbroath for £3.00, complete Gibson games edition, cant complain.
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franklin johnson
United States
santa cruz
California
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Did anyone think to see that the game is about men of many nations(poles, dutch, french etc) struggling against the racist tyrants, and that these men are clearly presented as the heroes? No, I guess that would take too much thinking; what happened here is, somebody's knee jerked.
All eBAy should do, I think, is advise whether a given shipment contravens a given country's laws. To do otherwise is effectivly to let them regulate outside their jurisdiction.
I (just possibly) might have understood if they had gone after THIS game:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/11102
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Bill Paradise
United States
Glassboro
New Jersey
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Ebay is stupid. If they only knew the real meaning of a swaztika which is:
The swastika has an extensive history. It was used at least 5,000 years before Adolf Hitler designed the Nazi flag. The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being." The motif (a hooked cross) appears to have first been used in Neolithic Eurasia, perhaps representing the movement of the sun through the sky. To this day it is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Odinism. It is a common sight on temples or houses in India or Indonesia. Swastikas also have an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures.
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