I hate to start a thread again on this subject but .... Please be aware that the same EBAY seller (ze_zx) that sold me Black Madeira figs that were confiscated by the USDA is now selling them again for up to $200. At first, he did the right thing and took the listings down. Then he still did right by stating that he could not sell/ship to North America in the commentary of his listing. Now he is stating that the BUYER must be aware of his/her countries import regulations and goes on to offer shipping to the United States. Goes on to explicitly state that Australia and New Zealand are places he can't ship. He knows he cannot sell to US citizens and is overtly snubbing his nose at our laws. Shame on him.

I'm sorry to hear that your new treasure was confiscated.  Its a shame that people keep getting caught up in this. 

EBay should do the right thing and eliminate his ad.

I have reported almost every fig listing for sale from Turkey, China and Portugal to EBay. I have chosen every imaginable listed reason to complain but no action is taken. The USDA has this seller's ID so they are tracking him already. He lists at his own peril.

Thanks for the heads up.  I don't think Ebay cares, unfortunately.  I've reported sellers using my images and nothing was ever done about it.

No Frank you're right unfortunately, ebay only cares about collecting their fees and little else. I have found a way around this problem. I set up a search that just says "fig -seeds" and selected "US Only" and saved the search. Now, I don't even see the people from other countries listings.

It cuts out the terrible temptation.

Calling eBay might be more productive, if you have the time.  Sending an email to suggest@ebay.com might also help.

Also, the seller is a member here but hasn't posted for quite a while since he got chastised for using photos of others, etc.  His profile is at http://www.figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/profile/2033419 and it shows he has a skype account if you'd like to talk to him about it. :)

Harvey,

Thank you. I had spoken to EBAY extensively when I attempted to get a refund.  They denied my refund and gave me several links to complain to.  Effectively, they claimed ignorance and left me to attempt to police them.  Like anything else in life, you pick your battles and move on.  I admit, I lost this one. 

On contacting him,  I sent an email to him directly through EBAY. 

Just when I needed a pick me up, a friend at work from Bay Ridge Brooklyn that I give heirloom tomatoes to, gave me a white fig, one was pretty and tasted decent - like honey and weak melon.  The second was ugly and tasted outstanding like watermelon.  Made my week.

Steve, I've had a couple of instances when a bank refused to correct a mistake they made with credit card accounts I've had.  In each instance of mine, as well as once for a co-worker, I wrote a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and copied the bank.  In each instance the bank promptly fixed things and, in one case, gave me much more than I had been asking for.  The responses typically came from "the office of the president", etc.  It made the whole process somewhat "fun".  If you're interested in trying to get a change of heart on eBay's part, you might try contacting folks at http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/contact.html and sending a copy of your letter to eBay.  I imagine such a letter would get more attention.

Congrats on your fig gift. :)

Harvey

Thanks for the suggestion. You should be a public defender.

Steve

I sell on ebay and have had no problems but I follow a few simple rules.
1 use my own pics, or have the goahead to use someone elses pics prior to listing.
2 sell it as it is. If its a known then have the known name listed. If unknown I always state that it is an unknown kind.
3 I do have a disclaimer stating that I ship mon-wed only to insure plants donot spend the weekend boxed up in the post office/ and if its to hot shipping will be delayed.

I recently sold some cuttings. RdB,pete's honey and Hardy chicago. Fresh cutting (this years growth) the buyer asked if I would include a RdB leaf for dna testing which I was happy to do. Now honestly I don't think hhe was going to dna test as I hear that is costly. But figured it was more for id. And had I refused I could see where it may have raised red flags. I stand behind my listings.