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Tritium no longer allowed on eBay!?!

Dash1
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I just had a Speedmaster dial listing removed from eBay.com for not meeting their ‘Hazardous Materials Policy,’ apparently at the request of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It seems that all items containing tritium now breach the policy.
Has anyone else had this? I wonder what it means for the future of vintage watches and parts on eBay? Is tritium even hazardous?
2BCA73B7-7B63-447D-AD56-16EC01D20F91.jpeg
 
Badwolf
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Typical eBay. Their policies are a joke.

I'm sure it will be fine if you rephrase, misspell 😉
 
watchyouwant
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Change the main picture . Do not mention Lume anywhere in the text. Tell the watchers to contact you with additional questions and pictures. Do not re list, but copy and paste as a new listing. Different starting price. Will be fine. Achim
 
cicindela
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What about Radium? Is Radium still “allowed”

🙄
 
JwRosenthal
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This had become an issue with tinned pipe tobacco- some very rare and very valuable as it’s vacuum sealed so ages like wine. The trick became selling the sealed tin as a collectible and not the tobacco. Heard they then tried to dictate that all tins must be opened which then negates the whole concept of collecting and cellaring tobacco- but people always find a way around.

Still sitting on my massive stash of Dunhill from before they got out of the business…not looking forward to having to unload that eventually.
 
Wlcutter
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So I think it's actually going to get *much* worse. I recently sold a Seiko 6105 8009 from the 1960s, with tritium lume. When the auction finished, I sent the watch to ebay's global shipping program, as the winning bidder lives in Canada. It was there for maybe a day before I got an email telling me the watch would be returned because it had radioactive material. Meaning: if you can sell tritium watches *direct*, you should be fine. If it has to go through global shipping, or through the authenticators, I suspect it'll get flagged.

Fun side note: the handlers also *dropped* my 6105, rendering a watch that'd been working fine totally nonfunctional in the process. Big big fun.
 
watchyouwant
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Wlcutter Wlcutter
So I think it's actually going to get *much* worse. I recently sold a Seiko 6105 8009 from the 1960s, with tritium lume. When the auction finished, I sent the watch to ebay's global shipping program, as the winning bidder lives in Canada. It was there for maybe a day before I got an email telling me the watch would be returned because it had radioactive material. Meaning: if you can sell tritium watches *direct*, you should be fine. If it has to go through global shipping, or through the authenticators, I suspect it'll get flagged.

Fun side note: the handlers also *dropped* my 6105, rendering a watch that'd been working fine totally nonfunctional in the process. Big big fun.

Why on earth would anybody use eBay global shipping or some authenticators ??? Just sell, post, alter the description and value and everybody is happy....why would you obey the auction house, who only wants the commission? Do what you want. Don't do what they want as long as they get their fees. And if you not used or be uncomfortable with international shipping, learn something new. Obeying orders brings you were the young russian soldiers find themselves now in Ukraine. Drills were promised, Death they have to bring now. Use eBay for what it is, an international marketing platform.
 
Badwolf
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Still plenty on eBay.
Screenshot 2022-03-03 at 13.25.33.png


I wonder if I can sneak my plutonium dial Invicta on
 
watchyouwant
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Plutonium? Radium ? No Problem. Might have to stop showing Geiger counter readings in my listings.....
 
Badwolf
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watchyouwant watchyouwant
Plutonium? Radium ? No Problem. Might have to stop showing Geiger counter readings in my listings.....
Buyer collects, hazmat suit required
 
Donn Chambers
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Hundreds of new tritium gun sights are listed on EBay at the moment. I suspect this new policy (if it is true) is going to be very selectively enforced. Also, I did a little digging, and it appears the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is cracking down on the import of new tritium material into the US without a license by MANUFACTURERS (not sellers). I have so far found nothing regarding bans on old items with small amounts of tritium.

of course, EBay can interpret any rules however they want.
 
Dan S
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watchyouwant watchyouwant
Why on earth would anybody use eBay global shipping or some authenticators ??? Just sell, post, alter the description and value and everybody is happy....why would you obey the auction house, who only wants the commission? Do what you want. Don't do what they want as long as they get their fees. And if you not used or be uncomfortable with international shipping, learn something new. Obeying orders brings you were the young russian soldiers find themselves now in Ukraine. Drills were promised, Death they have to bring now. Use eBay for what it is, an international marketing platform.

In the US, watches over a certain value are automatically subject to eBay authentication, and this is probably spreading to all the eBay platforms eventually. Sellers don't have an option. So far, I haven't had a problem with authentication as a seller, and @Wlcutter's concern about authentication and tritium lume is hypothetical at this point. However, if eBay instructs the authenticators to reject watches with tritium lume, that will be the end of the vintage watch market on eBay in the US, except for low-end pieces.
 
JwRosenthal
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Dan S Dan S
In the US, watches over a certain value are automatically subject to eBay authentication, and this is probably spreading to all the eBay platforms eventually. Sellers don't have an option. So far, I haven't had a problem with authentication as a seller, and @Wlcutter's concern about authentication and tritium lume is hypothetical at this point. However, if eBay instructs the authenticators to reject watches with tritium lume, that will be the end of the vintage watch market on eBay in the US, except for low-end pieces.
At least they aren’t confiscating and destroying watches with radioactive materials…yet.
 
precisionhrlgy
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Wlcutter Wlcutter
So I think it's actually going to get *much* worse. I recently sold a Seiko 6105 8009 from the 1960s, with tritium lume. When the auction finished, I sent the watch to ebay's global shipping program, as the winning bidder lives in Canada. It was there for maybe a day before I got an email telling me the watch would be returned because it had radioactive material. Meaning: if you can sell tritium watches *direct*, you should be fine. If it has to go through global shipping, or through the authenticators, I suspect it'll get flagged.

Fun side note: the handlers also *dropped* my 6105, rendering a watch that'd been working fine totally nonfunctional in the process. Big big fun.

This watch was supposed to be shipped to me for servicing once it got to Canada but the buyer told me the story and he was very disappointed! I have heard rumours that early 6105’s were radium dials and assumed that was the case. Interesting if it is tritium though.
 
TimeODanaos
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mac_omega mac_omega
ebay gets worse every day... stupid company 👎
+1 perfectly put.

But perhaps there is concern that if they can only get themselves 5 billion more vintage watches, the Iranians will use the stuff to nix their non-proliferation agreement.
 
rcs914
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speaking of ebay being a stupid company - I just sold a rare model of the titanic which was a Scholastic book/toy in the early 2000s. They have gone out of production and they are now astronomically expensive for what they are. Mine sold for the lowest price one has gone for lately at $555.

But back to the stupid. The sale price was $555, plus $20 shipping. Then ebay tacked on nearly $35 tax for the buyer, and then proceeded to turn around and charge me a 12.9% final value fee on the ENTIRE amount - all $609 including tax that the buyer paid. Total fees charged of $79 almost, for an effective 15% charge on what I will get from the sale, as proceeds after fees and shipping will be maybe $475 if I'm lucky.


How the hell it's even legal to charge final value fees on the sales tax they are tacking on I have no idea. It's insane.
 
Dan S
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rcs914 rcs914
How the hell it's even legal to charge final value fees on the sales tax they are tacking on I have no idea. It's insane.

The fees on the shipping and taxes make no sense. They just do it because they can. I guess it might be logical to charge the modest (~2%) finance fee that PP used to charge for handling the transaction, but including shipping and taxes into the final value amount is totally illogical IMO.
Edited:
 
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