I Was On Top of the eBay World with $150k in Sales, Then This Antique Broke Me!

Cassie LaBelle, a seasoned eBay seller, saw her six-figure business grind to a halt after the platform banned her account. Cassie, who had been selling antiques on eBay for more than 20 years, was left shocked after listing a 140-year-old “pill press” that triggered eBay’s strict policy enforcement.

Cassie had turned her passion for collecting into a full-time business in 2017. Before her account was shut down, she made nearly $150,000 in gross profits last year and estimates that eBay profited more than $100,000 from her sales. But her successful run came to a sudden end when she unknowingly violated one of the platform’s policies.

Living in Aurora, Colorado, Cassie has always had a passion for finding unique treasures at flea markets and estate sales. She’s sold everything from quirky trinkets to a life-sized Ronald McDonald statue from Japan. In July, she attended an estate sale where she found several antiques, including an old apothecary pill press from the late 1800s.

Without thinking twice, Cassie listed the pill press on eBay, eventually selling it for a modest $250. What followed was a nightmare. A few days after the sale, eBay sent her a warning letter.

“There are lots of eBay policies and when you’re an ‘everything seller,’ which is what eBay encourages, you’re going to find stuff that hit some policy you never even thought of,” Cassie said.

Cassie assumed the issue was minor and resolved with the initial warning. She didn’t anticipate further consequences. But weeks later, she was notified that her account had been suspended for multiple violations of eBay’s drug-related policies.

“My heart stops. I think somebody made a mistake because I didn’t do this again,” Cassie recalled, shocked by the situation. After contacting eBay support, she was told that the suspension was a delayed penalty from her earlier infraction.

Despite taking the suspension in stride, Cassie’s troubles weren’t over. In late September, eBay completely shut down her account. All her listings were removed, and her business was effectively frozen. The company cited “repeated violations” of its policies.

In response, an eBay spokesperson explained, “Maintaining a safe and trusted marketplace for our global community of sellers and buyers is a fundamental principle of our business…eBay has zero tolerance for illegal activity on its platform.”

Although Cassie’s account has since been reinstated, she remains frustrated. She firmly believes the 1890s pill press could not possibly be used for illegal purposes in today’s world. “I’ve had multiple people who are in pharmaceuticals say that this cannot make drugs in the year 2024.”

In her desperation to reverse eBay’s decision, Cassie took to social media, hoping to bring attention to her case. “I was hoping that rattling some cages on social media would make the right people listen to me,” she explained. Cassie acknowledged the need for eBay’s policies but felt that her case was an overreach, stating, “I sold something that could not do any harm and lost my livelihood over it.”

Her frustration extends beyond her case. Cassie criticized eBay’s reliance on AI for decision-making, urging the company to treat sellers like business partners. “They need to treat us like business partners and not like disposable pawns.”

While eBay eventually reinstated her account, Cassie’s experience serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities of selling online. Despite her account being back in action, the emotional toll and loss of income left her questioning the fairness of the system. The incident underscores the balance online platforms must strike between enforcing policies and ensuring fair treatment of their sellers.