Flag seller kicked off eBay, refuses to sell to Californians

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Is this violation of freedom of speech by E-bay??

Waterbury flag seller kicked off eBay, refuses to sell to Californians
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WATERBURY -- A Waterbury flag dealer has been barred from selling vintage American flags on eBay because of restrictions on who can buy the flags.
Mark Albino says he's been selling vintage American flags on eBay for years. He's a designated eBay power seller because his auctions have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in sales.

Albino says eBay has a problem because he won't sell the American flags to people in France, the Middle East or California, unless they are in the military in that state.

A spokesman for eBay says the massive auction site has pulled Albino's vintage flag sales off the site because his restrictions clash with eBay's rules and policies.

Albino says he won't sell the flag to people who might disrespect it.
 
Good on him. That's his choice to do, or not to do. But he does have to follow the rules of an organization that allows him to do buisness. But I agree with him.

No freedom of speech rights violated. His actions were restricted, not his voice.
 
I don't care much for eBay and its various rules, but that said, as a Californian, my take is that Albino can shove his flags. I'm really sick and tired of ignorant people painting us all with the same wide brush.

Tim
 
Mr. Albino is well within his rights to not sell to California residents and make his own personal statement.....which appears to be,
I just cut off millions of Americans from buying my flag and the associated lose of potential buyers....Statement is.. "I AM STUPID"
 
I just cut off millions of Americans from buying my flag and the associated lose of potential buyers....Statement is.. "I AM STUPID"


The theory being any profit is a good profit and standing up for ones beliefs
should be secondary to profit, not saying what he did was smart for business
however if corporations as a whole had some values about this country don't
believe we would be in our current situation in regards to trade,jobs, etc.
I applaud what he did.
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I just cut off millions of Americans from buying my flag and the associated lose of potential buyers....Statement is.. "I AM STUPID"
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Ten's of thousands of dollars in sales on Ebay and you think he's saying "I'm Stupid"? He obviously didn't need those millions of Californian customers to make his business thrive. He also won't sell to France or the Middle East, but somehow we're all okay with the revenue he's missing out on there?

Maybe the Californian's need to get over it. Some people don't like your state because of the MAJORITY of the citizens, those same citizens who fight constantly to disarm your entire state. There are obviously other shops and businesses who will support your flag needs. This fella feels the need to make a statement by refusing sales to California, and since I voted in the other threads that handgun makers should boycott California I'm going to support this businessman's cause.
 
Maybe the Californian's need to get over it. Some people don't like your state because of the MAJORITY of the citizens, those same citizens who fight constantly to disarm your entire state. There are obviously other shops and businesses who will support your flag needs. This fella feels the need to make a statement by refusing sales to California, and since I voted in the other threads that handgun makers should boycott California I'm going to support this businessman's cause.
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Soooooo if stereotyping people based on the ignorance of the loud and obnoxious is ok, I guess it's ok for me to assume the MAJORITY in Nevada in are loud mouths. Perhaps a better plan is for the People of California to boycott Nevada. Your economy would collapse in about a week.

If he's going to play on ebay then he plays by ebays rules. Now where is ebay based? Oh yeah California... What this moron did is spit in the face of those that feed him.
 
If he were TRULY worried about the possibility of people disrespecting the flags that he sells, he wouldn't sell to anyone in any state or any nation.

Bring principled is one thing.

But telling millions of veterans who served their nation honorably, Boy Scouts, etc., that they're not trustworthy and will disrespect the flag?

That's just retarded.

Adopting a "principle" based on... well, I'm not sure what... isn't very intelligent, especially when he's apparently more than willing to whore, er... sell, to Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York...
 
Perhaps a slightly different take on the issue.

I admire his conviction, and support his right to not sell, but I do have one little problem.

The flags he sells are either vintage (say the Betsy Ross flag) ones of historical note, or they are antiques, worth more money because of the history and who has owned them.

Do you follow me so far?

Okay, now then say I am a long haired, dope smoking, granola eating, tree hugging, Berkley Attending, young idiot am and I want to burn a flag, am I going to

a) pay for a rather expensive antinque (that was owned by Abe Lincoln's grandmother's neighbor) or perhaps a "Don't tread on me" flag (who as a long haired, dope smoking, granola eating, tree hugging, Berkley Attending, young idiot) I have no idea what that snake means.

Or

b) am I just going to go down to my local Wal Mart (Corporate Fat Cats keeping the little man down) and steal a flag.

Is he really losing much revenue from those that would disrespect the flags he is selling.
 
The article in the OP says 'vintage' flags, so I'm assuming they are more expensive than a new one from Wal-mart. What flag burner or whatever method of flag 'disrespecting' they were going to do, would buy a high dollar vintage flag? Mister Albino wanted to make a political statement and he did, E-bay wanted to enforce their policies and they did. I hope he feels it was worth tens of thousands of dollars in potential sales.
 
If he were TRULY worried about the possibility of people disrespecting the flags that he sells, he wouldn't sell to anyone in any state or any nation.

Bring principled is one thing.

But telling millions of veterans who served their nation honorably, Boy Scouts, etc., that they're not trustworthy and will disrespect the flag?

That's just retarded.

Adopting a "principle" based on... well, I'm not sure what... isn't very intelligent, especially when he's apparently more than willing to whore, er... sell, to Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York...
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You're entitled to your opinion.

And so is he.

Does everyone feel better now?
 
Ebay is a public company by the way...
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Not exactly. It's stock is traded on the open market and anyone is allowed to purchse the stock but it is not owned by the public. Restriction of Freedom of Speech only applies to the government. Discrimination is different than freedom of speech or censorship. Ebay is within its rights to cancel his sales and he is within his rights to be an idiot.
 
He has his way to do business and Ebay has their rules. They clashed and he didn't follow the rules. SO he got canned.

Now on this principle thing I remember hearing on the radio some pharmacy owners wouldn't stock birth control because it was offensive to their beliefs.

Is that stupid business or standing up for how you want to do business based on your feelings.

http://www.feministing.com/archives/007113.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/06/16/pro-life-pharmacies-dont-stock-birth-control/
 
I agree with the Pharmacy owners that refused to stock the pills. They have every right. However I seem to remember that some of the cases were where it was a pharmacist that was employed by a chain such as Walgreens that refused to fill the prescriptions even though they did not own the store and was an employee.

Years ago Kodak and other film processing companies ran into this where people would send in porn to be processed and some employees refused to handle the pictures. Kodak would allow employees that didn't mind seeing such stuff to process those rolls rather than the ones who objected.

As far as the flag fellow as someone else said to ban the entire state of Californicate from sales is punishing a lot of people unnecessarily. There are many good people there and do not deserve to be punished for the sins of others. The entire state of SC is being punished by the NAACP for having a certain flag on the statehouse grounds. I believe Glock has announced that they will not sell to Californians in protest. See how long that lasts.

If I recall correctly the BATF tells FLL dealers that if they have any question about a sale not to go through with it. So you have a customer, he wants a gun, you have the gun, he has the money and he passes the NICS. Something just does not feel right such as the way he is dressed. Do you have the right to refuse to sell him the gun? How about instead of a gun it is a PC or a Flag?
 
TimRB said
I don't care much for eBay and its various rules, but that said, as a Californian, my take is that Albino can shove his flags. I'm really sick and tired of ignorant people painting us all with the same wide brush.
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Tim, you are not the most elegant speaker on the forum, and I may have stated it more tactfully, but I wholeheartedly concur with the sentiments of your response!

Mr. Albino owns the flags and he can sell them, or not sell them, to anyone he pleases. And he also has the right to demean and defame the good people of the state of California, many of which, like me, have given their lives in service to their country, community, and fellow men. In my case, first in the military, then in Law Enforcement, and now serving the national security of the people of the United States via the defense industrial base. But please don't mistake Mr. Albino's bigotry and stereotyping for "principles." He is no more principled than the Muslim cab driver who refused to take a blind man to his destination because the blind man had a Seeing Eye dog and the Muslim believed dogs were "unclean." That is not being "principled." That is just plain mean-spirited bigotry. :(
 
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