Comments on: No more spells, hexes, or prayers on eBay

By: gypsyspacemuffin

gypsyspacemuffin — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:47:00 +0000

Or someone’s grandma’s virginity, kept in a jar with ghosts.

By: denofthieves

denofthieves — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Exactly. I really don’t trust most of the ritual services you can buy online to truly be carried out, or to be carried out as they are often described. Under a full moon under the right stars etc. it all sounds very unlikely. Also, ritual work tends to only be effective if the practitioner is personally and emotionally invested in the outcome. Even if you are a person who believes wholeheartedly in the efficacy of magick, it’s just not a good investment. Do it yourself and you will be much better off. I generally don’t charge for readings, some people insist, in which case I usually just use the cash to buy lunch for a homeless guy. But the I don’t need to make a living that way. The only service I’ve ever charged for is performing handfastings.

Honestly as pagans we have way bigger issues facing us, and it seems a bit silly to worry about this sort of thing.

By: Greg Webster

Greg Webster — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:33:00 +0000

Note that this is not banning only non-physical items, but also physical items with alleged magical properties. Let’s see if they extend this to Catholic prayer beads and crosses.

By: Dr P Fenderson

Dr P Fenderson — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:31:00 +0000

What about those magic “Ts” with the little dead dude on them?

By: Mike The Bard

Mike The Bard — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Another Pagan here, one who actually does tarot readings at that. I’m actually fine with the eBay policy- rosaries, St Joseph statues, and any of my handcrafts are still allowed because they are tangible goods.

The problem was that eBay was becoming a middleman for transactions which could not actually be proven to have taken place.

If sell a wand online, the customer has a physical item, a shipping label, and a return address. If there’s an issue, there’s something to point to, even if that issue can be summed up with “not happy with purchase”. If I do a tarot reading for someone in person, they’re paying me for my time rather than for any advice or insight. If someone sells a service like that online, well, there’s no way to prove whether they actually did anything, or just pasted a form email response.

By: Mike The Bard

Mike The Bard — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:07:00 +0000

Yes. There’s a physical object to point to, which a neutral third party can make a ruling on: Yes/No, that Is/Isn’t what you ordered.

Subjective personal experiences, almost by definition, are difficult or impossible to do that with.

By: Teller

Teller — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:10:00 +0000

Extra lucid. Now there’s a goal worth reaching.

By: Ito Kagehisa

Ito Kagehisa — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:06:00 +0000

I cast the spell that made eBay do this.

By: denofthieves

denofthieves — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:21:00 +0000

I’m a practicing pagan, or “herpyderpy” person if you will, and I am totally ok with ebays decision. Spiritual advice and services probably should not be sold over the Internet. It’s just so crass. a lot of us don’t even feel money should be exchanged for such thing as they are subjective and intangible. That being said, the ban doesn’t include pagan handcrafts or ritual items (which are tangible) so I don’t see it as discriminatory really. At least not if those rules apply to other religious groups equally, for example can I buy Christian prayers over eBay? How about absolution of my sins? No? Well that’s fine then.

By: TooGoodToCheck

TooGoodToCheck — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:33:00 +0000

I just logged in to say basically the same thing. The context-sensitive advertising on this page is for asknow dot com, and they are encouraging me to click to “Ask a Free Psychic Question”

Although if I were actually able to ask Psychic Questions, I’m not sure what use i would have for asknow

By: Sebastian Gravina

Sebastian Gravina — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:26:00 +0000

Darn it! Now I have to go all the way to Darnassus in order to get my spells. Not cool… :)

By: ImmutableMichael

ImmutableMichael — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:18:00 +0000

Oh the irony…. I’m seeing this page with a banner ad promoting http://www.julia-clairvoyance.com/

I was hoping it was a parody but alas it was not, although she is billed as “extra lucid”.

By: Kimmo

Kimmo — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:58:00 +0000

Suck shit, sleazy bullshit peddlers!

: D

By: darkjayson

darkjayson — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:22:00 +0000

I think it has to do with the fact there selling non physical services rather than physical objects than just because there occult. Are there any other services that are aloud to be sold on ebay?

By: niktemadur

niktemadur — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:58:00 +0000

There’s still Craigslist, you know…

By: sam1148

sam1148 — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:52:00 +0000

I don’t think they’ve thought their cunning plan through.

By: Ladyfingers

Ladyfingers — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:32:00 +0000

If only I’d thought to do this before I found out I couldn’t.

By: Repurposed

Repurposed — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:22:00 +0000

When my magic doesn’t work, I usually appeal to the Dungeon Master.

By: Repurposed

Repurposed — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:21:00 +0000

I didn’t go through 6 years of breast inspector college for nothing. When I came back from BU, they spat on me.

By: Repurposed

Repurposed — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:19:00 +0000

I’m sure there’s a community that will rally around to defend it. Probably all in caps.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:58:00 +0000

Is that really any worse than getting a sweater vest with three armholes?

By: Hanglyman

Hanglyman — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:28:00 +0000

You’re not the only one. The urge to make easy money selling water, or sugar pills, or, well, NOTHING to gullible idiots can be pretty frustrating sometimes. On the plus side, at least you have a conscience, one of the few things that can’t be bought for any amount of money.

By: ponzicar

ponzicar — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:21:00 +0000

I can see some problems with the concept. What if there is a dispute between the buyer and seller? “He didn’t do the spell right!” “The spirits don’t have to help someone so selfish!”, etc. How could you prove who was right?

By: pjcamp

pjcamp — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 03:22:00 +0000

Now that just adds a whole new level of weird.

By: Crashproof

Crashproof — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 03:00:00 +0000

Coincidentally, I just removed the casters from my desk.

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 02:22:00 +0000

haha I love how crack pipes roll, for years there were and maybe in some places still are, some product or other, be it a flower, or vanilla bean or what have you, being sold in a glass tube with a lil glass holder in one end to keep the flower in place, in so many convenience stores.

I wanted to buy the rose one to give a sweetie so I could later ask them wth why u gotta crack pipe?

By: Funk Daddy

Funk Daddy — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 02:17:00 +0000

Everytime I see something like this, some tap of fleeced fool money being closed, I get teh slightest itch about missing all that free money if only I were slightly closer to ammoral.

Homeopaths, yeah, I could also wildcraft some medicine, or just rely on tap water as so many do to get rich or at least paid… stupid niggling backbone keeping me honest wtf yo.

By: SHaGGGz

SHaGGGz — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 02:07:00 +0000

Religious discrimination class action suit time. Who’s in?

By: Mitch_M

Mitch_M — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 02:01:00 +0000

If the buyers are happy with the purchase where is the problem? Can they get around it by saying “for novelty use only”?

By: Sirkowski

Sirkowski — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 01:51:00 +0000

200 000 years of evolution… and still doing the rain dance.