Zicam no longer sold on ebay

[confused1391]

A person can sell their life on ebay but there are people out there who cannot sell Zicam gel because an FDA warning was issued.  The homeopathic remedy was never proven to cause problems and there are a lot of people who have used it and are willing to pay for it knowing that the warning was issued.  Grated, ebay has a policy that they you cannot sell anything that has been recalled by the FDA, but this has not been recalled by the FDA..

[USA_Millenium]

I have successfully lobbied against removal of several items from my store.  It may take a week or two, but all you have to do is have proof to back up your claims.  You may have to quote E-bay's own policy back to them to have them allow you to sell.  Good luck!

Kevin

USA Millenium

[CarolynW]

There is a good article by cbs moneywatch entitled "Zicam Addicts (and shareholders) were Ripped Off" and it tells how the FDA did NOT recall the product, but only issued a warning telling Matrixx, the manufacturer, that they had to apply for FDA approval before they remarket the Zicam nasal gels.  Why eBay would not allow sales of non-expired products NOT recalled by the FDA is beyond me.  They need to read their own policy!  This was NOT a recall by the FDA.  I have just received a large shipment of the Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs and certainly hope I will be able to sell them on eBay before they expire in March of 2011. 

[confused1391]

I tried for a week to get the fact that the FDA did not recall Zicam gel swabs through to customer service.   In fact if you look at the listing on the FDA website the infraction against Zicam is labeling.  The link that they said was the FDA recall was the FDA warning page.  I let them know that. I emailed them links and backed up my statements. I questioned their policy. I felt like a lone voice in the wilderness. They would come up with all types of excuses.  They told me that they would not sell anything with the active ingredient which the swabs has, I pointed out all the other items they had listed and they gave me a line that they were trying to keep the people safe.  l questioned them again about the swabs not being recalled and they told me that they were contacted by a government agency and asked not to allow listings. I dobt that they were notified.  Every time I emailed them I recieved a different customer service individual, I don't even think they looked at the links I supplied.  It is difficult to argue with ignorance.

I read a copy of the actual warning letter sent to the Zicam company on the FDA website (you have to search warning letters by date and it is sometime around June 16th 2009).and I had lots of questions.  They stated that the loss of smell was not as high for the othere companies which had similar sales as Zicam.  What other company out there sold as much nasal spray gel or swabs.  What happened to the other companies if they only had small numbers of loss of smell and why was Zicam targeted?  Why ristk anyones health.I didn't see any warning letters sent to any other company which sold similar items. The FDA stated that because they had 130 complaint about loss of smell that under a "new" drug law that they could take away the homeopathic statius and put them under a drug category.  Because Zicam entered the market under the homeopathic status they did not have any of the studies or paperwork for the drug category.  The rest is history.

[confused1391]

I sent a copy of the article on cbs moneywatch to ebay customer service in regards to the removal of some swabs I was selling in Dec. I figured it couldn't hurt. I havn't heard back from them yet. I know that many of the Zicam buyers are not happy with ebays policy.  I don't have a large amount of customers but do you think if we asked them to contact customer service about the removal of Zicam gel from listings that they would listen? 

[CarolynW]

Did you hear back from them about the moneywatch article?  They say, "Unfortunately, we had to remove your listing because the following information violates our policy: Zicam cold remedy cannot be listed on eBay at this time due to a FDA recall."  But it is NOT AN FDA RECALL and I don't know how to get that through their heads, that a "warning letter" is NOT a recall!  If you go to FDA.gov and look at the recall list, Zicam is not on it.  Why is eBay punishing people who want the discontinued product by not allowing it to be sold?

[confused1391]

Yes, I did hear back from ebay. They thanked me for the informative article and said they would document it. They also said that they will not change their policy at this time. I havn't given up trying to convince them that the stance they have is against their own policy yet.  I am just trying to figure out how to put it in a way that they would understand.  It bothers me to no end to see other people selling what I have but can't because I was sent an alert notice and they were not..  They certainly are not doing a very good job of keeping the product off the site.   

[CarolynW]

Yes, I know the frustration of not being able to sell Zicam, as I received a warning too.  I don't dare relist, or risk having my account suspended.  However, I'm glad others are still able to list it as I believe the public should have a choice on whether to buy it or not, and unfortunately I'm sure those sellers will receive warnings soon too.  It's just silly, as eBay is vague as to "who" told them to quit allowing it on their site.  I do not believe the FDA contacted them and told them to pull it unless it truly was a recalled item, and that's not the case.  I doubt if Matrixx contacted them, as they did their part already by discontinuing it.  I guess we have to offer it on our own websites, as I did, at www.americaiswatching.org/Zicam.html and hope people find it!