The usual rule on eBay is the high bid wins. But not this time. A Georgia seller reportedly refused the winning bid from a Vancouver buyer - because of Canada's refusal to endorse the U.S.-Iraq war. And eBay says it doesn't interfere in how sellers do business, or with whom, but the online auction kings generally frown on their sites being used for posting overtly political messages.
The winning bidder, David Ingram, was hoping to buy himself a nice laser printer from CompAtlanta. What he got instead was a cancellation message with the following disclaimer attached: "At the present time, we do not ship to, or accept bids from, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany or any other country that does not support the United States in our efforts to rid the world of Saddam Hussein. If you are not with us, you are against us."
In fact, according to Wired, Ingram and CompAtlanta president Sid Mitchell exchanged testy e-mails. "What part of this listing do you not understand?" Mitchell wrote Ingram, the magazine said. "This item will not be shipped outside the USA, and we do not accept bids from Canadians. Both are plainly stated." Mitchell also refused to ship the printer on a second winning bid from Ingram, despite Ingram trying to get it shipped within the United States for his own later pickup.
CompAtlanta so far is the only known eBay seller refusing to do business with Canadians or citizens of other countries who objected to the U.S.-Iraq war, Wired says. Most eBay sellers, the magazine said, continue selling and shipping anywhere in the world regardless of who thinks what of the war.
