Amazon, eBay Will No Longer Sell Confederate Flag Merchandise
Amazon and eBay are following closely behind the footsteps of Walmart and Sears Holding Corp by removing all Confederate flag merchandise from their websites. Both major online retailers announced that they would stop selling any merchandise that feature the Confederate flag. These swift actions have occurred just a week after a white man shot nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C.
If you search for Confederate flag merchandise, you’ll quickly come upon it. It seems like anything can be made out of the infamous flag. From bikinis to bottle openers, the Confederate flag shows up on every piece of merchandise imaginable on the internet. According to a report on USA TODAY, there are nearly 30,000 items that are made out of the Confederate flag. That may become a thing of the past though, thanks in part to Amazon and eBay’s quick moves.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley asked lawmakers to remove the Confederate flag. Some consider the flag to have a history that’s tied to both slavery and racism. The flag would no longer be shown on the state capitol grounds. Now, states are even stepping up by banning the Confederate flag and enforcing the hate crime legislation.
On Tuesday, June 23, eBay announced that it would ban users from selling the flags and “many items containing this image,” according to spokesperson Johanna Hoof. Shortly after eBay made its announcement, an unauthorized Amazon official confirmed that their store is also removing Confederate flag merchandise from their site.
Now it’s being rumored that Amazon will no longer allow sales of Confederate flag merchandise. This move comes after a spike in sales for the Confederate flag just a day before. This alleged move made on Amazon’s part is a big deal since the retailer is one of the biggest online retailers to remove the flag. It’s likely that it won’t be the last online major retailer as well. eBay is also following behind Amazon and Walmart’s lead by removing any and all Confederate flag merchandise from its site.
Those aren’t the only online retailers that are banning the flag. The popular online marketplace, Etsy, also announced that it would remove the Confederate flag items from its very own site. Etsy is well known for its homemade arts and crafts sold by third-party sellers. Spokesperson Sarah Cohen released a statement to the Huffington Post.
“Etsy’s policies prohibit items or listings that promote, support or glorify hatred and these items fall squarely into that category. Due to the nature of our platform, it is possible that a prohibited item may appear for sale on the site before our enforcement teams have a chance to remove it.”
Cohen also asks users to report any items that bear the Confederate flag on their site. As for Amazon and eBay, the merchandise hasn’t yet been pulled. A search on Amazon’s website found Confederate flag merchandise sold by third party sellers and items shipped by Amazon on their merchants’ behalf. However, Amazon itself isn’t selling the flag-related items. As for eBay, it still has over 1,000 Confederate flags and related items offered by third-party sellers on its website. Both retailers have not yet responded to the media for comment.
[Image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
