Online retailer eBay is removing several Dr. Seuss books from its website that are no longer being published.
A spokeswoman for the website told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that it would no longer be allowing sellers to list six books that have been deemed by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the company that preserves Theodor Seuss “Ted” Geisel’s legacy, as containing racially insensitive imagery.
“At eBay, we have a strict policy against hate and discrimination to ensure our platform remains a safe, trusted and inclusive environment for our global community of buyers and sellers,” eBay Corporate Communications Specialist Parmita Choudhury said. “We’re currently sweeping our marketplace to remove these items. It can take some time to review all existing listings and provide education to impacted users. We’re also monitoring the newly published list to be reviewed.”
Choudhury also directed the Washington Examiner to refer to the company’s offensive material policy.
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Following the announcement on Tuesday that Dr. Seuss Enterprises would stop publishing six of the children’s author’s titles (And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer), owners of the books began listing their copies for up to tens of thousands of dollars on online retailers such as eBay and Amazon.
One such person was Carol Carson from Arkansas, who sought to sell a copy of And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street on her eBay store, only to have the listing taken down.
A screenshot that Carson shared with the Washington Examiner shows the message that eBay sent her in explaining the delisting. “We had to remove your listing because it didn’t follow our Offensive material policy. Listings that promote or glorify hatred, violence, or discrimination aren’t allowed,” the message read.
Carson relisted the book, but it’s bound to get removed once again. Another screenshot she shared with the Washington Examiner showed the book receiving bids for as much as $147.
“I don’t understand why they’re taking them down other than virtue signaling,” Carson said. “They have so many other listings that are WAY more offensive. I sell books for a living. This was the first time I’ve ever had a post get bids so early on.”
When asked why listings of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, for example, could still be found on eBay, Choudhury responded, “The item you mentioned is also prohibited on our marketplace — thank you for flagging. With millions of transactions happening every day on our platform across more than 190 markets, we are constantly evaluating and making improvements to ensure prohibited items remain off eBay.”
Clare Ath, a Ph.D. student at Liberty University and a conservative activist, said on Twitter that she tried to list a copy of The Cat’s Quizzer, but the listing was removed.
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“You can’t make this stuff up,” she said. “[EBay] is blocking my listing of [Dr. Seuss’s] ‘The Cat’s Quizzer’ & citing it as offensive material. Yet anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan’s books are okay?”
You can’t make this stuff up. @eBay is blocking my listing of @DrSeuss’s “The Cat’s Quizzer” & citing it as offensive material. Yet anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan’s books are okay? #cancelcancelculture pic.twitter.com/9Au62lagcW
— Clare Ath (@clare_ath) March 4, 2021
Seuss Enterprises announced its decision to stop publishing six Dr. Seuss books on Tuesday, which would have been the late author’s 117th birthday, writing in a statement, “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”
The Washington Examiner also reached out to Amazon for comment on whether it will also remove sales of the six Dr. Seuss books but did not immediately receive a response.
