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eBay Changes Privacy Policy

Posted by jamie on from the we-know-all-about-your-Beanie-habit dept.

Wired reports that eBay is changing its privacy policy. Previously they had promised that, if the company gets sold, your personal data will not be sold. Well, now it will be. Don't like it? Don't use eBay. Or any other site which, as "part of an industry-wide shift in privacy policy," decides to do this too. The funny thing is, eBay has spammed me a couple of times in the last six months with useless notices, after I specifically asked them not to. One was even to say basically, "you said you didn't want to receive spam, but we've expired that preference, so you'll have to tell us again, and meanwhile, have some spam!" But a change in their privacy policy -- they must not think that's very important, because I haven't heard a word.

3 of 16 comments (clear)

  1. ebay buyout or merger? by po_boy · · Score: 3

    Since they have changed their privacy policy to allow different things in the event of a buyout or merger, do you think there is such an event on the horizon?

  2. I would worry if what I gave them was true... by human+bean · · Score: 3
    Buying and selling on-line is exactly the same as off-line.

    My "loyalty discount" cards are all filled out to "Donald A. Duck" (apologies to Roy Disney). Doesn't faze the clerk at the checkout counter one bit, and keeps all that firestarter out of my mailbox.

    You can probably guess what kind of email address I hand out to on-line merchants. And which phone number (apologies to whoever owns it).

    Of course, as far as on-line merchants know I'm in my thirties, have tons of disposable income, thoroughly married, and own three houses. It must be true. I filled out the check boxes on the HTML form.

    Marketing departments fear this stuff. When you are standing in front of the checkout counter, the nice person there can see that you are not a sixty-two year-old left-handed eskimo short-order cook, but on-line, how do you tell?

    --

    *whup* "Get along, little electrons. Heeyah!"

  3. Ebay is bad. by LoCoPuff · · Score: 4

    They even lost their BBBOnline seal. That takes quite a bit of effort. When are these companies going to learn that you can't push the consumer around? Oh yeah that's right. People are too busy pointing out the one or 2 mistakes that TrustE and BBBOnline make to pay attention to the fact that when they say a company sucks, it really does. There is no cure for stupidity folks.