Dave learned today that Ebay will stop worldwide sales of ALL ivory items and items with ivory in or on them effective January 2009. You can read more at the following link:
While the ban is intended to stop international trafficking in illegal elephant ivory, Ebay is banning sale of ALL ivory including legal ancient mammoth and fossil walrus ivory because Ebay cannot be sure if any ivory is being properly listed and described so they are "throwing the baby out with the wash water" and banning all ivory products, including heirlooms.
So what does this mean for Dave and the mammoth ivory items he makes? Well obviously he won’t be selling them at auction on Ebay after January. He plans on listing some items with mammoth ivory in our ETSY Shop and we are considering posting some items on our website with BUY NOW buttons that link directly to PayPal. Also, he will continue to fill custom orders for items made with ancient ivory.
As we have stated many time, we do not use elephant ivory in making any of our items. Ancient mammoth ivory is considered fossil ivory and is legal to import and export without restrictions. It is a shame that some bad apples in the ivory trade are ruining the Ebay market place for the artist who only use legal ancient fossil ivory in their craft.
Update: Etsy has joined Ebay in banning the sale of fossil ivory. We will now be selling our fossil ivory items directly from this blog using PayPal.
Update: Etsy has joined Ebay in banning the sale of fossil ivory. We will now be selling our fossil ivory items directly from this blog using PayPal.
