soxhlet
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Iodine on Ebay
Please pardon my inquiry if inappropriate. However, while looking at some chemical pricing on ebay, I noticed that an American seller is providing
iodine.
http://cgi.ebay.com/PURE-IODINE-CRYSTALS-250-GRAMS-ships-imm...
Seeing as Iodine is list1 and supposedly prohibited by ebay, how is this person getting away with doing this? Feeback suggests that seller is filling
several orders per day.
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-jeffB
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I'm guessing that nobody has ratted the seller out to eBay yet. I don't know what's going on -- it doesn't really look like the typical
hijacked-account profile. From the quantity being listed, it also doesn't look like an innocent "I found this in my grampa's chemistry trunk" story.
Between (a) the prices, (b) the ease of working instead from iodides that are uncontrolled within the US, (c) the likelihood that the auctions will
get shut down pretty quickly, and (d) the likelihood that eBay will roll over to the authorities on people who have already bought, I'd recommend
staying away.
[Edited on 4-30-08 by -jeffB]
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MagicJigPipe
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Most likely LE. Or just a guy that hasn't been busted yet for something that technically isn't illegal.*
*My opinions. Pure speculation not based on any fact except for previous observations and anecdotal evidence.
"There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry ... There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any
question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors. ... We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it and
that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. And we know that as long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think,
free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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-jeffB
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MagicJigPipe
Most likely LE. Or just a guy that hasn't been busted yet for something that technically isn't illegal. |
I don't think it's LE directly, but I'd expect LE involvement sooner rather than later. I think we're about to see (or suddenly no longer be able to
see) one unhappy seller. And, of course, a lot of unhappy buyers.
But, you know, while I "know" you're not allowed to sell iodine on eBay, I'm unable to find the actual regulation on eBay's actual Web site. I also
"knew" that you weren't allowed to use PayPal to pay for such things, but the regulations don't appear to say this (they call out ephedra and GHB
explicitly, but don't say anything I can see about "precursors"). I can't even find USPS regulations mentioning iodine specifically, only iodine
monochloride/azide/etc. But the fact that I can't find them on a quick search doesn't mean you can't get in trouble for violating them. Ignorance of
the law, etc.
I'm not sure how much automatic searching eBay, PayPal, USPS, etc. do to stop this sort of thing -- I think not much. But if you want to stay under
their radar, you need to keep a low profile. Listing half a dozen iodine auctions at once, with multiple units available in each auction, isn't
exactly "low-profile". I think "displayitagainandagain" is going to be disappearing soon.
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soxhlet
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It appears as if Ebay no longer specifically mentions list1 chemicals as being prohibited. They used to specifically prohibit such sales. When did
they change it? Why did they change it?
Displayitagainandagain has been selling iodine for over three months. LE has to be aware of it. Just do a google search on ‘buy iodine”. It is
peculiar that displayitagainandagain sellers collectable kitschy crap, and iodine. Not a single member has left negative feedback indicating
unwelcome delivery personnel.
Ebay is notorious for being electronically monitored by DEA. I seem to remember that the federal task force data mining Ebay transactions was based
in San Diego. There were at least a half dozen numbskulls busted last year for acquiring drug labs on ebay.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,D...
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MagicJigPipe
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| Quote: |
Not a single member has left negative feedback indicating unwelcome delivery personnel.
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Something tells me the "unwelcome delivery personnel" would make sure that doesn't happen no matter how unethical (illegal?) it might be to access
someones account without permission. Remember, nowadays law enforcement is above the law.
I can see it now. "Tell us your Ebay password and we'll let you off easy". If they even need the password. I'd be willing to bet that Ebay will
just hand over accounts to LE.
My point is that certainly the individual being busted would not be allowed to leave feedback on Ebay. LE would make sure that doesn't happen even if
it is technically "against the rules" (it probably isn't anyway). I mean, since when does LE obey rules or even the law?
This country hasn't been "free" since the early 20th century and some people still don't realize it.
"There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry ... There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any
question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors. ... We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it and
that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. And we know that as long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think,
free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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