Nobody Move. eBay Lost A Contact Lens

from the contact-lens-scandal? dept

Thu, Sep 29th 2005 12:35pm — Mike Masnick

Okay, obviously, misusing a contact lens can do some amount of damage, but doesn't it seem like a bit of overkill to only let doctors sell them? Some US states have banned online contact lens selling, as well -- but it is apparently completely illegal in the UK. However, people still try to sell contact lenses online in the UK, and they often use eBay... so now eBay is facing a lawsuit and large fines for allowing contact lens sales to continue. No matter how you feel about people buying and selling contact lenses online, you have to wonder why this is an issue that eBay would get in trouble for. It's not eBay doing the selling. They're just the platform provider. If the courts want to go after the sellers, that could be a different story, but going after eBay itself is misguided.

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38 Comments

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Mousky, 29 Sep 2005 @ 12:51pm

The Answer is...
$$$
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Beck, 29 Sep 2005 @ 1:24pm

Prescription Required
A prescription is required to buy contact lenses. Can you sell prescription drugs through eBay? Would eBay be in legal trouble for allowing an auction for valium to proceed?
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- Rickler, 29 Sep 2005 @ 1:39pm
  
  Re: Prescription Required
  Contacts arn't covered buy the FDA.
  
  A license is required to drive a car; can you sell a car on ebay?
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  - Chris, 29 Sep 2005 @ 1:42pm
    
    Re: Prescription Required
    A license is needed to drive it, but not to buy it.
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  - Flamsmark, 29 Sep 2005 @ 4:30pm
    
    Re: Prescription Required
    This article refers to the UK. We don't have your FDA here, eBay is as liable for people selling contact lenses illegally, as it would be for people selling restricted drugs or arms illegally.
    
    Whether you think they should be responsible for those things is another question, but they are still just as responsible for that as for this.
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  - Tweeder, 30 May 2006 @ 8:25am
    
    Re: Re: Prescription Required
    Contacts are covered by the FDA, look up your facts before you type next time.
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  - MeFly, 31 Jul 2006 @ 8:18am
    
    Re: Re: Prescription Required
    Stupid - The topic is selling - do you need a license to sell a car - no, unless you are going to set up a dealership. Yes you can sell a car on ebay. The license with a car come into play when you are going to drive it and thus potentially harm others. There are people who are now BLIND because they didn't properly care for their eyes - they didn't go to a EYE DOCTOR!
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Apr 2006 @ 7:30am
  
  Re: Prescription Required
  SOME OF US ARE TO POOR TO KEEP GOING TO THE EYE DOC WHEN OUR EYESIGHT HAS BEEN THE SAME FOR OVER 10YEARS... JUST THINK ITS CRAP... NOT THAT I WLD BUY CONTACTS FROM EBAY BUT I UNDERSTAND THE SIDE WITH OUT A PERSCRIPTION.
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- adam, 27 Jan 2010 @ 6:38am
  
  Re: Prescription Required
  people buy contacts to see. they already have a prescription
  and have had the first pair fit by an optometrist. i see nothing wrong with having them show up at my door. i can buy a pair of glasses and wear them for twenty years and no one will complain about me not seeing a optometrist every year, so why should they about contacts. if they are comfortable and work who cares let me police my own eyes.
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Rikko, 29 Sep 2005 @ 2:03pm

No Subject Given
Napster, Torrentbits and Warez list linkers weren't pirating software either, but they still got their asses busted regularly.
The legal ramifications seems to be that turning a blind eye isn't acceptable anymore. Can't wait until that applies to politics, too.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Sep 2005 @ 2:03pm

No Subject Given
You need to put yours in and re-read your title: CONTACT (you have conact -- missing a T)
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- Mike (profile), 29 Sep 2005 @ 3:25pm
  
  Re: No Subject Given
  Whoops. Thanks for pointing out the typo. Fixed now. Sorry about that.
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dorpus, 29 Sep 2005 @ 2:22pm

Dirty lenses anyone?
Why not let amateurs get their own lenses that don't fit their eye correctly, or are infected with deadly microbes, and let people go blind? We know the free market solves everything, don't we?
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- Mousky, 29 Sep 2005 @ 8:01pm
  
  Re: Dirty lenses anyone?
  The free market does solve everything. If you are stupid enough to buy contact lenses without first going to an optometrist or an ophthalmologist to get a prescription, oh well. Why is it the job of the government to protect stupid people? The free market is a wonderful thing when logical and enforceable rules are place.
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  - fuzzmanmatt, 29 Sep 2005 @ 10:24pm
    
    Re: Dirty lenses anyone?
    Why is it the job of the government to protect stupid people?
    
    That's the whole purpose of government. It protects the weak and disrupts natures balance.
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    - Mousky, 30 Sep 2005 @ 5:52am
      
      Re: Dirty lenses anyone?
      That's what current governments want you to believe - 'we are here to protect the weak'. Sad thing is that most of the actions taken by the government to help the weak/poor usually make their situation worse.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2007 @ 11:35am
    
    Re: Re: Dirty lenses anyone?
    Dear Mousky,
    
    I agree with you completely and we should be able to purchase contact lenses if we want to. For all the nay sayers, is it better to drive without contact lenses when you cannot afford the astronomical eye exam fees?
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Brian, 29 Sep 2005 @ 2:35pm

Lost a Contact
If Ebay was allowing illegal drug sales I would think they would be held just as responsible, do you think they should allow that as well?
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tom, 29 Sep 2005 @ 2:54pm

what the??
i have never seen such bad comments to a tech dirt artical... in a while...
You need to put yours in and re-read your title: CONTACT (you have conact -- missing a T)
doesn't help the thread.. if the only thing you can do is spot out misspellings you shouldn't bother posting anything.

A license is needed to drive it, but not to buy it.
i don't know what state you're from but most do require a license. who in there right minds would sell a car to someone who can't even drive it?

ebay should definitely not be held responsible for this kinda thing. the person selling it should.
people are just "lawsuit-crazy". people with power or just your average joe can sue almost anyone for anything nowadays.

hey my friend bought a motorcycle on line and got hurt riding it. can he sue ebay because of that?
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- Maijhabal, 29 Sep 2005 @ 3:17pm
  
  Re: what the??
  
  hey my friend bought a motorcycle on line and got hurt riding it. can he sue ebay because of that?
  
  You can sue anyone for anything. Whether your case has any merit is a different point and is totally up to the court.
  
  Anything's fair game for a lawsuit these days.
  
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- Andrew Klossner, 29 Sep 2005 @ 3:42pm
  
  Re: what the??
  A license is needed to drive it, but not to buy it.
  I don't know what state you're from but most do require a license.
  Yeah? Name one. A young child may not be able to drive a car off a dealer's lot, but nothing stops her from accepting title to a car. In some circumstances, it's a good tax move.
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Carlton Noles, 29 Sep 2005 @ 3:20pm

Contact lens resposibility
If your bud comes over to your home and is selling illegal drugs off your back porch or an employee is selling them in your place of business you most certainly will suffer consequenses. If you allow people to knowingly conduct illegal business transactions on your property (real or virtual) you are an accomplice or at the very least complicit. If you cannot be criminally charged you may well be sued or majorly inconvenienced by dealing with the BS.
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Contacts, eyeglasses, monocles and binoculars, 29 Sep 2005 @ 3:37pm

How stupid is this???
Contact lenses carry the prescription on the package. There is no reason why an online shop cannot provide what a store can in this case. I've ordered contacts both ways and the only difference has been the price. Optometrist, etc don't need to actually see my prescription if I show them the box my contacts came in. IF they suggest a new eye exam, it's cause they want my money, not cause they're concerned about my eyes. The drug analogy is totally ridiculous; no one is hurt physically by who I order from. The only possible negative health effect would be if I didn't get regular optical checkups and perhaps my prescription was out of wack. Hell, the last optometrists shop I ordered contacts from has done a good job (?) informing me by mail when I should order new contacts and get a new exam. This is only about the money. I can't imagine optometrists and by extension their shops having a significant lobby, so I'll just guess that this is connected to the states trying to tax internet sales. It's only the beginning...
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- dorrit, 8 Feb 2006 @ 5:19pm
  
  Re: How stupid is this???
  Do you any ONLINE sites where I can buy contact lenses without a prescription (for example, from Mexico)? I have all the information I need about the lenses I wear but not the $75 to get the special contact lens exam. Thanks.
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  - Diane Troisi, 22 Feb 2006 @ 7:23am
    
    Re: How stupid is this???
    I am having the same problem, I know my script, do you have any info on where I could get contacts without a MD script?
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    - rick, 12 Jun 2007 @ 2:51am
      
      Re: Re: How stupid is this???
      You can order contacts from Optical Institute , it's a major european contact lens retailer. I have ordered lenses from them a couple of times, they have great prices and a good selection of lenses, and you don't need a subscription.
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      - rick, 12 Jun 2007 @ 2:58am
        
        Re: How stupid is this???
        Made a mistake with the link, here it is:
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        rick, 12 Jun 2007 @ 2:59am
        
        Re: Re: How stupid is this???
        Made a mistake with the link, here it is: Optical Institute
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Diego, 30 Sep 2005 @ 8:54am

This lawsuit sucks
To me it sounds a lot like google being sued for indexing those porn pics of I don't remember what magazine or website? Or like google being sued for helping ppl find warez or music torrent files.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2005 @ 12:47pm

Its the $$$ stupid!

I can go to Mexico and buy whatever sort of pharmaceuticals I want, legally, at a drug store, without a prescription usually for much less than the cost of my co-pay in the US. The same drugs, made by the same manufactures - in some cases BETTER pharmaceuticals than I can get in the US, WITH a prescription. Mexico is not the only country in the world with such reasonable laws.

If Mexicans can handle this sort of freedom without killing themselves regularly - why can�t Americans - a supposedly �free� people? Are Americans so much stupider than Mexicans that we can�t handle - or be trusted with - our own health? (Probably.)

Or is there some other reason the government wants to stick it�s grimy little paws into our business?

All we are talking about is a prescription - not changing the quality of the medication - only our access to it. Which in a �free� country should be �free� shouldn�t it?

There is NO reason to need a prescription to buy 99.999 percent of the medication that is available in your local pharmacy.

The same goes for contacts.

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- mayeyeseeyou, 18 Oct 2005 @ 6:57pm
  
  Re: Its the $$$ stupid!
  Some of you need to check out your information. First of all, Dr's are not the only people allowed to sell contacts, opticians can also in most states. Secondly, contacts have base curves and diameters and not all contacts fit all eyes. They can be too tight causing problems and just the opposite, too lose and scratch your cornea. Just like anything else, SIZE MATTERS. And size changes. You don't go to get an eye exam just for vision, you go for over all health. And those thinking MEXICO has BETTER laws........ move there! As for the law suit, you buy stolen merchandise- you can lose it right? I say that ebay get WARNED and not let people sell things that require Rx's.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2007 @ 11:37am

My son and I cannot afford an eye exam each time we need contact lenses. Is is better then to drive without contact lenses, thereby endangering others, then to allow people to purchase lenses so at least they can see?
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Auction Guy Free Auction Listings, 8 Mar 2008 @ 9:51am

I agree, all responsibility should be on the user who listed the auction. If we start holding website responsible for everything that a user contributes it would be an outrage by webmasters. Are we to hold myspace responsible for all the rapes that take place when someone is lured into meeting off line? Where would this end?? When it come to keeping track of hundreds of million listings I'd imagine its hard for ebay to keep track, but they should clean up the site.
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Mandi S, 4 Mar 2009 @ 12:28pm

C'mon people
Good Lord, does everyone on here like to complain or what? Why does anyone care why anyone else wants to buy contacts without a script. Grow up people. Put real info on here - bashing each other makes us all look silly.
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- vie, 17 May 2009 @ 2:51pm
  
  Re: C'mon people
  I have just had my listing to sell my unused lenses on ebay removed, being told it is illegal. I had no idea, but the funny thing is THREE YEARS AFTER THE COURT CASE EBAY STILL HAVE A CONTACT LENS CATEGORY....people are listing them, then having them removed. So they are taking listing fees under false pretences.
  If its illegal why is there still a category to sell them in? LOL the worlds gone mad.
  
  http://health-beauty.shop.ebay.co.uk/items/Other-Vision__W0QQTypeZContactQ2520LensesQQ_catre fZ1QQ_dmptZUKQ5fHealthQ5fBeautyQ5fVisionGlassesQ5fLensesQ5fSMQQ_flnZ1QQ_sacatZ31416QQ_trksidZp3286Q2 ec0Q2em282
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  - Jay, 10 Aug 2009 @ 3:48pm
    
    Re: Re: C'mon people
    If the US government wants to impose their laws on US companies just buy from foreign countries... Simple solution, http://www.opticalinstitute.com/. They are too stupid to realize that they are the biggest cause of the problem the US is having with its economy and global market relationship's.
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    - Chan (profile), 5 Feb 2010 @ 5:36pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: C'mon people
      Jay,
      
      Did you order from these guys? I ordered two weesk ago and my lenses have not arrived. I hope they are legitimate.
      
      Chan
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      - x13green, 22 Feb 2010 @ 5:23pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: C'mon people
        My daughter ordered lenses from Optical Insitute on 6Feb2010. Just recieved them this morning. Not the best deal around but with 7 months till her next insurance paid for office visit it sure beat the $100 fee the Eye Dr wanted. UnitedHealthCare has a 1 checkup per 2 years so.
        
        Over Christmas break the high school band went to Diseny World for a week. My daughter didn't have a spare pair with her so I asked our Eye Dr for a script to get a pair from WalMart. NO deal he said she'd need an exam first. Explained the trip and need for a set ASAP. Still no deal, what a friend! Got a old aquintence from LA to call a relative in Munich...faxed a script to WalMart in Orlando and she got a 6pack of Oasys lenses about 6 hrs after I asked for the favor. Screw the AOA, for a money grubbing law. Not sure what the law is in Europe but having the 1 year rule in the US is pathetic. If you have a script and have been fitted and have no problems? Another scam brought to you for (your own good) by the US healthcare industry that's NOT BROKEN?.
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