Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Arbitrary application of business policy

The fact that eBay isn't able to catch 100% of the violations of its policy does not preclude it from enforcing that policy where it does see a violation. Your argument would be stronger -- but not necessarily strong enough -- if you could show that the company intentionally allowed some sellers to get away with violations of rules that others were required to follow, but even then I am not persuaded that you would have grounds to complain. Businesses are allowed to favor some customers over others (as when they charge lower prices for long-term customers or those who buy in volume), so that alone is not enough to show wrongdoing.

There are other ways you could sell your magazines; you are not obligated to use eBay at all. The fact that you choose to use that site suggests that you believe it is where you will get the best results even under the restrictions you have been forced to obey. Even if eBay is limiting the benefit you can get by selling there, it has evidently given you a better opportunity than you would have if eBay weren't available. It seems to me that the company is helping your business rather than hurting it, so the fact that it could help even more doesn't strike me as a violation of your legal interests. This is true even if the company is intentionally letting preferred customers do things you cannot.