The books of Dr. Seuss considered offensive will be removed from eBay

Hundreds of listings of the six books could be found on the platform as of Thursday morning, though the number appeared to be lower than on Wednesday evening. The eBay spokeswoman said it would take some time to review the seller lists and that the company was monitoring the recently published lists.

Retailers often make decisions to remove products from their platforms for a variety of reasons. The move by eBay comes at a time when there is growing concern, especially in conservative areas, about how major technology platforms decide what content is acceptable. At the same time, others argue that platforms do not do enough to control inappropriate content.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises LP, which oversees the publishing interests and ancillary areas of Dr. Seuss said Tuesday he had decided that six of the famous author’s books – “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”; “If I ran the Zoo”; “McElligot’s Pool”; “On Beyond Zebra!”; “Super scrambled eggs!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer”: They will no longer be published because they “portray people in hurtful and wrong ways.”

After the announcement, a woman said it included two titles, “On Beyond Zebra!” and “McElligot’s Pool,” on sale on eBay Wednesday. Later that day, he said, he received an email from eBay explaining that “On Beyond Zebra!” had withdrawn from the sale because it violated eBay’s “offensive material policy.” The second title was taken out Thursday morning, he said.

“Dr. Seuss Enterprises has stopped publishing this book because of its negative interpretation of some ethnicities, “said the eBay email, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.” Please, we’ve finished your article. and we’ve refunded your sales commissions, and as long as you don’t withdraw the item, there will be no negative impact on your account. “

Lots of controversial items, including Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and “The Turner Diaries,” a popular novel among white supremacist groups, have been available on eBay since Wednesday evening. When asked, the spokeswoman said the two books also belonged to the “offensive material” category and would be removed. On Thursday afternoon it appeared that “The Turner Diaries” was no longer available on eBay.

With “millions of transactions every day on our platform in over 190 markets, we are constantly evaluating and making improvements to ensure banned items are left out of Ebay,” the spokeswoman said.

The six books of Dr. Seuss, which were discontinued, are not among the best-known works of the last author. Earlier this week, publisher Random House Books for Young Readers and several booksellers, including Barnes & Noble, said Dr. Seuss’s best-known books would remain available to customers.

More than five million hard copies of Dr.’s books. Seuss sold out in the U.S. last year, according to NPD BookScan data, directed by “Oh, the Places You’re Go!” and “Green Eggs and Ham,” which sold for hundreds of thousands. Of the books that are no longer available, the best-selling last year was “If I Ran the Zoo,” with about 7,000 copies sold.

Some copies of the six discontinued titles remained available for sale to third-party sellers on Amazon.com Inc.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment.

Amazon last week faced questions from Republican senators after it withdrew a book on transgender issues that had been on sale on the platform for three years. Amazon did not comment on the senators’ letter, but said it reserved the right not to sell certain titles based on its content guidelines for books.

A spokesman for Encounter Books, which published “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment,” of conservative scholar Ryan T. Anderson, said Thursday that the publisher has not yet received any explanation for why. what has been removed from the sales book. Amazon on Thursday referred to its earlier statement.

“All retailers make decisions about which selection they choose to offer and we don’t make selection decisions lightly,” Amazon said in a statement last week.

Write to Jeffrey A.Trachtenberg to [email protected]