U.S. EBay Seller Refuses Canucks (France, Germany too)
Mar. 25, 2003 by Charles Mandel

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- On eBay, the highest bid wins -- unless the item on sale is a laser printer from CompAtlanta and the bidder happens to be Canadian.
That's what a tax consultant discovered last week when he tried to buy a printer on eBay, but was refused by the vendor when it was discovered he lived in Vancouver.
David Ingram received notification that his winning bid of $24.50 had been canceled, along with this message: "At the present time, we do not ship to, or accept bids from, Canada, France, Germany or any other country that does not support the United States in our efforts to rid the world of Saddam Hussein. If you are not with us, you are against us."
Ingram's .ca address sparked the notice from CompAtlanta, based in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Canada is one of a number of countries that said it would not support an American invasion of Iraq without United Nations' approval.
"I've made a winning bid,'' Ingram said. "To discriminate against me because I'm a Canadian is ridiculous."
Sid Mitchell, CompAtlanta's president, could not be reached for comment. However, an e-mail exchange between Ingram and Mitchell clearly laid out the company's policy: "What part of this listing do you not understand?" Mitchell wrote Ingram. "This item will not be shipped outside the USA, and we do not accept bids from Canadians. Both are plainly stated."