eBay Canceling Listings for iPhones With Flappy Bird Installed

MacRumors · Feb 11, 2014

Following the removal of Flappy Bird from the App Store, some entrepreneurial iPhone owners have listed their phones -- with Flappy Bird installed -- on eBay.

The listings have attracted attention from major media outlets, but eBay is actively canceling the listings because all smartphones and tablets sold on the auction site are required to be restored to factory settings. One user gave MacRumors the email that eBay sent him when it removed his listing.

After reviewing your eBay account, it appears that you have not followed eBay's guidelines to list a device that can hold media or software. As a result, we've taken the following action:

- Listings have been removed.
- We have credited all associated fees except for the final value fee for your listing(s).

Smartphones and tablets must be restored to factory settings before they are allowed to be sold on eBay. Please remove all content from your device, including the game Flappy Bird, before you attempt to list your item again. Please be sure your current and future listings follow these guidelines, keeping in mind that additional listing violations could result in the suspension of your account.

We understand that you may have been unaware of these guidelines, and we encourage you to learn how to keep your experiences on eBay successful.

We appreciate your cooperation.
Thanks,

eBay

Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen said in an interview earlier today that his game became "an addictive product" and he removed the app to protect users from the game. iPhone owners who have already downloaded Flappy Bird can continue to play it as Nguyen cannot delete the app from phones where it is already installed.

Thanks Blake!

Article Link: eBay Canceling Listings for iPhones With Flappy Bird Installed

rablat · Feb 11, 2014

Good for them this is getting really ridiculous.

BJMRamage · Feb 11, 2014

whew! glad I didn't throw my old iPhone up there in hopes of scoring big.

DarkCole · Feb 11, 2014

So much news for such a simple app.

pramirez95 · Feb 11, 2014

If I see one more Flappy Bird article.....

taptic · Feb 11, 2014

It's sad that people use this as a "feature" of their phone... what people do to make money...

jctech · Feb 11, 2014

Addictive game?

if it is so addicting, why didn't Rovio do the same with Angrybirds?

willybNL · Feb 11, 2014

Uhm. What is all the fuzz about.

If you ever bought it the app will still be available under "purchases" to download.

So. I bet apple does not allow selling your Apple ID though. Hahaha.

Wilson1313 · Feb 11, 2014

Next headline: iPhones with Flappy Birds installed hit the Black Market

oldhifi · Feb 11, 2014

Wilson1313 said:
Next headline: iPhones with Flappy Birds installed hit the Black Market

already on Craigslist here for $100 bucks

Rocko1 · Feb 11, 2014

The only thing more stupid than the game is the people creating articles about it.

sprime1 · Feb 11, 2014

what about jailbroken devices?

blueroom · Feb 11, 2014

What is Fappy Birds?

SMIDG3T · Feb 11, 2014

Ah, this is good to read. I got a message from eBay this morning saying my listing had been removed and I thought that was really unfair because at that time, there were still many other listings.

I like bananas · Feb 11, 2014

While we're on the topic of "Flappy Bird", I might as well link this, "Why Indie Developers Go Insane": http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.se/2014/02/why-indie-developers-go-insane.html?m=1

It's a really interesting read, and it answers most/all of the comments I've seen about "Flappy Bird".

Snookerman · Feb 11, 2014

pramirez95 said:
If I see one more Flappy Bird article.....

.....you'll click on it again?

Thepoobear · Feb 11, 2014

What's stopping me from selling as a wiped device and then just selling it with the game anyways?

Jibbajabba · Feb 11, 2014

Saw some fatty birds on the train this morning too.

BeyondtheTech · Feb 11, 2014

At least we finally know what Android users feel like when they're reading an Apple-related post on BGR or Gizmodo.

applesith · Feb 11, 2014

This is getting beyond stupid. It's an awful and frustrating game. The world is not going to end because it's not in the app store anymore. And there are plenty of knock offs available that do the same thing.

Nunyabinez · Feb 11, 2014

I took a bunch of flack about my opinion of this guy yesterday, but this just goes to show you how royally he screwed the pooch.

Assuming you want something on the Internet to go away, your only choice is to ignore it. Just leave the app in the store, don't respond to email, don't support the app and wait for people to get bored and move along.

It doesn't take long for that to happen on the Internet. But through his terrible mishandling of everything he is going to be pummeled by the Internet for some time.

The Doctor11 · Feb 11, 2014

pramirez95 said:
If I see one more Flappy Bird article.....

You'll be happier like me.

KdParker · Feb 11, 2014

DShap5 said:
It's sad that people use this as a "feature" of their phone... what people do to make money...

Why...if someone is willing to pay for it. I say let em.

OriginalClone · Feb 11, 2014

willybNL said:
Uhm. What is all the fuzz about.

If you ever bought it the app will still be available under "purchases" to download.

So. I bet apple does not allow selling your Apple ID though. Hahaha.

When an app is removed from the App Store it no longer shows up in purchases.

CodexMonkey · Feb 11, 2014

blueroom said:
What is Fappy Birds?

Its a game that quickly got the "L" out of there!!!

eBay Canceling Listings for iPhones With Flappy Bird Installed

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