You just gotta love Google

[LensAndLasers]

Weeks back Google disabled my ad account with them, as what I sell violates their policies. Strange that I'd be persona non grata after 7 years of advertising.

Just for kicks, I called Google to find out what products, if any, I could remove from my site to get back in their good graces. The young woman I spoke with took a look at my site, and said right off the bat that scopes would have to go. Then she saw recoil pads. She explained that they don't allow any products that can injure.

Scopes? Recoil pads? Injure? Recoil pads are made to reduce pain and injury. I tried to explain that, but it was like talking to a brick.

I noticed that there were ads for all sorts of brands of scopes by Amazon and other big advertisers. I guess their scopes don't injure people.

I wonder if they'll ever get around to cars, food, and other life-threatening products.

[the86d]

You can't reason with ignorant pinko-commies.

[sl0re10]

Well; they are private businesses so they can make their own rules.

On the other hand; they're getting pretty big so their rules seem to be shutting down free speech and commerce. We should probably look into anti trust / consider breaking them up ah la ma bell. Better do ebay too. Same deal. That way competition between the child companies might produce more variety in company policies on this issue...

Wonder what a serious threat of doing this would do to their outlook on this....

[Exile Machine]

We had the same thing happen years ago. Thing is once your URL gets blacklisted you could switch from selling gun parts to only selling floral-scented ceramic puppies and you're still black listed.

[ElvenSoul]

You could allways try to sue them!

[sl0re10]

You can't reason with ignorant pinko-commies.

word... I had an ebay rep over the barrel on their logic on assault weapons and they wouldn't give.

them: We don't allow assault weapon stuff

me: assault weapons are illegal to import and these are for imported rifles. So they're not assault weapon accessories and/or they're not assault weapons.

them: we don't allow... ummm. this.... stuff.

of course; they do for other brands of black rifles... they just had one brand flagged... but I didn't play that card... no point in ruining it for everyone else to make a point...

[ElvenSoul]

Go flag all the places selling optics...how is it dicferent from your scopes?

[sl0re10]

Go flag all the places selling optics...how is it dicferent from your scopes?

bats, golf clubs, boxing gloves, whatever...

[The Last American Hero]

Google et al make their real money underhandedly stifling free trade and competition.

That will all be hidden until their big insider share holders sell off most shares to Union trust funds and other Small Guy funds. THEN it will be revealed how they are 'dirty' and shares will tank, and everyone will flock to a 'new' service already started by old Google insiders, but supposedly run by some young Zuckerberg clone (but probably from 3rd world).

Count on it.

[LensAndLasers]

Go flag all the places selling optics...how is it dicferent from your scopes?

Because Amazon, Optics Planet and the others spend oodles of money with Google. My guess is that Google just turns a blind eye.

We had the same thing happen years ago. Thing is once your URL gets blacklisted you could switch from selling gun parts to only selling floral-scented ceramic puppies and you're still black listed.

Ouch!

Problem is, advertising on Google is far more effective than Bing or Yahoo.

Google's goal has always been to run the internet, and they're not far from it. I realized just much closer they were to their goal last year when I was looking at hotels in Atlanta. I typed in the name of the hotel and the city. In first place in the left column was the hotel's website. But over on the right was a big photo of the hotel, a description, rates, reviews, and more. I was drawn to Google's listing of the hotel before I was to the hotel's own site.

If Google has everything about your business, they don't need your website. Once they don't need your website, they can delist it and just show their details. If they don't like you, they can just delete those details, and then you've been deleted.

[Exile Machine]

Once they don't need your website, they can delist it and just show their details. If they don't like you, they can just delete those details, and then you've been deleted.

And it may come to that someday as they gain more and more power. Thing to do in the meantime if you want to make some money is just to get out of selling anything gun related and only sell floral scented ceramic puppies. Which is our next move. Too late: Don't even try to hit up GoDaddy because we've already got it. Yep www.floralscentedceramicpuppies.com will soon go live and then we'll be lighting cigars with floral scented $100 bills.

-Mark

[jbolton]

Google has the attitude that they are gods. I contacted them a while back about advertising and thought man the arrogance. Spoke with multiple people and their take was if I wasn't advertising with google then my company has no relevance. Going to be interesting when that empire falls. Can't believe they just signed such a long lease on the moffet hanger.

[LensAndLasers]

It's not just Google. I fired up my Bing ads again. I had some questions, called Bing support, they looked at my site, and said it violated their guidelines.

I told the guy there's 80+ million gun owners in the US, and they're alienating a lot of them with these stupid policies. I guess Google and Bing figure people will use them anyway, even if they are anti-2nd Amendment.