I have several vintage 1980s leather jackets that are replicas of the ones that Michael Jackson wore in his "Beat It' and "Thriller' videos. These are very iconic jackets. I've seen similar ones sell on eBay for over a thousand dollars.

However, I recently posted on the eBay discussion forum that I had these MJ leather jackets and that I planned to list them soon. I was totally shocked when members on the eBay forums informed me that IF I list my MJ jackets with the KEYWORDS 'Michael Jackson', "Beat It', or 'Thriller' that it would constitute 'key word spamming', which apparently is illegal on eBay. I was told on the eBay forum that IF I use those keywords to sell my jackets, my listings could possibly be removed. Even worse, it could damage my selling privileges and my eBay selling account could be restricted.

I've worked very hard to maintain a 100% feedback rating on eBay and I do sell some other music memorabilia on there. I can't afford to have my account restricted.

I truly had never even heard of 'key word spamming' (or KWS) before. I was shocked to learn that it's a violation of eBay policy to use the words 'Michael Jackson' (or any other artist) when listing a jacket. Same with the song titles---not allowed. I doubt I'd get much money at all if I DON'T use those keywords. How else would Michael Jackson fans find a 'Beat it' jacket if I cannot use those keywords?

DO a search on eBay for "Michael Jackson Beat It Jacket' or "Michael Jackson Thriller Jacket" and you will discover over 500 listings that DO indeed use those keywords to sell jackets. Since MJ's death, Chinese sellers have even started selling NEW replicas of the "Beat IT' jackets.

I personally have been following these MJ jackets on eBay for 5 years, and sellers always use those keywords to sell the jackets. I have no idea if anyone has gotten into trouble for doing so, but it certainly appears to be a policy that eBay does NOT enforce. I would have gone ahead with my listings and never even known about 'KWS' except for it being brought up to me on the eBay discussion forum.

If you had some vintage 1980s MJ jackets that you wanted to sell on eBay, what keywords would YOU use to list them? IN my description, am I allowed to say, "This is a replica of the jacket that Michael Jackson wore in his 'Beat It' video?" I'm now very confused about what I can and cannot say in my listing. I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions or advice. Thanks!