Sears pulls swastika rings from Marketplace site after social media outrage
Sears shoppers are in Peabody, Mass., on May 14, 2012. Credit: AP / Elise Amendola
Sears found itself in hot water this week when online shoppers were outraged by a swastika ring being sold on its Marketplace website.
The ring, which was posted to Sears.com by a third-party seller, drew a slew of social media criticism and prompted apologies from the major retailer.
“The ring has not been purchasable since this morning and we are in the process of completely removing the items from our site,” Sears wrote in a Facebook comment posted Monday morning.
“We're disappointed this happened and these third party Marketplace items have been removed for violating our guidelines,” the retailer tweeted in one of many responses to angry Twitter users.
The thick silver ring emblazoned with a bold, black swastika was being sold in the “men’s punk rock style” jewelry section.
Accompanying the ring was a product description that read: “This gothic jewelry item in particular features a swastika ring thats [sic] made of .925 Thai silver. Not for Neo Nazi or any Nazi implication. These jewelry items are going to make you look beautiful at your next dinner date.”
The item, which was also available on Amazon.com, has since been pulled from both retailers’ websites.
See some of the social media posts expressing outrage over the ring, and Sears’ response below.
