CET Domain, a jewelry company, was selling the ring with the following description: “This gothic jewelry item in particular features a Swastika ring that’s 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.”
According to Haaretz, the item was also for sale on Amazon.com, although it is now listed as unavailable.
Sears: A public relations disaster
Offended shoppers took to social media to express their disgust on Monday. Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) later removed the ring from its website and released an official apology.
“The ring was not posted by Sears, but by independent third-party sellers on Sears Marketplace,” said the company in a statement which it published on Facebook. “All Marketplace Sellers must accept our seller agreement terms in order to sell their items on sears.com and part of that agreement includes an understanding that certain offensive items may not be listed. If a problem occurs, we take appropriate action. The ring has not been purchasable since this morning and we are in the process of completely removing the items from our site.”
Some customers went so far as to say that they would never shop at Sears again, encouraging other shoppers to stay away and calling for disciplinary measures to be taken against those responsible for allowing the item to be listed.
Not the first time
The company has suffered previous issues with the marketplace section of its website, including a problem with overly explicit photos being used to sell lingerie, as well as vendors listing sex toys.
It seems that major retailers just can’t stay away from Holocaust related controversy. Back in August, clothes-retailer Zara came under fire for selling a children’s T-shirt which bore a striking similarity to the uniform worn by prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. It later withdrew the item from stores.
