While eBay will let you buy and sell just about everything, there are a number of things that are strictly prohibited. If you try to list one of the strictly prohibited items, eBay will end your auction and the bids will be voided.
eBay Prohibited and Questionable Items
An extremely long list of items not allowed to be posted on eBay includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Academic Software
- Airline and Transit Related Items
- Alcohol (including Wine)
- Animals and Wildlife Products
- Anti-circumvention Devices
- Artifacts
- Authenticity Disclaimers
- Autographed Items
- Batteries
- Beta Software
- Bootleg Recordings
- Brand Name Misuse
- Catalog Sales
- Catalytic Converters and Test Pipes
- Celebrity Material
- Charity or Fundraising Listings
- Comparison Policy Violations
- Compilation and Informational Media
- Contracts and Tickets
- Counterfeit Currency and Stamps
- Counterfeit Items
- Credit Cards
- Downloadable Media
- Drugs & Drug Paraphernalia
- Electronics Equipment
- Embargoed Goods and Prohibited Countries
- Encouraging Infringement Policy Violations
- Importation of Goods into the United States
- International Trading Buyers and Sellers
- Lockpicking Devices
- Lottery Tickets
- Mailing Lists and Personal Information
- Manufacturers’ Coupons
- Mature Audiences Material
- Medical Devices
- Misleading Titles
- Mod Chips, Game Enhancers, and Boot Discs
- Movie Prints
- Multi-level Marketing, Pyramid and Matrix Programs
- OEM Software
- Offensive Material
- Pesticides
- Plants and Seeds
- Police-Related Items
- Political Memorabilia
- Post
Understanding the Restrictions
Most of the things on this list are rather self-explanatory. Obvious examples would include that you cannot sell illegal goods like drugs, pyramid schemes, or stolen property. The majority of items upon that list are banned because of some form of legal restraint against them. Some of the rules, however, are rather strange.
For instance, the ban on ‘signed items’ stops you from selling off signed memorabilia; it just has to have a certificate of authenticity. Then there’s the ‘artifacts’ rule, which stops you from selling Native American graves. And lastly, in this category falls the ‘celebrity material,’ which refers to photographs of celebrities taken without their authorization. Lastly, ’embargoed goods’ means you can’t sell items from countries like Cuba. It goes on and on but, for the most part, the rest does not.
Checking Your Items
If you are not sure that you can sell your item on eBay, especially if you see that it appears on the following list, then you should check the complete list that is maintained at the eBay policy page. This will clarify whether the item is completely banned or has certain restrictions.
Whereas the people at eBay claim they will remove any such items, there is no way for them to police millions of listings. Usually, an auction is removed only if someone reports it and even then it may be some time.
Staying Safe by Playing by eBay’s Rules
Selling on eBay sometimes feels more complicated than it really is, mostly because there’s a load of rules and a fair bit of jargon flying about. In our next email, we will help you understand this complexity with a ‘jargon buster’ where you will learn the language of eBay.
Red more : An Introduction to Various Auction Types on eBay in 2024
