Staying Out Of Trouble With Ebay’s Listing Policies

by: Kirsten Hawkins
While you can sell most things on eBay, quite a few things are banned. If you try to sell any of these things then eBay will remove your auction and all bids will be void.Here is eBay’s full list of prohibited or questionable items:Academic SoftwareAirline and Transit Related ItemsAlcohol (also see Wine)Animals and Wildlife ProductsAnti-circumvention PolicyArtifactsAuthenticity DisclaimersAutographed ItemsBatteriesBeta SoftwareBootleg RecordingsBrand Name MisuseCatalog SalesCatalytic Converters and Test PipesCelebrity MaterialCharity or Fundraising ListingsComparison PolicyCompilation and Informational MediaContracts and TicketsCounterfeit Currency and StampsCounterfeit ItemsCredit CardsDownloadable MediaDrugs & Drug ParaphernaliaElectronics EquipmentEmbargoed Goods and Prohibited CountriesEncouraging Infringement PolicyEvent TicketsFaces, Names and SignaturesFirearms, Ammunition, Replicas, and MilitariaFireworksFoodFreon and Other RefrigerantsGift CardsGovernment IDs and LicensesHazardous, Restricted, and Perishable ItemsHuman Parts and RemainsImportation of Goods into the United StatesInternational Trading - BuyersInternational Trading - SellersLockpicking DevicesLottery TicketsMailing Lists and Personal InformationManufacturers' CouponsMature AudiencesMedical DevicesMisleading TitlesMod Chips, Game Enhancers, and Boot DiscsMovie PrintsMulti-level Marketing, Pyramid and Matrix ProgramsOEM SoftwareOffensive MaterialPesticidesPlants and SeedsPolice-Related ItemsPolitical MemorabiliaPostage MetersPre-Sale ListingsPrescription Drugs and DevicesPromotional ItemsReal EstateRecalled ItemsRecordable MediaReplica and Counterfeit ItemsSatellite and Cable TV DescramblersSlot MachinesStocks and Other SecuritiesStolen PropertySurveillance EquipmentTobaccoTravelUnauthorized CopiesUsed ClothingWarrantiesWeapons & KnivesWine (also see Alcohol)Most of this is very obvious – of course you can’t sell illegal things like drugs, pyramid schemes or stolen goods. Almost everything that is on the list is there because there is law against selling it. Some of the reasons, though, are a little strange.The ‘autographed items’ entry, for example, doesn’t mean that you can’t sell anything that’s been autographed – it just means that you can only sell it if it comes with a certificate of authenticity. The ‘artifacts’ entry prohibits you from selling Native American graves; ‘celebrity material’ means you can’t sell unauthorised pictures of celebrities; ‘embargoed goods’ means that you can’t sell anything that comes from Cuba… on and on it goes, and most of it you never need to know. If your chosen kind of item seems to be on the list, though, and you’re concerned that you might not be able to sell it, then check the full list at http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/items-ov.html to see whether the item is banned entirely or there are just a few restrictions.eBay says it will remove any items that it believes violate copyright law, but in reality they don’t have that many people to monitor the site. You will generally only find that your auction gets removed if someone decides to report you – and even then, they might not get around to it.Really, buying and selling on eBay can sometimes feel more complicated than it really is, thanks to all the rules surrounding it – not to mention the jargon. Our next email is a ‘jargon buster’, to help you learn the language of eBay.