Human Rights  » The eBay Blacklist

The eBay Blacklist

eBay can be most likened to an online flea market. But, as with

most flea markets, there is always the possibility that

questionable hawkers lurk around the corners. Therefore, there

must be rules in place to insure that the auctions and

transactions formed through eBay are legal. Only then can a

market - online or not - flourish.

Certain types of items are prohibited or regulated on eBay. eBay

reserves the right to terminate auctions that violate its

specifications for allowed items on listing. In the case of

such, eBay emails the bidder and the seller to notify them of

the violation and to explain the need to terminate the auction.

eBay's policies describe items that may not be posted for

auction. They fall under three categories: Prohibited

Questionable, and Potentially Infringing.

Prohibited This describes items that are not permitted on eBay.

This list includes alcohol, tobacco, drugs, animals, human parts

a lawyer, or other legal outlets to verify the legality of a...

or remains, government properties, lottery tickets, and others.

eBay contains a complete list of such in their policy statement.

Questionable Items listed as questionable can be posted provided

they follow certain conditions. For example, some adult material

may be listed for auctioning only if they are posted in the

Mature Audiences section of eBay. Event tickets may be sold

provided that the auction closes before the actual event itself.

The list also includes batteries, artifacts, food, used items,

event tickets, weapons and knives, police related equipment,

Freon, hazardous chemicals, offensive material, mature audiences

material, international selling, and international buying among

others.

Potentially Infringing Items listed under this heading may be

legal. However, they almost always violate copyright, trademark,

and other rights. Some examples of such are: academic software,

beta software, bootleg recordings, contracts and tickets,

downloadable media, movie prints, OEM software, Replica and

counterfeit items, and unauthorized copies.

This list is updated periodically and is incorporated into the

User Agreement of eBay. These guidelines do not represent legal

advice. It would do well to check with law enforcement agencies,

a lawyer, or other legal outlets to verify the legality of a

questionable item to be posted. This policy applies even if you

offer to give your item away for free. As long as it is posted

on eBay, it is subject to the abovementioned policy.

As a final note, it is stressed that the buyer if subject to

liability if he or she purchases an illegal item. It is still

the responsibility of the buyers and sellers to monitor the

legality of their transactions since eBay is merely a

facilitator in the market process.

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and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info