12 Items You CAN'T Sell On eBay

Sep 6
22:50

2005

Sydney Johnston

Sydney Johnston

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Here are 12 items that are absolutely forbidden to sell on eBay.

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Millions of would-be entrepreneurs want to sell things onebay. eBay is the #1 home-business opportunity in the worldright now,12 Items You CAN'T Sell On eBay Articles so it's natural that many are eager to findhighly profitable items for re-sale on eBay.  However, it'simportant to know that there are certain items that can't besold.  Here are a dozen of them ...

Some items are copyright infringement and can actually landa seller in federal prison:

1. Knock offs of music, TV shows or movies. The "bootleg"movies, for example, are often made by guys who sneak amovie camera into a newly-released movie where presumably,they crouch behind a seat and make a crummy copy. There is alarge production of these counterfeit items in Asia where USlaws have no power.

2. Software and computer games can likewise be copied andtheir sale is illegal by all US laws.

Naturally, the items above may be sold if you have a copythat you purchased legitimately and no longer want.

3, The so-called "replica" market for handbags, designersunglasses and clothing is definitely forbidden althoughthese items are often sold in physical stores around the US.Ironically, when attending eBay Live In New Orleans in 2004,we found a store in one of their famous markets sellingreplica purses that were not allowed on eBay.

4. Lazy and less-than-honest sellers often steal copyrightedmaterial from other sellers. This has happened to me manytimes and eBay has a program called VERO (Verified RightsOwner) that will remove offending auctions, although thereseems to be no penalty attached to the seller, which isunfortunate.

5. Alcoholic beverage sales are not allowed although abeverage "container', especially those of wine, may be soldfor its value.

6. Cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco or coupons for suchitems are not permitted on eBay.com.

The Ebay rules for collectible tobacco and alcoholcontainers are the same:

  • The value of the item is in the collectible packaging, notin the wine/tobacco itself.
  • The listing description should state that the package hasnot been opened, but that the twine/tobacco within is notfor consumption.
  • The collectible tobacco packaging must not be available atany retail outlet, and packaging must have a value thatsubstantially exceeds the current retail price of thatwine/tobacco product in the package.
  • Sellers must take steps to ensure that the buyer of thesecollectibles is at least 18 years of age

7. Firearms are strictly regulated by US law and may not besold on eBay.

8. Satellite and cable TV descramblers are forbidden by theFederal Trade Commission.

9. Animals and wildlife products may not be sold, whichincludes stuffed birds and  pelts from endangered species.There are limited sales of ivory, tortoise shell, marineproducts and other items relating to animals.  This area isquite complex and any would-be seller needs to thoroughlyunderstand the various laws before getting involved in thesesales.

10. Event tickets have state-by-state laws that make theirsale complex. Some states, for instance, forbid anyone tomake more than a few dollars in profit (or no profit at all)on the resale of tickets. For instance, Florida law statesthat tickets can be resold at no more than face value plus$1. In such states, these regulations apply only to buyersand sellers located in the same state as the actual event,meaning if a seller lives in Florida, he can't profit fromticket sales to Florida events.  However, if he lives in anyof the other 39 states, this restriction doesn't apply.

11. Listing a catalog of items that a seller offers for saleis forbidden.  The only catalogs legally sold on eBay arecollectible kinds, such as an old Sears Roebuck orMontgomery Wards catalog that is memorabilia and doesn'toffer current merchandise for sale.

12. Raffles and prizes are 100% prohibited. According toeBay, such promotions are highly regulated and may beunlawful in many states.

There are other kinds of merchandise that a seller may notsell on eBay, so carefully check eBay rules before listinganything.  It's much better to know the rules in advance ofspending money that can't be recouped.

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