eBay has its rules about the types of items you can sell. The following table lets you know what eBay considers prohibited items — items that you can’t sell on eBay (or give away) under any circumstances.
| Item | Including | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Firearms and accessories | Antique, collectible, sport, or hunting guns; air guns; BB guns; silencers; converters; kits for creating guns; gunpowder; high-capacity ammunition magazines; and armor-piercing bullets | You can’t even sell a gun that doesn’t work, but you can buy and sell single bullets, shells, and even antique bombs and musket balls — as long as they have nothing explosive in them. |
| Military weapons | Bazookas, grenades, and mortars | |
| Police and other law-enforcement badges and IDs | U.S. federal badges or imitation badges, federal agency identification cards, credential cases, or those jackets they use in raids | Selling a copy or reproduction of any of these items is prohibited, too. |
| Replicas of official government identification documents or licenses | Birth certificates, drivers’ licenses, and passports | |
| Vehicle license plates | Current plates or plates that claim to resemble current ones | Expired license plates (at least 5 years old) are okay to sell because they’re considered collectible — as long as they are no longer valid for use on a vehicle. |
| Locksmithing devices | These items can be sold only to authorized recipients. Federal law prohibits the mailing of such devices. | |
| Human parts and remains | Organs such as kidneys, sperm, eggs, blood, or anything else you manage to extricate from your body | You can’t even give away any of these items as a free bonus with one of your auctions. |
| Drugs or drug paraphernalia | Narcotics, steroids or other controlled substances, such as gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and items primarily intended or designed for use in manufacturing, concealing, or using a controlled substance | For example, you can’t sell 1960s-vintage cigarette papers, bongs, or water pipes. |
| Anything that requires a prescription from a doctor, a dentist, or an optometrist to dispense | Any drug that’s legal to use but requires a prescription from a medical professional | |
| Stocks, bonds, or negotiable securities | Stock in new companies, investment property you may own, or offers of credit | Note that antiques and collectible items, such as antique stock certificates, are permitted. |
| Bulk e-mail lists | E-mail or mailing lists that contain personal identifying information, and tools or software designed to send unsolicited commercial e-mail | |
| Pets and wildlife, including animal parts from endangered species | Any live pets or wildlife or dead endangered animals (such as stuffed spotted owls or rhino-horn love potions) | |
| Child pornography | All materials | |
| Forged items | Autographs from celebrities and sports figures, for example | Don’t even consider bidding on an autographed item unless it comes with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). |
| Items that infringe on someone else’s copyright or trademark | ||
| Satellite and cable TV descramblers | All hardware and instructions on how to get around cable TV scrambling | Bypassing scrambling is illegal. |
| Stolen items | Any stolen items |