There are some things you shouldn’t try to sell on eBay, either because it’s illegal to do so, against eBay policy or just a silly idea that won’t make you any money. Here are 20 items you should never put up for sale on eBay:
1. Stolen property
Attempting to sell stolen goods on eBay is asking for trouble. This policy applies to items stolen from individuals, and items stolen from governments and companies. eBay sellers are not permitted to list items with altered or removed serial numbers, either.
2. Human body parts and remains
You’ll be relieved to know that eBay prohibits the sale of human organs, blood, human waste products and bodily fluids. Wigs and lockets made out of human scalp hair, and clean skeletons used for medical research are perfectly okay, however.
3. Police-related equipment and identification
Although there are some exceptions, eBay normally doesn’t allow the sale of police badges (from any country), uniforms, emergency vehicles, sirens or any official law enforcement equipment. Riot shields are allowed for sale, but tear gas and traffic light controllers are not.
4. Credit cards
On eBay, you’re not allowed to sell active credit or debit cards, active store credit cards or pre-paid American Express, Visa, MasterCard or Discover cards, regardless of the monetary amount remaining on the card. In almost all cases, the sale of expired credit cards is also prohibited.
5. Highly perishable items
Trying to sell perishable items (especially food) on eBay is rarely a good idea. Packages can take much longer to arrive than planned, and food that looks scrumptious when you pack it may be considerably less appealing when the box finally reaches its destination.
6. Certain used clothing
No matter how well you’ve washed them, you’re not allowed to sell these ‘pre-loved’ clothing items on eBay: G-strings, jock straps, panties, briefs, boxer shorts, children’s underwear or any used item being marketed as ‘a well-worn fetish clothing item’. Most people find this policy extremely comforting.
7. Items that promote illegal activity
No, you’re not allowed to sell your self-published eBook on how to hijack an airplane. Your handy DVD on lock picking, your step-by-step guide to injecting steroids, and that primer on how to build a meth lab are also poor eBay selling choices.
8. Seriously nasty weapons
There are restrictions on the sale of most kinds of weapons on eBay. The most horrible ones should not be added to your next auction. These include grenades, nerve gas, nuclear weapons, land mines, missiles, launchers and rockets. Flame throwers are also frowned upon.
9. Multi-level marketing schemes, matrix schemes and pyramid selling programs
eBay does not permit the sale of business schemes where income stems from online payment randomizers, or the continued recruitment of new distributors or members. Businesses based on paying money to be added to a product waiting list are also banned.
10. Certain adults-only material
11. Prohibited personal services
There are a few personal services you can’t offer on eBay. These include escort, dating or sexual services, banner ad services, offers for social media friendship, services to drive traffic to websites and services offering personal advice or personal relationships (either offline or online).
12. Tobacco products
The sale of tobacco products is heavily regulated. On eBay, you’re not permitted to sell tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco or electronic cigarettes. Herbal cigarettes, pipe tobacco and nicotine inhalers are also on the no-sell list. If it contains tobacco, just forget it.
13. Cheap, useless, worn out junk
Nobody really wants your 1973 transistor radio (that no longer works), your 30-year-old tee shirt full of holes, or that rusty tire iron you found in a vacant lot. Though some eBay buyers have interesting ideas about what’s ‘valuable’, common junk is not.
14. Prohibited electronic surveillance devices
If you happen to have some spare surveillance microphones or some telephone bugging equipment and wiretapping gear, eBay won’t let you offload them on their site. Essentially, any device that is primarily intended to secretly record the activities or conversations of others is prohibited.
15. Counterfeit bank notes
eBay’s prohibition on the sale of counterfeit bank notes is, perhaps, a bit silly. If someone’s phony dollars were any good at all, they would be out on the town spending them – not making them a featured product on their upcoming eBay auction.
16. Fireworks and combustibles
You can’t get rid of your spare road flares, black powder, bottle rockets, smoke bombs or party poppers on eBay. Nor are you allowed to sell gasoline, used oil, smoke bombs, birthday sparklers or caps for toy guns. Information guides on bomb-making are another no-no.
17. Items associated with violent felons and serial killers
18. Wild mushrooms
There are two good reasons eBay doesn’t like people selling mushrooms on the site. The first is that some mushrooms have hallucinogenic properties (and fall under the illicit drug category); the second is that incorrect identification of field mushrooms can lead to serious illness or death.
19. Nazi-related material
eBay seriously frowns on any material related to Nazism, and forbids the sale of items such as (but not limited to) holocaust photos, items featuring swastikas, books by Nazi authors and pro-Nazi propaganda postcards. Holocaust denial books are also banned, as are films and books promoting racial hatred.
20. Mailing lists
You can’t sell bulk mailing lists on eBay, or any software designed to harvest email addresses or send spam. You’re also not permitted to sell social media “likes”, information on how to procure bulk email lists, or services aimed at sending unsolicited text messages.