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Because eBay is such a huge marketplace, with



members from all walks of life, in almost every single



country around the world, it is no wonder that there



are many scammers lurking about. In order to better



protect the buyers, eBay has specific rules



concerning the items that can be auctioned off on



the site. These rules must be followed, or the



person posting the item for auction can be banned



from the site.





Even though there are numerous categories, items



that are put up for auction really only fall into one of



four categories at eBay: Prohibited, Questionable,



Potentially Infringing, and Approved. Approved is the



simplest category to define and understand. An



approved item is any item that does not fall into one



of the other three categories. That is fairly simple,



right?





After the ‘approved’ category, however, it starts to



get a little harder to understand – with the exception



of prohibited items. A prohibited item may not be



auctioned on eBay for any reason, under any



circumstances. Prohibited items include alcohol,



drugs, animals, tobacco, human remains or body



parts of any type, lottery tickets, and



governmental property. There is quite a bit more



on the list, and that list can be viewed at the



eBay website.





Questionable items are those that are not prohibited,



but are not necessarily infringing. Adult material falls



under the ‘questionable’ category. Tickets of any



type may also be questionable. Law enforcement



related equipment, as well as guns, knives, and



other weapons are questionable items. Artifacts,



food items, batteries, all hazardous chemicals



and materials are also on the list of



questionable items. You can auction questionable



items at eBay, as long as those items meet certain



conditions.





Potentially Infringing items are those that violate



copyrights, trademarks, and other legal rights. These



items are almost always some type of media, such



as software, DVDs, and CDs, but the list contains



other items as well, such as counterfeit items and



illegal recordings. You can find out more about



‘potentially infringing’ items at the eBay website



as well.





If you are unsure as to which category your item falls



into, you should contact eBay with this question



before setting up the auction. As a buyer, you



should carefully consider the consequences of



purchasing items that fall under one of the three



categories above. In some cases, it may be very



illegal to have some of those items in your



possession – no matter how they were obtained.



Before making such a purchase, or bidding on such



an item, you should find out more details about the



item in question, and then get some legal advice.