12 Items You CAN'T Sell On eBay Millions of would-be entrepreneurs want to sell things on ebay.eBay is the #1 home-business opportunity in the world right now,so it's natural that many are eager to find highly profitableitems for re-sale on eBay. However, it's important to know thatthere are certain items that can't be sold. Here are a dozen ofthem ...
Some items are copyright infringement and can actually land aseller in federal prison:
1. Knock offs of music, TV shows or movies. The "bootleg"movies, for example, are often made by guys who sneak a moviecamera into a newly-released movie where presumably, they crouchbehind a seat and make a crummy copy. There is a largeproduction of these counterfeit items in Asia where US laws haveno power.
2. Software and computer games can likewise be copied and theirsale is illegal by all US laws.
Naturally, the items above may be sold if you have a copy thatyou purchased legitimately and no longer want.
3, The so-called "replica" market for handbags, designersunglasses and clothing is definitely forbidden although theseitems are often sold in physical stores around the US.Ironically, when attending eBay Live In New Orleans in 2004, wefound a store in one of their famous markets selling replicapurses that were not allowed on eBay.
4. Lazy and less-than-honest sellers often steal copyrightedmaterial from other sellers. This has happened to me many timesand eBay has a program called VERO (Verified Rights Owner) thatwill remove offending auctions, although there seems to be nopenalty attached to the seller, which is unfortunate.
5. Alcoholic beverage sales are not allowed although a beverage"container', especially those of wine, may be sold for its value.
6. Cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco or coupons for suchitems are not permitted on eBay.com.
The Ebay rules for collectible tobacco and alcohol containersare the same:
* The value of the item is in the collectible packaging, not inthe wine/tobacco itself.
* The listing description should state that the package has notbeen opened, but that the twine/tobacco within is not forconsumption.
* The collectible tobacco packaging must not be
available at anyretail 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 be soldon eBay.
8. Satellite and cable TV descramblers are forbidden by theFederal Trade Commission.
9. Animals and wildlife products may not be sold, which includesstuffed birds and pelts from endangered species. There arelimited sales of ivory, tortoise shell, marine products andother items relating to animals. This area is quite complex andany would-be seller needs to thoroughly understand the variouslaws before getting involved in these sales.
10. Event tickets have state-by-state laws that make their salecomplex. Some states, for instance, forbid anyone to make morethan a few dollars in profit (or no profit at all) on the resaleof tickets. For instance, Florida law states that tickets can beresold at no more than face value plus $1. In such states, theseregulations apply only to buyers and sellers located in the samestate as the actual event, meaning if a seller lives in Florida,he can't profit from ticket sales to Florida events. However, ifhe lives in any of the other 39 states, this restriction doesn'tapply.
11. Listing a catalog of items that a seller offers for sale isforbidden. The only catalogs legally sold on eBay arecollectible kinds, such as an old Sears Roebuck or MontgomeryWards catalog that is memorabilia and doesn't offer currentmerchandise for sale.
12. Raffles and prizes are 100% prohibited. According to eBay,such promotions are highly regulated and may be unlawful in manystates.
There are other kinds of merchandise that a seller may not sellon eBay, so carefully check eBay rules before listing anything.It's much better to know the rules in advance of spending moneythat can't be recouped.
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