Help from eBay UK

In an earlier post, I mentioned selling on eBay UK and asking eBay Trust and Safety before listing an item. You need to make sure that the item is allowed. I recently inquired about selling a product (that about 20 other sellers currently offer).

My question:

Hello, I would like to offer [PRODUCT NAME] on eBay UK. Is this item allowed? I see other sellers offering it, however, I wanted to verify that the product is allowed before listing it. Thank you!

eBay UK’s Response:

We appreciate you taking the time to ask whether or [PRODUCT NAME] you want to sell is allowed on eBay. While we’d like to be able to give you a definitive “yes” or “no” answer, please understand that we’re not in a position to do so. There are two reasons for this:

(1) We haven’t seen the item.

(2) eBay isn’t an expert in the legality or authenticity of specific items. Unlike a traditional auction house, we’re not involved in the transaction and we don’t see items before they’re listed. We simply act as a venue for buyers and sellers to meet. If reported to us, listings may be removed for breaching the law, a rights owner’s intellectual property rights or because they blatantly breach eBay listing policies. I recommend you review our listing policies in detail to help you decidewhether or not to list your item.

Copy these links into new browser windows for more information:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/policies.html

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/questions/prohibited-items.html

I hope this explains why we can’t give you a specific approval, and helps you decide whether to list your item. I sincerely hope your eBay sales run smoothly.

Interesting. We are supposed to ask first, but when we ask we don’t really get an answer. Hmmmm.