Hazardous Items
Hazardous Items or "dangerous" goods are items that may pose a danger to health, safety or property while being transported, such as explosives, radioactive materials, flammable gases and solids and toxic substances. Many hazardous goods that cannot be sent by mail or commercial carrier are not allowed to be listed on eBay. In addition, all sellers must ensure that the sale of any potentially-hazardous items is compliant with applicable health and safety law.
A few hazardous materials may lawfully be transported under certain conditions if they are properly packaged and labelled. Such items may be listed on eBay, provided that the listing contains a clear notice of the hazardous nature of the material, and a description of the planned postage method that complies with the law. Although different carriers may have different restrictions in place, visit the Royal Mail (or for Ireland An Post) website to see examples of prohibited and restricted materials.
Examples of hazardous materials that are not permitted on eBay are:
Antique fire extinguishers that contain carbon tetrachloride, including glass bulb fire extinguishers and brass extinguishers with a T-shaped handle.
Gas cylinders containing any of the following compressed gases are also prohibited for safety reasons: Acetylene, Carbon Monoxide, Ammonia, Chlorine, Hydrogen, Sulphur Dioxide. Empty or part-empty bottles are also prohibited as they may contain residual gas.
Items that contain mercury, such as thermometers, barometers and batteries (e.g., mercuric oxide button batteries, alkaline-manganese batteries and zinc-carbon batteries containing mercury).
Restricted Items
Restricted items generally do not pose a danger to health, safety or property while being transported, but their transport is regulated or banned for public policy reasons. Many "restricted" items such as, firearms, pets, drug paraphernalia and lock picking devices are not permitted to be listed on eBay under other eBay rules.
Generally, restricted items that may be lawfully transported by mail or common carrier are permitted on eBay, unless otherwise prohibited by eBay rules. Examples of restricted items that may be listed on eBay include tropical fish, insects such as honeybees or worms, and some knives. However specific packing arrangements will apply and should be agreed with the applicable carrier.
Perishable Items:Perishable Items are items that can deteriorate or lose value under normal mailing conditions. They can generally only be sent by commercial producers and with the appropriate permission from the applicable carrier where relevant.
Airbags
Undeployed airbags contained within the body of the steering wheel or within removable seats of passenger cars or mini-busses are permitted on eBay. However, sellers listing these items cannot select "will post worldwide" as these items may not be legal for sale or dispatch to some countries. Deployed airbags, airbags not contained within the steering wheel or within removable seats of passenger cars or mini-busses, and safety belt pretensioners designed to activate as part of an airbag safety system are prohibited.
Laser Pointers
Listing of hand held lasers with an output of more than 1 mW are generally not permitted on eBay. The only exceptions to this policy are club/disco/"rave" type lasers, which may be listed, even if their output is greater than 1 mW. For further information on laser safety, please visit the HPA website.
eBay Community Watch - Community members can report prohibited, questionable and infringing items to eBay.
Verified Rights Owners (VeRO) Programme - Intellectual property owners can report items that allegedly infringe on their rights
If you have any questions, please contact customer support.
