Absolute Beginners Guide to eBay (4th Edition)

What You CanAnd Can'tTrade on eBay

As you can tell from eBay's mission statement, you should be able to trade practically anything you can think of on the eBay site. You can't trade literally everything, of course; there are some types of items that eBay refuses to deal with. Read on to learn more.

eBay's Product Categories

eBay organizes its listings by product category. There are a few dozen major categories, each of which is subdivided into dozens of more targeted subcategories. For example, the major category of Cameras & Photo is subdivided into a variety of smaller categories, such as Camcorders, Digital Cameras, Film Cameras, and so on. To make it easier to find specific items, these subcategories are further subdivided into even more targeted subcategories; for example, the Digital Cameras subcategory is subdivided into subcategories for Point & Shoot, Digital SLR, Parts & Repair, and so on.

When you're selling an item, you drill down through the categories and subcategories until you find the one that best fits the item you're selling. When you're looking to buy an item, you just keep clicking through the subcategories until you find the type of item you want to buy.

What You Can't Trade on eBay

Of course, you can't sell just anything on eBaythere are some items that eBay prohibits you from selling. This list of what you can't buy or sell on eBay makes a lot of sense; most of these items are illegal, are controversial, or could expose eBay to various legal actions.

eBay's list of prohibited items includes the following:

• Academic and beta software

• Alcohol

• Animals (except for tropical fish and domestic aquatic snails) and wildlife products

• Artifacts protected under federal laws

• Bootleg or counterfeit recordings of CDs, videos, computer software, or other items that infringe on someone else's copyright or trademark

• CDs, DVDs, and screen saver programs that contain multiple images of celebrities or models

• Catalog listings

• Counterfeit currency and stamps

• Drugs and drug paraphernalia

• Embargoed goods and goods from prohibited countries

• Firearms and ammunition

• Government and transit documents, IDs, licenses, and uniforms

• Hazardous materials

• Human body parts and remains

• Items that contain the image, likeness, name, or signature of a person, unless the person has authorized the product in question

• Law enforcement badges or equipment

• Lockpicking devices

• Lottery tickets

• Mailing lists and personal information

• Mod chips, game enhancers, and boot discs for video game systems

• Movies and music stored on recordable media, such as CD-R discs, DVD+/-R discs, videotapes, and so on

• Multi-level marketing, pyramid, and matrix programs

• OEM software originally included with a new PC

• Postage meters

• Prescription drugs and devices

• Recalled items

• Satellite and cable TV descramblers

• Slot machines

• Stocks and other securities

• Stolen property

• Surveillance equipment

• Teacher's edition textbooks

• Tobacco

• Used cosmetics

Other items, such as adult-oriented items, fall into the questionable category. If you're in doubt about a particular item, check out eBay's Prohibited and Restricted Items page at pages.ebay.com/help/policies/items-ov.html.