What Can't Be Sold on eBay (2024)

Before listing your item, make sure it's allowed on eBay and find out if there are specific rules and conditions on how it should be listed. See the list of prohibited and restricted items below and click the product category for information about the policies. You also need to make sure that the sale of your item complies with regional laws.

In addition to items that are prohibited or restricted by law, eBay does not permit listing certain other types of items.

Make sure your listing follows these guidelines. If it doesn't, it may be removed, and you may be subject to a range of other actions, including administratively ending or canceling listings, hiding or demoting all listings from search results, lowering seller rating, buying or selling restrictions, or account suspension.

Categories of products that are restricted or prohibited on eBay

If you sell items on ebay.com

Prohibited and restricted items

• Adult items
• Alcohol
• Art
• Artifacts and cave formations
• Catalytic converters and test pipes
• Cell phone (wireless) service contracts
• Charity and fundraising
• Clothing, used
• Items coming with contracts
• Cosmetics
• Collectible currency
• Coupons
• Credit cards
• Illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia
• Electronic equipment
• Embargoed goods
• Firearms and accessories
• Food
• Gift cards
• Government items
• Government, transit, and shipping-related items
• Hazardous materials
• Human body parts
• Items encouraging illegal activity
• Live animals
• Lockpicking devices
• Chance listings
• Personal information
• Prescription devices
• Prescription and over-the-counter drugs
• Military items
• Multi-level marketing, pyramid, and matrix programs
• Offensive materials
• Pesticides
• Plants and seeds
• Police-related items
• Reproduction political memorabilia
• Postage meters
• Real estate
• Products posing health or safety hazards
• Services
• Slot machines
• Stamps
• Stocks and other securities
• Stolen property
• Tobacco and e-cigarettes
• Travel services

International eBay sites also may have their own rules that maintain the safety of the eBay community of the country. Some categories of products are restricted, or completely banned from being listed. Make sure that your listings comply with local legal restrictions.

Check below the examples of rules from the most popular eBay international sites ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr, ebay.it, ebay.es, ebay.de, ebay.ca and ebay.com.au. If you're not sure if an item you're intending to list is allowed or not, choose the relevant category from the provided lists to find out.

If you sell items on ebay.co.uk

Prohibited and restricted items

• Adults only
• Illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia
• Embargoed goods
• Firearms and accessories
• Government items
• Hazardous materials
• Items encouraging illegal activity
• Lockpicking devices
• Personal information
• Prescription devices
• Offensive materials
• Police-related items
• Prescription drugs
• Services
• Stolen property
• Alcohol
• Live animals
• Artefacts and cave formations
• British titles
• Catalogues
• Charity and fundraising
• Clothing, used
• Items coming with contracts
• Cosmetics
• Collectable currency
• Credit cards
• Electronically delivered items
• Electronic equipment
• Event tickets
• Food
• Slot machines
• Human body parts
• Plants and seeds
• Real estate
• Products posing health or safety hazards
• Stocks and other securities
• Tobacco and e-cigarettes
• Travel services
• Vouchers

Potentially infringing

These items may infringe certain copyrights or trademarks:

Amongst the items that may fall under these restrictions are all devices and software enabling duplication of copy protected materials; mod chips, game enhancers and boot disks; recordable media and bootleg recordings; perfume and cosmetics, etc. Please carefully check the list of restrictions on risky categories of items at ebay.co.uk.

If you sell items on ebay.fr:

Prohibited and restricted items

• Adult items (Objets réservés aux adultes)
• Cultural items and state archives (Biens culturels et archives publiques)
• Illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia (Drogues illicites et objets associés)
• Embargoed goods (Biens soumis à embargo)
• Firearms and accessories (Armes à feu et accessoires)
• Government items (Objets officiels)
• Hazardous materials (Substances dangereuses)
• Items encouraging illegal activity (Incitation à des activités illégales)
• Lockpicking devices (Matériels destinés à l'ouverture des serrures)
• Personal information (Informations personnelles)
• Prescription devices (Appareils délivrés sur ordonnance)
• Violence, discrimination and offensive material (Violence, discrimination et haine raciale)
• Police-related items (Objets relatifs à la police)
• Services (Services)
• Stolen property (Biens volés)
• Alcohol (Alcool)
• Live animals (Animaux vivants)
• Autographed items (Autographes et articles revêtant un autographe)
• Used clothing (Vêtements d'occasion)
• Items coming with contracts (Objets avec contrats)
• Cosmetics (Cosmétiques)
• Collectible currency (Monnaies de collection)
• Credit cards (Cartes de crédit)
• Electronic equipment (Equipements électroniques)
• Food (Denrées alimentaires)
• Event tickets (Billets d'entrée dans les représentations et spectacles)
• Postage meters (Machines à affranchir)
• Slot machines (Machines à sous)
• Human body parts (Parties de corps humain)
• Plants and seeds (Plantes et graines)
• Products posing health or safety hazards (Produits qui présentent un risque pour la santé ou la sécurité)
• Stocks and other securities (Instruments financiers)
• Tobacco (Tabac et cigarettes électroniques)
• Travel services (Voyages et vacances)

Potentially infringing items

These items may infringe certain copyrights or trademarks:

Amongst the items that may fall under these restrictions are all devices and software enabling duplication of copy protected materials; mod chips, game enhancers and boot disks; recordable media and bootleg recordings; academic, beta, and OEM software; perfume and cosmetics, etc. Please carefully check the list of restrictions on risky categories of items at ebay.fr.

If you sell items on ebay.it:

Prohibited and restricted items

• Adult only category (Solo per adulti)
• Drugs and drug paraphernalia (Droghe e accessori correlati)
• Embargoed goods (Oggetti sottoposti ad embargo e Paesi verso i quali non è consentita l'esportazione)
• Firearms and accessories (Armi da fuoco e da taglio)
• Government items (Documenti d'identità, licenze e uniformi governative)
• Hazardous, restricted or regulated materials (Materiali pericolosi, soggetti a restrizioni o a regolamentazioni) — examples include materials such as poisons, explosive precursors, ozone depleting substances, radioactive materials, etc.
• Items encouraging illegal activity (Oggetti che incoraggiano attività illegali)
• Lock picking devices (Dispositivi per scassinare serrature)
• Mailing lists and personal information (Mailing list e informazioni personali)
• Prescription devices (Dispositivi medici soggetti a prescrizione)
• Offensive material (Materiale offensivo)
• Police-related items (Oggetti correlati alle forze dell'ordine)
• Prohibited services (Servizi proibiti)
• Stolen property (Oggetti rubati)
• Alcohol (Alcolici)
• Animals (Animali)
• Cultural items and state archives (Manufatti, oggetti di antiquariato, oggetti tombali e caratteristici della cultura del paese)
• Used clothing (Abiti usati)
• Contracts (Contratti)
• Used cosmetics (Cosmetici usati)
• Collectible currencies (Valute da collezione)
• Credit cards (Carte di credito)
• Electrical and electronics equipment (Apparecchi elettrici ed elettronici)
• Event ticket resale (Biglietti per spettacoli)
• Food (Cibo)
• Slot machines (Slot machine)
• Human remains and body parts (Organi, spoglie e materiale organico umano)
• Plants and seeds (Piante e semi)
• Products posing health or safety hazards (I prodotti che rappresentano un pericolo per la salute o la sicurezza)
• Stocks and other securities (Titoli azionari e altri valori mobiliari)
• Tobacco (Tabacchi)
• Travel services (Viaggi e Vacanze)

Potentially infringing items

These items may infringe certain copyrights or trademarks:

Amongst the items that may fall under these restrictions are all devices and software enabling duplication of copy protected materials; mod chips, game enhancers and boot disks; recordable media and bootleg recordings; academic, beta, and OEM software; perfume and cosmetics, etc. Please carefully check the list of restrictions on risky categories of items at ebay.it.

If you sell items on ebay.es:

Prohibited and restricted items

• Adult only category (Sólo para adultos)
• Embargoed goods (Bienes objeto de embargo)
• Firearms and accessories (Armas de fuego y accesorios)
• Government documents, IDs and licenses (Documentos de identidad y carnet de conducir)
• Hazardous, restricted or regulated materials (Materiales peligrosos, restringidos y regulados)
• Items encouraging illegal activity (Artículos que fomentan actividades ilegales)
• Lock picking devices (Artilugios para abrir cerraduras)
• Mailing lists and personal information (Listas de correo e información personal)
• Prescription devices (Dispositivos recetados)
• Offensive materials (Material ofensivo)
• Police-related items (Artículos relacionados con la policía)
• Personal relationships and services (Servicios prohibidos)
• Stolen property (Propiedad robada)
• Alcohol (Bebidas alcohólicas)
• Animals and wildlife products (Animales y fauna salvaje)
• Artefacts, archives, antiques, cultural items and grave-related items (Artefactos, antigüedades, artículos de valor cultural y artículos funerarios)
• Catalogues of items for sale (Venta de catálogos)
• Used clothing (Ropa usada)
• Contracts (Contratos)
• Used cosmetics (Cosméticos usados)
• Collectable currency (Moneda coleccionable)
• Credit cards (Tarjetas de crédito)
• Digitally delivered goods (Artículos entregados digitalmente)
• Electrical and electronics equipment (Equipos electrónicos)
• Event ticket resale (Entradas para espectáculos)
• Food (Comida)
• Human remains and body parts (Órganos y miembros del cuerpo humano)
• Plants and seeds (Plantas y semillas)
• Items that infringe on other people's intellectual property (Artículos que infringen los derechos de propiedad intelectual de otras personas)
• Property (Bienes inmuebles)
• Products posing health or safety hazards (Artículos que presentan riesgos para la salud o la seguridad)
• Stocks, bonds, certificates and other securities (Acciones, bonos, valores y certificados relacionados)
• Tobacco (Tabaco)
• Software to unlock electronic devices (Software para desbloquear aparatos electrónicos)

If you sell items on ebay.de:

Prohibited and restricted items

• Recordable media and photocopies (Beschreibbare Datenträger und Fotokopien)
• Unlocking tools (Aufsperrwerkzeugen)
• Digital media and downloads (Herunterladbare Medien)
• Music, movies and photos (Musik, Filme und Fotos)
• Perfume and cosmetics (Parfums und Kosmetikartikel)
• Replicas and counterfeit items (Repliken und Fälschungen)
• Software (Software)
• Enabling duplication of copy protected material (Umgang mit Artikeln, die ermöglichen, den Kopierschutz zu umgehen)
• Offers with sexual content (Angebote mit sexuellem Inhalt)
• Legal tender (Zahlungsmittel), bullion coins and bars (Anlagemünzen und Barren)
• Offensive press materials (Anstößige und beleidigende Artikel)
• Archeological finds (Archäologische Funde)
• Government IDs and licenses (Behördliche Ausweispapiere und Lizenzen)
• Drugs and drug paraphernalia (Drogen, Betäubungsmittel und bewusstseinsverändernde Stoffe)
• Electronic equipment (Elektronische Geräte)
• Tickets (Fahrscheine, Flugtickets, Eintrittskarten)
• Used clothing (Gebrauchte Kleidung)
• Hazardous, restricted or regulated materials (Gefahrnstoffe und andere regulierte Materialien)
• Objects, clothing and IDs from security-relevant areas (Gegenstände, Kleidungsstücke und Ausweise aus sicherheitsrelevanten Bereichen)
• Land and land rights (Grundstücke und grundstücksgleiche Rechte)
• Embargoed goods (Güter, die einem Handelsembargo unterliegen)
• Offensive media to minors (Jugendgefährdende Medien)
• Catalogues, purchase information, sources of supply and distribution partner search (Kataloge, Kaufinformationen, Bezugsquellen und Vertriebspartnersuche)
• Human remains and body parts (Körperteile und sterbliche Überreste von Menschen)
• Mailing lists and personal information (Mailing- und Adresslisten und persönliche Informationen)
• Multi-level marketing, pyramid and matrix programs (Multi-Level-Marketing, Pyramiden- und Matrixprogramme)
• Medical devices and healthcare products (Medizinische Geräte und Medizinprodukte)
• National Socialist materials (Nationalsozialistische Artikel)
• Recalled products (Zurückgerufene Produkte)
• Tobacco (Tabakwaren)
• Live animals (Lebende Tiere)
• Personal relationships and prohibited services (Unzulässige Leistungen)
• Weapons and military items (Waffen, Waffenzubehör und rüstungsrelevanten Gütern)
• Stocks and other securities (Aktien und andere Wertpapiere)

If you sell items on ebay.ca:

Prohibited and restricted items

• Adult items
• Alcohol
• Art
• Artifacts and cave formations
• Catalytic converters and test pipes
• Cell phone (wireless) service contracts
• Charity and fundraising
• Clothing, used
• Items coming with contracts
• Cosmetics
• Collectible currency
• Coupons
• Credit cards
• Illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia
• Electronic equipment
• Embargoed goods
• Firearms and accessories
• Food
• Gift cards
• Government items
• Government, transit, and shipping-related items
• Hazardous materials
• Human body parts
• Items encouraging illegal activity
• Lock picking devices
• Chance listings
• Personal information
• Prescription devices
• Prescription and over-the-counter drugs
• Military items
• Multi-level marketing, pyramid, and matrix programs
• Offensive materials
• Pesticides
• Plants and seeds
• Police-related items
• Reproduction political memorabilia (reproduction)
• Postage meters
• Real estate
• Products posing health or safety hazards
• Slot machines
• Stamps
• Stocks and other securities
• Stolen property
• Tobacco and e-cigarettes
• Travel services

If you sell items on ebay.com.au:

Prohibited and restricted items

• Adult items
• Alcohol
• Live animals
• Art
• Artefacts and cave formations
• Catalytic converters and test pipes
• Charity and fundraising
• Clothing, used
• Items coming with contracts
• Cosmetics
• Collectable currency
• Credit cards
• Illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia
• Electronic equipment
• Embargoed goods
• Event tickets
• Firearms and accessories
• Food
• Slotmachines
• Gift cards
• Government items
• Government, transit, and postage-related items
• Hazardous materials
• Human body parts
• Items encouraging illegal activity
• Lockpicking devices
• Chance listings
• Personal information
• Prescription devices
• Prescription and over-the-counter drugs
• Multi-level marketing, pyramid, and matrix programs
• Offensive materials
• Services
• Plants and seeds
• Police-related items
• Real estate
• Products posing health or safety hazards
• Stamps
• Stocks and other securities
• Stolen property
• Tobacco and e-cigarettes
• Travel services
• Vouchers

Visit Seller Help to find details of any policy issues with your account or listings, and get the information you need to quickly resolve them.

You also may find useful information on Active and Passive International Selling on eBay and our free tool eBaymag — a single platform to list items on eBay international sites, manage orders and optimize shipping.