eBAY Bans Sales of Gun Parts and Reloading Components

On July 30th, internet auction site eBay announced it will change its current policies regarding sales/auctions of gun parts and reloading components. Currently, one cannot sell firearms on eBay, nor live ammunition, nor a variety of “black-listed” gun accessories such as high-capacity magazines. Now, eBay will prohibit the sale of “any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun.” This will include brass, bullets, and barrels. The new policy was announced by Matt Halprin, eBay Vice President:

“In mid-August, we will be updating our Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy to place more restrictions around gun-related items. Once these changes take effect, we will prohibit listings of any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun. This includes items like bullet tips [sic], brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc. Please read the Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy for more details on our current policy.

As you may know, eBay does not allow the listing of any items which are regulated by individual states or the federal government; however, there are still a large number of firearm-related parts that are legal and are widely available in retail stores. These items have also historically been allowed on eBay.

After learning that some items purchased on eBay may have been used in the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April 2007, we felt that revisiting our policies was not only necessary, but the right thing to do. After much consideration, the Trust & Safety policy team – along with our executive leaders at eBay Inc. – have made the decision to further restrict more of these items than federal and state regulations require. This new update… brings our policies in the U.S. and Canada in closer alignment with our existing policies in other markets around the globe.”