Lack of eBay Global Policy Dooms Animals
There is no single, well-defined, consistent global eBay policy on the listing of ivory or wildlife products. National eBay websites have their own rules which tend to be vague and confusing. This leaves them open to interpretation by the majority of well-meaning sellers and to abuse by those determined to profit from the illegal sale of items made from species at risk. It also raises the possibility that sellers whose items might be banned under rules from one eBay site are instead listing them on other country sites whose rules are less strict or even more vague.
At present, sellers need merely claim that their ivory or wildlife items can be sold legally, primarily by reason of antiquity, to avoid eBay intervention. Many sellers however, are being allowed simply to list items with no evidence of legality whatsoever, in blatant violation of the rules on most eBay websites.
This is because, in general, enforcement on eBay sites there are largely vague while inconsistent listing rules appear to be haphazard and hopelessly inadequate. On most of the websites surveyed, fewer than six percent of the ivory items listed complied with those sites’ own rules. Worse, very few of the suspect items we reported were removed within the promised time. eBay’s privacy policy is such that while some items were de-listed, we could not discover why. This could mean that at least some of the illegal items were sold despite the reported violations.
Worldwide on eBay auction sites, users quickly find what they want when looking for wildlife trade items.
