Though you can list certain artifacts, grave-related items, Native American arts and crafts, and other related items, you may need to meet a few requirements when you sell them on eBay (see the guidelines below for more details).
Any restriction or ban on selling these items is generally based upon various laws that we need to follow, including:
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 restrictions of your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account.
What are the guidelines?
We consider antiquities to be items of cultural significance and can come from anywhere in the world.
Restricted
Listings for antiquities have to meet the following criteria:
Items have to be authentic.
Sellers have to include either a photo or a scanned image of an official document that clearly shows both the item's country of origin and the legal details of the sale (it has to be approved for import or export).
Restricted
Authentic artifacts, fossils, and relics have to meet the following criteria:
The item has to match the time-period category that it's listed in.
If the item has been reworked or modernized in any way, this information has to be called out and fully described in the listing.
Reproduction of an artifact, fossil, or relic has to meet the following criteria:
The listing title and description have to clearly state that the item is a reproduction.
The item must be listed in the appropriate Reproduction or Fantasy category.
Not allowed
Artifacts, fossils, or relics taken from any of the following places:
Listings for government survey markers (like those used by the U.S. Geological Survey) have to show proof that the government has transferred ownership to the eBay seller. This proof can be either a photo or a scanned image of the document.
Not allowed
Speleothems, stalactites, and stalagmites taken from caves on federal land
Under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, any item described as Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American must be made by an enrolled member of a state or federally recognized tribe or by someone certified as an Indian artisan by a recognized Indian tribe.
If you have questions, call the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) at 202-208-3773 or visit the IACB website.
Restricted
1934 or earlier authentic Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American arts and crafts should be listed in Collectibles > Cultures & Ethnicities > Native American: US > and in one of the following subcategories:
Pre-1600
1600-1799
1800-1934
1935 or later authentic Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American arts and crafts can be listed, as long as sellers include the artisan’s name and tribal affiliation in the item description.
Items created by non-tribe members can be described as Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American only if the seller meets both of these requirements:
The artisan is certified by the governing body of a tribe.
This information is included in the listing.
Not allowed
Describing items in the following terms because they make it hard for buyers to find authentic versions:
Alaska Native style
American Indian style
Native American style
Other descriptions that may suggest the item was made by a Native American
Items not made by Native Americans can't be listed in Native American categories
Unknown artisan or tribal affiliation for arts and crafts made in 1935 or later can't be described as Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American
Items from Native American or Native Hawaiian grave sites, such as:
Funerary object placed with the dead
Grave marker
Human remains
Sacred items used by Native American religious leaders in ceremonial practices, such as:
Ceremonial masks
Prayer sticks
Allowed
You should describe items as Non-Native American Crafts if they weren't made by Native Americans or if they are reproductions.
Restricted
Non-Native American items in the style of Native American art or crafts have to be listed in the Collectibles > Cultures & Ethnicities > Native American: US > Non-Native American Crafts category only.
Not allowed
Items listed in the Non-Native American Crafts category described as:
Alaska Native style
American Indian style
Native American reproduction
Native American style
Other descriptions that may suggest the item was made by a Native American
Restricted
You can list the following items, as long as they're new and have never been used:
Burial plots
Caskets
Gravestones
Headstones
Tombstones
Urns
Not allowed
Items taken from historical grave sites like battlefields, protected lands, or shipwrecks
Used funerary items like headstones, markers, or urns
Why does eBay have this policy?
Our policy reflects the laws and regulations on the sale of artifacts, grave-related items, Native American arts and crafts, and other related items. Before selling these items on eBay, be sure to follow all applicable laws and our guidelines above.
Contact Customer Support
You can contact Customer Support to report a listing you think violates this policy. Go to that listing, and then click the Report item link on the right side of the page.
We'll review your report and take appropriate action.
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