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Digitally Delivered Goods

Digitally delivered items are restricted on eBay. In order to list digitally delivered items, the seller must comply with the following requirements:

  • Digitally delivered items must be listed in the Classified Ad Format in the Everything Else>Information Products category only.

  • Any digitally delivered item may not be pornographic in nature.

  • The seller must be the owner of the underlying intellectual property, or authorized to distribute it by the intellectual property owner.

  • The seller’s item may not include software that harms the buyer’s machine (for example, a virus), uses it for malicious or unauthorized purposes (for example, sending spam emails or spreading a virus), or violates the buyer’s privacy (for example, spyware or cookies per the HTML and JavaScript policy).

  • To help verify the identity of sellers listing digital downloadable items, eBay requires that sellers are PayPal Verified.

Listings of digitally delivered items that violate any of these requirements are in violation of this policy.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

  • Listing cancellation

  • Limits on account privileges

  • Loss of PowerSeller status

  • Account suspension

  • Referral to law enforcement

  • Referral to the rights owner, with disclosure of personal contact information

Some Examples

Examples of items that sellers are not permitted to list on eBay:

  • An MP3 file copied from a purchased CD or a concert the seller attended

  • An eBook for which the seller is not the copyright owner or an authorized reseller

  • A song purchased through iTunes

  • A movie copied from a purchased DVD

  • A video game that you copied from the original CDROM

  • A PDF file of a product’s manual for which the seller is not the copyright owner or an authorized reseller

  • Online virtual game artifacts such as: game characters, game accounts, game currency or game items.

Examples of items that sellers are permitted to list on eBay:

  • An MP3 file of a song a seller wrote and recorded (and owns all rights to)

  • An eBook of recipes created by the seller

  • A home-made movie, in which the seller owns all rights

  • Computer software created by the seller, in which the seller owns all rights

  • Software listed by an authorized software reseller who has online distribution rights

  • A digital picture of the Golden Gate bridge taken by the seller

  • A t-shirt with a picture of an online virtual game character made by the manufacturer

Additional Information

For more information on copyright issues, see any of the following sources:

For more information on how you can help protect your account and safeguard your computer, see the following sources:

Read more information on copyrights.

See related VeRO Program participant About Me pages.

Why does eBay have this policy?

This policy helps protect buyers from purchasing unauthorized or counterfeit merchandise, and helps intellectual property rights owners protect their rights.

Contact Customer Support

Report listing violations or problems with another eBay member.


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