Ethics of Selling on Ebay When First

Ethics of Selling on eBay

When first examining the inventory of items available on eBay, I was impressed by the degree to which there is freedom to sell almost any kind of item. eBay is a service, and a means for individuals to buy and sell the items which they want. As such, I did not believe that eBay had either the right or the duty to police what was sold using its service. That is, eBay itself is the broker, not the seller, and I did not think it should be held liable for the ways in which individuals used its service. However, as I looked further at the items that were for sale, I changed my opinion. I believe eBay must be responsbile for conforming with laws of the country in which it operates, both on the side of the buyer and the seller. In other words, eBay should restrict the sale of items that are illegal to sell or purchase in the country in which either the buyer or the seller resides, because eBay is doing business in that country and should be bound by its laws just as any physical business would.

There are many items for sale on eBay that are legal in the United States but would not be in other countries. While my personal beliefs lead me to believe that individuals should be allowed to purchase anything that does not cause direct harm to another human being, these beliefs are not applicable to a company that must work within the laws of many countries at once. In fact, eBay prodes a service to sellers that allows one to confirm the legality of selling items to other countries. This adherance to law helps solve the problem of individuals objecting to what is being sold. eBay can fall back on the fact that they are obeying the laws, and that the laws themselves must be changed, not eBay's business practices.

eBay does, however, censor some of the items which may be sold using the service. Adult items are placed in a special category, and one must confirm one's age in order to be able to purchase from this category. Personally, I find this problematic, as it places additional restrictions on sales, that may or may not be mandated by law. However, this also seems like a compromise on the part of eBay in regards to limiting access to material many might find questionable. After reflection, I find this compromise to be effective, in that it does not restrict availability to adults, but does allow eBay to have legal recourse should a minor buy a product they should not have. Because access to adult products is limited, eBay can safely say they have done their best to protect minors from material they should not view.

Ultimately, I think eBay should not be held responsible for buyers or sellers who lie about their products or their locations. eBay provides a service, and while it must do its best to regulate the users of the service, it cannot be wholly responsible if its users lie. They can, however, be responsive to the complaints of buyers, and take action against sellers if it is proven they are misrepresenting their items. I believe this responsiveness to be the most important element of the ways in which eBay can and should regulate sales. eBay must hold itself to the standards of the law, and must respond to complaints if individuals violate those laws.