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...

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…