EBay.com has undoubtedly been a revolutionary website. It has provided a successful platform for sellers to offer their goods and sometimes services to a worldwide audience of potential buyers. As a result, the company has allowed people to make substantial sums of money selling new or used goods. However, an unintended consequence of the eBay phenomenon has been the exchange of illegal goods, such as wildlife contraband, for money—the most famous being ivory. Previously, eBay banned cross-boarder sales of ivory; however, the ban isn’t working, because illegal goods will travel illegally across boarders and will be sold “legally” within a country’s boarders. As a result, except for some antiques containing small quantities of ivory, eBay Inc. will ban all ivory sales from eBay.com. From PC World:

The company has heard calls for the change since at least 2002, when the Humane Society publicized an investigation finding thousands of illegal ivory items on the site on any given day. The complication comes from the fact that ivory trading laws vary from nation to nation. International trade is prohibited by a United Nations convention, however, and eBay had already banned cross-border ivory sales in a ruling last year. eBay now says that ban was not enough.

“This ban tried to balance the protection of endangered and protected species while also providing a way for sellers to offer legitimate ivory products legally allowed for sale within domestic markets,” says eBay blogger Richard Brewer-Hay. “Given the complexities of the global ivory trade, and the distinct and unique characteristics of the eBay Marketplace, the sale of any ivory on our site continued to be a concern within the company and among stakeholders,” he adds.

The New Policy

The new policy goes into effect in December and will be enforced beginning in January. eBay will continue to allow antiques that contain only small amounts of ivory on the site, specifying that only items made before 1900 will qualify. Anyone violating the ban, execs promise, can expect to pay the price.

“We work closely with international and domestic law enforcement authorities … and will assist them with any investigations they initiate,” Christin says.

On the Net:

1. Un-Netting Trade in Endangered Species: eBay Vows Crackdown on Illegal Ivory Sales: Animal rights activists charge the online site has failed to stop Internet sales of endangered animal parts
2. eBay To Ban One of Its Fastest Growing Businesses: Ivory Sales (EBAY)
3. eBay To Institute Global Ban on Ivory Sales