Digitally delivered goods policy
Policy overview
We consider digitally delivered goods to be information or content that you can download from a website or receive by email.
You can list digitally delivered goods on eBay as long as you follow these guidelines:
You can only sell items that you're authorised to sell by the law.
Your listing clearly states that you legally own the content (sometimes called intellectual property) or are authorised to sell it by the owner, the owner's agent or the law.
You're responsible for complying with the contractual agreements you may have entered into with licensors. If you're reselling a digitally delivered good, you must state in your listing that you're selling a legally purchased item and that you've removed all copies from your devices and the cloud, or have otherwise disabled your own use of the good. You must act in accordance with that statement. Adhere to the delivery method requirements as outlined in the What are the guidelines? section below.
Clearly inform the buyer about how the item will be delivered. Your item must be listed in the relevant category. Your item can't include software that would damage anyone's computer, could be used for malicious purposes like sending spam emails or sending a computer virus, or would violate anyone's privacy, such as spyware or cookies. For more details, see our HTML and JavaScript policy.
Ensure that you only sell items for which you can guarantee proper delivery. You remain responsible for ensuring a positive buyer experience.
In addition to meeting the guidelines of this policy, listings for all informational products also need to meet the requirements of our compilation and informational items policy.
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 limits on your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account.
What are the guidelines?
Restricted |
Only physical delivery permitted:
The item must be provided to the buyer in a physical format, such as a CD or hardcopy. Your listing must clearly indicate that you will send the item by postal mail. The option of delivering the item by email or digitally must never be included.
You must list your item only in the Everything Else > Information Products category.
MP3 music you wrote, recorded, and own all the rights to Homemade movies you created and own the rights to Computer software you created and own the rights to Photos you captured yourself and own the rights to Digital art you created and own the rights to, or that you're authorised to sell online by the owner, the owner's authorised agent, or the law An eBook, such as a compilation of recipes, that you created and own the rights to sell
Digital and physical delivery permitted:
You can list software on eBay if it's software that you're authorised to sell online by the owner, the owner's authorised agent, or the law (for example, second-hand software).
When you sell second-hand software, including a key or other device to use the software, make sure that you follow these requirements:
Remove all copies of the particular software application you are selling from your devices and the cloud. If you purchased a bundle of licenses, you may not split the bundle and sell the licenses separately. You aren't permitted to sell any software that was provided to you as part of a service (e.g. maintenance agreements). You must clearly inform the buyer about how the item will be delivered. If the item will be digitally delivered, you need to clearly state this in the listing.
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Not allowed |
Examples of digitally delivered goods that can't be advertised on eBay:
MP3 music copied from a CD you own or recorded at a concert eBooks or audio books that you don't own the copyright to and aren't authorised to resell by the owner, the owner’s authorised agent, or the law Songs you bought from iTunes Movies you copied from DVDs you own Video games you copied from the original CDs PDF files of product manuals or user guides that you don't own the copyright of or you aren't authorised to resell by the owner, the owner's authorised agent, or the law.
Note: We allow PayPal to sell third party retailers' electronically delivered gift cards on eBay. Because we believe that Paypal's digital platform allows buyers to purchase these items on eBay in the most risk-free way, PayPal is currently the only entity allowed to sell electronically-delivered gift cards on eBay. |
We also encourage you to learn more about: Why does eBay have this policy? The guidelines on digitally delivered goods help create a safer place to buy and sell by prohibiting sellers from using eBay in a way that might infringe on the intellectual property rights of others or violate the law. They also help protect buyers from purchasing unauthorised or pirated items. |  |
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