Artifacts and cave formations can have significant cultural value and may be legally protected.
What is the policy?
Items obtained from government or protected land, historical grave sites, or shipwrecks, can't be sold on eBay.
Looted or stolen goods can't be sold on eBay. For a list of the cultural goods most vulnerable to illicit trafficking, refer to the International Council of Museums' Red Lists Database. See also the “Additional information” below for more resources in the fight against the trafficking of these goods.
Listings for artifacts, fossils, and relics must:
- Follow all government regulations
- Be authentic and listed in the appropriate category
Listings for replicas must:
- State that the item is a replica in the title and description
- Be listed in the Reproduction or Fantasy category, as appropriate
Listings for antiquities must include the provenance or ownership history of the item and, where possible, a photo or scanned image of an official document including both the item's country of origin, and the legal details of the sale. The item must also be approved for import or export. Listings for cave formations must follow all government regulations.
- Speleothems, stalactites, and stalagmites obtained from caves on government land can't be sold on eBay
Listings for government survey markers must include a photo or scanned image of the document proving that the government has transferred ownership to the eBay seller.
The following Native American items can't be sold on eBay:
- Funeral objects placed with the dead
- Grave markers
- Human remains
- Sacred items used by Native American religious leaders in ceremonial practices, such as ceremonial masks and pray sticks
Listings for Native American arts, crafts, and jewelry must follow all government regulations.
- Under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, any item described as Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American must be made by an enrolled member of a state or federally recognized tribe or by someone certified as an Indian artisan by a recognized Indian tribe
Non-Native American items in the style of Native American art or crafts must be listed in the Non-Native American category.
Additional information
As the sale of certain artifacts, grave-related items, Native American arts and crafts, and other related items is legally protected, there may be additional requirements in order to sell them on eBay. The information on this page can help assist sellers trade lawfully on eBay. eBay cannot assess the authenticity of specific artifacts or the legality of their sale. Sellers are responsible for ensuring that their transactions are lawful.
For more information on the regulations regarding the sale of these items, please see the links below:
This eBay policy also reflects regulations that have been set by various government agencies in the U.S, including the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).
For more information on the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage goods, please visit the UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws.
As part of the fight against the trafficking of stolen works of art, INTERPOL encourages not only law enforcement agencies but also art and antiques dealers, owners of works of art and the general public to play an active role in the exchange of information about stolen works of art:
You can find more information and resources on the Cultural Heritage Crime section of the INTERPOL website.
