eBay are about to solve a problem that’s been annoying me for years… they’re going to allow bladed items, commonly called knives, back onto the platform.
Knives are useful, let’s not kid ourselves it’s hard to get through the day without buying one, but when they were banned on the marketplace it meant even things like a home tool kit including a Stanley Knife couldn’t be sold…. and just about every took kit contains a craft knife of some description.
Then there’s kitchen knives, you can buy just about every product direct from Ninja on eBay but you can’t buy a Ninja Foodi StaySharp Knife set and that’s a travesty. (Most people would just go directly to Amazon or maybe Ninja themselves, or a high street retailer meaning eBay miss out on the sale).
Now, eBay have announced upcoming changes to the requirements for selling bladed items on eBay in the UK. They are expanding buyer age-verification to cover more potentially dangerous items, and to make it easier for you to safely sell and deliver these products.
eBay say that they will help support age-verification for many items onsite through buyers confirming they are 18 or older by providing their credit card information, which will only be used for age-verification and won’t be charged or saved.
To sell bladed items on eBay you will need to:
- Add an age-verified delivery option. Choose a delivery service that requires age verification on receipt.
- UPS Adult Signature service is available on eBay labels.
- eBay are also working with other carriers to enable more options very soon.
- Age-verified services widely available in the UK include
- Royal Mail Tracked 24 with the Age-Verification option
- Royal Mail Tracked 48 with the Age-Verification option
- UPS Adult Signature Required option
- Correctly package the bladed products, and clearly label the parcel to indicate there are bladed items inside.
- Safely package them to ensure the items don’t puncture their exterior wrapping or potentially harm anyone handling the parcel.
- Clearly label the exterior of the package to indicate there are bladed items inside, and that the recipient must verify they are 18 years or older.
- Exact packaging and labelling requirements may vary by carrier.
- Ensure your packages are delivered to buyers in person, not to parcel lockers or collection points.
Don’t think that zombie knives and similar illegal bladed items will be allowed on eBay – the sale of many types of knives and bladed items is already prohibited on eBay. However, legal bladed products for sale in the UK can be sold to customers who are 18 and over. Proof of age will be required at checkout
