EBay Will Ban Gun Sales on Its Web Site

EBay Inc., the popular Internet auction site, said Friday that it will ban all sales of guns and ammunition on its Web site, after determining that “the Internet is not an appropriate venue for this type of merchandise.”

A spokesman for the San Jose-based company said there is no single factor that triggered the ban, but he acknowledged that EBay had a hard time monitoring all the listings on its site to weed out illegal items, and thought it would be easier to ban all gun sales.

EBay doesn’t sell merchandise itself, but makes money by charging listing fees and taking a small percentage of each sale.

Among items recently posted for sale in the EBay firearms site were a “pre-ban Hungarian AK47” and a “pre-ban Uzi.”

The site will still run auctions for gun-related goods such as scopes and holsters.

EBay, which sells a broad range of items from Beanie Babies to antiques, generates less than a quarter of a percent of its total revenue from gun and ammunition sales. Still, it has thousands of such items listed for auction each day, and nobody on its staff of 130 designated to monitor the transactions.

EBay’s ban, which will take effect March 5, comes at a time when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is cracking down on the sale of guns via the Internet. ATF Special Agent Tracy Hite declined to say whether the agency had been investigating EBay’s practices specifically, but said it is looking into “tons of sites” where guns are sold.

The company declined to say whether any illegal transactions had ever been completed on its site.

EBay’s move also comes amid a turbulent time for gun manufacturers. The industry has been sued by major cities across the nation for allegedly failing to provide adequate safety features or for irresponsible marketing.

EBay shares rose $4.38 on Friday to close at $239.50 on Nasdaq.