Firearms, weapons and knives policy

Live ammunition and ammunition components can't be listed. See the list below for details.

• Plastic, rubber and wooden ammunition
• Snap caps
• Ammunition for airsoft guns, air pistols, BB guns, pellet guns or pop guns are allowed but must follow these guidelines:
  • Clearly call out that it is intended for airsoft, air rifles, air pistols, BB guns, pellet guns or pop guns
  • Cannot be metal cartridges
  • Cannot be used on a regular firearm
  • Must be .25 caliber or less
• Safety bullets

• Empty ammunition boxes. The listing needs to say the item doesn't contain ammunition.
• Converted brass (also known as trench art). The item has to show that it's been converted and that it can't be converted back into a usable casing

Items that are not allowed include but are not limited to:

• Blank, dummy, live or inert ammunition
• Bullets, buck shot or lead shot
• Components of ammunition such as cartridges, casings, shells, or hulls
• Gunpowder or primers
• Reloading equipment, including items such as dies and moulds

We don't allow listings for Airsoft guns, BB guns, pellet guns, or air rifles because they generally shoot a projectile.

• Accessories can be listed as long as they do not show the picture of the firearm itself

• Air rifles, air guns or air pistols
• Airsoft rifles or Airsoft guns
• Any frame or receiver for a BB gun or air rifle
• BB guns
• Pellet guns

We do not permit the sale of weapons issued and formerly used by the military as we cannot confirm that the item has effectively and permanently altered for lawful and safe transport and sale.

We also don't allow items specifically intended for a military application which neither have predominant civil applications nor performance equivalent to those of an article or service used for civil applications.

• Ordnance, military weaponry (such as grenades and landmines), ammunition and related parts, and most military vehicles including aircraft and ships, even if it has been made 'unserviceable' or has been 'de-militarised' or 'de-milled'.

• Articles or services specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application.

  Examples of items not allowed on eBay.co.uk include night vision goggles, body armour, technical data manuals, gas masks, and protective clothing which have significant military or intelligence applicability.

• Military items listed by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR):
  • US federal laws and regulations strictly control the import and the export of certain military items and information manufactured and developed in the United States, whether or not the buyer or seller are located in the United States. In addition to prohibiting the listing of military ordnance and other weapons and equipment listed, sellers are not allowed to list any items or information covered by Part 121 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), also known as the United States Munitions List. We advise sellers to review ITAR Part 121. If the item you want to list is included on the United States Munitions List, it isn't allowed on eBay.co.uk.
  • The sale of any information, technical data, instruction manuals, or any other military data covered by ITAR Part 121 in any format is strictly prohibited.
• Metal replica hand grenades
• Atom or nuclear weapons
• Explosives
• Missiles and rockets or launchers

Actual firearms can't be listed on eBay. However, some accessories for firearms are okay to sell, but only under certain conditions. See the list below for more details.

• Bulletproof vests/ flak jackets
• Magazine holders, moon clips, speed loaders or stripper clips

• Accessories for guns such as butt plates, cleaning supplies, holsters, pistol grips, racks, scopes, slings, stocks, storage cases or trigger guards. The listing must include a description of the type of firearm the accessory or part is used for. If it doesn't, the listing may be removed.
• Muzzle loader or black powder gun parts or accessories, as long as each item is offered in one listing at a time. (However, having separate listings for items that can be used to build a gun is prohibited.)

Items that are not allowed include, but are not limited to:

• Parts or accessories for assault weapons. Listings that mention capability with an assault weapon, even if the part or accessory fits non-assault weapons, are also prohibited.
• Any listing for a firearm accessory which contains a picture of the firearm itself
• Converters (items that can be used to give a firearm automatic firing capability)
• Any part that is required for a gun to fire, including, but not limited to:
  • Barrels
  • Choke tubes
  • Cylinders
  • Firing pins
  • Frames, including grip frames
  • Magazines, regardless of capacity
  • Receivers, including parts, upper or lower, cut, or 80 per cent receivers
  • Slides
  • Trigger assemblies
• Firearm kits that are used to create a firearm
• Flash suppressors
• Reloading presses and equipment
• Sears
• Silencers

Actual firearms can't be listed on eBay. However, some accessories for firearms are okay to sell, but only under certain conditions as detailed in our Firearm parts and accessories section. See the list below for more details.

• Signal and toy cannons unless they can shoot an object

• Firearms regardless of their ability to fire, how old they are, or their status as collectables
• Firearms include all component parts of a firearm, sporting, collectable, curio & relic, signalling pistols, and antique firearms
• Any item that is designed to discharge any shot, bullet or other missile
• Starter or blank guns
• Cannons
• Zip guns
• Pin fire guns

Some hand-to-hand combat weapons and martial arts weapons can't be listed. See the list below, as well as the Knives section, for more details.

• Instruction or training manual on how to use hand weapons
• Wii Nunchuk controllers for the Nintendo Wii

• Training or practice batons, night sticks, nunchakus, or tonfas that are made of rubber foam, dense foam, or foam with plastic interior tubes - you have to specify this detail in your listing. However, weapons that are foam padded with a metal interior aren't allowed.

Items that are not allowed include, but are not limited to:

• Any offensive weapon as defined by Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (UK) or the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (Ireland) as these statutes may be amended from time to time.
• Swords
• Handclaws, footclaws, throwing stars, shurikens, sandclubs, sandbags, slungshots, saps and blackjacks
• Throwing weapons that have 3 or more points or sharp edges
• "Kusari gama", "kyoketsu shoge", "manrikigusari" or "kusari" (lengths of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to either a sickle, hooked knife, hard weight or hand grip)
• Leaded canes, staffs, crutches or sticks
• Nightsticks, billy clubs, truncheons, tonfas, batons, police riot batons and similar items, regardless of age
• Nunchaku (also called nunchucks or numchuks), coshes, shurikens, naruto and hollow kubutans
• Plastic, brass or other metal knuckledusters

Knives are not permitted for sale on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie with limited exceptions outlined below.

When listing knives on eBay, members should be aware that it is an offence to market a knife in a way which indicates or suggests that it is suitable for combat, or is likely to encourage violent behaviour involving the use of the knife as a weapon. It is also an offence to sell knives to a person who is under the age of 18.

• Dining cutlery sets that include knives used for eating, such as butter, cheese, fish or steak knives
• Letter openers
• Pickaxes and mattocks
• Tools such as axes, billhooks, chisels, hatchets, hoof trimming tools and saws
• Spears and javelins
• Straight razors
• Waiters friend or sommelier knife

Items that are not allowed include and are not limited to:

• Martial arts blunt training knives
• Multi-tool knives and craft knives, Stanley knives and Leathermans
• Pocket knives, folding knives, Swiss Army knives and clasp knives
• Razor blades and surgical blades
• Sharp kitchen knives (as in pair blocks), cake knives, carving knives, pairing knives, oyster knives and electric knives.
• Stealth, throwing, ballistic, grivory and rubber knives
• Axes intended to be used as a weapon, such as a double-headed axe, battle axe, throwing axe, spike axe, tomahawk or Viking axe
• Illegal knives and bladed products such as:
  • butterfly knives (also known as 'balisongs') - a blade hidden inside a handle that splits in the middle
  • hidden or disguised knives - a blade or sharp point hidden inside what looks like everyday objects such as a buckle, phone, brush or lipstick
  • flick knives (also known as 'switchblades' or 'automatic knives') - a blade hidden inside a handle which shoots out when a button is pressed
  • gravity knives
  • a knife or spike not made from metal (except when used at home, for food or a toy)
  • zombie knives - a knife with a cutting edge, a serrated edge and images or words suggesting it is used for violence
  • swords, including samurai swords
  • sword-sticks - a hollow walking stick or cane containing a blade
  • push daggers

Sellers need to comply with any applicable laws and regulations when selling knives and bladed products, including verifying the buyer's age, ensuring that packages are clearly labelled and using appropriate delivery methods. For more details, see this guide.

The listing must also follow our international trading policy.

• Bows and arrows
• Non-pneumatic spear guns

• Blow guns and blowpipes
• Crossbows
• Dart guns
• Disguised stun guns
• Flares, flare guns, flare launchers or receivers for flare guns
• High voltage electric stunning devices
• Potato guns such as bazookas, cannons, or launchers
• Pneumatic spear guns
• Replica Tasers
• Shockers and shock guns
• Stun guns
• Weapons which discharge noxious liquids or gases such as tear gas or pepper spray dispenser

Replica firearms look very similar to real guns. Replica or imitation firearms cannot be listed.

• Miniature firearms for action figures
• Toy guns that clearly look like a toy

• Miniature Gun lighters, unless they appear to be full size
• Parts and accessories for airsoft weapons can be listed as long as they are not classified as an assault weapon, that including similar name.

• Airsoft rifles or Airsoft guns
• Paintball guns
• Paintball cannons
• Any listing for a firearm accessory which contains a picture of the firearm itself
• Realistic cap guns
• Replica firearms
• Replica Blaster Kits