The company announced the new policy on its announcement board at 1 p.m. PT this afternoon. Beginning October 13, the company will set the policy in motion.
However, unlike the uproar that surrounded the company's decisions on firearms--and more recently, reserve auctions--eBay users seemed indifferent about the new policy. A few users posted messages on eBay's "Discuss New Features" message board, but mostly they were inquiring what other users thought. The eBay message boards on AuctionWatch seemed quiet as well, with only 5 messages posted on the subject.
eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said the company had been considering the action for several months and decided to ban the sales because of the complications involved in interstate sales of tobacco and alcohol. What might be a legal sale in one state could be illegal in another, Pursglove said; and eBay users could commit a felony without realizing it.
"As a general rule, these laws are just so complex and contradictory, that we just decided that in the best interest of our users to prevent that situation from ever occurring," he said.
However, Pursglove said he was not aware of any tobacco or alcohol sale on eBay that had prompted a response from authorities.
Pursglove also said that alcohol and tobacco sales make up a small percentage of eBay's gross merchandise sales, but declined to state the percentage.
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