eBay Reversed its Gun Policy: Selling Gun Parts and Accessories Again

Gun enthusiasts who also enjoy the pleasures of online shopping may have noticed that gun parts and accessories are once again being sold on shopping website eBay. Although eBay had actually quietly removed its four-year-ban on firearms to permit gun part and accessory transactions last December.

eBay spokeswoman Amanda Miller said via email the company wanted to "give sellers opportunities to offer more products in the hunting category," so the company lifted the restriction on gun parts and accessories that are legal to sell in the U.S. to, more or less, compete with other online and offline stores.

As of now, according to eBay's guidelines, items such as en bloc clips, barrels, bolts, choke tubes, firing pins, hammers, 10-round magazines, slides and trigger assemblies can be sold and bought under restricted circumstances.

While speed loaders, stripper clips, magazine holders, manuals and non-pneumatic spear guns can be sold and bought no problem.

Back in 2007, vice president of Global Safety and Security Matt Halprin announced on eBay that the company would ban the sales of firearm parts and "place more restrictions around gun-related items." Evidently, eBay got nervous after media sources discovered that Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter, purchased some of his bullets through eBay.

Although the ban of the aforementioned items has been lifted, selling live ammunition through eBay is still strictly prohibited.