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Yahoo! Auctions provides the auction service to facilitate exchanges among its users. Items offered for auction through Yahoo! are being sold by other users, not by Yahoo!. Sellers and buyers are responsible for all aspects of the transactions in which they participate. All transactions must be consistent with any applicable legal rules and with Yahoo!'s guidelines, Yahoo! Terms of Service and the Yahoo! Auctions Additional Terms.
General Information on Using Yahoo! Auctions.
Yahoo! Auctions has limits that you should understand:
Yahoo! provides Yahoo! Auctions as a platform for our users to connect with one another. Yahoo! does not participate in, nor is it a party to, auction transactions. Yahoo! does not screen or control users who may sell or bid on auction items, nor does Yahoo! review or authenticate all auction listings or items offered for sale. Therefore, users of this service should be aware that:
- Sellers and buyers must be 18 years old or older.
- Sellers and buyers are completely responsible for working out the sale and exchange of goods.
- Sellers and buyers must resolve any disputes that may arise from auction transactions. It is important to use care throughout your dealings with other people in Yahoo! Auctions.
- Sellers and buyers are responsible for researching and complying with any applicable laws, regulations or restrictions on items, or manner of sale or exchange, that may pertain to transactions in which they participate.
- Sellers and buyers are responsible for all applicable taxes and for all costs incurred by participating in Yahoo! Auctions.
Rules for getting started: listing auctions.
- Compliance with applicable laws. You may not offer for sale or sell items to any buyer in a jurisdiction where the item or terms of the sale violate applicable laws or regulations. You also may not offer for auction any item that violates Yahoo!'s policies as described below in "Items that are Prohibited on Yahoo!". For an overview of items not allowed on Yahoo! Auctions, please refer to our Quick Reference page.
- Clear and accurate information. You must accurately describe the item you are selling.
- Search integrity. You may not include any language in your listing, including in the listing title, which may confuse potential buyers or cause your listing to be included in search results to which it is not responsive. For example, if you are going to describe your item by stating what it is not, you may not include this information in the listing's title.
- Complete Description of Terms of Sale. You must include information in your auction listing that describes the terms of sale, including payment methods accepted, shipping methods and who will pay the costs, any additional costs associated with the item, and the applicable return or refund policy.
- Appropriate Category. You must list your items in the most appropriate category and list each item in only one category.
- Appropriate listing content. You may not link to, post images or other content, or include advertisements for goods or other matter that: (a) describe items that you are not selling in Yahoo! Auctions, or (b) you do not have right to link to or include. You also may not include any content or images in your listing that are obscene, offensive, harmful to minors, invasive of anyone's privacy, or otherwise inappropriate.
- Rights to and possession of items for auction. You may not offer any item for sale which is not in your possession, you do not have the right to sell, or that does not exist at the time of the auction.
- Rights to and possession of items for auction. You may not offer any item for sale that you do not have the rights to sell. If you do not have possession of the item offered for sale (a pre-sale), you must (a) guarantee that the item will be available for delivery within thirty (30) days of the auction closing and (b) clearly state within the item description that it is a pre-sale and the anticipated date of delivery, which must be within thirty (30) days of the close of the auction. Please also read the FTC Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule.
- Spam. You may not spam Yahoo! Auctions, including: (a) posting any listings that invite users to contact the seller to conduct sales transactions
outside Yahoo! Auctions or otherwise advertise within a listing; or (b)
sending unsolicited commercial mailings to users of Yahoo! Auctions.
- Adult-oriented materials. You may not list any items that are "adult oriented" in nature or marketed in an objectionable manner, as determined in Yahoo!'s sole discretion.
Rules for Participating in Auctions: Selling and Bidding.
- Manipulation of service. You may not use or manipulate this service for any fraudulent activity or purpose.
- Disruption of service or auctions. You may not disrupt other auctions in progress or the Yahoo! Auctions service. For example, you may not contact bidders in an auction being run by a different seller and then offer similar items or the same item at prices below the current bid.
- Manipulative bidding. Neither buyers or sellers, or any party acting on their behalf, may engage in manipulative bidding practices, including sellers bidding on their own auctions or bidders "bidding up" the highest bid in an auction so as to make other bidders retract their offers.
- Non-paying bidders. You should complete any auction transaction in which you are the winning bidder. Bidders should not place bids in multiple auctions for the same items unless they intend to buy all items on which they placed bids. For more information on Yahoo! Auctions' policy regarding non-paying bidders, please see What if a bidder backs out?.
- Fraud. You may not use this service for any fraudulent purpose, including collecting payment from bidders and not providing the item purchased or filing false claims for insurance payments.
- Signposts. You may not use this service as a signpost that redirects to other sites for the purpose of purchasing the item or like items
Rules for Post-Auction: Feedback and Ratings.
- After an auction is completed, buyers and sellers may both leave feedback on the other party to the auction transaction. Auction feedback may not be harassing, profane, invasive of an individual's privacy, or used for any purpose other than commenting on the auction transaction and dealings with the other party to the transaction.
- Manipulating Feedback is strictly prohibited. Manipulation includes actions such as: leaving positive feedback for yourself or having others do it for you; leaving negative feedback for others under other user id's besides your own; or leaving negative feedback if a user fails to do something that is unrelated to the auction. Feedback rules are subject to change from time to time and are posted for your reference in the Bidder Guide and the Seller Guide.
Items that are Prohibited by Yahoo!
It is the responsibility of both the seller and the buyer to ensure that the items listed for auction and bought by the winning bidder are appropriate for sale under all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, every item listed on Yahoo! Auctions must be consistent with Yahoo!'s policies, as determined in Yahoo!'s sole discretion. Yahoo! expressly reserves the right to, but has no duty to, refuse, reject or remove any listing in Yahoo!'s sole discretion.
There are some things that you may not list or sell under any circumstances. These include:
- Any item that is harmful to minors, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
- Illegal or restricted weapons and related accessories, including the following:
- Firearms and firearm accessories, including ammunition, scopes, and silencers
(Note: Yahoo! allows the posting of antique firearms made before 1898 and replicas of antique firearms that have matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap or similar ignition systems, subject to removal in Yahoo!'s sole discretion. All other firearms are prohibited.)
- Switchblade knives
- Any concealed weapon
- Any explosive device
- Martial arts weapons
- Cigarettes, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia (including items to grow, manufacture or distribute the same), prescription drugs and medical devices, including any medical device that requires fitting by a certified practitioner or licensed seller.
- Any item that violates any U.S. export law or regulation, including any items subject to the terms of the U.S. embargoes against Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, and Sudan.
- Any item that infringes the rights of a third party, including items that violate copyrights, trademarks, publicity, or privacy rights of third parties. Examples may include, but are not limited to:
- unauthorized copies of software, music, video games, movies, photos or other media
- bootleg recordings of concerts, movies, or other performances
- sale of unauthorized back up copies of software
- Any item that is counterfeit or stolen, including items that are:
- "replicas," "knock-offs," in the same "style" as, or "fake" versions of a name brand product;
- counterfeit, or for the purpose of producing counterfeit, currency, stamps, government identification;
- non-authentic sports collectibles, celebrity autographs, or otherwise non-authentic versions of memorabilia or other items with non-authentic signatures
- any item for gaining unauthorized entry to a place or vehicle including lock-picking devices, vehicle master keys, and other devices.
- Any item that promotes, glorifies, or is directly associated with groups or
individuals known principally for hateful or violent positions or acts, such
as Nazis or the Ku Klux Klan. Official government-issue stamps and coins
are not prohibited under this policy. Expressive media, such as books and
films, may be subject to more permissive standards as determined by Yahoo!
in its sole discretion.
- Any animal items that are subject to regulations or laws for the protection of animals, including endangered species and domesticated animals, as well as any products made from or including any parts of an animal protected by law or regulation. Please note: Pets are only allowed to be offered for sale on Yahoo! Classifieds.
- Any item that has been the subject of a product recall by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, other government agency, or product manufacturer.
- Any item used for hacking, intercepting, jamming, descrambling, or otherwise obtaining unauthorized access to wire, electronic, or other types of communications.
- Bodies, body parts, bodily fluids. For example: cadavers, organs, "clean" urine for drug tests, sperm, eggs, blood, breast milk.
- Fireworks, explosives, or any hazardous material or restricted chemical.
- Government-issued identification documents, whether authentic or counterfeit, (e.g., fake Ids for age verification, fake government credentials, passports, green cards, birth certificates), Police badges or insignia, and any other law enforcement items (e.g., FBI identification cards, badges, uniforms, flashing lights/sirens, etc.) generally restricted for sale under federal and state law.
- Speleothems, stalactites and stalagmites from caves on federal land or as prohibited by state or federal law
- Stocks and securities.
- Gambling items (lottery tickets, sweepstakes, pyramid schemes, grab bags, raffles, slot machines, etc.).
- Individual contracts, services, and any item that is non-transferable.
- Event Tickets may only be sold in accordance with applicable state and local law. All Event Ticket auction descriptions must contain the location of the event (venue, city and state), date of the event, and face value of the ticket(s). Yahoo! may restrict the sale to the face value of the ticket(s) and require that sellers enter the face value of the ticket(s) as the "Buy Price" for the auction.
Please read more about our Event Ticket Policy.
- Non-packaged food items, and other food or beverage items sold in a manner inconsistent with federal, state or legal regulations.
- Any used goods not appropriate for resale for safety, health, or other reasons, including any clothing items that have not been appropriately cleaned (e.g., used underwear).
- Any other item that violates any applicable federal, state or local law or regulation or which Yahoo! determines, in it sole discretion, is inappropriate for sale through the services provided by Yahoo!.
Other Important Rules.
- Other Rules Regarding Auctions. Additional rules for Yahoo! Auctions are posted at various places within Yahoo! Auctions. These rules may be subject to change without notice and in Yahoo!'s sole discretion.
- Real Estate. No binding contracts for the sale of real estate are formed by listing and accepting bids for the property through Yahoo! Auctions. The seller and winning bidder must determine the price and final terms of the sale of the real estate after the completion of the auction and in a manner consistent with any applicable federal, state, or local laws or regulations.
- Charity Auctions. Charities who sell items on the Yahoo! Auctions platform must include in each auction description (a) a valid I.R.S. code section 501c3 EIN number or equivalent proof of status, (b) the charity’s name, address, and phone number, and (c) a statement confirming that the charity has obtained all necessary registrations, permits or other licenses required from all applicable federal, state and/or local authorities to conduct fund-raising activities. Additionally, the charity's purpose must be stated in the "About Me" section of their seller profile as well as a link to the charity's operating Web site, if available. Charities may not indicate in any way that Yahoo! is involved in the collecting or dispensing of charitable funds.
- Special Rules For Bulk Sellers. Bulk Sellers (those who upload multiple auctions to Yahoo) are subject to the following conditions: you will post and honor a policy that: (i) identifies a contact person within your organization for buyers to contact, (ii) clearly states your policy with regards to returns and refunds (iii) specifies any other related information regarding your relationship with your customers. This policy will be available for buyers to review in connection with all of your offers on Yahoo! Auctions and is a condition of your right to do business on Yahoo! Auctions.
Yahoo!'s Right To Terminate.
Yahoo!, in its sole discretion, may terminate any auction or your Yahoo! ID immediately and without notice if (a) Yahoo! believes that you have acted inconsistently with the spirit or the letter of the Yahoo! Terms of Service, Yahoo! Auctions Additional Terms or the Yahoo! Auctions Guidelines, or (b) Yahoo! believes you have violated or tried to violate the rights of others. Your membership may be terminated if you do not use this service at least one time during a reasonable period of time (as determined by us) which shall not be less than three months.
Please help us keep Yahoo! Auctions an enjoyable and positive experience. If you see a listing that violates our rules, please let us know by contacting us.
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