Amateur Radio & CB Equipment
Summary: Participants discuss issues related to eBay's policy on listing CB radios, which initially prohibited radios that operated within the legal range in the UK due to a policy oversight. Despite a policy update allowing these radios, sellers still face listing challenges as eBay's AI struggles with accurate enforcement, leading to frustrations about the platform's AI governance. Other issues mentioned include inconsistencies with policies on bladed items and counterfeit goods, highlighting broader challenges with eBay's AI compliance systems.
Summary
You cannot list amateur radio or CB equipment on eBay because most electronic equipment used to transmit or receive signals is not allowed. This restriction is in place to comply with government regulations and to help prevent privacy violations.
eBay requires all activity to follow this policy, the User Agreement, and all applicable laws. If a listing does not comply, eBay may remove the listing, issue warnings, restrict activity, or suspend accounts.
For more details, you can review the Electronic equipment policy.
ianbee64
·3 weeks agoI listed of CB the weekend it was taken off after 20 minutes. I appealed and lost the appeal, this is what I wrote.
To eBay Customer Support / Policy Appeals Team,
I am writing to appeal the removal of my listing for the York JCB 861 CB Radio, which was flagged and removed automatically by AI detection under the Electronic Equipment Policy.
I request a manual review of this decision because the automated system has incorrectly identified this item as non-compliant or illegal.
Please consider the following facts regarding this device:
UK Regulatory Compliance: The York JCB 861 is a vintage CB radio manufactured specifically for the UK market. It operates strictly on the legal UK 27/81 FM band (27.60125 MHz to 27.99125 MHz) operating at 4 watts FM.
Ofcom Approved: Under UK Ofcom regulations, 27/81 FM CB radios are completely legal to buy, sell, own, and operate without a individual license in the United Kingdom.
No Foreign/Prohibited Bands: This unit is not an unapproved "Export" radio, nor does it operate on unauthorized US AM/SSB frequencies or non-certified power levels.
The listing was flagged erroneously due to automated keyword/category filters identifying vintage CB equipment.
I request that an agent manually review this item and restore the listing. I am happy to provide additional photos of the unit's specification plate showing its UK approval standard if required.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Kind regards,
darkangel182
·2 months agoWhen did this come in? I listed a bunch of old CB radios the other year without any issue?
4_bathrooms
·2 months agoThis post might help explain things.
It seems eBay made a mistake when they wrote their electronic equipment policy - see this post for reference as to what it previously stated. The policy basically prohibited CB radios that operated in the only band (26.1-28MHz) that was legal to use in the UK. It seems I was right in thinking it was an oversight or error as eBay has subsequently updated the policy to state "CB Radios operating on frequencies or power levels not authorised for use in the United Kingdom" are not allowed. So, eBay's updated policy now allows CB radios that meet UK regulations to be listed.
However, since you sold your CB radio eBay has employed AI to monitor listings for compliance with eBay's policies. Whilst the policy has been updated it seems eBay's AI has not been "trained" to learn that CB radios operating in the 26.1-28MHz are allowed to be listed. Until eBay's AI is trained to learn which CB radios are allowed and which are not according to eBay's policy sellers of such items are likely to continue having problems.
wheretheloveb
·3 months agoAnother Ai sheet show. Along with the bladed items policy.
This site is fast becoming unworkable. Used to be a fantastic place for buying and selling the unusual / niche etc. Now it is so over regulated, with so many hoops to jump through. It's very very sad ((
4_bathrooms
·3 months agoThere is a subtle difference.
eBay's bladed items policy - although poorly worded - is correct regarding the law where the sale of bladed items is concerned. eBay's poorly trained and seemingly unmoderated AI overcomplies with it to the point of ridiculousness where listings for things such as forks or pictures depicting "blades of grass" are summarily removed. It is a similar situation with eBay's counterfeit item policy - pairs of trainers ("sneakers" in eBay parlance) that will be subject to authentication by an eBay-employed authentication partner as part of any sale have been summarily removed by eBay's AI. Affected sellers have even been penalised with selling restrictions by eBay's AI which has been given the power to act as judge, jury and executioner despite the fact that a human authenticator would have been involved during the course of a sale.
The problem with CB radios is that eBay's electronic equipment policy does not allow "CB radios in 26.1-28MHz frequency" to be listed even though these are the only CB radios that are legally allowed to be operated in the UK. As mentioned earlier I believe this to be a mistake that was made when the policy was written but the fact is that eBay's own policy does not allow CB radios to be listed in the UK (nor Ireland as the eBay.ie policy is equally flawed). So regardless of what eBay's AI is doing where eBay UK's written policy currently stands CB radios cannot be listed.
sidneyruff-diamond
·3 months ago27MHz CB's are certainly legal in UK and European CB's use similar frequencies in eBay's allegedly illegal chunk of spectrum, Ofcom document OF364 clearly details this.
Better still eBay's awful AI is now flagging and removing listings for commercial low band 66-88MHz (4m band to hams) for violating their ban on 26.1-28MHz CB's. There is absolutely no overlap between the two and my Motorola low band radios are RTTE approved etc and correctly listed in Commercial Radios, rather than the CB category.
It is seemingly impossible to get anyone at eBay to take ownership of this shambles. All hail our AI overlords.
lad_resale
·4 months agoIt is NOT illegal to use CB Radio here in the UK, it has been legal since 1981, hence the 27/81 stamp on the Radios!
They are also legal in many other countries within europe and the world.
I am having the same issue and have just had my 2nd 'violation' in 2 months for this issue. I won the first appeal and it was reinstated, I am awaiting the outcome of the 2nd appeal.
It really is bloody annoying and that is why i have started selling on other platforms now - ebay is becoming too time consuming and a waste of time, unfortunately.
gemini-project
·4 months agoIt not illegal to own this equipment just to use it, i think eBay have more important things to sort out first.
4paul4
OP4 months agoEbay is now owned and has been taken over completely by AI. See message above. Decisions are no longer taken by humans.!!!!
davidninetynine
·4 months agoEbay has entire categories for amateur radio and CB equipment. Where did the op's message come from?
andythediggerman
·4 months agoYes matey
So every hf radio can be sold, most are wide banded so can use the legal cb bands but its illegal to use an hf radio on the bands they say we can not sell. As ive said matey, Thicker than a dungeon door this lot🤣😅🚪
Dum Dum Ebay
gnosemalf
·4 months agoI've been toying with the idea of buying a CB handheld so this comes as a bit of a surprise. There is literally an eBay listing section: Radio Communications Equipment/CB Radios and as already stated, CB radios operate in the band that eBay policies do not permit. Be like having a category for bicycles but not permitting two-wheeled vehicles.
4_bathrooms
·4 months agoI actually think this is a mistake on eBay's part. eBay's electronic equipment policy varies by country to reflect local regulations - only the UK and Ireland's policies state specific disallowed CB radio frequencies. The electronic equipment policy on eBay.ie erroneously states:
"CB radios: The following items aren't allowed because they are illegal:
According to Irish regulator ComReg CB radios operating in the 26.96Mhz - 27.41Mhz are perfectly legal - provided the other operational modes are met - and do not require a licence to own or operate.
I believe eBay has misinterpreted the law and disallowed the very frequencies that are perfectly legal for CB equipment to operate in where the UK and Ireland is concerned. However, as those policies currently stand perfectly legal CB radios cannot be listed on eBay.co.uk nor eBay.ie as they would fall foul of the relevant eBay policy.
gnosemalf
·4 months agoTry searching for CB Radio on eBay.co.uk - 2,600+ results today.
4_bathrooms
·4 months agoThat only demonstrates how poorly eBay enforces their own policies.
I can easily find electrical goods that cannot legally be sold in the UK, toys that don't meet the Toys (Safety) Regulations, businesses illegally trading via private accounts...all of which is illegal and in violation of eBay UK's written policies.
CB radios that operate in the 27MHz band are legal to sell, own and operate in the UK. However, eBay UK's written policy states that "CB radios in 26.1-28MHz frequency" are not allowed to be listed. So it isn't possible to list a perfectly legal CB radio without violating eBay UK's written policy.
One thing that is clear is once a seller has a listing removed for a policy violation they are on eBay's "naughty list" and any subsequent policy violation - no matter how trivial nor whether it really was a policy violation - could result in a message about being "a threat to the eBay community" with a permanent selling restriction thrown in.
Until eBay realises the error they made in their policy - which might be never - it's probably best not to list CB radios and find another marketplace or enthusiast group that does allow them.
gnosemalf
·4 months agoThat was my point.
ggdelectronics
·2 months agoin fact they even sent me the message that my appeal had been approved and that therefore my ads were no longer obscured and that the article incriminated against them was now postable,So I followed their instructions and re-listed the radio. After about 20 minutes they blocked me again for the same reason for another 10 days. I wonder but can you work more dealing with incompetent people who don't recognize UK laws?????and all this to the detriment of us sellers who pay very high commissions and pay for listings and stores,at least a minimum of fairness towards us.
4_bathrooms
·2 months ago · EditedWell...here's a turnaround!
I can see eBay have actually updated their policy; it now states:
"CB Radios operating on frequencies or power levels not authorised for use in the United Kingdom"
So, it is no longer against eBay policy to list a perfectly legal CB radio!
@ggdelectronics - what you are experiencing is typical of eBay's AI enforcement of eBay's own policies. The policy has been updated but eBay's AI likely hasn't been "trained" to recognise it. The human who reviewed your appeal could see nothing was wrong with the listing but eBay's AI relied on what it had already "learned" when you relisted it.
eastern_standard_time
·5 months ago"most electronic equipment used to transmit or receive signals is not allowed"
Pound shop AI at it's very finest.
4_bathrooms
·5 months agoIt's eBay's written policy:
"Most electronic equipment used to transmit or receive signals or for surveillance is not allowed. Those we allow must follow our policy."
In another recent thread I pointed out that under that policy eBay does not allow CB radios that operate in the 26.1-28MHz frequency band to be listed. CB radios can only legally operate in the 27MHz frequency band in the UK so eBay's policy effectively means CB radios cannot be listed in the UK.
eastern_standard_time
·5 months agoWell, under that (badly) written policy selling a transistor radio isn't allowed, nor a TV set, as both are electronic equipment designed to receive signals. Somebody might want to try re-writing in in English if that isn't their intention.
Policy or not, it's idiotic in the extreme, especially when you see how many Chinese dual band sets you can buy on eBay, many of which can transmit on all sorts of dangerous and illegal frequencies.
4_bathrooms
·5 months agoI'll agree it's badly written because it states:
"Most electronic equipment used to transmit or receive signals or for surveillance is not allowed. Those we allow must follow our policy."
Then under "What is the policy?" it lists the equipment that isn't allowed rather than what is allowed. The first paragraph should really be "Electronic equipment that does not follow our policy is not allowed".
lad_resale
·4 months agoI had a listing removed for policy violation last month, it was reinstated on appeal.
If there is an issue with the UK government policy then i would be interested in ebay posting it, as I (and many thousands of others) know that this is just pure B.S.
Ebay AI at it's best - worse than a 2 year olds decision making!
andythediggerman
·4 months agoMate, eBay can do one now after 20 years im using vinted get a little less but offset by no selling fees, thicker than a dungeon door this lot
*vyolla*
·5 months agoeBay's Electronic equipment policy does state that the following can't be listed:
Taken from:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/electronic-equipment-policy?id=4302
cee-dee
·5 months agoI just entered "CB radio" in to search and it came up with "3,300+ results for CB radio" ?????
4_bathrooms
·5 months agoeBay does not enforce their policies equally nor fairly. As also posted in the other thread once you are on eBay's radar for a policy violation it's nigh-on impossible to get off it. Besides, just because other sellers violate eBay policy with seeming impunity does not mean you will be able to. That's like watching a shoplifter walk past the security guard in a supermarket with a trolley full of unpaid shopping then arguing with the security guard because they stopped you when you tried to do the same thing.
cee-dee
·5 months agoI was a CBer in the "early days" when it was illegal in the UK. The basic radios were 40 channel and AM only. More sophisticated radios had SSB and some had FM. The normal 40 channels were called the "mid" band, some radios had another 40 channels higher = the "high" band. Others had another 40 channels lower in frequency = the "low" band. Yet others had another 40 channels lower still plus another 40 channels higher. They were the "low-low" and the "high-high" all with SSB too. (Happy days with the Superstar 2000 and the Nato 2000.) Those higher frequencies infringed the Amateur Radio 10 metre band and of course, all those radios were illegal. Some radios used crystals for the extra channels and some were solid state. Some radios were called "bleed-over boxes" because they suffered (and caused) interference from other close users. Some radios could be modified for further channels (if you knew how) with an extra crystal and a switch to get "super-low" channels.
I remember there were two versions of the "Cobra", one used crystals and the other was solid state and very stable but difficult to modify. They were happy days back then 😊
At the time, the cops were dead against CB because it could be used for criminal communications but look where we are today with mobile phones?
Eventually, CB was legalised in the UK on FM. The water has been a bit muddied by the introduction and legalisation in the UK of the CEPT channels with AM and SSB.
Some CBers (including me) moved on to take and pass the Radio Amateur exam.
insidethe93
·5 months agoLoads built their own equipment. I knew some engineering students who did, because it was banned and because they could.
wgwillia
·5 months agoThe Clowns in charge don't know what they are doing what hope have we got.
cee-dee
·5 months agoNone?.....
4paul4
OP5 months agoYes but it is indiscriminate in applying the policy. Many listings being allowed and others being singled out.
andythediggerman
·4 months agoAfter 20 years on ebay, this *bleep* me right off. You can not sell a legal cb 27/81 cb radio. I have now started using other selling and buying sites, EBAY YOUR THICKER THAN A DUNGEON DOOR