The code would be irrelevant as it wouldn’t meet any of the legal requirements. Age of your eBay account doesn’t cover the due diligence required under the government legislation.

agreed on the second point.

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@godfather9588008 wrote:

EBay has not got a clue driving license or passport that could be linked to account with photo what a nonsense and shame on them they will loose customers at the moment they do not care they have become to big for their own boots to care member for over 24 years trying to buy a jigsaw and a reciprocating saw and I had to buy elsewhere from a tool shop 

This is very frustrating .

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True,  those documents could be linked to an account,  but it would then need a team of people to verify those documents,  and that cost invariably would be passed on to eBay members.  Not a popular move.

eBay ask for a credit card for verification,  because those companies have already done stringent tests on their card members so eBay use their verified process for their own benefit,  cutting down that cost.

Not taking away the fact it's not ideal,  not everyone has a credit card,  my parents never did , but those are eBay's rules !

@godfather9588008 

Mate we don't want to "bend" the rules we just want more options. Other online sites like Amazon etc they do have the same age policies about bladed items or alcohol but what they do is ask proof of age (passport or drivers licence) on delivery. It's very simple but eBay just don't want to sort it out and help their customers it's simple as that.

I'm just informing of eBay rules,  certainly not inferring to ' bending them ! '.

It's down to a matter of cost.

I'm sure their vast team who cost these issues,  have found it's cheaper to use a credit card companies previous verification processes to validate that credit card,  rather than pay a team of peeps verifying driving licenses / passports / birth certificates.

They must have found  the number of buyers lost due to not being in possession of credit cards does not equate to what it would cost to pay people to verify other documentation.

I am not disagreeing with the frustration this is causing those with no c. cards wishing to buy these items on eBay.

@staticjim 

Even if it is a matter of cost as you say cos that's not an official argument they have to do it.

Ebay is not a local corner shop is one of the biggest online sites out there.

"they have to do it."

They don't have to do anything around taking particular forms of ID.

All ebay have to do is show they have done due diligence to check the age of the customer. 

Now - ebay should look at what they are doing age verification on - because there are some items they don't legally need to do it on.

One of the things that also says isn't likely to pass due diligence is below...

"only accepting payment by credit card. Credit cards are not available to under 18s, but certain debit and prepaid cards are. Your payment systems are unlikely to be able to differentiate between the different types of cards, so it is essential that you have additional age verification in place"

But, as I understand it, its not accepting payment by credit card - ebay is asking you to provide credit card details separately to payment - and I assume that system IS confirming the card provided is a credit card.

As such - ebay is doing the bare minimum they need to. I agree it would be far better if they did accept other forms of ID - even if sellers accepted the costs would be passed onto them for those product sales.

Passport? Driving license? Only accepting a credit card as proof of age is so backward and loses eBay thousands upon thousands of sales, not to mention sellers. But do eBay listen? They never do, never have and never will!

I fail to see what diversity and equality have to do with having to prove your age by way of a credit card.

You would still have to prove you are 18 at the point of delivery so if a 12 year old used their fathers credit card to buy a bladed item they wouldn't be able to receive it on the doorstep.

'...loses eBay thousands upon thousands of sales,...'

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Yes, but ebay will have done their sums and worked out they'd lose even more than that if they paid for their own age verification system. So they use credit card companies' existing systems. 

It's the lesser of two evils for them.

'I fail to see what diversity and equality have to do with having to prove your age by way of a credit card'

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Because equality is the root of all bad things in the modern world. 🙄 (at least that's what GB news have told him...)

no doubt they feel age verification is 'woke'