This must be why UPS trucks rattle so much

I never really thought about this before, but eBay does indeed list firearms and some other weapons. The company's vice president for trust & safety (seriously, that's his title) has just issued a memo regarding new listing restrictions on gun parts [emph added].

In mid-August, we will be updating our Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy to place more restrictions around gun-related items. Once these changes take effect, we will prohibit listings of any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun. This includes items like bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc. Please read the Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy for more details on our current policy….

Now I'm no firearms expert, but other than the serial number and the foam shipping peanuts, what's left?

After learning that some items purchased on eBay may have been used in the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April 2007, we felt that revisiting our policies was not only necessary, but the right thing to do. After much consideration, the Trust & Safety policy team – along with our executive leaders at eBay Inc. – have made the decision to further restrict more of these items than federal and state regulations require.

Yada yada yada, their liability insurance premiums skyrocketed.

This new update continues to encourage safety among our community members and brings our policies in the U.S. and Canada in closer alignment with our existing policies in other markets around the globe.

Well that last sentence is just a rifle butt upside the head to any self-respecting NRA member.

Ah, but that's life in the electronic global village. And I want to give fair warning to the NRAsters: eBay policy teams really dig in their heels about this kind of stuff, as I've found out in my dealings with the Cannabis, Hallucinogens, & Opioids policy team members.