eBay has imposed new rules for sellers of video game consoles that are set to be released next month. The Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Nintendo game consoles will be in extremely short supply during their initial launch in November, and eBay said it wanted to prevent the kinds of problems it has seen with previous auctions of such items, including fraudulent listings.

eBay's announcement stated that during the launch of the Microsoft Xbox 360, the auction site "saw a high number of well-intentioned sellers unable to meet their pre-sale obligations to buyers due to restricted supply, as well as an increase in fraudulent listings for these items." In order to prevent similar problems, eBay has placed the following restrictions on pre-sales for the PS3 and the Wii:

• Only one of each console can be listed per eBay account prior to the launch of the console (PS3 is expected to be available on 11/17/06, Wii on 11/19/06).
• The seller must only accept payment through PayPal, and have at least 50 feedback with a 98% or greater positive rating so that they qualify for PayPal Buyer Protection.
• The pre-sale item must be listed in the 3, 5, 7 or 10-day formats, and cannot use Buy It Now.
• The listing must include a photo of your pre-order receipt in the description.

eBay also said it would prohibit auctions for "Canned Hunts." "After working with the Humane Society of the United States, we have decided that listings for canned hunts that guarantee the killing of an animal violate our Animal & Wildlife Products policy and will not be allowed."

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200610241757352.html