Prohibited and restricted goods

Version 1.1, effective October 26, 2026

Plain text for agents: /docs/policies/prohibited-goods.md

The marketplace carries goods that a warehouse can store and a carrier can move. A shopper must be able to own and resell them lawfully in the United States. This page lists what is excluded and what carries conditions.

Prohibited

These goods cannot be listed. A listing that contains them is withdrawn, and a repeat is a breach of the Terms.

  • Firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives and fireworks.
  • Controlled substances, prescription drugs, and products that claim to treat a disease without an approved label.
  • Tobacco, nicotine and vaping products, and alcohol.
  • Counterfeit goods. Genuine goods the seller lawfully owns may be sold without the brand's permission (the first-sale rule); a brand with a legal complaint uses the brand registry.
  • Recalled goods, and goods under a manufacturer's destruction order.
  • Stolen goods and goods the seller does not hold title to.
  • Live animals, animal parts from protected species, and human remains.
  • Personal data, accounts, access codes and gift cards.
  • Hazardous materials that need a licensed carrier: classes 1, 2.3, 6.1 inhalation hazard and 7.

Restricted

When the condition beside the item is met and stated on the product, these goods can be listed.

  • Perishable food: the product states the best-by date and the storage condition, and returns are excluded.
  • Other hazardous materials (aerosols, flammable liquids, lithium batteries, corrosives): the product states the hazard class, and the offer is pickup only or ground shipping by a carrier that accepts the class.
  • Medical devices sold over the counter: the product states the model and the expiry where there is one.
  • Adult products: the product is kept off the public pages and the feeds and is readable only by a signed-in shopper who asked for the category.
  • Goods with a known safety defect: the product states the defect under known defects and is sold as Defective.
  • Branded goods in quantity: the seller states the source (retailer return, overstock, closeout) on the product.

How the rule is applied

When a seller accepts the policies at sign-up, it agrees to this page. A check at import refuses a prohibited category before the product is saved, and holds a restricted one until the seller confirms its statements; until the signed-in display for adult products is built, the check refuses them too. Our team reads a report about a listing within one business day. A listing that breaks the rule is withdrawn, with the reason in writing to the seller. A withdrawn product stays in the seller's catalog as a draft. When the rule allows, the seller corrects and relists it.

Changes coming

A platform list will name the categories where returns are excluded by rule.

Questions

Write to hello@commercebook.ai.