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Prohibited Items

This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By opening an ShopAiken.com shop, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Use.

The following types of items are prohibited or restricted on ShopAiken.com:

  1. Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs, Drug Paraphernalia, and Medical Drugs
  2. Animal Products and Human Remains
  3. Dangerous Items: Hazardous Materials, Recalled Items, and Weapons
  4. Hate Items: Items that Promote, Support, or Glorify Hatred
  5. Illegal Items, Items Promoting Illegal Activity, and Highly Regulated Items
  6. Pornography and Mature Content
  7. Violent Items: Items that Promote, Support, or Glorify Violence

1. Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs, Drug Paraphernalia, and Medical Drugs

Alcohol and drugs are prohibited on ShopAiken.com. These substances face serious legal restrictions and in many cases are considered controlled substances under applicable law. Our policy also applies to other substances that have or are claimed to have an intoxicating or healing effect.

More Details:

The following are examples of items that may not be sold on ShopAiken.com:

  1. Alcohol.
  2. Tobacco products, smokeable products, e-cigarettes, and e-liquid.
  3. Drugs and certain herbal substances, including substances used for recreational and medicinal purposes, regardless of their legality.
  4. Drug paraphernalia, including, for example: items with a carburetor; slides and/or items with a slide; bongs and bubblers; vaporizers and their components.
  5. Medical drugs, regulated medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.

Restrictions on descriptions of purported health benefits:

A medical drug claim is statement or suggestion that an item prevents, heals, or treats a medical condition or disease. Medical drug claims are subject to varying degrees of regulation. If you make claims about the purported health benefits of an item for sale on ShopAiken.com, we urge you to speak with a qualified expert about which regulations apply to you. It is your responsibility to know and comply with all laws and regulations that apply to the items you sell.

ShopAiken.com prohibits certain medical drug claims based on our values, such as claims likely to deceive or pose an unreasonable risk to our community. ShopAiken.com may remove claims that we deem to be inappropriate, excessive, or otherwise unsuitable for our marketplace. We also remove content that promotes prohibited medical claims, such as anti-vaccine items. If ShopAiken.com receives proper notice from a legal authority, we may remove an item.

Examples of What is Allowed:

Beer brewing kits

Baked goods containing alcohol

Empty alcohol bottles and items made from them

2. Animal Products and Human Remains

Certain animal products are highly regulated and prohibited on ShopAiken.com due to the risk of harm to live, companion, or endangered animals.

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The following are examples of animal products that may not be sold on ShopAiken.com:

  1. Live animals.
  2. Items created using any endangered or threatened animal species. We define these as animal species designated as threatened or endangered by the US Endangered Species Act or listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
  3. Items made from cat and dog parts or pelts as defined by US Federal Law.
  4. Ivory or bones from ivory-producing animals, including tusks, elk ivory, fossilized ivory, and wooly mammoth ivory.
  5. Items made from human remains or products from the human body, except for teeth, fingernails, and hair.

Examples of What is Allowed:

Non-Ivory Animal Bones and Antlers

Leather Goods

Textiles Made from Animal Hair

We expect all of our members to follow their local laws.

3. Dangerous Items: Hazardous Materials, Recalled Items, and Weapons

For safety and legal reasons, we prohibit certain dangerous items from our marketplace.

More details:

Hazardous Materials

Due to the potential harm caused by hazardous materials, as well as complex legal and shipping regulations surrounding such materials, hazardous materials are prohibited on ShopAiken.com.

While not exhaustive, the following materials are examples of prohibited hazardous materials:

  1. Explosives (fireworks or sparklers)
  2. Flammable items
  3. Gases
  4. Radioactive material
  5. Toxic substances (such as poisons)

Recalled Items or Items that Present Unreasonable Risk of Harm

Items that have been recalled by governments or manufacturers are prohibited from being sold on ShopAiken.com.

Items that present an unreasonable risk of harm are prohibited, even if they have not been the subject of a recall. This would include, for example, items that present a choking hazard. We generally rely on information from various government agencies to identify these items.

Weapons

Context matters when it comes to defining what is or is not a weapon. When in doubt, it’s safe to assume that we won’t allow any item intended to be used as a weapon to inflict harm. The following items are generally not allowed on ShopAiken.com:

  1. Guns, knives, or other blatant weapons, even if they are vintage. 
  2. Imitation firearms and weapons that look real or are prohibited by US law

Examples of What is Allowed:

Culinary knives or other knives used as tools

Letter openers

Toy slingshots

Airsoft guns and other non-harmful toy guns

4. Hate Items: Items that Promote, Support, or Glorify Hatred

We want ShopAiken.com to be a community where people of all backgrounds, nationalities, religions, political affiliations, and even different types of artistic taste and humor feel welcome.

More Details:

ShopAiken.com does not allow items or listings that promote, support or glorify hatred toward people or otherwise demean people based upon: race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, disability, or sexual orientation (collectively, “protected groups”). We also prohibit items or content that promote organizations or people with such views.

The following items are not allowed on ShopAiken.com:

  1. Items that support or commemorate current or historical hate groups, including propaganda or collectibles. Examples of hate groups include Nazi or Neo-Nazi groups, Ku Klux Klan (KKK) groups, white supremacist groups, misogynist groups, or groups that advocate anti-gay, anti-immigrant, or Holocaust denial agendas.
  2. Items that contain racial slurs or derogatory terms in reference to protected groups.

Examples of What is Allowed:

We tend to allow items that have educational, historical, or artistic value, but we know that even those items are subject to a variety of valid and sometimes conflicting interpretations. Recognizing that there may be no consensus on their educational, historical, or artistic value, the following items are generally allowed on ShopAiken.com:

Religious symbols, including swastikas when used in peaceful or religious context (often in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism)

Items that use idiomatic expressions that include the word “nazi,” such as “grammar nazi” or “soup nazi”

Items denouncing or mocking groups or historical figures that have a history of organized, targeted violence against protected groups

5. Illegal Items, Items Promoting Illegal Activity, and Highly Regulated Items

We respect the law and expect ShopAiken.com vendors to respect the law as well.

More Details:

Illegal items, items that promote illegal activity, and stolen items are not allowed on ShopAiken.com. Neither are certain items that are subject to complex legal regulations or registration systems. Because ShopAiken.com is a global company, it’s important to abide by the laws of the markets in which you are selling. What is legal in one country may be illegal in another. All forms of illegal activity are strictly prohibited. Listings may not facilitate or promote illegal acts.

Counterfeit or unauthorized items are prohibited on ShopAiken.com. We consider counterfeit or unauthorized goods to be items that imitate an authentic good, particularly by using a brand’s name, logo, or protected design without the brand owner’s consent. Examples of prohibited counterfeit or unauthorized goods include replica luxury bags and branded apparel.

Additionally, due to complex legal restrictions that vary by location, ShopAiken.com does not permit the sale of real estate, housing, or motor vehicles (for example: automobiles, motorcycles, boats, travel trailers, etc.).

We require vendors to follow all applicable laws for the items they list. Examples of items which may be subject to regulation include Native American crafts, plants and seeds, and food products.

6. Pornography and Mature Content

We restrict mature content so that people who are offended by this kind of material don’t have to see it. If you are selling mature content, we ask that you be respectful of differing sensibilities.

More Details:

Pornography of any sort is prohibited on ShopAiken.com, whereas mature content is restricted.

Although pornography can be difficult to define, an item generally qualifies as pornography when it contains extreme or explicit version of sexual content.

We define mature content as depictions of human genitalia, sexual activity or content, profane language, sexual wellness items, violent images, and explicit types or representations of taxidermy. Not all nudity is considered mature, and examples are listed below. If you find yourself questioning whether your item is mature, then it is likely a good idea to assume that it is mature content, and you should label it as such.

When deciding whether mature content crosses over the threshold into pornography, we take into consideration the explicitness of depictions of sexual activity or content.

Examples of What is Allowed Without Restriction:

Non-pornographic nude photography and depictions of breasts

Non-pornographic depictions of buttocks

Abstracted or cartoonish depictions, within reason

7. Violent Items: Items that Promote, Support, or Glorify Violence

We want ShopAiken.com to be a safe place for everyone. While violent content can be a legitimate part of historical, educational, or artistic expression, it should never be used to promote or glorify violent acts against others.

More Details:

We do not allow items or listings that promote, support or glorify acts of violence or harm towards self or others, including credible threats of harm.

The following items are not allowed on ShopAiken.com:

  1. Items that glorify human suffering or tragedies, including items that commemorate or honor serial killers
  2. Items that attempt to exploit natural disasters or human tragedies
  3. Items that encourage, glorify, or celebrate acts of violence against individuals or groups
  4. Items that encourage self-mutilation, starvation, or other self-harm

Examples of What is Allowed:

Fictional literary or art work (such as zombies, vampires, or other fictional works that tend to contain violence)

Items that have educational, historical, or artistic value

Items that show support or bring awareness to those at risk of self-harm, including those with eating disorders

We hope these guidelines are helpful, but we cannot catalog every permitted or prohibited item. If you see something on ShopAiken.com that appears to violate these rules, you can report it to us. On a listing page, you can click Report to notify us of the listing in question.