What you can't (or shouldn't) sell online

This is a reference guide, not legal advice. Plenty of what people sell online raises no issue at all. The short list below is the set of categories that can get your listing pulled, your account banned, or your package returned to you. Knowing the list before you list saves the effort of finding out the hard way.

One real example: the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play

The Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play infant sleeper is the cleanest illustration of how a recall changes what you can legally list. The CPSC announced the recall on April 12, 2019 (recall 19-105 at cpsc.gov/Recalls), when more than thirty infant deaths had been reported. It covered about 4.7 million sleepers. In January 2023 the CPSC and Fisher-Price re-announced it: by then about 100 deaths had been reported, at least eight of them after the original recall.

Listing one today, even in pristine condition with the original box, is illegal under federal law on two counts. The Consumer Product Safety Act makes it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, distribute, or import a product under a recall the CPSC has announced. And since November 12, 2022, the Safe Sleep for Babies Act treats every inclined infant sleeper as a banned hazardous product, whatever its date of manufacture. Don't count on the marketplace to catch it for you: a Consumer Reports check of Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist, and Mercari, published in September 2026, still found banned baby products listed, including inclined sleepers. The CPSC's guide for resellers is blunt that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. A quick search at cpsc.gov/Recalls before listing any baby or kid gear avoids the entire situation.

The recalled-product trap

The Rock ‘n Play is famous; many recalls get far less attention. The CPSC announced 312 recalls in fiscal year 2023, roughly six a week. Categories worth a check every time: cribs and bassinets, kitchen appliances with fire risk, children's products, electronics with battery problems, and corded window blinds. In each of those, a quick check at cpsc.gov/Recalls pays for itself.

A second concrete example, from a category nobody thinks about until they're about to list one: in June 2022 the CPSC recalled about 400,000 SunVilla solar LED market umbrellas (sold exclusively at Costco) because the lithium-ion batteries in the solar panels can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards. The full notice is at cpsc.gov/Recalls/2022/SunVilla-Corporation-Recalls-Solar-LED-Market-Umbrellas. If a slightly-used patio umbrella is the kind of thing that ends up in a garage and then on Facebook Marketplace, the lookup is the difference between a casual flip and a federal violation.

Used car seats need a separate check. They're vehicle equipment, so their recalls are listed by NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls (it has a car seat search), not in the CPSC database. The CPSC's resellers guide also says to check with NHTSA whether an infant carrier is past its expiration date, and to destroy a recalled carrier the manufacturer can't repair. Some platforms restrict car seats even when they haven't been recalled: Poshmark's policy says it may remove them.

The clear cases

These are the categories where the law itself is the problem, not just platform policy:

• Counterfeits. Fake designer goods, knock-off electronics, replicas described as authentic. Trademark law covers this; platform policy enforces it.
• Recalled products. See above. Selling a product under a CPSC-announced recall is illegal under federal law, disclosed or not.
• Stolen goods. Goes without saying, but worth saying.
• Weapons beyond legal resale. What this includes varies by state and by platform. Check both before listing anything in this category.
• Prescription drugs and controlled substances. Federally regulated; no resale path on consumer marketplaces.

If you're in this part of the list, the article isn't for you: the answer is "don't." The rest of the article covers the trickier categories: items that are legal to own but tricky to ship, or fine on one platform but banned on another.

Legal to own, restricted to ship

These are legal to own and use, but the mail and the carriers restrict how they travel. Some can go by ground only, some need special markings, and some can't be mailed at all:

• Hazmat. Anything that could ignite, leak, or pressurize: certain paints, cleaners, adhesives, solvents. USPS publishes the full list at usps.com/ship/shipping-restrictions.htm.
• Lithium batteries. Loose batteries, spares for an old laptop, power banks. USPS Publication 52, section 349, sets the mailing rules; the three cases are below.
• Firearm accessories. Parts and accessories can be restricted by state law and by platform policy even when they aren't firearms themselves. Check both before listing.
• Aerosols and pressurized containers. Hairspray, deodorant, spray paint, anything propellant-based. Hazmat under shipping rules.
• Perfumes and colognes. Hazmat under shipping rules when they contain alcohol, even though they're sold on an ordinary retail shelf.

How to actually ship perfume

Perfume is an easy one to miss, because it sits on an ordinary retail shelf. Alcohol-based perfume is a flammable liquid for mailing purposes: USPS won't carry it by air or internationally, but it can be mailed within the United States by ground. The USPS rules, as of September 2026:

1. Pack the bottle so it can't break or leak: cushioning around it, sealed secondary packaging, and a strong outer box. For glass or plastic bottles, Publication 52 caps the whole package at 1 pint or 1 quart of liquid, depending on how flammable the liquid is.
2. Put a Limited Quantity ground marking on the address side: a plain square-on-point, black at the top and bottom, white in the middle. The version with a “Y” in the center is the air marking, and perfume can't go by air.
3. Tell USPS the package contains hazardous material when you buy postage.
4. Send it USPS Ground Advantage. Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express can't carry anything that's barred from air. UPS takes hazmat on a contract basis and doesn't accept it at The UPS Store or its other retail counters, though some locations may accept Limited Quantity ground packages within the 48 contiguous states.

Get the service, the marking, and the declaration right, and budget for the fee when you price the item: since July 12, 2026, USPS charges a nonrefundable Hazmat Handling Fee on Ground Advantage packages that contain hazardous material (the amount is in its Notice 123 price list).

The lithium-battery decision in three branches

USPS Publication 52 (section 349) splits lithium batteries into cases, and the right path depends on which one you have. These are the USPS rules; other carriers set their own. For lithium-ion, no cell may be over 20 Wh and no battery over 100 Wh in any of them.

• Loose battery, sold by itself: ground only (USPS Ground Advantage), in its original sealed packaging, in a package of 5 pounds or less, with the lithium battery mark and “Surface Mail Only” wording on the address side. A used spare out of its original packaging doesn't meet that rule.
• Battery installed in a device: no more than eight cells or two batteries per package, packed so the device can't switch on in transit. A device that's new in its original packaging, or manufacturer-certified refurbished, can go by air. A used device can't: it goes by ground only, marked “Restricted Electronic Device” and “Surface Transportation Only” on the address side.
• Damaged, swollen, or recalled: USPS treats these batteries as nonmailable unless its Product Classification office approves the mailing, and UPS takes them by ground only under a special agreement. Don't list them for shipping. For a damaged battery, the EPA says to contact the battery or device manufacturer for handling instructions; for disposal, ask your local solid-waste or household hazardous waste program.

Platform-specific bans

What each marketplace allows varies, and the lists shift over time. Categories that turn up on at least one of the five lists below: alcohol, food (some platforms allow non-perishable, others ban it entirely), used cosmetics, animals, slot machines and gambling, recalled items, and some baby gear. Don't try to memorize every platform's list. Bookmark the prohibited-items page for whichever platform you list on most, and check it before listing anything unusual.

When "yes" is the answer

Plenty of restricted items can ship. They just need the right service and the right labels. The fastest way to an answer that fits your specific item, packaging, and destination is to ask the carrier before you pack it. For USPS, Publication 52 is the rulebook and usps.com/ship/shipping-restrictions.htm is the plain-language summary. UPS doesn't take hazmat at The UPS Store or its other retail counters, so call its Hazardous Materials Support Center (1-800-554-9964) first. Carrier websites cover the general rules; a direct question is what catches the edge cases.

"Restricted" doesn't always mean "stop." Often it means "do it correctly": the right service, the right marking, and a check before you pay for postage.

For the shipping side (rates, free packaging, when insurance pays for itself), the next read is shipping used goods without losing money.