Prohibited, Questionable & Infringing Items

Find out if your item is allowed by reviewing the lists below. As an advertiser on NWsource.com, you are ultimately responsible for making sure that buying or selling your item(s) is legal in the eyes of the law.

If you think you've spotted an item on NWsource that isn't allowed, submit an e-mail to support at nwsource dot com. Our customer support team will check the listing in question and when appropriate, remove the ad or warn the advertiser.

• "Prohibited" means that these items may not be listed on NWsource.com under any circumstances.
• "Questionable" means that items may be listed under certain conditions, but you should careful when listing items to follow local law.
• "Potentially Copyright infringement" means that items may be in violation of certain copyrights, trademarks or other rights. For your protection, some items here are not allowed ("prohibited"), regardless of the legality of these particular items, because they almost always violate copyright or trademark laws.

Prohibited items include:

• Alcohol or wine
• Animals and wildlife products
• Catalog and URL sales
• Counterfeit currency and stamps
• Counterfeit items
• Credit cards
• Drugs & drug paraphernalia
• Embargoed goods and goods & services from prohibited countries
• Envelope stuffing
• " Exotic animals - includes wolves, jackals, foxes, lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, cougars, cheetahs, bears, hyenas, alligators, crocodiles, caimans, elephants, rhinoceroses, camels, deer, giraffes, hippos, venomous reptiles and amphibians, and snakes that are eight feet or more in length. An animal that is normally domesticated, but that is determined to be wild or feral, shall be considered an exotic animal. Some animals may be subject to review by management.
• Fireworks
• Gambling tips or advice, betting methods, including books and videos
• Betting or wagering information
• Government IDs and licenses
• Human parts and remains
• Lock picking devices
• Lottery tickets
• Mature audiences content - this includes any adult entertainment, strippers, escort services, adult books, magazines or other media. This also applies to advertising copy that may be considered sexually suggestive.
• Mailing lists and personal information
• Non-Sporting firearms (This includes all handguns and any firearm with one or more of the following: detachable magazine, folding stock, flash suppressor, bayonet, or pistol grip)
• Offensive material or language
• Pirated media
• Police-related items
• Postage meters
• Prescription drugs and devices
• Psychic hotlines, telephone services or psychic 1-900 or 1-999 numbers
• Pyramid schemes
• Recalled items
• Requests for donations of money or merchandise
• Satellite and cable TV descramblers
• Slot machines
• Stocks and other securities
• Stolen property
• Surrogate mother advertising
• Surveillance equipment
• Tobacco and anything that promotes the use of tobacco
• Wolves or wolf hybrids

Real Estate - please review our list of prohibited terms in real estate ads in our Federal Fair Housing Act publisher's statement.

Questionable items

• Artifacts
• Autographed items
• Batteries
• Catalytic converters and test pipes
• Compilation CDs
• Food
• Freon and other refrigerants
• Hazardous materials
• Imported and emission non-compliant vehicles
• International trading - buyers
• International trading - sellers
• Medical devices
• Pesticides
• Tickets - Seattle city ordinance stipulates it is illegal to sell acquired admission tickets for a higher price than the original published sales price plus a small service fee - This is known as "scalping" and is unacceptable. Please read and follow any airline ticket restrictions if you are reselling an airline ticket or certificate.
• Electronics equipment
• Used airbags
• Warranties
• Work from home opportunities

Potentially Infringing (copyright & trademark)

• Academic software
• Beta software
• Bootleg recordings
• Brand name misuse
• Downloadable media
• Faces, names and signatures
• Games software
• Image or description theft
• Importation of goods into the United States
• Misleading titles
• OEM software
• Recordable media
• Replica and counterfeit items
• Promotional items
• Unauthorized copies of any media or software

Important: Even if you offer to give away for "free" (rather than sell) a prohibited, questionable, or infringing item, this will not relieve you of potential liability.

This list is updated from time to time and is incorporated by reference into the User Agreement. These guidelines do not constitute legal advice and do not pertain to any particular company's practices. When in doubt, check with law enforcement agencies, a lawyer, and the law or with a copyright, trademark or other rights owner for clarification. NWsource.com also has adopted certain policies regarding prohibited items, regardless of the legality of the item.

Ad removal: If we remove your ad early because it violates one of our stated policies, you deserve to be properly informed. Therefore, NWsource will notify you via e-mail if your ad has been removed from the site. You will not receive a refund.

Reporting prohibited, questionable or infringing items to NWsource: Please submit an e-mail to support at nwsource dot com if you notice any suspicious items for sale and we will investigate the ad.