Sales of virtual goods stopped by eBay

Auction giant eBay has prevented the sale of virtual goods for online games such as  EverQuest  and World of Warcraft on its site.

All listings related to these virtual goods, which include currency, characters, weapons, and online game accounts are being removed by eBay due to legal concerns.

The RMT (real money trade) market is estimated to be worth between $250m (£127m) and $880m (£447m) a year, though such sales are often prohibited by the game's rules.

With the value of the market, it is likely that the trade in virtual items will continue outside eBay, with CNET suggesting that sites like ige.com will be the main beneficiaries of eBay's decision.

Some publishers of these online games have [revious;y requested eBay to remove virtual goods before, and it seems that concerns about legal issues surrounding these goods have forced eBay to act.

Further Reading:
Strong Christmas performance from eBay  
StubHub sold to eBay for $310 million

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