The apparent hoax

The popular online auction house eBay again became the site of an illegal auction of a human organ -- this time, a human testicle. No bids were made for the organ, which was offered by an unidentified seller at a starting price of $100. The auction, mimicking the offer of a human kidney Aug. 26, was shut down by eBay administrators several hours after it was launched early Saturday morning. The seller was suspended from the site, and eBay officials said they would assist with any prosecution. "EBay has zero tolerance for illegal items on the site," said Kristin Seuell of eBay. "It is important for people to know that eBay works very closely with law enforcement and that anyone posting or bidding on an illegal item on eBay will be subject to legal prosecution." Calling the apparent hoax "offensive," Seuell warned that people who use the site to sell illegal, inappropriate and infringeable items should know that eBay is an open trading environment -- and the information is traceable. The site is routinely scanned by law enforcement agencies around the world. The largest online auction house in the world -- with more than 2.6 million items for sale and 5.6 million registered users -- eBay does not screen items before auction, citing the open and spontaneous nature of the Web site. Selling body parts or human remains for profit is against federal law, punishable by up to five years in prison or a $50,000 fine. EBay also prohibits the sale of animals and animal parts, drugs, firearms, fireworks, surveillance equipment, TV descramblers, stock and stock certificates. Items classified "for adults only" fall into a special "questionable" category, meaning that they may be listed under certain conditions, along with alcohol and wine, Freon, food, weapons and knives, police-related items and used medical devices. EBay did not disclose the name of the seller, identified only as "Markd01," saying the information was confidential. In the previous prank, a Florida-based seller offered a "fully functional kidney" for a starting price of $25,000. The price climbed to $5.7 million before eBay ended the auction.