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I was searching for for a friend on eBay and noticed that almost all Rx HAs are no longer available for purchase. This includes those from a seller named genesis healthcare, which someone mentioned in a previous post. Accessories and parts are still available.
Has anyone seen this happen before? Hopefully it is not a permanent ban, I have found some excellent deals (including my current SmartRIC 440s for less than $500).
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Weird, our page is still up. There’s only a few products up and they aren’t from the big manufacturers, so I’m guessing we aren’t the target.
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That’s Rexton your talking about? yeah I only found 2 sets randomly, other brands seems to be still available.
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Any Rx (non-) brand. For example, I did a search for Phonak (excluding the Roger) and I got 16 hits. No a single Infinio in the search results.
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I just had 2 listings up on eBay for Phonak hearing aids. They were both taken down because they are devices which need a prescription.
I had the same issue with Facebook Marketplace. Dunno how we’re going to trade our used ’s.
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I hope this issue doesn’t persist. If it does, I’m at a loss for where else to purchase used that have anything similar to the eBay money back guarantee.
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The bots take longer to find your listings if you avoid “hearing aids”. I see listings on Facebook Marketplace for “amplifiers” or just the brand name. This makes searching harder.
I also wonder why eBay has a dedicated category for hearing aids if we cannot list there. Maybe they intend it for .
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We have our own buy and sell here on hearingtracker, but I wouldn’t worry to much, it’s pretty outrageous tho, used have been on eBay like for ever! So the manufacturers have put enough pressure on eBay to try and control the secondary market? I find it hard to believe this is a permanent position, it’s wouldn’t be for because you don’t need a or prescription for those.
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I wonder if it’s to stop aids being sold in a ‘locked’ state per the Specsavers aids in the other thread. Or stolen/re-used/grey market product that has been blacklisted.
Sellers will legitimately claim that they’ve sold the (used) aids as per their listing, but the buyers can’t reprogram them or make them useful for anyone else.
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And as if by magic:
We had to remove one or more of your listings for not following our Medical devices and equipment policy. We understand that this must be frustrating. But don’t worry — we’re here to help!
What happened
Medical devices that require a prescription can’t be sold on eBay. Listings for other devices must follow our rules.
More specific details are provided below.
What this means for you
You can remain focused on your business. To protect you, we removed listings that didn’t follow this policy. We have credited any associated fees, except for transaction fees for your sold listing(s).
Because you may not have been aware of this policy, we’re sending this notice to educate you about it.
These listings are still in your Active Listings folder in My eBay and Seller Hub so you can view them. However, new buyers can’t purchase them, shoppers can’t see them, and you will not be charged additional listing fees for them. You can end them to move them out of Active Listings.
Listings that don’t follow this policy in the future will be removed.
This determination was made using automation or artificial intelligence. This came to our attention through automated detection.
The easiest way to avoid this in the future is to ensure that your current and future listings follow this policy. Please don’t relist items that aren’t allowed.
More about this policy
The following medical device products can’t be sold on eBay:
Any medical devices that do not have a UKCA/CE mark and/or that have passed their expiration date
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines
Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) units and any accessories
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS) and any accessories
Oxygen concentrators, compressors, conservers, and any accessories
Nebulizers and their accessories
Pulse oximeters
Implantable devices, such as pacemakers, heart valves, vascular grafts, ventricular bypass devices, and implantable infusion pumps
Pumps and ancillary items for the administration of enteral tube feeds
Contact lenses (including ‘zero powered’ or cosmetic lenses)
The following medical equipment and related products, which can be abused for unlawful purposes, are not permitted:
Items or device parts that could be used to facilitate the manufacture of illegal drugs or pharmaceutical products
Needles, with or without a disposable syringe
There may be additional listing requirements. For more details about prescription medical devices, see our Help page.
This policy helps to protect the safety of our members while ensuring important government regulations are followed.
Learn more: Medical devices and equipment policy4
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Oh so here we go, has decided it knows better and is gonna make sure eBay loses money, which aren’t mentioned, and god forbid contact lenses are prohibited!
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I can see why in the case of prescription medication, but they’ve decided prescription hearing aids too, which isn’t quite the same thing.
Now, I could advertise the same devices with my HCPC qualification listed, but then I would have to do the full due diligence in terms of testing, client record keeping and remote fitting protocols. All of which throws up barriers in terms of developing a simple transaction.
When someone walks into my business, we build the full patient profile, completing all tests, under the correct rules based system. That costs. The OTC offering is to cover the ‘middle third’ of people who won’t/can’t afford to step into the office, don’t yet think their hearing is bad enough or simply just want to evaluate something before they commit to spending thousands.
That kind of nuance (IMHO) is beyond the Artificial Intelligence used by eBay and similar sites. I don’t want to drive the process underground: but I suspect we’ll end up authoring our own web-shop.
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Contact lenses (including ‘zero powered’ or cosmetic lenses)
This is baloney. I know because I’ve bought clear colored contacts from other places, which I’m sure will continue to sell them. There is no prescription needed because they don’t have a prescription in them. I hope more and more people who think is the answer to all prayers will run head first into this kind of b.s.
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I live in New York city so I just looked to see if fleabay is doing this here in the States. Here is what Google says
AI Overview
No, you cannot sell prescription hearing aids on eBay
, as the platform strictly prohibits any medical devices that require a prescription. However, certain self-fitting or over-the-counter () hearing aids that do not require a prescription may be permitted if they comply with all healthcare and regulations. [1, 2, 3]
eBay Rules and Restrictions
Prescription devices: Banned completely; listings for prescription-only hearing aids will be removed by automated filters or policy enforcement. [1, 2]
Account risk: Listing prohibited medical items can lead to an immediate restriction or permanent suspension of your eBay Account. [1, 2, 3]
Allowed items: Only specific non-prescription or OTC devices qualify, and you must ensure your description accurately describes the item without triggering medical policy violations. [1]
Alternatives for Used Hearing Aids
Donation: Many local audiology clinics or charities (like the Lions Club) accept used devices to refurbish for people in need.
Trade-in: Some hearing care providers offer trade-in credits toward the purchase of newer technology
I did some looking on theEbay community posts and it seems people were being told this as much as 2 years ago.
I also noticed that at that same time it was being said it okay to sell OTC aids !!!
I cannot help but think that the OTC mafia is behind this to push the market to them because it was about that time that OTC came onto the market.
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I cannot help but think that the OTC mafia is behind this to push the market to them because it was about that time that OTC came onto the market.
It seems (to me) to look more like the big boys leaning on EBay to stop smaller entrants/ getting a real foothold by circumventing the traditional channels.
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I noticed that ’ listing descriptions began to include a disclaimer similar to this two to three months ago.
“These aids are used and will say so in the package sent - They also require professional fitting by the hearing professional”. Below is an example (scroll to the end of the listing).
I wonder if eBay was okay continuing the sales with a disclaimer, but then faced pushback from manufacturers or someone else.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12753335974114
And here is someone trying to bypass the ban by saying his/her Phonaks are plus the disclaimer I mentioned earlier.
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Ugh. Glad I got my Spheres a few months ago. Hopefully this policy will change before they need replacing.
Straight-up lying in the listing is a bad idea. What if someone buys it thinking it really is just an amplifier, then complains when they can’t set it up themselves? I hope they at least reset it so the buyer’s hearing won’t get damaged if they stick it in their ear and turn it on exactly like the seller told them they could do. An ebay ban will be the least of the seller’s problems if that happens. I get that this might be someone’s livelihood, and I agree that ebay’s ban is unreasonable, but that’s just not ok.
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This may explain the uptick in listings here. Do these restrictions actually help anyone? The category may have high returns. I had a pair I planned to list but I guess eBay won’t get the fees now.
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