MELBOURNE, Australia - Users of the Australian version of eBay have found ways to circumvent the site's ban on sales of pornographic materials, several news organizations have reported.
According to NineMSN.com.au, those sellers post listings of lingerie or underwear, accompanied with suggestive comments or photos. When potential buyers inquire about the listings, they often are offered pornographic videos and images.
A journalist from NineMSN reportedly talked to one seller who had listed a pair of men's designer boxer briefs for $8.50. The seller reportedly offered the journalist a DVD containing explicit gay sex and claimed he had a library of homemade films.
According to eBay Australia, the website relies on filters and the online community to block the sale of pornographic material on its website.
"We do have filters, which get 95 percent of it," eBay spokesman Daniel Feiler said. "We (also) rely on the community to report these things to us."
Feiler said most pornographic purchases, like those made by NineMSN, were outside eBay's jurisdiction.
"A lot of the people offering porn are offering off eBay," he said. "There is little we can do about that when people are partaking in those transactions off eBay."
