Illegal weapons being sold on eBay, Which? reports

Third party sellers are selling what could be illegal and banned weapons on eBay, a report made to Which? has suggested.

Following our previous investigation into illegal weapons found on UK marketplaces, an anonymous source reported multiple listings selling telescopic batons disguised as walking poles, as well as meat tenderisers that we suspect could be used as knuckle dusters. 

We suspect that at least one of the items reported to us is illegal to own – even in a private home – because it is specified as a banned weapon by law, according to section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

A person caught with one of these products could face arrest and a prison sentence. The sale of such items means they could also end up in the wrong hands.

Our guide on how to avoid fake and dangerous products online outlines other dangers you should steer clear of

 Illegal batons sold as ‘trekking poles’ on eBay

Three eBay listings were shared with us anonymously which show third party sellers selling what appear to be illegal batons. The listings were disguised as trekking poles, presumably to evade detection by eBay. 

One of the listings contained images of the baton being used as a weapon, including breaking glass, smashing bricks, and a masked person climbing in through a window. All were listed as being 26 inches long - that’s around 2 feet. Walking poles listed on eBay extend to around 4 feet.

The three listings reported to us had been removed by the time of writing, and before we contacted eBay. However, a quick search for a telescopic walking pole on the site revealed multiple listings using very similar imagery. 

The first, which appeared in the top five search results, appeared to have been sold 227 times at the time of writing.

The item description states that the rod can be locked closed, and that it can be expanded by whipping the stick towards the ground. It also says that it can break windows, is suitable for outdoor protection for men and women and comes with a free window breaking tool. 

During our checks on eBay, we spotted a lot of similar listings that we were concerned about. These included listings shown in the ‘picked for you’ section (which says it shows trending items from top sellers, and is sponsored). 

On just the first page of search results for ‘telescopic walking pole’ we spotted 17 listings that appeared to be similar to those reported to us. 

Meat tenderising ‘knuckle dusters’

The anonymous source also shared several listings with Which? for products marketed as ‘meat tenderisers’ that could potentially fall within the definition of a knuckleduster under the The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988. One of the listings used the words ‘knuckle’ and ‘duster’ but disguised by special characters and separated by other words - ‘Knuckle² nder Tenderizer Duster’.

This is a tactic we’ve seen third party sellers use when trying to evade algorithms for detecting products that shouldn’t be for sale on online marketplaces, and we suspect that’s what the seller intended to do here.

The listing said the item had been sold 193 times at the time of writing. It had 32 user reviews, all of which were positive but none mentioned using this product for tenderising meat. 

Off the back of the anonymous tip, we also checked what appeared on eBay when using the search term ‘knuckle duster’. Alongside ‘novelty’ knuckleduster items such as pendants and keyrings, there were 25 listings for meat tenderising knuckledusters.   

We also searched for similar items in traditional cookware stores, but couldn’t find any meat tenderisers of this style. 

Action from eBay

We shared our findings with eBay, including the original links shared with us and the others we uncovered while we investigated them. 

An eBay spokesperson told us: ‘these items are against our policies and we have taken action to remove those that were not already taken down from the site. We’re conducting sweeps to remove similar items and are actively updating our detection algorithms, including AI technology, to help prevent such listings in the future.’

The issue of illegal weapons on marketplaces

It’s not the first time we’ve uncovered evidence of illegal weapons for sale on online marketplaces. Recently we found illegal and age restricted items being sold without checks through Temu, and in 2022 we found illegal weapons for sale on Amazon, eBay, Wish and AliExpress. 

At the time, we shared our evidence with Kerry Spence, deputy head of criminal defence at the law firm Hodge Jones & Allen and Caroline Liggins, head of youth team at the practice. They said marketplaces were a known source of banned weapons.

• Find out more: how new internet safety rules will protect you

Which? calls for tougher rules on online marketplaces

Which? investigations have repeatedly found unsafe and illegal consumer products being offered for sale on online marketplaces, and we believe they must be given greater responsibility for the safety of products being sold and for swiftly removing them when unsafe products are identified.

Online marketplaces should be more proactive in preventing the sale of illegal weapons taking place on their platforms. This can be done by conducting more checks of their platforms to recognise and remove illegal content more quickly.

We strongly support the government's proposals regarding the UK product safety review. These would place new duties on online marketplaces, including requirements for proactive checks on third-party sellers, for monitoring and scrutinising listings, and taking appropriate action to prevent the sale of illegal and unsafe items. 

We also support the proposals to introduce a duty for new business models, particularly online marketplaces, to collaborate with enforcement bodies.