eBay: Only Real Goods for Sale (Mostly)

Just scored an awesome sword on World of Warcraft? Forget about selling it for a quick buck on eBay.

That's because the online auction site has decided to remove listings for most virtual goods and real estate. The ban affects auctions for characters, currency, weapons, and attire from games including Warcraft and City of Heroes. The one striking exception: The ban specifically exempts sales tied to Second Life, a virtual world that revolves around a functioning economy.

There is a real market for these pretend goods; estimates range in the hundreds of millions. But the owners of the games claim that many of these "real money trades," or RMTs, violate their intellectual property rights. Rather than deal with disputes over how much that cloak of invisibility is worth, eBay is just ending the business altogether.