eBay rules on selling drugs?

rdwarr

Does anybody know if it's against the rules to sell prescription drugs on eBay? I noticed this auction which can only have been sourced from a prescription as retail packs are limited to 32 tablets (from pharmacies) or 16 tablets (from anywhere else).
If you ask me, providing a category for "over-the-counter" medicines in the first place is asking for trouble.

nightswimmer

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/prescriptions.html

rdwarr

Thanks - I should have found that!

Sugar_Coated_Owl

I never even knew there was an 'over-the-counter' category on eBay UK. I'm quite shocked that they allow users to list such items. Pretty risky IMO. I know you can purchase such items from Pharmacies easily but at least they have rules about how much you can buy e.t.c whereas on eBay you could buy endless amounts.

wigginsmum

I used to buy 1000-pill bottles of Ibuprofen from the US on Ebay; even with shipping charges, it was way cheaper than the UK.

amazon_spice

I never even knew there was an 'over-the-counter' category on eBay UK.

me neither - seems kinda creepy somehow.

soolin

razorbladekisses wrote:

I never even knew there was an 'over-the-counter' category on eBay UK. I'm quite shocked that they allow users to list such items. Pretty risky IMO. I know you can purchase such items from Pharmacies easily but at least they have rules about how much you can buy e.t.c whereas on eBay you could buy endless amounts.

The policy prohibits the sale of anything that can be obtained by prescription, so if reported even things like nicotine patches and painkillers will be removed as they are both available on prescription. It also prohibits the sale of contact lenses under the same policy.

Other ebay countries don't have the same policies so it is often possible to buy items from overseas, however, they would be subject to seizure at customs should they be bothered to look for them.

The internet trade in drugs is well documented and even on ebay is very difficult to stamp out.

Soo

mr_fishbulb

soolin wrote:

The policy prohibits the sale of anything that can be obtained by prescription, so if reported even things like nicotine patches and painkillers will be removed as they are both available on prescription. It also prohibits the sale of contact lenses under the same policy.

It says "drug or item that requires a prescription" but it doesn't clarify if that means 'only available by prescription' or 'also available by prescription'.

carrie483

Paracetamol can be bought in wholesale packs from places like Costco and Makro with no problem at all. In fact the ones at costco are incredibly cheap.

Thefunkygibbons

Ultimately, it is the MHRA who enforce the rules, but the costco sales will be wholesale of small packets,

There are three categories for medicines

Over the counter
Pharmacy Only
Prescription only

It would only be OTC that can be sold by non-pharmacists