Online Marketplace Bans, Shadowbans & Trigger Words: What Sellers Should Avoid

Online Marketplace Bans, Shadowbans & Trigger Words: What Sellers Should Avoid

Large online marketplaces rely heavily on automated moderation. That means a listing can be restricted, hidden, removed or have its reach reduced even when the seller did not intend to break a rule.

There are two different things sellers need to understand:

Things that are not allowed

• Weapons, firearms, ammunition or explosives
• Many knives and weapon-related items
• Illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia
• Tobacco, nicotine and vaping products
• Alcohol
• Prescription drugs and some healthcare or medical products
• Adult products and sexually explicit material
• Live animals
• Restricted animal parts or wildlife products
• Human body parts or bodily fluids
• Recalled or unsafe products
• Counterfeit goods
• Stolen goods
• Illegal products
• Content promoting hate, violence or discrimination

Vintage and secondhand sellers need to be especially careful because perfectly legal collectables can still trigger automated moderation.

Animal-related words and items

Animal-related terms can attract extra scrutiny, particularly where the system may think a live animal, protected species or restricted animal product is being sold.

FUR, FAUX FUR, LEATHER, SNAKESKIN, CROCODILE, ALLIGATOR, IVORY, FEATHERS, HIDE, PELT, TAXIDERMY, HUNTING, TROPHY, BONE, HORN, SHELL, TURTLE, TORTOISE

Even ordinary animal names can sometimes trigger automated review depending on the image and wording:

HORSE, EAGLE, SNAKE, TURTLE, DEER, FOX, RABBIT

Weapon-related words

KNIFE, DAGGER, SWORD, MACHETE, GUN, RIFLE, PISTOL, FIREARM, AMMUNITION, BULLETS, HUNTING KNIFE, COMBAT, TACTICAL WEAPON

Do not try to disguise a prohibited item by changing the spelling. Repeated reposting after removal can increase the chance of wider account restrictions.

Health, body and weight words

WEIGHT LOSS, LOSE WEIGHT, FAT, OBESITY, DIET PILLS, PRESCRIPTION, MEDICATION, DISEASE, INFECTION, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, DISABILITY, MEDICAL CONDITION, BEFORE & AFTER

For health-related products, the real issue is often whether the item itself is permitted. Changing the wording will not make a prohibited product acceptable.

Scam and get-rich-quick language

GET RICH QUICK, FINANCIAL FREEDOM, MAKE MONEY FAST, WORK FROM HOME, QUIT YOUR JOB, LAPTOP LIFESTYLE, EARN $10,000, GUARANTEED INCOME, DOUBLE YOUR MONEY, EASY MONEY, FORTUNE, WEALTH

Unrealistic earnings claims, guarantees and misleading promises can trigger moderation and make a listing look fraudulent.

Sales and promotional trigger words

These are not necessarily prohibited, but excessive use can make a listing look spammy or misleading:

FREE, SALE, BUY NOW, DISCOUNT, DEAL, COUPON, MARKED DOWN, ORDER NOW, GIVEAWAY, CONTEST, WIN, ENTER, TODAY ONLY, LIMITED TIME, ENDING SOON, ONLY X LEFT, WHILE STOCKS LAST

Personal attributes

Avoid wording that appears to identify personal characteristics of the person reading the listing.

Sensitive areas include:

AGE, RACE, RELIGION, DISABILITY, MEDICAL CONDITIONS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, WEIGHT, BODY TYPE, FINANCIAL STATUS

Profanity

Profanity and attempts to disguise profanity can also trigger moderation.

FUCK, SHIT, CUNT, F*CK, F#@K, $#!T

Personal contact details

Avoid including:

PHONE NUMBERS, EMAIL ADDRESSES, WHATSAPP NUMBERS, BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS

Keep initial communication inside the marketplace messaging system where possible.

Branded products

Counterfeit goods are prohibited. Genuine branded secondhand goods may also attract extra scrutiny if authenticity is unclear.

Examples include:

CHANEL, GUCCI, LOUIS VUITTON, TIFFANY, PRADA, ROLEX

Never claim that something is authentic if you cannot substantiate it.

Watch your photos too

Automated moderation can analyse images as well as text. Avoid:

• Weapons visible in photographs
• Prohibited products in the background
• Graphic or sexual imagery
• Animal products that may be misidentified
• Large amounts of promotional text over images
• Phone numbers or email addresses written over images
• Images copied from another seller
• Brand logos used in a way that could imply affiliation

Avoid spammy formatting

• Excessive ALL CAPS
• Repeated punctuation such as !!!!!!!!!!
• Repeated currency symbols such as $$$$$$$
• Keyword stuffing
• Posting the same listing repeatedly
• Deliberate misspellings designed to get around moderation
• Immediately reposting an item after it has been removed

If a listing is removed

Do not immediately repost the same item with one word changed. Check the reason for removal first.

Sellers often use the word shadowban to describe a situation where their account still works but their listings suddenly receive almost no views. Platforms rarely publish a complete list of every word or image signal used by their automated moderation systems, so many so-called “banned word lists” mix genuine policy with anecdotal experience.

The safest rule is simple:

If the item itself is not permitted, changing the wording will not make it permitted. If the item is permitted, keep the title, description and photographs simple, literal and non-spammy.