It is possible to list items that are intended for adults only. A number of restrictions and stipulations surround such items. For information about these rules, refer to Adult items policy. In addition to outlining the rules for listing adult items, this topic provides guidance as to what constitutes an adult item and lists the types of adult items that may not be listed even in the adult categories.
When listing such items through the eBay API, the seller must be qualified to list adult items. There is no input argument that designates an adult-only item. Rather, the category in which the item is listed indicates this. An adult item must be listed to one of the Adult-only categories.
Retrieve adult items
eBay has specific rules and procedures regarding users viewing adult only items. Retrieving an item from an Adult-only category requires some interactive participation on the part of the viewing user. An application cannot retrieve an adult item for a user unless that user has first gone to the eBay marketplace and viewed an adult item. When the user goes to the eBay marketplace to view an adult item for this first time, they have to agree to a "Terms of Use Mature Audiences Category" page. Submitting this form authorizes that user to view items in the Adult-only categories. Thereafter, an API application may make API calls (e.g., GetSellerList and GetItem,) to retrieve adult items for that user (the user is specified as the function requester).
The fact that a particular item is an adult item can be extrapolated from the category ID returned with the item data. However, an easier and more direct way to make this determination is by the value returned in the Item.ListingDetails.Adult field. If this field returns a value of true, then it is an adult item from an Adult-only category.