eBay has strict rules about auctions listed on behalf of charities.
There are two ways to do it, one is to use their eBay Giving Works,
in which the charity must be registered through MissionFish.  You may
then specify that a percentage of your final sale price (minimum of 10%
or $10 whichever is greater) be donated to a listed charity.
 
If the charity is NOT listed on Giving Works, eBay has these guidelines:
"Sellers may only list items for charity without eBay Giving Works
if they:
 
 * Are soliciting on behalf of recognized tax-deductible charitable
   organizations (for example, 501(c)(3) status or equivalent with the
   IRS).
 * Receive advance written consent for the solicitation from the
   benefiting nonprofit.
 
To verify you received permission, you must include a scanned copy of
the consent in your listing.  It must appear with the nonprofit's
deductibility status as well as your name or eBay User ID, dates of
event/listings, and donation amount (percentage of the final sale price)."
 
eBay does this because:
"eBay urges its sellers and buyers to comply with all governmental laws
and regulations.  Because charitable fundraising is a highly regulated
area subject to numerous state and federal laws, eBay has partnered with
MissionFish to make charitable listing easy and has created very specific
guidelines for allowing charitable solicitations on eBay."
 
I imagine they also do this to protect the buyer against fraudulent
claims sellers may use to encourage higher bidding.
 
I know many people, both buyers and sellers, are using eBay to benefit
Katrina victims, both human and animal.  Please follow the guidelines
to prevent fraud or abuse!!
 
Learn more at http://www.missionfish.org/ or
http://givingworks.ebay.com/
 
Linda Iroff
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
Listed with MissionFish since September 7, 2005!  :-)
[Posted in FML issue 4994]