EBay Inc. will ban the sale of all types of ivory products by January 1, 2009, after a conservation group investigation found more than 4,000 elephant ivory listings on the online auction site. The company said in its blog on Tuesday that they feel this is the best way to protect the endangered and protected species from which ivory products are derived. The African and Asian elephants are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

A report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) says that most sales of ivory product through the online auction site were done on the company’s U.S. site. As an example, IFAW says one user purchased a pair of elephant tusks off eBay for more than $21,000. This report also mentions that every year, more than 20,000 elephants are illegally slaughtered in Africa and Asia in order to sell the ivory. The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International applauded the decision and said they first brought the issue to eBay after an investigation in 2002 discovered thousands of ivory items.

Even if the decision to ban all ivory auctions is a good one, there are some exceptions. For example, items with small amounts of ivory, such as pianos, will be permitted only if the items are antique. The company said it defines antique as pre-1900 and added that even if the items are antique, if they contain a large amount of ivory they will not be permitted. EBay’s ban is not the first. The online auction site has already banned commerce in guns and digital music and it seems that the ivory ban will not have a noticeable impact on its revenues.