Age Restriction: Knife Sales Under Scrutiny

Retailers, and in particular those selling online are under increasing pressure to ensure responsible retailing, with increased pressure from the media and government in the past week.

As part of a Home Office initiative, 21 major retailers have signed up to a pledge to limit teenage access to knives. The initiative covers high street retailing, and does not specifically mention online sales, however ecommerce operators are likely to face scrutiny due to news that eBay is due to stop selling blades online.

The ban follows a BBC Watchdog investigation in which undercover journalists bought 5 knives, which are illegal in the UK. They were able to buy items such as a dagger disguised as a pen, via the US site. eBay have blamed a technical problem, and that filtering which should have been in place, failed.

It is not illegal to sell knives online, however eBay were auctioning knives which are banned in the UK. Online retailers do however need to adhere to the Criminal Justice Act 1998, which prohibits the sale of knives etc to persons under the age of eighteen.

For stores such as DBL’s surplusstore.co.uk, the sale of knives complements their range of army surplus clothing and camping equipment. Established in 2000, their site has been selling army and outdoor goods to legitimate customers for almost 9 years. Using age verification is a cost effective way to ensure the responsible retailing of knives, and DBL have found verifying age a simple extension of verifying other customer details such as address. You can read the full story of how DBL stop underage sales here.

To simplify age verification for online retailers, 192 have produced an age restriction guide, outlining the laws that govern age restricted sales of common products, including knives. The guide is available here.

To see how simple age verification can be, please request a demonstration here.