Don't mess with fiery Irishmen. That's the lesson eBay learned this week as it was labelled an "electronic pimp" by rocker Sir Bob Geldof.

The world's most successful auction website made a controversial judgment call by banning the sale on its site of tickets to the July 2 Live8 (see link below) concert in London's Hyde Park after Sir Bob intervened.

Around 150,000 tickets to the show were given away for free in a massive text-messaging lottery that attracted more than two million entries.

That raised more than 3 million ($7.6 million) for charity and made the Guinness Book of Records for the record number of text messages sent.

But some winners attempted to sell the tickets online.

Coldplay and U2 are on the same Live8 bill. A reformed Pink Floyd will take to a stage together for the first time in 24 years. Did Geldof really think there wouldn't be a massive reselling of tickets?

Regardless of what you think of the ageing rockers leading Live8, their cause is a just one.

But it was perfectly legal for people to sell their tickets on eBay and within the site's own guidelines.

Ebay offered to donate its commission on the sales of the tickets to charity. Geldof told them to "stick it," saying the ticket sellers were exploiting the misery of the poor Africans Live8 has been set up to aid.

Everything has its price, everything is for sale - that's been the philosophy of the eBays and Trademes of this world, which represent the free market in its purest form.

If you have something to sell, it's possible there is someone out there who wants to buy it. All you need is a Paypal account.

There is obviously regulation, guided by the laws of the countries in which internet auction websites operate. You won't find Nazi memorabilia or illegal pornography on eBay. Auctioning off your unborn baby or flogging a kidney is out. Slave trading, the on-selling of stolen property and dealing in nuclear weapons are also outlawed.

All of those things have cropped up on internet auction sites over the years and made for scandalous headlines, so naturally you'd expect eBay to ban them and report those attempting the sales.

But auctioning off a concert ticket you won fairly and squarely in a competition? What's wrong with that? The issue has divided internet users.

"I don't see what the problem is here. If I enter a charity raffle, win a car, then sell it, am I morally bankrupt? I can understand eBay backing down under the pressure, but it's a bit worrying when companies give way to the self-appointed 'morality police'," wrote one comment poster on the BBC's website.