eBay has banned the sales of human body parts after hundreds of mystery skulls were sold for up to $5,500 (£4,150).
Until last week, the auction site had allowed the sale of skulls and skeletons "intended for medical use".
But because no proof of the usage was needed, it is believed many were simply sold as macabre curios.
It has been suggested by one academic that many of the skulls may have originated from India and China, and may be from disinterred human remains.
A study by the Louisiana Department of Justice in Baton Rouge tracked skull sales on eBay for seven months.
A loophole in eBay's terms and conditions was exploited
During that time, it said 237 people listed 454 skulls for sale, with opening bids reaching up to $5,500.
This week eBay updated its terms of service, adding skulls and skeletons to its list of prohibited sale items.
Tanya Marsh, from Wake Forest University in North Carolina, told the New Scientist: "We should have strong moral problems with that.
"They don't say how long the skeletons have been skeletons.
"You can't tell just by looking at them.
"It's possible that some of them are disinterred human remains."
The study - entitled "They Sell Skulls Online?!" - was published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
It suggested the skeletons that have appeared on eBay were mostly donated to medical science, but many may have been recovered from archaeological digs.
The report said: "Ultimately, the goal is to stem the commodification of such items and to recover skeletal material, especially that which may be of archaeological or forensic significance, and provide the proper final disposition for such material."
The team complained that despite many US states having laws that restrict the sale of human remains, the majority of the eBay sellers were based in America.
It added: "Those laws have questionable deterrent effect."
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