Google bans developers from selling Glass headset

Google has made it clear that developers who try and sell their Glass headset via sites such as eBay will have their devices deactivated remotely and rendered unusable.

Developers who were selected by Google to gain early access to Glass and forked out $1,500 have started to receive their devices.

One developer who was selected by Google, known as "Ed from Philadelphia" put his Glass up on eBay with a starting bid of $5,000. This triggered a bidding war and the price stood at an eye watering $95,300 after four days.

However, Ed pulled the auction after he realised Google had issued a comprehensive list of terms, which prohibits developers from selling on the device.

Google's terms of service state that developers cannot resell, loan, transfer or even give their Glass headset to another person.

"If you resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person without Google's authorisation, Google reserves the right to deactivate the device, and neither you nor the unauthorised person using the device will be entitled to any refund, product support, or product warranty," it is stated in the Terms of Service.

The firm has designed its "Explorer" program for developers to help find bugs and improve the service before launch. Without the strict terms in place, many other developers may have followed Ed's lead and tried to get rich quick by flogging them.

It remains to be seen whether Google will also try and prohibit the resale of devices when they are officially launched.