There are rules that all eBay users, both buyers and sellers, need to know and follow. These rules help to protect you when you are buying and selling on eBay, or participating in the community.
Rules about general member conduct
eBay members cannot:
- Interfere with the eBay site
- Use profanity on the site
- Continue to use eBay if a member’s account is suspended
- Make offers to buy or sell outside of eBay
- Post want ads
In addition to rules that apply to all eBay members, eBay also has rules specifically about Feedback, buying and selling.
When a buyer or seller issue comes up, depending on the particular situation, we may consider an individual's performance history and the specific circumstances, which can influence how we apply our rules and policies. At our discretion, we may choose to be more lenient with policy enforcement, as long as that decision doesn't result in eBay requiring payment from another member. We reserve the right to do the right thing for both buyers and sellers.
Activity on eBay is required to follow this policy, the eBay User Agreement and all applicable laws, as well as respect the rights of third parties. If it doesn’t, eBay may take action consistent with applicable laws and the eBay User Agreement, and may even be legally required to do so. Such actions may include, as an example only: Removing the listing or other content, issuing a warning, restricting activity or account suspension.
Rules about identity
Member identity is a building block of the eBay community. eBay treats member identity with great respect, and all community members are expected to do the same.
eBay members:
- Must be at least 18 years old
- Cannot misrepresent their identities
- Must always provide valid and complete contact information, including a valid email address
- Must follow eBay's rules about displaying their contact information in a listing. Business sellers on eBay's UK site are required by the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 to display their contact details
- Cannot publish the contact information of other members in an online public area
- Must choose their user ID according to eBay's policy
Rules about communicating with other eBay members
eBay members:
- Cannot misuse the eBay email forwarding system, send unsolicited email (spam) or email threats to other members
- Must follow eBay’s rules for eBay discussion boards and community content (which includes reviews and guides)
Rules about eBay’s responsibilities
- eBay’s Privacy policy specifies how your personal information is used
- eBay’s outage policy allows sellers compensation if the site experiences an extended outage
- eBay employees are bound by all eBay policies and need to identify themselves as eBay employees when they bid, list an item or submit content to the site