Rules for everyone

There are rules that all eBay members, both buyers and sellers, need to know and follow. These rules are created to protect you and to keep eBay a safe place to buy, sell, and participate in the community.

When a buyer or seller issue comes up, depending on the particular situation, eBay may consider an individual’s performance history and the specific circumstances, which can influence how we apply our rules and policies. At our discretion, eBay may choose to be more lenient with policy enforcement, with the goal of doing the right thing in the circumstances.

Rules about general member conduct

eBay members are not allowed to:

• Interfere with the eBay site

• Use profanity on the site

• Infringe on eBay's intellectual property

• Create a new account or buy and sell on other existing accounts to avoid restrictions or limits

• Make offers to buy or sell outside of eBay

• Post want ads, except in the Want It Now section of eBay

• Falsely report that another member has violated an eBay policy

In addition to rules that apply to all eBay members, eBay also has rules specifically about Feedback, buying, and selling.

Rules about identity

eBay members: 

• Must be at least 18 years old

• Cannot misrepresent their identities

• Must always provide valid and complete contact information and must always have a valid email address

• Cannot publish the contact information of other members in an online public area

• Must choose their user ID according to eBay rules

Rules about communicating with other eBay members

eBay members:

• Can't use our member-to-member contact options to send spam or threats

• Must follow eBay's rules for eBay Groups, eBay discussion boards, and community content (includes reviews and guides)

Rules about eBay's responsibilities

• eBay's Privacy Policy specifies how your personal information is used. The appendix to the Privacy Policy lists which third parties have access to which types of information.

• 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.

• eBay appreciates your ideas, but considers these unsolicited idea submissions as non-binding.

Other questions you may have

Can I retract or cancel my bid?
How do I close my eBay account?