To make sure eBay is a fair marketplace, we've created a policy to cover surcharges for ordinary forms of payment.
What is the policy?
Sellers may not charge eBay buyers an additional fee for their use of ordinary forms of payment, including acceptance of cheques, money orders, electronic transfers or credit cards. Such costs should be built into the price of the item.
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.
Some Examples
Not permitted:
- Charging an extra fee to use a credit card instead of a cheque
- Charging an extra fee to use PayPal
Permitted:
A seller can add a surcharge to the final price of the item in three instances:
- Postage and Handling - Sellers may charge a reasonable postage and handling fee to the final price of their item. A postage and handling fee can cover the seller's reasonable costs for mailing, packaging and handling the item. Postage and handling fees cannot be listed as a percentage of the final sale price.
- Different Currency - Sellers may choose to accept payment in a different currency than the currency listed on eBay. If the buyer chooses to take advantage of this optional payment method, the seller may pass along to the buyer any costs associated with the currency exchange, provided that the costs are disclosed and agreed to in advance by the buyer.
Note: Some types of payment surcharges are permitted on some of eBay's international sites.
Why does eBay have this policy?
This policy reduces the potential for confusion among bidders about the full cost of an item. Furthermore, some forms of payment surcharges (such as credit card surcharges), are forbidden under the laws of many countries.These listings undermine the trust and legitimacy of eBay’s marketplace.