Selling practices policy

Buyers expect their items to be delivered on time, especially when they pay additional fees for express postage services. Using a slower postage service than the one selected by the buyer during checkout may result in the item being delivered later than expected, and an increase in claims for items not received.

What to do

• Offer postage options in your listings only after reviewing their costs and delivery speeds
• Send items using postage options with features that meet or exceed those the buyer selected

What not to do

• Use postage options with features that do not meet those selected by the buyer. For example, using a standard delivery service with a maximum delivery estimate of 7 days when the buyer selected express delivery with a delivery estimate of 3 days

Make sure you clearly specify postage charges and related service charges in your listings.

What you can charge

• Actual postage cost: This is the amount for posting the item. It should be what you paid the carrier
• Handling cost: This can include the cost of packaging materials
• Delivery confirmation and extra services: If these options are offered to the buyer, you can only charge what they actually cost

Free postage

• You can offer free postage Australia-wide, and to select or all countries around the world
• For a destination to which you've specified free postage, no other fees related to postage, handling or packaging can be charged
• You're not allowed to change the postage method to a method that is slower than the slowest one indicated in the listing
• You're not allowed to offer free postage to one destination and then exclude posting to certain places within that destination. For example, choosing free postage within Australia in the listing form, then charging extra or excluding buyers from specific suburbs/regions such as Tasmania and Perth. You can select different postage rates for different areas by using domestic postage rate tables. Exemptions to this policy may apply if you are excluding regions to comply with the law

If you offer free postage in your listing – and we can confirm the buyer didn't pay for postage – you'll automatically receive a 5-star detailed seller rating for postage and handling charges.

Buyers want to know when they can expect to get their items.

What to do

• Specify in your listing clearly and accurately when the item will be sent
• Send items within the handling time you state in your listing
• Use tracking, delivery or signature confirmation. Using delivery confirmation can help protect you if a buyer claims an item wasn't received
  Note: If the total order cost (total of item(s), postage and any applicable tax) is $750 or more, signature confirmation is required. Having signature confirmation protects you if a buyer reports that they didn't receive an item. Learn more about signature confirmation requirements
• You're required to select the postage option that best matches the postage service that you offer in the listing. This helps set buyer expectations about when the item will be delivered

What not to do

• List items that you don't already have in stock, unless you're doing so in compliance with the Presale policy or Third-party fulfilment policy
• If your funds are not immediately available from payments for an item you sold, you're not allowed to hold shipment until the funds are released

Listing formats without handling time

• Classified Ads
• Real Estate Ad format

Categories that don't require handling time

• All Motor Vehicle categories
• Real Estate
• Specialty Services

Special consideration for specific sellers, categories or items

In certain categories we may require tracking information, specific or maximum handling times, or both. This is to enhance the buying experience and to meet industry standards for some items.

We'll automatically remove low detailed seller ratings for postage time if you offer same business day or one business day handling and upload valid postage tracking information within one business day of receiving cleared payment.

It's important that you clearly specify the terms and conditions of the sale in your listing so that buyers know what to expect.

What to do

You're required to include the following details in your listing:

• Return policy
• Handling time
• Postage method and cost
• Terms of the transaction

You're required to meet the expectations you've set in your listing:

• Ensure the safe delivery of the item within the timeframe stated in your listing
• Comply with the Payment methods policy
• Comply with the following policies, where applicable:
  • Presale policy
  • Third-party fulfilment policy
  • Warranty policy

Providing tracking details for items you've sold is an industry standard and something that your buyers expect. Tracking data lets buyers know where their item is throughout the delivery process, and can be critical in cases where the buyer claims they didn't receive an item. Learn more about uploading tracking information.

What to do

• Upload accurate tracking details
• Upload tracking details within your specified handling time
• Mark the item as 'Sent' in My eBay or Seller Hub once it has been sent

What not to do

• Upload information other than valid tracking in the tracking field, including tracking not associated with the transaction
• Upload tracking information later than the handling time window promised in your listing

When a buyer purchases an item, they expect it to be sent from the item location included in the listing. Including false, inaccurate, vague or misleading item location information may lead to confusion around delivery time and postage costs.

What to do

• Include accurate item location descriptions. The city and state, or city and country should match appropriately. For example:
  • Hong Kong, China
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Omaha, Nebraska, United States

What not to do

• Provide incorrect or inaccurate item location
• State 'Australia' when the item is actually being sent from China
• Include inaccurate, vague or misleading item location descriptions, such as:
  • Beijing, United Kingdom
  • Hong Kong, Australia
  • Worldwide, Singapore
  • Direct from manufacturer to, United States
  • Somewhere in Florida, United States
• Include item location information in the item description that doesn't match the information in the item location field
• Include inconsistent information in your return policy around the item location which may result in higher return costs or confusion for buyers

For more information, refer to our Item location policy.

The listing page is where buyers get most of their information about an item. Information in the listing helps buyers decide what to buy and know what to expect when they receive the item. It's important to make sure that the listing is only used to describe the item for sale and to communicate the terms of the sale in a professional way.

What to do

You're required to:

• Specify the condition of the item
• Describe any defects or flaws in the item – this helps avoid problems or buyer dissatisfaction

Note: When selling a used, refurbished or flawed item, you must include photos of the actual item for sale instead of a stock photo.

For more information, refer to our Item description policy.

You may need to cancel an order because the item is broken or out of stock, you made a mistake in your listing, the buyer requested to cancel the order, there's a problem with the buyer's postal address, or the buyer hasn't paid. Make sure you use the correct process in My eBay or Seller Hub to cancel the order. Learn more about How sellers can cancel an order.

What to do

• Cancel the order within 30 days of the sale
• Use the correct process in My eBay or Seller Hub to cancel the order:
  • In My eBay go to Sold, or in Seller Hub go to Orders
  • Find the order you want to cancel, and from More actions, select Cancel this order
• Choose a reason for the cancellation and follow the on-screen instructions. The "Buyer Hasn't Paid" reason code will be displayed if the buyer hasn't paid for the item within 4 calendar days

What not to do

• Don't cancel the order more than 30 days after the sale
• Don't use an incorrect process outside of My eBay or Seller Hub to cancel the order
• Don't select the wrong cancellation reason in order to avoid a defect on your account, receive a final value fee credit, or remove or block buyer feedback

Learn more about our Order cancellation policy.

Do whatever you can to provide excellent customer service. Meeting or exceeding buyers' expectations can help you improve your performance on eBay.

What to do

• Respond promptly to any questions during the bidding or buying process, as well as after the item has been purchased
• Communicate professionally, including emails
• Be responsive to any buyer concerns or problems

What not to do

• You're not allowed to use profane or offensive language with anyone on eBay
• You're not allowed to send anyone on eBay inappropriate images including nudity, profanity or other general content not related to an eBay listing

Most often, transactions without additional communication are a sign of great service, and you shouldn't receive low detailed seller ratings for communication in these situations.

To give you credit for transactions where a buyer doesn't need to contact you, you'll automatically receive a 5-star detailed seller rating for Communication if:

• You specify either same business day or one business day handling and upload tracking information within one business day of payment being received
• There are no refund requests or any open disputes
• There are no buyer- or seller-initiated communications in eBay Messages
• There are no requests for contact information between you and the buyer

Note: Best Offers, Second Chance Offers, invoices and invoice requests – even if they contain messages added by the buyer or seller – don't affect automatic 5-star detailed seller ratings for communication. You'll still qualify for an automatic 5-star communication detailed seller rating if you or your buyers send these types of communications.

Communication between a buyer and seller isn't undesirable. If you exchange messages – and the buyer is satisfied with your response – you may receive five stars for communication based on their interaction with you.

You aren't required to accept returns, but if you do, you must honour your stated return policy.

When you choose to accept returns, a buyer can return an item for any reason, including if they change their mind about a purchase. As long as the return meets the options you selected for your return policy, you are required to honour the return. If you offer free returns, you'll be required to provide a return postage label or another solution that is acceptable to the buyer.

We encourage you to accept returns – it helps increase buyer confidence.

What to do

• If you don't want to accept returns, make sure that you've cleared both the International returns and Domestic returns boxes when listing your item
• If you accept returns, you must select:
  • The time period in which a buyer must notify you about a return (30 or 60 days)
  • Who pays for return postage

Remember, buyers who purchase from you are entering into a contract with you based on the details you included in your listing, including the options you selected for your return policy. Therefore, you may not add to or alter your returns criteria once an item has been purchased.

Even if you specify that you don't accept returns, a buyer may still open a return request under eBay Money Back Guarantee if the item doesn't match the listing description.

Learn more about creating your return policy.

Refunds by law

In Australia, consumers have a legal right to obtain a refund from a business for goods purchased if the goods are faulty, not fit for purpose or don't match the description. Learn more about sellers' obligations under Australian Consumer Law.

You're not allowed to include information in your listing or return policy which may mislead buyers about their rights. You must advise buyers that they may have rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

For example, saying "I only accept refunds for faulty products within 3 days" is misleading because under Australian Consumer Law, faulty goods can be returned within a reasonable period of time from purchase – and 3 days is unlikely to be reasonable.

Along with the description, photos are the most important part of a listing. Photos help buyers to see exactly what they're getting as well as specific details they may be looking for. When selling used items, photos are especially important because they let the buyer see the actual condition of the item along with other details like colour.

For more information, refer to our Picture policy.

When you place an item on sale and make a comparison between the recommended retail price or historical price of that item and its current ('sale') selling price, you are required to follow the Comparative pricing policy as well as any other applicable terms attached to the tools that you use to create a sale or promotion. Learn more about eBay Discounts Manager Terms & Conditions - opens in new window or tab.

To maintain a competitive marketplace, eBay requires that you price your items independently from other sellers. You may take into account the pricing of other sellers that you observe on the eBay site, but you may not contact another seller to coordinate pricing in any way.