We investigate and try to resolve cases of inappropriate buying or selling. If you encounter something that violates our policies, we'd like to know about it.
How to know what to report
We understand that it can be difficult to know when to report a potential offense. If you see a suspicious listing or if a member's behavior appears to violate our policies, review our rules and policies and make sure the offense is something we'll investigate.
You can also look at:
If you find a listing you think violates a policy, go to that listing. Then click the Report item link on the right side of the page. We'll review your report and take appropriate action.
If you find another type of violation, you can follow the directions on the policy page that describes that policy.
Don't use the Was this page helpful? area on this page to report violations. Please use this area only to let us know how we can improve this page.
Read below to learn what we'll investigate and to see some examples of what we won't investigate.
What we'll investigate
Here's a quick overview of the types of violations we'll investigate. To see the full policy, click the link to the left of the description.
 |
Feedback violations
-
Feedback extortion: Members aren't allowed to demand goods, services, or specific Feedback by abusing the Feedback system.
-
-
-
Feedback removal: Feedback can't include profanity, abusive language, or other text that violates our policies. We may also remove Feedback in other situations.
|
 |
Buying violations
-
Buying practices: We don't allow unfair or unsafe behavior from buyers—such as making unreasonable demands of sellers, or taking advantage of our protection systems.
-
-
-
-
Unpaid items: Members must pay for items that they purchase. If you're a seller and haven't been paid for an item, follow the process for unpaid items.
-
Shill bidding: Members can't use bidding techniques to artificially increase an item's price or desirability.
|
 |
Selling violations
-
-
-
-
-
Shill bidding: Members can't use bidding techniques to artificially increase an item's price or desirability.
|
 |
Contact information and identity violations
-
Misrepresentation of identity: Members can't misrepresent themselves as other eBay members or eBay employees. While members can have multiple user IDs, those user IDs can't interact with one another. For example, members can't bid on or buy their own items or leave comments on their own Feedback Profile.
-
-
-
|
 |
Other violations
-
-
Sending spam: Members can't send unsolicited or commercial messages to other members.
-
Email threats: Members can't send threatening messages to other members.
-
-
|
Some examples of what we won't investigate
We don't investigate simple misunderstandings, members who won't communicate, and personal disputes between members. Here are some examples:
-
Someone outbid me at the last minute. Placing a high bid in the closing seconds of an auction-style listing is called "sniping" within the eBay community. Sniping is part of the eBay experience, and all bids placed before a listing ends are valid, even if they're placed one second before the listing ends. Learn how to avoid being outbid.
-
The seller refuses to answer my emails, won't acknowledge my valid payment, or has already sold the item. If you don't receive your order, go to your Purchase history in My eBay to report the problem. If your purchase is eligible for eBay Buyer Protection you can get a refund for the purchase price plus original shipping. You should also leave appropriate Feedback for the reluctant seller to warn other buyers of his or her past history.
-
The buyer insists that I ship COD, accept a third-party post-dated check, or box each item separately. Make sure you clearly state your shipping and payment terms in your listings. We encourage you to communicate with your buyer to see if you can reach a solution that you're both satisfied with.
-
-
The buyer left negative Feedback for me even after I left positive Feedback for the buyer. Per our user agreement, we won't remove these comments. eBay will only remove Feedback in certain situations.
Results of the investigation
Because we respect the privacy of our members, we can't discuss the results of an investigation in detail. However, we might contact you to tell you that an investigation is complete.
Before taking action against a member, we'll consider the circumstances of the violation and the member's buying and selling record. Our actions may include removing listings and range of other actions, including limiting buying and selling privileges and account suspension. Out of fairness to our members, if a complaint can't be proven, we won't take action.