Rules

Rules about bidding and paying

* You can’t bid for an item, or use eBay at all, if you have false contact information on your account.

Buyers and sellers need to be able to get in touch with each other, and we need to be able to get in touch with them.

* You must pay for any item you buy.

Many of the items on eBay are sold in an auction-style format where you can make bids. Bidding is a lot of fun, but remember that each bid you make is a binding contract to buy the item if you win. The same is true for Buy It Now purchases. Not paying for an item after you have agreed to buy it has some negative consequences, which are explained in our unpaid item policy.

* You can only bid if you really intend to buy the item, even if you’re making a non-binding bid.

Non-binding bids can only be made on certain items, like real estate and vehicles, but they still mean that you are seriously interested in buying the item. The bottom line is, don’t place any bid unless you mean it.

* You can't bid on your own item, obviously. But we have to mention it.

We call this shill bidding and it not only violates eBay policies, it’s against the law in many places.

* Be careful about bidding on a bunch of similar items if you only want one.

If you are the winning bidder of more than one listing, you're required to purchase all the items, even if they’re the same or similar.

* You can only retract a bid under very specific circumstances.

For example, if you meant to bid $10 but bid $100 instead, you can retract the bid. Even then, you're required to immediately bid the amount you intended. Never use bid retraction to manipulate the bidding process. It’s unfair, and it has serious consequences.

* Make sure you read the item description before you bid.

Many of the problems buyers and sellers encounter start with a simple misunderstanding about what is for sale and the terms of the sale. For example, some sellers only want to sell to bidders who live in a certain country, or who will pay using PayPal. You should only bid on or buy an item if meet the seller’s requirements. These are described in the item listing. If you bid on an item and you don’t meet the seller’s qualifications, we consider that unwelcome and malicious buying.

* If you know the seller, you can’t bid on the item. But if the seller offers Buy It Now, you can use that to buy the item.

This rule applies to family, friends, co-workers, roommates, and anyone who might know something about the item that most buyers don’t.

Note: You have to actually want the item you're buying. Buying items from someone just to increase their Feedback or improve their search standing is called shill buying and it's against our policies.

* You can’t offer to buy items you found on eBay without using eBay.

Items bought outside of eBay aren’t covered by our policies, and you aren’t protected against fraud. Sellers have to follow the same rule, and if a seller offers to sell you something outside of eBay, don’t take the offer. For more info, see our rules for everyone.

* If you're buying an item from a seller in another country, you can't ask a seller to mark on the customs declaration that the item is a gift. That's not just against our policies, it's illegal.