Community content policy overview
We offer a wide variety of forums where the eBay community can provide content, including Reviews, Guides, collections, member-created products and product descriptions, comments and more. This gives you access to factual information, personal opinions, and guidance on various topics and allows you to publish your opinions and content on our site.
Community content published or edited by our members is solely the opinion and responsibility of the person posting the content. All content and behaviour in posting or receiving such content must comply with the eBay User Agreement, this policy, and other site policies. To the extent that the Community Content policy conflicts with the eBay User Agreement, you must comply with the eBay User Agreement instead of this policy.
We also have policies about posting product reviews, content on our Discussion boards and in eBay Groups.
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.
To report violations of this policy, click the Report link in the content in question (such as a review, member-created product description, or comment) or, for a collection, send an email.
Product reviews
You can write product reviews to help other users learn more about products you own or have used. When users search product reviews, the order of the automated search results are based on the relevancy of one or more of the following criteria:
- Most helpful
- Most recent
- High to low rating
- Similar item condition
- By seller
- By date
- With review content
What are the guidelines?
Restricted
- Using profanity or vulgar language in a public area of the site is not allowed. However, when reviewing a product where the title contains a profane or vulgar term (e.g., a CD with a profane term in the title), the reviewer may use the term, but only in the context of the title.
Not allowed
Here are some examples of content or actions that aren't permitted in the community content areas (Reviews, Guides, member-created products or product descriptions, and comments). These examples provide guidance for self-publishing content on our site but shouldn't be viewed as a complete list.
- Promoting or advertising to buy, sell, or trade any product or service listed or located outside of any eBay property (eBay, eBay Stores, etc.)
- Placing published content or products in the wrong category (miscategorization)
- Including feedback or comments about other users
- Including unauthorized trademarked or copyrighted content
- Using another eBay member's pictures or text without the other member's express permission
- Inaccurate or misleading comments (or other content), which are likely to misinform or deceive users.
- Using intellectual property without the property owner's express permission, when required. eBay strongly encourages members writing and publishing content to familiarize themselves with how eBay helps protect intellectual property. For more information, see How eBay protects intellectual property (VeRO)
- Posting images that depict persons without the permission of the depicted person.
- Posting videos that show people without the permission of the people shown.
- Including any advertising credit, including links, logos, or company names within published content
- Publishing more than one identical piece of content or more than one identical product at the same time and in the same context
- Encouraging, publishing, promoting, facilitating, or instructing others to engage in illegal activity or to violate eBay policy
- Enabling, encouraging, or instructing others to infringe copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights
- Promoting giveaways, lotteries, random drawings, raffles, or prizes of any kind
- Using HTML and JavaScript functions prohibited on eBay. See our JavaScript policy for a complete list
- Using keywords, random links, inaccurate titles, text, or other content not directly relevant to the subject of the community content for the purpose of gaining attention or diverting members to that content. For more information on misuse of keywords, see our search and browse manipulation policy
- Publishing content or images that are adult in nature or otherwise not appropriate for minors (individuals under 18 years of age). See our Adult items policy for clarification on what is permitted in public areas of the site
- Linking from content published on eBay to any third-party website, including those that include offers to trade, sell, or purchase goods or services off eBay is generally not permitted
- Linking to items, services, or content prohibited on eBay or to sites that offer items, services, or content prohibited on eBay
- Misrepresenting yourself as an eBay employee or as another eBay member
- Publishing content that promotes or glorifies hatred, violence, racial, or religious intolerance, or content that promotes organizations with such views.
- Using profanity or patently vulgar language in a public area of the site
- Publishing personal contact information of any person in any public area of eBay, including emails, phone numbers, name, street address, etc.
- Misusing the violation reporting function to maliciously or frivolously report content as not in compliance with eBay policy
- Artificially increasing or decreasing any community content, including ratings and reviews
Other Rules
- You must be a registered and active member of eBay to post a comment
- We may use your eBay username (ID) and profile picture, if you have one, to identify you to other users as the person who posted your content
- We may promote, demote or remove any of your content in community content areas in our sole discretion
- Users who create collections may remove any comment on their collection
- We may limit the amount of community content you post
- When a user refers in community content to an individual, or to a third party's product, service, or trademark, that does not mean eBay endorses or claims any endorsement by the individual or third party, nor does it mean we are affiliated
- You acknowledge that all posts you make are public
- While we may moderate or monitor any comment, we take no responsibility and assume no liability for any comment posted by you or a third party
Why does eBay have this policy?
eBay provides the community content areas of the site to promote community interaction by giving our members the opportunity to express their individual views and share helpful information. When publishing content, especially individual commentary or opinion, it's important for members of the community to respect each other as human beings and follow societal norms. Content that contains or promotes hate, illegal acts, violence, or racial intolerance (or organisations dedicated to such notions) has no place in the eBay community and is prohibited. In addition, posting activity that violates intellectual property rights is prohibited.