Listing and selling allowances for eBay sellers

	Account-based selling allowances Category-based listing allowances Item-based listing allowances Increasing your listing or selling allowances

eBay is committed to ensuring a safe and trusted marketplace for all buyers and sellers. This includes ensuring new sellers have the support they need to complete a sale successfully and to ensure a positive experience for both the new seller and their buyer. As such, many sellers will have listing or selling allowances placed on their accounts, or in particular categories or items, until they confirm key personal information or establish a positive selling history.

We have 3 types of allowances and all may apply depending on the seller:

• Account-based selling allowances

• Category-based listing allowances

• Item-based listing allowances

Read below to find out how these allowances are applied, how to increase your allowances and how to improve your selling performance.

Other limits may apply to your account. Also, keep in mind that registering new accounts or buying and selling with other existing accounts to avoid buying and selling allowances or other policy consequences is a breach of eBay policy. Learn more about the proper use of multiple accounts

Note:

• Selling allowances also apply if you have an eBay Shop.

• If you're new to selling on eBay and a private seller, to help you stay within your selling allowances, you won't be able to use bulk listing/editing tools until 90 days have passed after your first sale and you've received at least 10 positive Feedback ratings as a seller.

Account-based selling allowances

Account-based allowances allow us to review account activity and confirm key personal information from the seller. These allowances may vary between sellers and may be increased based on your overall selling activity.

You will see your category and item limits when you list using the Sell Your Item form.

Account-based allowances don't apply to the following categories:

• Business, Office & Industrial

• Cars, Motorcycles & Vehicles (except for Parts & Accessories)

• Property

How account-based allowances work

You have an allowance on the number of sold items and active items for sale, and a maximum on gross merchandise volume. If an item sells, it will count toward your allowance. Although, if a listing ends without being sold, it won't count towards your allowance.

In the example below, notice that you can still sell on each occasion when your listing ends. However, the number of active listings you can have on the eBay site reduces directly in proportion to the number of items you sold in that month.

Example

1. Let's assume you have a monthly selling allowance of 10 items.

2. In your first week, you list 10 items. Out of the 10 listed items, you sell 2 items.

3. The next time you list, you will be able to list 8 items. If you sell 6 out of the 8 listed items, you will be able to list 2 more items.

4. If you sell both items, you have reached your selling allowance for the month and you won't be able to sell any more.

You may be able to request a higher allowance on your account by confirming your information, linking your new account to an established account, or contacting us. When you reach your selling allowance, you'll be given the option to request an increase. We may also evaluate your selling activity on a monthly basis and, if you qualify, increase your selling allowance.

Important: If you exceed the maximum amount you can list in a month, reduce the number of active listings you have on eBay to bring the number within your limit. We may end any listings that place you over your current limit. Good 'Til Cancelled listings count toward your selling limits, and won't renew automatically if you've reached the maximum amount that you can list.

How to find information about your allowance

Alternatively, in Seller Hub, you can see your account limits in the Overview section.

The Monthly selling allowances section shows your current selling activity relative to your monthly allowance. You'll see a red alert once you've reached your allowance, and you won't be able to sell more items in that month. You'll also have the option of requesting a higher selling allowance.

To ensure you keep improving as a seller, you should also review the seller performance standards. If you fall below the minimum performance standard, additional restrictions may be placed on your account and this will appear in your Seller Dashboard.

As you list using the Sell Your Item form, messages relating to category-based or item-based listing allowances may appear.

Category-based listing allowances 

How category-based allowances work

In some categories, for certain types of sellers, you may notice a limit on the number of items you can list in a calendar month. Listing allowances could apply to your account if:

• It's been less than 90 days since your first successful sale as an eBay seller.

• You haven't sold multiple items in this category before.

• You haven't sold in this category in over a year.

• Cases have been opened against you for more than 3% of your total transactions in the last year.

Before your category-based allowance is increased, you'll need to establish a positive selling history in the category you're listing in and show that you're able to meet the needs of your customers. You should also ensure you're complying with our selling practices policy.

Starting out small helps you to become familiar with eBay. It'll also give you confidence in completing a sale successfully and ensure a positive experience for both you and your buyer.

Within these categories, there are also restrictions to the number of items you may list.

Important: Listing items in the wrong category in an attempt to avoid these limits is a breach of our search and browse manipulation policy.

Please ensure your listing follows these guidelines. If it doesn't, it may be removed, and you may be subject to a range of other actions, including limits of your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account.

Item-based listing allowances

For a safer buying and selling experience on eBay, some items may be subject to additional restrictions. For example, we don't allow listings for counterfeit items, fakes, replicas, or unauthorised copies. Such items may infringe on someone else's copyright or trademark and are harmful to legitimate sellers, buyers, and eBay.

Some of these restrictions may be lifted if you establish a good selling history, but others will always remain in place. Sellers who have good detailed seller ratings and are confident in the authenticity and origin of their items may be eligible to have the listing allowance increased.

Note: These are item-based allowances, and are in addition to account-based selling allowances or category-based listing allowances.

Increasing your listing or selling allowances

When you list an item, you may see a message letting you know that you have met, or are close to, one of your monthly account allowances. If you can't wait until the next month to continue listing, you can click the link in the message to request higher selling allowances. Some sellers may also find this link in the All selling section of My eBay in the Monthly allowances section or in Seller Hub > Overview.

From time to time, we ask members to verify contact information and business practices before they're allowed to list more items on our website. We also sometimes ask members to confirm some information.

We may send you an email with more information on what you need to do next. You can find the email in the Messages section of My eBay or in Seller Hub. Once we can verify your information, we'll review your account to see if we can allow you to list more items.

If you already have an established seller account

You may be able to increase the allowances on your account if you have another, more established seller account on eBay. Your other account needs to meet all of these conditions:

1. It's been 90 days since you received your first Feedback for a successful sale.

2. You don't have any unresolved cases.

3. Your detailed seller ratings are at least 4.8 in all areas.

If your account meets all of these conditions, follow the instructions on the Request higher selling allowances page to confirm that you already have an established seller account.

If you have a history of selling authentic items

Sellers who have been a seller for at least 90 days with good detailed seller ratings and are confident in the authenticity and origin of their items may be eligible to have their listing allowance increased. We'll consider the following when we determine whether to change selling limits:

• Positive buyer Feedback

• No unresolved cases with buyers

• Selling history (minimum 3 months) and activity as a seller on the site

• Absence of Feedback questioning the authenticity of the item(s)

• PayPal verification

• History of following eBay policies

• General good standing of the account

If your account meets the above factors, contact us and we'll be happy to review your account.

If you don't qualify to have these allowances increased at this time, check again in 30 days. You may be able to list more items in this category or type at that time. These listing allowances only apply to certain categories or types of items, and you can usually continue to list other types of items as long as they also follow our policies. Find out more about our rules for sellers

Learn more about our replicas, counterfeit, and unauthorised copies policy