eBay's policies are rules and guidelines that help to create a safe, fair and enjoyable trading environment for all eBay members. As a buyer, you are responsible for reviewing and understanding eBay’s policies, as well as all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the User Agreement and in Rules for Buyers - Overview.

Policies and guidelines specifically related to buying an item are:

• Non-payment of an item

• Bidding policies

• Buying policies

• Reporting violations

When policy violations occur, eBay emails the bidders, as well as sellers, that a listing has been ended. Learning about eBay's policies before you buy an item will help you to avoid unintentionally breaking rules (including the law). eBay’s policies are updated to respond to marketplace, eBay Community and security issues, so it is important to check them regularly for changes.

eBay’s policies are intended to:

• Support government laws and regulations

• Minimize risks to buyers

• Provide equal opportunity to all buyers

• Protect intellectual property rights

• Provide an enjoyable buying experience

• Support the values of the eBay Community

Violations of these policies may result in a range of actions, including:

• Listing cancellation

• Limits on account privileges

• Account suspension

Non-payment of an item

Most of the items on eBay are auction-like listings and involve submitting a bid. Bidding is meant to be enjoyable, but remember that each bid you place enters you into a binding contract.

Buyers are not permitted to win items at auction or buy an item in a Buy It Now listing without paying, thus blocking legitimate buyers and disappointing sellers. To understand the penalties, please see Unpaid Item Policy.

Bidding policies

To promote a safe, fair and enjoyable trading experience, eBay has established a set of bidding standards and guidelines. The following activities are not permitted on eBay:

• Transaction interference  Contacting other buyers by email to warn them about a seller or item is not permitted. 

• Misuse of the bid retraction option  Manipulating the bidding process to discover the maximum bid of the current high bidder. 

• Shill bidding  Bidding to artificially increase an item’s price or apparent desirability.

To keep eBay a safe place for buyers, eBay limits how your bid history information is displayed. When the highest bid, reserve or Buy It Now price on an item reaches or exceeds a certain level, other members cannot view your member-specific information—such as your User ID—on the Bid History page. Your User ID is shown to the seller of this item only. Bidders are assigned anonymous names, which are used consistently throughout the bid history for an item.

Regardless of the current high bid, when the reserve or Buy It Now price is initially set at a certain level, your User ID will appear as an anonymous name throughout the duration of the auction, even if the seller lowers the price.

Notes: Anonymous names may appear more than once in the bid history and may represent different bidders from different auctions.

Buying policies

• Buyers who do not meet the seller’s terms as outlined in the item listing are not permitted to bid on or buy the item. In addition, buyers are not permitted to place bids or purchase items with the primary intent of disrupting a listing. This is known as unwelcome and malicious buying. 

• It is a violation of eBay policy for a buyer to contact a seller and offer to purchase the listed item outside of eBay.

Rules for all members

There are also rules and policies that apply to all eBay members that are part of the transaction process.

These include:

• Providing false contact information – Your identity is a building block in the eBay community. Both buyers and sellers are required to maintain accurate and up-to-date contact information to facilitate communication.  

• Feedback abuse, withdrawal and removal – Feedback is a valuable indicator of a buyer’s or seller’s reputation on eBay. Your reputation as a buyer is established by the score and comments from your trading partners. Learn more about Feedback Policies.

To know about other rules that apply to all members, see Rules for Everyone Overview.

Reporting violations

eBay monitors listings, including reviewing reports of policy violations from its members. To report violations, locate the policy that is being violated, review it, and report the violation using the links provided on the appropriate policy page. You can also click Help at the top of any eBay page and then click the "Contact Us" link on the left side of the page.

Make sure to include the appropriate information, including any relevant emails, with full descriptions in the subject line and complete email headers. Your participation and vigilance as part of the eBay Community is invaluable in helping eBay to help you to be a successful buyer.