5 min article

Member-to-member contact policy

To keep the eBay marketplace functioning effectively, we know it is important for members to be able to communicate easily with each other.

However, to keep everyone in our community safe we have guidelines and policies that cover how you communicate.

We don't allow our members to:

  • Make offers to buy and sell outside of eBay
  • Send spam
  • Threaten others, or use profanity or hate speech
  • Exchange any personal information (except names), including email addresses, phone numbers, payment information, social media links or accounts, or other contact information
  • Send viruses, malicious code, or software through our messaging service

This applies to all messages sent on the eBay platform, including My Messages and Best Offer, and all types of content posted on eBay by users, including listings, feedback, and reviews. To find out more about our policies related to member-to-member communications, please read our full policy guidelines below.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Does eBay monitor and store members' messages?

We may monitor messages (together with any attachments) sent between members for fraud, abuse, spam, illegal content, and other policy violations. We keep a copy of all communications which can be used to help in these circumstances.

While we understand members may wish to keep communications private, if you contact members through channels other than eBay, we can't help if problems arise.

Does eBay share personal email addresses?

In the majority of cases, we don't share buyers' personal email addresses. We replace email addresses with aliases for buyers and sellers to hide personal contact information. When you communicate, your email appears like 63ae59ac280fe0fa69@members.ebay.com and is sent through our secure platform.

What can I do about a member who's threatening me?

If you ever receive a threat, report it to us immediately.

We'll look into it and determine what action is needed, which could include suspending the member's account. You should also report threats to local law enforcement.

A member left feedback which I don't think is accurate or fair. Can I have it removed?

On request, we may remove some kinds of feedback – if it contains hate speech or profanities, for example. However, while we discourage rude and accusatory comments, we don't remove them if they're related to a specific transaction.

We would recommend getting in touch with the member and asking them to revise their feedback. Read our article on viewing, responding, and changing feedback.

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