If you have paid for an item, but didn’t receive it, or if you paid for and received an item, but it was significantly different from the item description, you should communicate directly with your seller to find a solution. Most problems can be solved by direct communication between buyers and sellers (see tips for communicating with your trading partner). Our User Agreement states that sellers must deliver the items that buyers purchase from them.

If you have tried to contact the seller by email but haven’t received a response, you can also request the seller’s contact information and call.

How to communicate with the seller

To help you to communicate with the seller, we have developed the dispute console. This online communication tool helps you track, discuss, and resolve a problem as quickly as possible. All information posted in this tool is accessible anytime by you, the seller and eBay Customer Support. Learn more about reporting and tracking disputes.

If the dispute can’t be resolved, you can report the seller to our Trust and Safety team. Our Trust and Safety team may take appropriate actions if they find the seller has violated our Seller Non-Performance policy.

How to report and resolve a problem

Step 1: The buyer opens a dispute

To report a problem with an item that was not received or significantly not as described, go to eBay’s dispute console. The problem needs to be reported between 10 and 60 days after the purchase date.

When you report an item, you indicate whether you haven’t received the item or whether you have received it, but it was significantly different from the item description.

• Report a problem with an item

• View your open disputes in the dispute console overview

Note: Your eligibility for reimbursement through our buyer protection programs is determined by the payment method that you’ve used and the eBay country site where you have purchased the item.

If you’ve paid with PayPal, you are covered by PayPal Buyer Protection and will be redirected to the PayPal Web site to report your problem.

You can only report a problem on the specific eBay country site where you’ve purchased the item. Learn more about buyer protection on eBay.

If you bought the item as a guest, you will need to register to open a dispute.

Step 2: eBay contacts the seller

After you’ve reported your problem on the dispute console, we contact the seller, informing them that you’ve reported a problem with an item and encourage them to communicate with you within the next 10 days.

Most of the time, this direct communication resolves the dispute before you have to take further steps.

Step 3: The seller responds

If the seller responds, you’ll be notified by email. The seller has the following response options:

• I'd like to communicate with the buyer to resolve this dispute. The seller can then post a message for you to review.

For a dispute with an item not received, the seller can also respond:

• I haven't received payment or the payment has not yet cleared.

• I already shipped the item. If the item has already been shipped, the seller may provide shipping details for you to review.

• I'd like to offer the buyer a full refund. The seller can offer to return your payment.

For a dispute with an item significantly not as described, the seller can also respond:

• I'd like to offer the buyer a full refund. The seller can offer to return your payment.

Step 4: The buyer and seller communicate

After the seller has responded, you can communicate with him or her directly through the dispute console to resolve the problem.

All information posted in this tool will be accessible anytime by you, the seller, and eBay Customer Support.

Step 5: The dispute is closed

You have two options to close the dispute:

• My concerns have been resolved – I want to close the dispute.

Choose this option if your issues haven been completely resolved. For example, make sure that you have received the item and it is exactly as described, or that you have received a refund. A closed dispute can't be re-opened and you can't file another dispute for this purchase.

• My concerns haven't been resolved – I want to report this seller to the eBay Trust and Safety team.

When you select this option, our Trust and Safety team is immediately alerted about the problem and may take appropriate actions if they find the seller has violated our Seller Non-Performance policy. Actions may include restrictions or suspension of the seller's account.

Timeline: The buyer can close the dispute at any time if the issue is resolved. The buyer can report the seller if the seller does not respond within 10 days, or anytime after the seller responds.

A dispute can only be open for 90 days after the purchase date. If you don't close the dispute within 90 days, it will be automatically closed. When a dispute is automatically closed, the seller is not reported to eBay's Trust and Safety team.

Leaving Feedback

After you file a dispute, we encourage you to leave Feedback for the transaction. Please be honest, fair, and factual. This will help make other members aware of your experience and help keep eBay a safe place to buy and sell.

The Feedback Score of buyers and sellers who were involved in a dispute reported through our dispute console is not automatically affected.