Highlights

• Starting August 31, this change will apply to all eligible eBay Buyer Protection cases for transactions on eBay.com, for US & Canadian registered sellers. Cases opened prior to this date will not be affected. Cases opened on PayPal will still follow the current PayPal Buyer Protection guidelines and the policy is not being changed as part of this update.
  
  
• As always, any case that is escalated and found in your favor will not affect your performance rating.

Best Practices

• Review the message you send to your buyers in your listings and post-sale communications to reinforce your commitment to great service and ensure your buyers feel comfortable contacting you if they have an issue.
  
  
• Ship with a carrier that offers package tracking and always upload the tracking information to eBay, ideally within 24 hours of the buyer making payment. The majority of buyer issues are related to shipping, and uploading tracking information puts the answers at their fingertips. Estimated delivery information based on tracking you uploaded can prevent an item not received case from being filed.
  
  
• Print shipping labels on eBay—tracking information is uploaded automatically, and your buyer automatically receives an email that their package has shipped.
  
  
• Ship using Signature Confirmation whenever your item is over $250.
  
  
• Check your Seller Dashboard and email from eBay regularly so you’ll know right away when a case is opened and respond immediately. Provide as much detail as possible in your first response as this information will be referenced if the case is escalated.
  
  
• Keep a valid return address on file. To specify or update your return address:
  • Go to the Account tab in My eBay.
  • Click Addresses on the left side of the page.
  • For the Primary return address, click Change.
  • Click Edit address.
  • Enter your current address, and click the Ship to this address button
  
  
• Report to eBay if you suspect a buyer is taking advantage of the return policy. Use the seller reporting hub to report an unpaid item, Feedback extortion, or any other problem with a buyer. eBay investigates all reports and will remove any negative or neutral Feedback that's in violation of eBay policy.
  
  
• And of course, follow all best practices for providing great service and keep your customers happy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is changing for sellers in eBay Buyer Protection?

Starting August 31, for sellers who have a Standard, Above Standard, or eBay Top-rated rating, if a buyer doesn’t contact the seller before opening an eBay Buyer Protection case AND the seller resolves the issue promptly (the case closes prior to escalation or timing out), the case will be removed from the seller’s count of opened cases—one of the factors used to establish seller performance rating.

Why is eBay updating this portion of the eBay Buyer Protection Policy?

This update will make the resolution process fairer for sellers. Although eBay directs buyers to contact the seller as the first step in the process, buyers sometimes bypass this direction and the seller may not know there is a problem with a transaction until the eBay Buyer Protection case is filed. This change will ensure a seller’s performance standing isn’t affected as a direct result.

Does this change apply to all of my cases?

Starting August 31, this change will apply to all eligible eBay Buyer Protection cases for transactions on eBay.com. Cases opened prior to this date will not be affected. Cases opened on PayPal will still follow the current PayPal Buyer Protection guidelines and the policy is not being changed as part of this update.

When will an open case not affect my seller performance rating?

A case will not affect your seller standard rating if all of the following conditions are met:

• You have a Standard, Above Standard or eBay Top-rated seller rating
• The case closes prior to escalation or timing out
• The buyer didn’t contact you through member-to-member communication at least 2 business days before opening the case

As always, any case that is escalated and found in your favor won’t be counted against you. You can find out if an open case was removed from your seller standing by reviewing your closed case details.

Since cases won’t affect my seller performance rating when there is no record of prior communication, should I avoid communicating with my buyer in My Messages?

It is important to communicate with your buyer using My Messages. If a case is escalated to eBay Customer Support, it will be reviewed to determine what actions were taken by the buyer and seller to resolve the issue. If the buyer is in good standing and the case meets the requirements of the eBay Buyer Protection policy, the Resolution Center will review additional transaction information to determine if the case is ready for resolution. This may include a review of messages sent between the buyer and seller through My Messages.

What if a buyer contacts me in advance of filing a claim about something completely different? Will eBay read the email from the buyer and see that they didn’t mention the claim?

eBay will take the content of the message into consideration and won’t count prior communications from the buyer that are unrelated to the claim.