1 min article

Contacting a seller

How you contact a seller on eBay depends on whether you've already bought an item from them or not.

You’ll find answers to most questions you have about an item on the listing, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, sellers are usually happy to help if you contact them.

Contacting a seller you’ve already purchased from

If you've already bought an item from a seller, you can contact them using the button below.

Contact seller

You can also contact the seller through your Purchase history - opens in new window or tab by selecting Contact seller next to the item.

Contacting a seller before you buy an item

Not all sellers accept questions before you buy an item. If the seller accepts questions, you'll see Contact seller in the Seller Information section of the listing. You may also see the seller's typical response time - EG "Responds within 12 hours".

Here's how to get in touch with a seller who accepts questions:

  1. Go to the Seller Information section at the top of the listing and select Contact Seller.
  2. Choose the topic that best matches your question on the Find answers page.
  3. If you can't find a solution to your question, select Other, then select Contact the seller.
  4. Type your question for the seller.
  5. Select Send a copy to my email address if you'd like to receive a copy of the message.
  6. Select Send message.

Tip
Make sure your contact information is up to date so that sellers are able to get in touch after a purchase. You can find out how to update your details in our Changing your contact details article.

Finding your seller's phone number

You can find a seller's phone number in the following places on eBay, if they've opted to share their number:

  • When you select Contact seller and then Other on the Find answers page, you'll see an option to view the seller's phone number
  • If you continue to the contact form from the Find answers page, you'll see an option to view the seller's phone number at the bottom of the page
  • If you respond to an email from a seller who has shared their number, you'll see an option to view the seller's phone number at the bottom of the page

Completing a purchase outside of eBay

One of our top priorities is protecting our members, so we don't allow contact information to be used to complete sales off our site. When this happens, it poses a risk of fraud, and buyers and sellers aren’t covered by our protection programs if something goes wrong. If a seller asks you to complete a transaction outside of eBay, please let us know.

Read our policies on False or missing contact information and Offers to buy and sell outside of eBay for more information.

Help us get better

Related help topics