Your Questions About Selling on eBay Express

Update! Our sellers told us they wanted their items to get the maximum exposure on eBay and eBay Express.

We heard you, and we’re happy to announce that sellers who meet eBay Express requirements can now show their Half.com listings to eBay Express shoppers. Learn more about selling Half.com inventory on eBay Express.

As always, get in touch with us with your comments and questions:

Need to know more about selling on eBay Express? Read on!

How does Auction-style with Buy It Now format work?

Here's what it means to you:

What's in it for me as an eBay seller?

It’s our job to help you grow your business. We talked to thousands of shoppers to figure out how and when they want to be bid on auctions and when they just want to shop. We found that when many customers are shopping, they want:

eBay Express is designed from the inside out to satisfy these shoppers and streamline their access to your products.

For sellers, eBay Express offers:

Why a separate shopping site?

Two reasons. We know there is a large segment of eBay buyers who may only buy on eBay for certain purposes or for certain types of products. You know from your sales that the Marketplace is a great place to buy all kinds of items!

We also heard that shoppers who are accustomed to conventional e-commerce experiences don’t think of eBay as a shopping destination. We want every online shopper to know it, and we think eBay Express is the way to do it.

Will eBay Express have only new products?

When shoppers search eBay Express, the search results will return new products as the default view. Other condition products such as used and refurbished are available too, one click away. To display search results correctly, sellers need to fill in the item condition field (e.g., New, Used, Refurbished) in Item Specifics. For additional listing criteria, see the Selling Checklist.

Can a shopper “hold” eBay Express items?

Until a shopper completes checkout and payment, the item is available for anyone to buy. So even if your item gets put in a shopping cart, it still appears as an available item on both eBay Express and eBay.com.

Likewise, if a shopper puts an item in a shopping cart but waits to check out and another buyer swoops in and buys it on either site, the item is gone. Think of it the same way a buyer isn’t able to hold items from other buyers if they put it in My eBay.

How do payments work?

Paying is made easy on eBay Express. Shoppers can pay for everything they purchase from multiple merchants—including shipping— in a single, secure payment using PayPal or credit card. Both methods are processed by PayPal and PayPal pays you—so you get paid fast, without the risk of Unpaid Items.

So if the shopper pays only once, how can you tell what merchants get paid?

PayPal processes all payments on the backend so that each item shows up as a separate charge in their PayPal account or on their credit card statement. If a shopper buys multiple items from one seller, it shows up as a single purchase.

Do I need to list inventory twice to sell on eBay Express?

As an eBay seller, your qualified Store Inventory and Fixed Price listings automatically appear on both eBay.com and eBay Express unless you choose to opt out. You don't need to list your inventory twice, or change the way your sell.

How do I opt-out from eBay Express?

Your qualified eBay listings are automatically submitted for eBay Express consideration unless you choose to opt out. You can opt-out by updating your selling preferences in My eBay. If a seller opts out of eBay Express it can take up to 24 hrs for their listings to be removed from eBay Express.

How long does it take changes to seller eligibility status to go into effect?

eBay Express checks seller accounts on a weekly basis to determine whether or not a seller account is eligible. Once a seller has become eligible to have their listings shown on eBay Express (for example, their feedback level reaches 100 total points and 98% positive feedback) it can take up to a week for qualified active listings to appear within eBay Express. If a seller who has previously opted out of eBay Express changes their preferences to opt into eBay Express, any new Listings will be shown within eBay Express as soon as they are shown on eBay.com. However, existing active listings may take up to two weeks to appear on eBay Express.

Are there any differences between selling on eBay Express versus eBay.com?

Selling on eBay Express is the same as selling on eBay—an eBay Express listing is also an eBay.com listing. The same selling policies, seller protection, feedback and qualification for PowerSeller status on eBay apply to eBay Express.

The one exception is that payments are made at the point of purchase, so sellers will not experience unpaid items on eBay Express. With unpaid items being resolved, certain eBay bidder requirements are no longer applicable on eBay Express. eBay Express listings and transactions are not marked as eBay Express. They appear as regular eBay.com listings and transactions in My eBay, Sales Reports, or site emails.

Why is eBay Express US only?

At this time, eBay Express includes listings from U.S. registered sellers and Canadian registered sellers shipping from the U.S., and supports only shipments to U.S. addresses. We will be evaluating opportunities for cross-border trade in the months ahead.

Do I have to use a gallery photo for my listing to qualify?

No. You do have to provide a picture for you listing meet the listing criteria, but it does not have to be a gallery photo. This can be any type of picture as long as it is hosted by eBay Picture Services OR if you’re using another photo hosting, you must specify the Picture Web address of the photo during the listing form. We are working on an enhancement which will simplify this for sellers using photo hosting other than eBay Picture Services.

What's the best way to fill in or edit Item Condition in Item Specifics?

We've made it easy for you to prepare listings so they'll be available on eBay Express. Specifying item condition via Item Specifics (using the pre-defined values) on a listing is one of the requirements. We've updated the bulk edit functionality within My eBay and Selling Manager so you can add or edit the Item Condition in Item Specifics for up to 25 listings at one time.

If a category does not have Item Condition will it be included in eBay Express?

There are categories where traditional item condition values like New, Used or Refurbished are not applicable, such as those with items like tickets and Vintage Fishing Reels. Some portions of categories without item condition will be included in eBay Express because the condition of the product is easily understood by looking at item titles. The rest of the categories that do not have item condition are not included in eBay Express at this time. See the complete list.

Why is shipping to unconfirmed addresses required? What about Seller Protection?

Buyers used to the typical e-commerce experience often have purchases shipped to more than one address, for example, to a work address or gift recipient address. Shipping addresses that are not the buyer's billing address are typically unconfirmed addresses.

As eBay Express is designed to attract buyers looking for a more conventional e-commerce experience, we allow buyers to have their purchases shipped to unconfirmed addresses.

PayPal Seller Protection continues to cover all eBay Express transactions that meet the program requirements. It is true that shipping to an unconfirmed address will disqualify the transaction from PayPal's Seller Protection; however PayPal will make best efforts to fight chargebacks even if the payment is not indemnified by the Seller Protection Program. We recommend that sellers evaluate the potential increase in sales from selling to more buyers against the risk of losing PayPal Seller Protection for some of those sales.

Tools to manage risks:

How does the eBay Express finding experience differ from eBay.com?

eBay Express has a new search experience that is different from eBay.com.

This new search experience was piloted last summer as "Testing a new way to Shop" and we incorporated the Community's feedback into the eBay Express finding experience.

What about Buy it Now?

No worries – it’s still there! All Buy It Now listings will still be shown on eBay.com and qualified Buy It Now and Stores Inventory Format Listings will also be shown on eBay Express. Members who love using eBay.com can buy just as they always have.

Sellers who meet eBay Express requirements can list qualified items in Auction-style with Buy It Now format.

Does Best Offer work with eBay Express?

No. eBay Express is designed for very quick, convenient shopping. Best Offer is a great way to reach a price the buyer and seller can agree on… but that can take time. Keeping it on eBay.com gives trading partners the time to negotiate back and forth.

Will my feedback carry over to eBay Express and vice versa?

Yes. Your eBay feedback will carry over to eBay Express. Likewise, your eBay Express feedback will carry over to eBay.

Can eBay Gift Certificates be used for purchases on eBay Express?

No. eBay Gift Certificates are not redeemable for eBay Express purchases.

Can eBay Coupons be applied to purchases on eBay Express?

No. eBay Coupons are not redeemable for eBay Express purchases.

How long is the preview period?

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be enhancing and refining the site as we learn more about visitors’ experiences and collect feedback.

Download advanced selling tips!

As our most experienced sellers, your opinions are especially important. Please explore the site, do some shopping, and use the survey link on the bottom of any eBay Express page to tell us what you think.

Visit eBay Express Customer Service to find quick answers to most questions.