📋Unsere Community-Netiquette📋
Summary: The eBay Community plays a central role as a platform for exchange between sellers and buyers. It emphasizes how important respectful interaction, following the guidelines, and providing accurate information are. Members are encouraged to express informed opinions and create helpful posts, while inappropriate content and behavior are not tolerated. In the event of violations of the community guidelines, eBay may remove content or restrict access. The Community is also meant to serve as a space for personal interests and successes in order to strengthen the connection between members.
The eBay Community gives eBay sellers and their buyers the opportunity to connect with one another. eBay employees also occasionally take part in discussions. But it is the eBay users who are at the center of the eBay Community and who continue to build it out. These Community Guidelines form the foundation for an open, helpful, and respectful environment for all users.
We expect all users to follow these guidelines when they are active in the Community, and to also comply with the eBay User Agreement and the eBay Privacy Policy.
Be respectful.
Respect is the cornerstone of a strong community. All members should feel welcome, no matter who they are or where they come from. Be kind and helpful if you are an experienced member. If you're new to eBay, take some time to learn from experienced sellers and buyers.
Express yourself appropriately.
The eBay Community is open to all members, and we expect our users to help protect the eBay Community as a safe place for everyone. Your posts should be respectful and appropriate for all age groups.
Be accurate.
A vibrant community offers trustworthy content in honest posts. The information in your posts should be as accurate and correct as possible.
Be open and share your opinion.
Well-founded opinions and different points of view are welcome in the Community and can be discussed and debated in an open, calm, and reasonable way. Even on the same topic, there may be different viewpoints, and both can be valid. Stay open to other opinions, as there are many ways to sell and buy successfully on eBay.
Post meaningful content.
Please use search to check whether your question may already have been answered. If you can't find the content you're looking for, please post your question in the forum that fits the topic. If you agree with a post, you can also use the “Helpful” button at the bottom of each article to show your appreciation and agreement. Use the “Accept as solution” option if you have received an answer from someone else that you find helpful.
Get the help you need.
Turn to the Community for recommendations for tools for your business, to find items you want to buy, or to get feedback on your items or listings, or to give other users examples. We know that Community members are often happy to respond helpfully to this kind of question with tips on listings, products, or services.
Follow this important guideline for polite and focused Community interaction:
Please make sure that your posts and comments are relevant to the current discussion. Staying on topic helps keep the Community focused and engaged. Please also avoid publicly making assumptions or accusations about specific sellers, such as claiming that someone is conducting commercial trading through a private account. In the case of unfounded accusations, such behavior may violate the rights of those affected. If you believe that certain sellers or eBay accounts are violating legal regulations, the eBay Terms and Conditions, or eBay policies, you can of course report this to us through the usual channels. Let's create a respectful and constructive community for everyone, one that is fun to spend time in and take part in.**
Share, discuss … and have fun!
Buying and selling on eBay is certainly not your only passion. Describe your hobby or vent about something that has been bothering you for a long time. Celebrate your latest bargain or share a photo of items you haven’t listed yet. The Community is happy about your latest personal triumph, shows sympathy when you need support, or would like to see (in the appropriate forum) the fantastic meal you cooked. Our Community is meant to connect people with one another. The better we know each other, the more successful our businesses are.
Prohibited content and actions
Inappropriate content or content that violates these Community Guidelines or the eBay User Agreement may not be posted. You agree not to post any content or actions of the following kind:
adult-only, pornographic, violent, or age-restricted content
prohibited language or threats, as described in the Threats and Abuse policy
dishonest, unfounded, or misleading information
identical or repeated content, especially in forum posts and replies
calls for petitions, boycotts, lawsuits, or other calls to activism in posts or private messages, or attempts to divert traffic away from eBay
advertising listings, products, or services in order to make sales, or otherwise using the Community as a marketing platform. Also see the following eBay policies:
advertising websites, groups, or forums outside of eBay or suggestions encouraging users to leave eBay Update 01/05/2024 (this also includes statements such as, for example, "I wouldn't sell here anymore", "I can only recommend trying it on another marketplace" - list is not exhaustive)
reposting content that has been edited or removed by the employees responsible for the eBay Community
content about moderation warnings or consequences
content about listings or the usernames of other users in order to damage their reputation ("Naming & Shaming"), or other calls to action to the Community. NOTE: It is okay to comment respectfully on items or listings where sellers ask for feedback.
content that violates the Policy on sharing contact information
content that encourages others to violate the eBay User Agreement, the Listing policies, the Policy on professional selling on eBay or other policies
copyrighted content used without the permission of the rights holder. Also see the following eBay policy:
manipulation of the “Helpful” option by overusing it or using multiple accounts to give “Helpful” ratings to yourself or others, and unjustified marking of other users' posts as “Helpful” in order to move them up in the rankings
Update 02/16/2023circumventing terms not allowed in the Community by using paraphrases or special characters.
Reporting prohibited content
If you see posts that harm the Community and violate the Community Guidelines, do not contact the person involved in these situations. Instead, use the options we provide for your safety. Report inappropriate behavior by clicking on
and then on
below each post. This will notify our moderation team, which can review the issue and take appropriate action. Of course, your report will be treated confidentially. ***
Please report a post only once.
Consequences and considerations
If posts go off topic, conversations get heated, or users violate these guidelines, the eBay Community team may, at its own discretion, move content and provide public reminders or send private warning messages.
Posts or content with violations may be edited or removed. eBay reserves the right to restrict or suspend users' access to the Community for violations of the Community Guidelines.
Third parties and press
Representatives of third parties who want to post in the Community must obtain approval in advance.
Journalists seeking official comments or wishing to contact eBay users directly must contact eBay via the email address press@ebay.com and obtain permission to post.
This ensures that the eBay Community is informed when someone is posting as a non-buyer or non-seller for professional reasons.
Get familiar with how the eBay Community works.
By reading these guidelines, you have already taken an important first step. If you're just starting out on eBay as a seller, use the search function "Search all content" at the top of each Community page to find out how other sellers have approached things. Please also watch our videos about the eBay Community and read the general information about selling in the Seller Portal.
Thank you for being part of the eBay Community and for following these guidelines.
*07/07/2024 the word "new" removed from the title
**Added 05/14/2025
*** Adapted to the new UI on 07/22/2026
