📋Unsere Community-Netiquette📋
Summary: The eBay Community Guidelines provide users with a basis for respectful and helpful interaction. They emphasize respect, compliance with the eBay Terms and Conditions, as well as appropriate and accurate contributions. Openness to different opinions and posting helpful content are encouraged. The guidelines prohibit inappropriate, defamatory, or misleading content and stress that violations will be moderated and, if necessary, sanctioned. In addition, there are special rules for third-party providers and journalists.
The eBay Community offers eBay sellers and their buyers the opportunity to connect with one another. eBay employees also occasionally take part in discussions. But it is eBay users who are at the heart of the eBay Community and keep building 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 Notice.
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 friendly and helpful if you're 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 protect the eBay Community as a safe place for everyone. Your posts should be respectful and appropriate for all ages.
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 too.
Reasoned opinions and different viewpoints are welcome in the Community and can be discussed and debated in an open, calm, and sensible way. Even on the same issue, there can be different viewpoints, and both can be valid. Stay open to other opinions, because there are many ways to sell and buy successfully on eBay.
Post meaningful contributions.
Please use search to see 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 matches 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 when you've 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 happy to respond helpfully to this kind of question with tips about offers, products, or services.
Follow this important guide 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 making public assumptions or accusations about specific sellers, such as claiming that someone is conducting commercial trade through a private account. In the case of unfounded accusations, such behavior may, if applicable, violate the rights of those affected. If you believe that certain sellers or eBay accounts are violating legal requirements, 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's fun to be in and participate in.**
Share, discuss … and have fun!
Buying and selling on eBay is definitely not your only passion. Describe your hobby or complain about something that's been annoying you for a long time. Celebrate your latest bargain or share a photo of your items that aren't listed yet. The Community is happy about your latest personal triumph, shows sympathy when you need support, or wants 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 business will be.
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 content or actions of the following kinds:
adult-only, pornographic, violent, or not safe for minors content
profanity or threats, as described in the Threats and Abuse Policy
dishonest, baseless, 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 offers, 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 to damage their reputation ("Naming & Shaming"), or other calls to action to the Community. NOTE: It is okay to respectfully comment on items or listings for which sellers are asking 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 permission from the rights holder. Also see the following eBay policy:
manipulating the "Helpful" option by using it excessively or using multiple accounts to give "Helpful" ratings to yourself or others, and marking other users' posts as "Helpful" without justification in order to move them up in the ranking
Update 02/16/2023circumventing terms that are 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 in question 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 so they 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 discretion, move content and provide public reminders or send private messages with warnings.
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-party providers who want to post in the Community must first obtain permission.
Journalists seeking official comments or wishing to contact eBay users directly must contact eBay at the email address press@ebay.com and obtain posting authorization.
This ensures that the eBay Community is informed when someone is posting not as a buyer or seller, but for professional reasons.
Familiarize yourself with how the eBay Community works.
By reading these guidelines, you've already taken an important first step. If you're just getting started on eBay as a seller, use the search function "Search all content" at the top of each Community page to see how other sellers have approached things. Please take a look at our videos about the eBay Community and read the general information on selling in the Seller Hub.
Thank you for being part of the eBay Community and 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
