Before selling on eBay, it is best to learn about eBay's policies to avoid unintentionally breaking the rules and risk account suspension or restriction. Since laws and regulations are different from country to country, sellers need to pay attention to the differences in eBay policies applicable to the sites they are selling on.

The 5 eBay rules with the most violations:

• Shill Bidding

  Shill bidding is bidding that artificially increases an item’s price or desirability. It’s also bidding by the people the seller knows—including family members, roommates, or employee—who could have certain information about the item that other members aren’t aware of. To make sure no one gets an unfair advantage, we don’t allow shill bidding on eBay.。

• Excessive Shipping Charge

  Actual costs of shipping the items may be charged. A handling fee in addition to actual shipping cost may be charged if it is not excessive. Sellers who want to be sure they are in compliance with this policy may charge actual shipping costs plus actual packaging materials cost.

• Keyword Spamming

  Keyword spamming is when people use words or details (such as brands, item condition, model names, pop culture terms, product names, style, and type) that have nothing to do with their items so that their listings will show up in search results. Since this clutters eBay and makes buying and selling more difficult, we don't allow keyword spamming.

  Here are some examples:

  • If you're selling a shirt, the title can't say "Nike shirt size M – shoes, hat, shorts".
  • If you're selling a synthetic stone such as a cubic zirconia (CZ), the title can't include the word "diamond".
  • If you're selling an MP3 player, the listing description can't have keywords like "purse, shoes, baseball hat, DVD, toys, cell phone, etc."

  Calling out similarities—for example, when selling a DVD, don't talk about Blu-ray discs.

  • Comparisons between products aren't allowed. For example, you can't say things like "shirt not pants" or "video not Nano."
  • Descriptions that promote items in other listings. For example, a listing for shoes can't say things like, "Check out my other listings for hats, shirts, pants, coats, gloves, and underwear."
  • Hiding unrelated keywords in a listing by using white-on-white text, tiny fonts, or HTML or JavaScript code.
  • Words with question marks (such as "carved wood dresser – antique?"). If you're not sure about a detail, don't call it out at all because doing so can be misleading.
  • Dropdown boxes in listings as these words interfere with search results. Alternatively, you can include dropdown boxes on your About Me pages.
  • Describing items that are used as "Like New" or "As New" in the title because using such terms can affect the search results for buyers looking for new items. If you want to make it clear in the listing title that your item is in excellent condition, you can use alternative wording such as "mint condition".
• Violation of Intellectual Property Rights

  eBay is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of third parties and to providing its users with a safe place to trade. eBay created the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program so that intellectual property owners could easily report listings that infringe their rights. It is in eBay’s interest to ensure that infringing items are removed from the site, as they erode buyer and seller trust.

• Feedback Manipulation
  • • Exchanging Feedback for the sole purpose of increasing your Feedback score, getting website privileges, or enhancing your reputation
  • Including the word “Feedback” or any reference to eBay Feedback in a listing title (except when that word is used to describe the item for sale)
  • Manipulating another member’s detailed seller ratings (DSRs) through a combination of repeat purchases and low DSRs to reduce another user’s Feedback scores, or showing a pattern of leaving positive Feedback with consistently low DSRs
  • Offering to pay members for their user ID
  • Offering to sell, buy, barter, or give away Feedback
  • Taking actions or using tools to figure out the detailed seller ratings that a buyer left for a specific transaction (DSRs are meant to be anonymous)
  • Working with other members or registering multiple accounts to artificially increase your Feedback score

eBay Policies of various sites：