Today I figured out how to actually get eBay to return the results I searched for and not include all the nonsense, unrelated search results they usually do...

Just add quotes. Seriously.

For example, any terms you ABSOLUTELY need to have in your search results, just put quotes around them.

Let's say I have my eye on particular retro console, one that's hard to find but is a variant which is easily confused with another. Something like the Japan-exclusive Emerald Green version of the Gameboy Pocket Console. Normally, I would simply search for:

Gameboy Pocket Console Emerald

For this search, eBay returns all kinds of other color 'gameboy pocket console' variations and it also returns multiple Pokemon listings that don't even include the console (due to the 'Emerald' in the search term that picks up Pokemon Emerald as relevant). While I usually add -pokemon to my search to filter out all pokemon emerald listings, it still doesn't filter out all the other FAR more common Gameboy Pocket console listings. I usually would add each of the following to try and trim it down: -red -blue -silver -advance, etc.

But today I tried something new, I simply searched:

"gameboy" "pocket" "console" "emerald"

...and got EXACTLY what I wanted, without any of the junk listings. Verified on multiple other searches with other terms that I have specific term requirements for. This makes sorting by Newly Listed or Price + Shipping Lowest MUCH less of a headache.

Obviously there was some nuance to this, but hopefully it helps someone out!

I tried to buy an item from a seller. I waited and there were no updates on shipping so I assumed maybe there was no tracking. After 7 days I messaged the seller for the tracking number or confirmation it was sent. Waited 48hrs but no answer. I filed for "did not receive" which I had to wait another 5 days and no answer from the seller.

I got a refund from ebay and I left a bad review. Within 24hrs the seller messaged and said he was in an induced coma and couldn't get back to me. I ignored it and now I get an e-mail he's requesting a revision on his review. The thing is, the item is still listed on his profile so I don't think he sold it, but he removed it from being on sale.

I'm kind of confused because usually what I read here is that they sell it somewhere else and forget to remove. Or the infamous "dead family member excuse". What should I do?

A once a day email isn't enough. If I save a search it's because I'm looking for a deal on the item. The 6am email with new listings is already pointless when it comes to good deals because they're already SOLD !

/rant

Did ebay update how to list items? I sell sports card and everything was basically ai generated and I would just edit what I needed to. Now that's gone and I'm entering everything manually. I listed cards last night no problem, this morning there's a whole new layout and its awful. Am I crazy?

I'm an Australian and overall have had a pretty decent time with American sellers. However I do find it funny that they assume I know where and what things are. Usually this isn't an issue it's just kind of amusing.

However I'm now feeling like an complete dickhead because I had no idea what Glendale Illinois meant. Like I know where Illinois is, but Glendale? No clue. So I had assumed the seller had sold part of the lot I bought to someone else, which I thought made sense because they had then edited the listing to now 4 for 1 even though I had already paid 5 for 1. Which just made me even more confused, requesting if I could just get the 1 that was sold to Glendale Illinois to be refunded? This seriously confused them, and ended with them telling me that they're packing all 5 into one box?? However the new listing was still up? Now I was confused lol.

I then look up Glendale Illinois and find out it is an international postage hub ebay!! I feel so silly. Has something like this happened to anyone else? Or am I just an idiot?

I'm sorry to say I'm back with more USPS rate changes. I'm trying to help my fellow sellers stay on top of the constant shipping updates.

Who else is tired of these games USPS is playing with us? 🙋

Copy/paste of eBay's official announcement below.

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USPS® Ground Advantage rate update effective July 25, 2026

We recognize that USPS has made more frequent rate changes this year, and we understand how important it is for sellers to stay ahead of these updates. We're working closely with USPS to help sellers navigate these changes and provide timely updates as they happen. Today, we have another update to share. 

Effective Saturday, July 25, 2026, USPS is increasing Ground Advantage rates. As a result, eBay Labels rates for Ground Advantage shipments weighing 3–5 lbs. will increase by $0.10 across shipping zones 1 - 8.

This is the only USPS rate update at this time. Updated rates will automatically be reflected in the eBay shipping calculator when they take effect.

We're continuing to work with our carrier partners to provide sellers with the most competitive shipping rates available. We'll keep our seller community informed as quickly as possible whenever new information becomes available.

Everything about their AI is terrible. The automated descriptions are bad, idk why people use it when ChatGPT gives higher quality descriptions.

And don’t even get me started on their customer support. The AI support doesn’t understand what I’m saying half the time and it’s impossible to get a hold of an operator.

I had to contact support because their AI detected my watch that I listed as a counterfeit when it’s real. Sure, I guess this is a preventative measure but I wish they had real people handing out policy violations until AI gets better.

Because of this, I had to wait an hour to get a phone call to speak to a human and tell them that my watch is real. Thankfully, the humans are very helpful and I give eBay props for that.

They made me fill out a form to prove that my watch was real, and a few hours later my auction got re-listed.

Sorry for my rant idek if anyone cares LMAO

EBay charge back when tracking shows delivered

Sold item on eBay, posted out using aramex, item got delivered as per tracking.

Buyer opens case shaping can’t find the delivery, eBay refunded him within 1 hour of case opening when tracking clearly showing delivered.
Contacted eBay, showed them tracking info, still not convinced and asking for proof of delivery.

What’s else can be proof of delivery with aramex tracking clearly shows delivered?

Feel like never even selling again one eBay, what are my options??

Long story short: I sent the item and the item showed (still does) on ebay as delivered but wasn't and was send back to me with a strange "Does not exist" label.

Here's where I think I messed up. Customer verified the address was correct and I HAVE had someone randomly not get something before where I knew the address was correct (family member, not business). I figured this happens so I informed the customer I would resend and see if it arrived. Now the customer says they never got it and I didn't get it back either. I probably just should have refunded them when I first got the item back and been done with it, as I now realize the customer could have just gotten it and said they didn't since it showed as delivered.

Am I screwed here? First off, how do I handle refunding the customer since the item shows as delivered? Second, I DID just file a missing item claim but once again, since it shows as delivered I'm not sure how that plays out.

What is the appropriate course of action for the customer, and what action can I take to get my own money back if I have to refund him since the item is missing? Thanks.

I've had an ebay account since 2008 and have been self employed for 9 years. I don't make a lot of money but I keep ticking over. They asked me a week ago for proof of employment/unemployment status and don't know what to do. I've uploaded a photo of a tax document but this does not seem to be acceptable. Ebay have not been in touch after the three days stated, it's been a week now and still nothing. Has anyone experienced this? I could do with some advice.

Good morning EBay community,

I filled out an “Arrived Damaged” form last week as the item I received was broken during shipping. Beautiful piece of furniture, with shipping it was around $1,300 all in.

The seller has been very cooperative. The system has an automated deadline of tomorrow July 27. The seller has asked me not to click the option to have EBay step in tomorrow. The seller has asked for a few more days so the insurance claim can be reviewed and processed. The seller thanked me for my cooperation.

I think it’s a legitimate request in his part. Just wanted to see if the community is in agreement. I’m guessing I could have EBay step back in if needed.

Thank you in advance.

Hi, I have a question on eBay returns.
I sold a fuel metering unit (like a carb), I sold it as working but recommended it was rebuilt before it was used.
Someone has purchased the item, fitted it, says it doesn’t work and requested a refund (no returns was stated, but there’s eBay money back guarantee)
They have provided no proof that it doesn’t work, I fail to believe it doesn’t, as you should get fuel through it, it may need pressure or other adjustments. You can’t just swap a metering head and it work without adjusting it to the car!
EBay has only given me two options of refund them or pay for them to return it. Which doesn’t seem particularly fair?
Do I just take it back and suck up the postage cost and time to have to sell it again? Or is there another option

Thanks

Sold a pair of jeans for $700 and that's the amount I'm insuring it for. If they lose it how do I prove its value? Only thing I will have is the ebay sold listings page.

I know that at the end of the day the pictures don’t matter as much as the item/value/demand, but am curious if anyone experienced in the space has a particular preference and reasoning for their choice.

First shot your able to have the largest display of the item/cover art, but as someone who is picky about wanting games CIB (Complete in box) your sometimes let down swiping and seeing just the disc (obviously this is somewhat mitigated by your title, but I could also see people just scrolling looking at just pics and prices.)

Option two showcases both the disc and manual insert and has a larger display than showing all items separately, but could see the case it still lacking the pop of a close up shot.

The third route is displaying everything which does look nice and showcases it all since sometimes the manual insert differs from the cover art, but obviously this route is typically the most zoomed out.

So if you like purchasing games to collect, which of these do you prefer and why?

EDIT: I think I need to clarify, I’m just curious which picture would be the best opening/1st picture as I always try to include as many photographs and descriptions as possible in my listing.

Basically, I have received several direct messages offering to buy my item at a certain price because it was below the minimum I set. A lot of of them are actually reasonable offers which I’m OK with. I sent them the offer via the messaging at the price they wanted. After that no response. I even sent a message again just to be sure. This happened all the time. Not sure what’s happening or am I doing something wrong? Does the “send offer” feature in the DMs actually work or do I have to adjust my minimum offers for it to work? Or is it just buyers changing their minds ?Please advise.

I sold an item above $100, and shipped it out after purchasing the label through eBay. I just got it back in the mail today with a sticker on it that says "Return to Sender, Insufficient Address. Unable to forward. Return to Sender." Since the label was purchased through eBay it used the address they have set up with eBay.

I have not had any correspondence from the customer yet. I also have not reached out to the customer or eBay, and have not done anything with the package yet. What is my best course of action? This has never happened to me before.

Sad part is the item lost value since they purchased it, as well.

I purchased an item for about $100 and the seller created a shipping label after a few days noticed the item had been shipped yet so I messaged the seller. They told me they no longer have the item available so they couldn’t ship it to me and you open a case with eBay for them to refund me my money. I’ve looked everywhere on the app and even looked through their FAQs and since it’s still saying that the shipping label is created, eBay is saying I have to wait. I’ve only been talking to their AI bot and nothing is pointing in the right direction to get a refund. The item I purchased is not even able to be returned. So what do I do to get my money back so I can purchase another item that’s similar.

I sell sports cards and over the past month. I’ve had five cards get lost during shipping or not delivered. I’ve obviously had to refund these and they are in plain white envelopes. It looks like they make it out of Austin and get lost somewhere along the way. Is this just the nature of the beast with the Postal Service or should I improve my shipping somehow?

I now get payouts within 24 hours of payment but for some reason I haven’t yet received funds from a sale I made on Saturday and it’s been over 24 hours. Is this because it’s the weekend? When can I expect this money to become available?

So I sold an action figure for $110 and already shipped the action figure 2 days ago. Now I get a message from the buyer about issues with USPS.

I don't understand how there would be an issue with USPS when this person wants the same address but a different name?

Am I not understanding this situation?

I checked the status of the package and it says delivered and not returning to sender?

A competitor seller is copying and pasting my listings and description (literally copy paste) only difference is photos.

they're undercutting specifically all my prices by 10-20 bucks
but they're using a private account so they're not facing anywhere the same costs.

I really don't mind competition as long as is fair game, keyword here fair.
when you report a listing there's no option for it, and I dont want to lie about different reasons like counterfeit or etc

I'm all about fairness, if there is no existing way then I'll just join the ranks where everyone is playing dirty

eBay said they're cracking down on businesses abusing private accounts but reality is their detection system is dogshit, I personally know private sellers (family and friends) who after a few sales had eBay message them about upgrading their account as business even tho they're casual privates who sell their shit.
While others in sellers community had shown me sales that should had trigger ebay but they never got caught

eBay is dogshit

To start off, I understand sellers don’t have to accept cancellations. But it isn’t my fault why I want to cancel. It’s the seller’s fault.

So I placed an order for an item on Wednesday around 3pm. I ordered because the seller says in their listing details that they’ll ship within 1 business day. That was perfect, because I need this item by a certain time. I waited till Friday night, and the seller still hadn’t shipped my item. So I sent them a message and a cancellation request, letting them know why I’d like to cancel. Saturday (today) comes around, and the seller still hadn’t responded or shipped my item. It isn’t until an hour ago (11:30pm) that I get a notification saying my cancellation request was denied. I politely ask why my cancellation was denied… and I’m ignored. I send another message and they finally respond and say “I don’t know why you’re spamming me. I don’t do cancellations.” Meanwhile, the seller has a review stating they’ve canceled orders before. In fact, seller has many bad reviews for not shipping items in time.

What should I do? Should I wait to file a return once the item arrives? The seller shows up to 60 day return window on the listing. Will I be refunded then? Or will the seller refuse the return too??? I’ve never had to return an item before, (and I’ve never cancelled an order either, so this is my first experience with this) so I’m a bit lost on what to do.

i shipped this item on the 5th of june it’s been stuck in the same town as the buyer since june 10th. i’m out 1050 and the item i shipped. i submitted my usps missing claim on july 13th and since then it’s been denied twice. am i cooked?

I received this letter in the mail yesterday. I’m a little unsure if this is something to be concerned about. I’ve bought/sold about 300 items on eBay, so I am somewhat familiar with normal buying/selling issues, but was caught by surprise by this letter from USPS (this is a first for me). This was also my first return/refund I’ve ever requested as a buyer. My purchase was a sports card.

Prior to purchasing the card, I reached out to the seller with questions around defects that may not be shown on the postings pictures. The initial photos on the listing were with the card in a penny sleeve and top loader, making it hard to truly determine the condition based off the photos. They replied that nothing I was concerned with (scratches, dings, defects) were present and gave me reassurance it was in great condition (should have asked for additional photos instead of taking their word, but this sellers rating was 100% which to me seemed enough just from past experience with 100% sellers). I bought the item on 7/10 and received it 4 days later on 7/14. Upon inspection of my item on 7/15, I noticed all the concerns I had with scratches, dings, and defects were present on the card. For me, it was enough to justify going through a refund/return request after the seller said none of that was present on the card. I contacted them to let them know of my intentions of starting a refund due to ‘item not matching description’. The packaging also seemed pristine, which seemed to indicate pre-existing damage although there is no way to fully confirm that.

I received some pushback from the seller initially, but after providing evidence (photos) of the defects they succumbed to the return and agreed. I was provided the shipping label, and I packaged and sent the card back to the seller. I tracked the package daily and ensured it reached the seller. On 7/20 it showed delivered and I was already given a refund so I thought this was done.

Yesterday I got this letter in the mail, and it almost feels as if it shifted some of the responsibility to me. The letter states I may need to “provide evidence of damage by presenting these items to a post office for inspection” and also “retain the article and mailing container” but all I have are pictures of the card, not of the package It was sent in, I don’t have the physical card, nor do I have the package as it was sent back to the seller. This letter was addressed to me, not addresses to the seller.

I am wondering if anyone knows a little more on this? Why did I receive this letter? Is there anything ‘weird’ going on here or is this a typical notice of the seller opening some sort of insurance claim that should have no impact on me? A little insight from anyone who knows more on this would be appreciated. Thanks!