Seller Questions

Buy It Now FAQ

Seller Questions
1) What is 'Buy It Now'? How does it work?
2) What are the differences between the two 'Buy It Now' formats?
3) How can I choose to list a 'Buy It Now' item?
4) Can I add an auction feature to 'Buy It Now' listings?
5) How will people find my 'Buy It Now' listing? Do 'Buy It Now' items appear in search results? Is there any increased visibility of these items?
6) Is there a fee for 'Buy It Now'?
7) Why is there an additional fee on Auction listings with a Buy It Now feature? Why does the fee not apply to 'Buy It Now' Only listings?
8) How do I qualify to use 'Buy It Now'?
9) Can I use 'Buy It Now' to sell items in my shop?
10) Can I list a 'Buy It Now' item even if I don't have an eBay Shop?
11) Is the Fixed Price format available to all sites?
12) I can't see my items when I search on eBay.com, why?
13) Why is the eBay Shops listing format no longer available?
14) What has happened to the 30 day duration? Will I be able to list my items for 30 days again?
15) Can I still use Mr. Lister for BIN? What about other 3rd party selling tools?
16) Can I relist 'Buy It Now' Only listings if I did not sell all my items?
17) If I sell multiple quantities of the same item, do I need to be in physical possession of the items I have listed? Can I also sell the same item both on eBay as well as in my normal retail outlet?
18) The Dutch Final Value Fee calculation is changing. What does this mean for me as a seller?

Buyer Questions
19) How can I identify a 'Buy It Now' item in the listings?
20) What is the advantage to buying a 'Buy It Now' item?
21) Can I buy more than one of the item at the same time if the seller has listed a bunch?

Seller Questions

1) What is 'Buy It Now'? How does it work?
'Buy It Now' allows you to buy or sell items instantly at a set price. Buyers can purchase items immediately - no bidding or waiting. Sellers can sell items at a set price, without waiting for the listing to end. Learn more by visiting our 'Buy It Now' help pages.

2) What are the differences between the two 'Buy It Now' formats?
Sellers may choose from 2 'Buy It Now' options:

Auctions with a 'Buy It Now' feature - When you add a 'Buy It Now' feature to your auction …
- Buyers will have the option to buy your item instantly OR place a bid on your auction.
- The 'Buy It Now' feature will only be available when there are no bids on the item or until the reserve price is met.
- You can only sell one item per listing.
- The fee is £0.05 in addition to standard listing fee and final value fee.
'Buy It Now' Only - When you list an item through the new 'Buy It Now' Only format….
- Buyers can purchase your item immediately at the price you set, but they cannot bid on your item.
- The 'Buy It Now' price is always available. It will not disappear.
- You can sell one or more quantities per listing.
- There is no additional charge. However, standard listing fees and final value fees will apply.

3) How can I choose to list a 'Buy It Now' item?
There are two types of 'Buy It Now' listings:

You can add the 'Buy It Now' feature to your auction. Buyers will have the option to buy your item instantly OR place a bid on your auction. When you click the "Sell" button to begin listing your item on eBay, this option is available by selecting the "Auction" format on the first page of the selling form, and adding a 'Buy It Now price' during the listing.
You can also list an item at a set price through the 'Buy It Now' Only (ie. fixed price) format without the auction. Buyers will have the option to buy your item only - no bidding allowed. When you click the "Sell" button to begin listing your item on eBay, this option is available by selecting the "'Buy It Now' Only" format on the first page of the selling form.

4) Can I add an auction feature to 'Buy It Now' listings?
An auction listing allows a buyer to bid on your item. A 'Buy It Now' listing allows a buyer to purchase the item immediately at a price the seller sets. You can combine the two options by adding a 'Buy It Now' price to your auction. When you click the "Sell" button to begin listing your item on eBay, the combined option is available by selecting the "Auction" format on the first page of the selling form, and adding a 'Buy It Now' price in addition to a minimum bid price during the listing process.

Combining the auction and 'Buy It Now' options is only available through the "Auction" format. You cannot add an auction feature or a minimum bid price if you select the "Buy It Now Only" format on the first page of the selling form.

5) How will people find my 'Buy It Now' listing? Do 'Buy It Now' items appear in search results? Is there any increased visibility of these items?
All 'Buy It Now' items appear in eBay's browse and search results pages. The 'Buy It Now' icon will appear beside the item title of 'Buy It Now' listings to indicate to buyers that they can purchase the item immediately.

All 'Buy It Now' items, including "Auctions with a Buy It Now feature" and "Buy It Now Only" items will appear in the "All Items" tab and the "Buy It Now" tab of search results. "Auctions with a Buy It Now feature" will also appear in the "Auctions" tab as bidding is allowed on these types of listings.

6) Is there a fee for 'Buy It Now'?
There are two types of 'Buy It Now' listings:

You can add the 'Buy It Now' feature to your auction. Buyers will have the option to buy your item instantly OR place a bid on your auction. The fee is £0.05, in addition to the regular listing fee and final value fee.
You can also list an item at a set price through the 'Buy It Now' Only (ie. fixed price) format, where there is no bidding. Buyers will have the option to buy your item only - no bidding allowed. There is no additional charge other than the regular listing fee and final value fee.

7) Why is there an additional fee on Auction listings with a Buy It Now feature? Why does the fee not apply to 'Buy It Now' Only listings?
A £0.05 feature fee will be charged for all auction listings that include the 'Buy It Now' feature. Like other optional features for which we charge, Buy It Now provides added promotion through the 'Buy It Now' icon. In addition, new changes to the Browse & Search Results pages will provide added visibility to auction-style listings that include the 'Buy It Now' feature. These items will appear with both the Bid price and the 'Buy It Now' price on the "All Items" display, and will appear within all the Browse & Search Results views: "All Items, "Auctions" and "Buy It Now".

In contrast, 'Buy It Now' Only listings will appear with a 'Buy It Now' price on the Browse & Search results pages, but without a bid price as there is no bidding on these types of items. 'Buy It Now' Only listings will only be displayed within the "All Items" and "Buy It Now" views, but not on the "Auctions" view as there is no bidding on these types of items.

Therefore, an additional £0.05 feature fee only applies to Auction listings with a 'Buy It Now' feature because these items have slightly increased visibility over the new 'Buy It Now' only format on our Browse & Search results pages

8) How do I qualify to use 'Buy It Now'?
Minimum seller requirements apply if you want to sell ‘Buy It Now’ items. You must have 10 positive feedback or sign up for Direct Debit.

9) Can I use 'Buy It Now' to sell items in my shop?
Yes. All your listings on eBay, including all your 'Buy It Now' listings, will appear in your Shop. Having an eBay Shop is a great way to showcase and merchandise your items. An eBay Shop allows buyers to see all the items you have for sale on eBay, and return to your Shop time and time again, as an easy means of finding a trusted seller and viewing your current inventory.

10) Can I list a 'Buy It Now' item even if I don't have an eBay Shop?
Yes, both ‘Buy It Now’ formats are available to all eBay sellers, regardless of whether you have opened an eBay shop.

However, minimum seller requirements apply to if you want to sell ‘Buy It Now’ items. You must have 10 feedback or more.

11) Is the Fixed Price format available to all sites?
Yes, the Fixed Price format is available to all sites, are are auctions with a 'Buy It Now' price.'

12) I can't see my items when I search on eBay.com, why?
The new 'Buy It Now' Only format is only available on sites outside of the US. We intend to introduce the new 'Buy It Now' Only option to the eBay.com site in the near future. Once the 'Buy It Now' Only option is introduced to the US site, buyers will be able to search on eBay.com to find these items.

14) Why is the eBay Shops listing format no longer available?
Shops sellers found that the eBay Shops listing format did not meet their needs because these items did not appear in eBay's search results or category browse pages.

Based on this feedback, the new 'Buy It Now' Only listing format will replace the existing eBay Shops format. The 'Buy It Now' Only format will appear in eBay's search results and category browse pages as well as in seller's Shops. In addition, the new 'Buy It Now' Only format is available to all eBay sellers, not just Shops sellers.

The new 'Buy It Now' format provides a better alternative to the shop listing format because of the increased visibility that these listings receive. Because of the increased visibility of the new format, eBay has decided to remove the option to list only in your eBayShop.

Note: The US site still offers the ability to list 'Buy It Now' items through the eBay Shops listing format. This option is available on the US site because the new 'Buy It Now' Only format is not yet available in the US.

14) What has happened to the 30 day duration? Will I be able to list my items for 30 days again?
The 30 day duration was only an option through the eBay Shops listing format which is no longer available on the UK site.

The new 'Buy It Now' Only (no bidding) format has a duration length of up to 10 days, the same duration length as auction listings. Since Buy It Now listings appear beside auction listings on our Category Browse & Search Results Pages, we felt it was important to keep the duration length consistent with auctions.

We are currently exploring options to extend the duration length of 'Buy It Now' Only listings, including the possibility of introducing an auto-relist tool. We will continue to keep the community posted of these possible feature enhancements.

15) Can I still use Mr. Lister for BIN? What about other 3rd party selling tools?
Mister Lister is fully compatible with the new formats. You will need to ensure, however, that you have the most up to date version.

We informed 3rd party selling tools of the new 'Buy It Now' format in advance of the launch. We expect that 3rd party selling tools will incorporate the new listing format into their existing applications.

16) Can I relist 'Buy It Now' Only listings if I did not sell all my items?
Yes, if you still have any quantity of items remaining at the end of your listing, you can easily re-list your unsold items. Simply click the "re-list" link on the View Item page. You may also revise the quantity of items you would like to sell during re-listing.

17) If I sell multiple quantities of the same item, do I need to be in physical possession of the items I have listed? Can I also sell the same item both on eBay as well as in my normal retail outlet?
We understand sellers have reasons to list identical items at the same time in multiple venues. This is permissible as long as the seller can complete the sale of all listings that are completed on eBay within a reasonable time frame. Learn more by visiting eBay's User Agreement.

18) The Dutch Final Value Fee calculation is changing. What does this mean for me as a seller?
The standard Final Value Fee schedule will be applied to each item sold, not to the total amount of the items sold. Taking items listed in GBP as an example:

Current	New
First £15.00 of total is charged 5.25%	First £15.00 of each item sold is charged 5.25%
Next £485.00 of total is charged 2.75%
Remainder of total above £600 is charged 1.5%	Amount of each item above £600 is charged 1.5%

Note: Rounding occurs at the end of the calculation. As a result, numbers may vary slightly.

Buyer Questions

19) How can I identify a 'Buy It Now' item in the listings?
The 'Buy It Now' icon beside the item title on our browse & search results pages will help you identify items you can purchase immediately. Some 'Buy It Now' items allow you the option to bid on the item if you would prefer to win the item through auction. Other 'Buy It Now' items can only be purchased immediately. Both types of 'Buy It Now' items will appear within the new "'Buy It Now'" tab within our category browse & search results pages.

20) What is the advantage to buying a 'Buy It Now' item?
With 'Buy It Now', you no longer have to wait for the auction to end or be outbid. Once you identify a 'Buy It Now' item, simply click on the "'Buy It Now'" button on the View Item page, review and confirm your purchase - and the item is yours. It's that easy!

21) Can I buy more than one of the item at the same time if the seller has listed a bunch?
Yes, you may purchase one or more quantities of an item at the same time. Just enter the quantity desired on the View Item page, and click the "'Buy It Now'" button. It's as simple as that.

If you have any questions, please contact customer support.

Copyright © 1995-2009 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

eBay official time