2 min article

Account restrictions and suspensions

We may occasionally restrict or suspend accounts to protect our community. If you're a seller, your payouts may also be placed on hold until the restriction or suspension is lifted.

If your eBay account has been restricted or suspended, check your Messages for our email with details of what you need to do to get your account back.

Why your account was restricted or suspended

We usually place restrictions or suspensions on accounts for the following reasons:

  • You may have eBay selling costs that you need to pay
  • You may need to reimburse eBay for a refund we paid to your buyer
  • You may need to resolve a buyer's issue, or upload tracking information
  • You may have violated one of our rules or policies
  • We haven't been able to verify your account information
  • We suspect your account may have been accessed by a third party

How to have your account reinstated

Getting your account reinstated may be as simple as waiting for a temporary suspension to end, making changes to your listings, or sending us some more information – it depends on the reason your account was restricted or suspended. All the details will be in the message we've sent you.

If your account was restricted or suspended because you need to pay outstanding selling costs or reimburse eBay for a refund to a buyer, you can make a one-time payment to resolve the issue. Once we receive your payment your account will be reinstated.

To make a one-time payment:

  1. Go to Payments in My eBay - opens in new window or tab or Seller Hub - opens in new window or tab.
  2. Select One-time payment to make a payment. Alternatively, you can add a new payment method.

If eBay doesn't currently manage your payments, you may also need to complete seller registration before your account can be fully reinstated.

Tip
Most account restrictions or suspensions can be resolved by making a one-time payment, or by following the steps we gave you in the email in your Messages.

What happens while an account is restricted or suspended

Depending on the reason for the restriction or suspension, you may not be able to:

  • bid, buy, or sell
  • leave Feedback
  • create new listings or revise existing listings
  • contact bidders
  • reply to your eBay messages
  • update your personal information

If you're a seller, your payouts may be placed on hold until the restriction or suspension on your account is lifted. Read more about why we may put payments on hold.

Depending on why your account was restricted or suspended, we may end listings early. If we remove listings because of a policy violation, your eligibility for fee credits will depend on the situation, and any previous policy violations will be taken into account. Keep in mind that listing fees can be forfeited too, depending on the reason for the restriction or suspension.

Fake account restriction and suspension notices

Watch out for spoof (fake) emails about account restrictions or suspensions. To confirm that an email was sent from eBay, check your Messages - opens in new window or tab. If you can't find a copy of the email there, then it wasn't from eBay. Learn how to recognize spoof emails.

If your account is restricted or suspended, we'll send an email to your registered email address and to your eBay Messages explaining why. We'll also let you know what you need to so your account can be reinstated.

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