BBE - Permanent Restriction - Postal Error – Stuck in First-Line Support Loop
Hello Community Team, I would like to share my situation in full detail, as it concerns cross-border logistics and how BBE/SNAD metrics handle confirmed third-party postal errors. I have been selling on eBay since 2017, with approximately 500 successful transactions and 208 positive feedbacks. I always ship with proper documentation and follow bulk international shipping procedures. What happened Two international parcels were accepted via bulk submission at the post office. In this process in international transit, parcels may be relabeled and re-numbered based on barcode data. The postal operator has officially confirmed that during processing, a barcode was incorrectly associated with the wrong physical parcel. As a result, two buyers received each other’s items. Both buyers were refunded immediately and allowed to keep the items at my expense. According to official written confirmation from the postal operator acknowledging their mistake. My account was permanently restricted due to elevated BBE/SNAD metrics. The support loop problem I have contacted support multiple times and submitted appeals through the HK/APAC channels. Every time, I receive a standard response stating that: “The restriction is permanent and cannot be appealed.” However: The postal operator admits fault. The incident was external to my operational control. The performance metric treated this as seller negligence. It appears that first-line support is unable to evaluate documentation or escalate structural cases involving confirmed third-party errors. When a seller provides documented evidence of third-party postal fault, there seems to be no escalation path beyond automated performance enforcement. Given the documentation available, could this case please be forwarded internally for higher-level evaluation? Thank you for your time and consideration.BBE Seller Rating?
Greetings to all eBay Community members, I have been an eBay seller since 2012. Right now I am facing a problem for which I see no solution, because every communication with eBay Seller Support only leads to more uncertainty about the future of my store. In August, shipments from the EU to the USA were suspended due to the new customs tariffs. Shipping was restored only at the end of October. Foreseeing that this situation would cause problems, I contacted our store’s eBay account manager on 25.08.2025. The communication took place via WhatsApp to the number provided by the eBay account manager. Her reply on 26.08.2025 was: “Hello good day. eBay has sent a message regarding the US tariff update, and we advise you to speak with your shipping partner to confirm any changes in shipping costs, and to continue communicating with your buyer to keep them informed about this change. If you want to exclude your item to us you can remove your listing in us site and can list your item to other sites on eBay. eBay Account Manager Janine.” The only solution offered was to delete my listings on eBay.com — what kind of joke is this from eBay? When I asked if it is possible to temporarily disable shipping to the USA, I received no answer. There was no other explanation or guidance on how to proceed. As we all know, on eBay.com sellers cannot disable the USA as a shipping destination. Therefore, buyers in the USA were able to purchase items from EU sellers, even though shipping was physically impossible. I also could not find any option to place a banner or notice to warn USA buyers that delivery to the USA was suspended. For every USA buyer who purchased an item, I manually sent an explanation that the order must be cancelled because delivery was impossible. About 50% of buyers understood and some even repurchased the item later when shipping resumed. The other 50% marked these cancellations as defects. As a result, my BBE is currently 25.1%. I have no other violations or issues that would justify shutting down my store, but I fully understand that with this percentage my store will likely be closed within the next month. Already now, even though I have not received an official notification of store restriction or closure, eBay has clearly applied a hidden limitation on my account — after receiving the BBE warning, my store traffic dropped by 80%, and of course so did sales. One eBay representative told me that I “should not have selected ‘out of stock’,” which is completely untrue — I know that this option must not be used. I always selected “buyer asked to cancel order.” I repeatedly looked for information in eBay’s internal seller forums, and several sellers reported the same issue: there was absolutely no guidance available on how to properly handle this situation. This is what the Seller Protection Program states: “We remove defects and/or late shipments when things happen that are outside of your control, such as severe weather or carrier disruptions.” This information is published by eBay itself. And this situation was completely outside my control — shipping to the USA was entirely suspended and only resumed at the end of October. Here is the official information, publicly available to everyone. I wasn’t allowed to add the link here, so I attached a photo where the official postal information can be seen. Why eBay chooses to ignore this, or pretend not to know, I do not understand. Please find included the links with all the relevant references, including information from the Latvian Post website. I am highly knowledgeable in my field, my customers appreciate us, and we strive to be the best in our industry. But I am not an IT specialist or a lawyer, and I cannot be expected to know the correct legal or administrative procedures in such a situation. eBay should have provided clear guidance on how to act so that sellers could avoid exactly the problem I am now facing. I would like to hear the opinion or advice of other EU sellers, because all communication with eBay so far has led to no useful solution. All replies I receive sound something like: “It’s your fault.” Thank you for understanding, and I wish you all a successful day.eBay seller training webinar commonly asked questions
Account health related queries: If the buyer opens an Item Not Received (“INR”) complaint after successful delivery within the Estimated Delivery Date (“EDD”), then how do sellers handle such cases? Deciding the outcome when the buyer doesn't receive an item When a buyer reports that they didn't receive an item and the transaction meets our eligibility requirements, we will look for: Evidence of successful delivery within EDD to the address provided in the Order details, or Proof that the buyer collected the item. If we determine that the item was not successfully delivered within EDD or collected: The buyer will receive a refund for the full cost of the item and original shipping, and The seller may be required to reimburse eBay for the amount of the refund. 1.2 Evidence of successful and on-time delivery We require all of the following to prove a successful and on-time delivery: Tracking number from an integrated carrier which was uploaded to eBay and shows a shipping scan before the latest estimated delivery date; A delivery status of "delivered" or "attempted delivery" (or equivalent in the country to which the item was delivered); The date of delivery or attempted delivery; The recipient's address, showing at least the city/county or zip code (or international equivalent) that matches the one found on the Order details page; and Buyer signature confirmation, on orders with a total cost of US$750 or more on www.ebay.com. Learn more about our signature confirmation requirements. A buyer opens a return request without contacting the seller and when the seller tries to contact the buyer, the buyer not only fails to respond and but also does not ship the item back. How can sellers handle such situations? 2.1 When sellers create a listing, they need to create a return policy, which will determine how buyers may return an item for "change of mind" (or "remorse") reasons. If the buyer reports that the item arrived damaged or doesn't match the listing description, sellers will see different options for responding to the return. If the purchase is covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee policy, sellers must accept the return, even if they have a “no returns” policy. Whether a seller accepts a buyer's return request will depend on the buyer’s reason for returning the item and the return policy the seller stated in the listing. 2.2 Once the seller accepts the return request, we'll provide the buyer with a date by which they should ship the item back to the seller. If the buyer is responsible for return shipping, we may close the return if we don't see tracking scans or signals showing the item was shipped within 15 business days of the return being accepted. If the seller is responsible for providing return shipping and does not upload a shipping label, we may wait up to 35 business days from the date the return was accepted before closing the return. For more information, please refer to this link: How to handle a return request as a seller Buyer requests the seller to ship the item to a different address other than the address mentioned in the order checkout, stating they are out of town, etc. The seller should either ship the item to the address shown in the order or cancel the order marking it: "Issue with buyer's shipping address". Will such a cancellation be counted as a defect and be evaluated as Bad Buyer Experience (“BBE”)? Will negative feedback left by such a buyer be removed? 4.1 To be covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee policy, the seller must ship the item to the buyer’s address shown in the order. 4.2 If the buyer wants to change the shipping address after purchase and the item hasn’t been shipped: The buyer should request for order cancellation and place a new order with the correct address. There is no BBE/defect impact on the seller in case of such a cancellation. If the buyer leaves delivery-related negative feedback in such a case, the seller should contact eBay customer service to remove the negative feedback. 4.3 If the buyer wants to change the shipping address after purchase and the item has been shipped, the buyer should ask someone to receive the item at the address shown in the order. In such a case, if the buyer leaves delivery-related negative feedback, the seller should contact eBay customer support team to remove the negative feedback. 4.4 Where the seller marks a cancellation on account of “Buyer asked to cancel” or “Issue with buyer’s shipping address” there should be member-to-member communication from the buyer requesting either a cancellation or stating that the checkout address is incorrect. These transactions will not be considered BBE/defect. However, if the seller sees BBE/defect impact, the seller should reach out to eBay customer support team. The item delivery address is in a rural area subject to a higher shipping cost, which the seller has failed to mention in the shipping rate table, instead only mentioning a standard shipping cost. If the seller asks the buyer to pay the higher cost and the buyer refuses, is the seller entitled to cancel the order? Will this cancellation be counted as a defect/BBE? Can the buyer leave negative feedback for cancellation? The seller is responsible for delivering the purchased item: To the buyer within the EDD; To the address the buyer provided at eBay checkout; and In the same condition as described in the listing. 5.2 If the seller has failed to notify buyers of higher shipping cost which the buyer refuses to pay and the seller cancels the order, such cancellation will be regarded as “Out of stock cancellation” and will be counted as a defect and also evaluated as BBE. Negative feedback will not be removed in such instances. A buyer claims that the item has been delivered to an incorrect address/zip code, however online tracking shows it has been correctly delivered. How does eBay protect the seller? Please see our response in paragraph 1.2 above. Can sellers offer the option of replacement instead of refund to their buyers? Replacements or exchanges are no longer facilitated within the eBay returns flow. However, if a seller wants to offer a replacement or exchange, they can still reach out to the buyer through member-to-member communication. If the seller’s account is restricted under eBay policy and they cannot sell any items, then how can the seller improve their eBay selling performance for the next evaluation? Under eBay policy, there are two types of restrictions: Selling limit reduction and payout hold – eBay may (a) place a limit on the number of items sellers are permitted to list and/or (b) withhold payments to sellers. Since sellers are still permitted to list items and conduct sales, they can work on improving their seller performance. If sellers improve their seller performance as per eBay policy, eBay may even remove the restriction. eBay may (a) completely prevent sellers from listing new items and (b) remove existing listings. This is a permanent restriction and cannot be removed. If the buyer reports that the item was damaged during transit, will eBay demand evidence from buyers? We facilitate the sale. We do not have the item in our possession so are unable to verify condition. If the buyer opens an INR case while the item is in transit but subsequently receives the item and confirms delivery to the seller, how can seller close this case? Will this impact the seller’s INR evaluation metrics? How will eBay protect the seller from negative/neutral feedback? 10.1 If the item was delivered within EDD, then the transaction will not be evaluated as BBE/INR and delivery-related negative feedback will be removed automatically. 10.2 If the item was delivered after EDD, then the transaction will be evaluated as BBE/INR and delivery-related negative feedback will be retained. Limits related queries: How can a seller increase their selling limits? If a seller’s selling performance and sales metrics are strong, they may be able to have their limits increased. Sellers can always check their performance and sales metrics in Seller Hub or in Seller Dashboard. When sellers getting close to their monthly limit, we will send them a message to let them know. If their performance has been good, they can request a limit increase directly from within that message, or by writing to eBay customer support team. The “Overview” tab under Seller Hub shows two options in items and value in relation to the selling limit. What are they? Selling limits are designed to help new sellers to get acquainted with the marketplace, build a positive sales history, meet buyers demands, and lay a solid foundation for a new business. All eBay sellers have certain selling limits. It means that during the calendar month they can list and/or sell up to a certain number of items for a total of a certain amount. So, if a seller’s selling limit is 5 items/US$250.00 – this means that during the calendar month they can list and/or sell upto to 5 items for a total of US$250 only. Unpaid transaction queries: If a buyer does not make the payment after the seller accepts the offer, can the seller cancel the transaction? After the seller has made a sale on eBay, it’s usually a smooth process to complete the transaction with the buyer, but sometimes sellers might find themselves in a situation where the buyer hasn’t yet paid for the item they bought. If that happens, sellers can cancel the order after 4 or more calendar days. If the buyer still hasn't paid 4 calendar days after the listing ended, the seller can cancel the order by selecting the “Cancel order” button and choosing “Buyer hasn't paid” in the drop-down menu. It's important to cancel any unpaid items within 30 days from the day the buyer commits to buy so the item can be relisted. For more information, please refer to this link: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items-buyers?id=4137 Feedback related queries: If the buyer’s return has been accepted by the seller, can the buyer leave negative feedback for the seller, till the item is returned to the seller? Feedback is an opportunity to share your experience with other members of the eBay community. Buyers have upto 60 calendar days from the date they received the item or from the EDD, whichever comes first. It is recommended that you stay connected with the buyer which will help resolve the issues directly. Remember that sometimes, a positive resolution can encourage the buyer to even revise their feedback. To know more about feedback please visit : https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/leaving-feedback-buyers/leaving-feedback-buyers?id=4078 eBay Stores related queries: Can eBay Store newsletters be sent to potential buyers? If sellers have an eBay Store subscription, they can easily create and send email campaigns to subscribers, followers, and past customers who've signed up to receive newsletters from their eBay Store. To know more about how to create and send newsletters to buyers, visit the link below: https://export.ebay.com/en/marketing/ebay-services-and-tools-help-seller/newsletters-to-buyers/
