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.Help a buyer with an item they didn’t receive!
If a buyer doesn’t receive their item, they’re entitled to a refund unless you can provide tracking information showing that it was delivered. If your buyer hasn’t received their item and the estimated delivery date has passed, they’ll let you know there’s an issue by opening an “item not received” request. If a buyer opens a request, we’ll send a message with all of the details to your registered email address—it’ll also be available in your eBay Messages. Once a request is opened, you have 3 business days to resolve the issue. After that time, either you or the buyer can ask us to step in to help resolve the issue. The easiest way to resolve “item not received” requests is to provide tracking details showing the delivery address and delivery date of the item. Read more on Handling & Preventing Item Not Received dispute. Regards eBay INCBT TeamImportant tips to work with your buyer and resolve issues
It’s important to work with your buyer and help them resolve any issues that may come up with their order. Here are some steps you can take: If a buyer lets you know that they have a problem with their purchase, you should respond to them as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that you have 3 business days to resolve their issue before they can ask us to step in to help If the buyer has opened a return request for an item that doesn't match the listing description, and you do not respond, we may refund the buyer and seek reimbursement from you without requiring the buyer to ship the item back When communicating with the buyer, do your best to be polite and professional in your responses, even when they’re upset or angry. It helps to provide a better customer experience, and it might make it easier to come to an agreement about their issue If the buyer wants to return the item, they may accept a replacement (where you send them the same item again) or an exchange (where you send them a similar but different item) Buyers may also accept a partial refund, where they keep the item and you give them back some of their money Learn more about helping buyers if their item didn’t arrive, or how to handle a return. Regards, eBay INCBT TeamImportant tips to work with your buyer and resolve issues
It’s important to work with your buyer and help them resolve any issues that may come up with their order. Here are some steps you can take: If a buyer lets you know that they have a problem with their purchase, you should respond to them as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that you have 3 business days to resolve their issue before they can ask us to step in to help If the buyer has opened a return request for an item that doesn't match the listing description, and you do not respond, we may refund the buyer and seek reimbursement from you without requiring the buyer to ship the item back When communicating with the buyer, do your best to be polite and professional in your responses, even when they’re upset or angry. It helps to provide a better customer experience, and it might make it easier to come to an agreement about their issue If the buyer wants to return the item, they may accept a replacement (where you send them the same item again) or an exchange (where you send them a similar but different item) Buyers may also accept a partial refund, where they keep the item and you give them back some of their money Learn more about helping buyers if their item didn’t arrive, or how to handle a return. Regards, eBay INCBT TeamBest practices to avoid disputes with buyers!
Sometimes your sale might not go through as smoothly as we would hope. If, for example, the buyer doesn’t pay for their item, the best first step is to contact the buyer directly to try to resolve the issue. Our top priority is to make sure eBay is a safe marketplace. We are always ready to step in to help if you can’t resolve an issue with a buyer directly or if you think a buyer violated one of eBay’s policies. Here are some best practices that you can follow to avoid disputes with buyers: Specify the item’s condition accurately, describe any flaws and include lots of pictures Clearly specify your terms and conditions including shipping costs and method used, payment details, returns, handling time and charges Provide long return windows – 30 days is ideal Set up the eBay accepted payments methods to avoid unpaid items Always ensure that you ship the items via a valid tracking courier Have a good inventory control system and know what items you have on hand, and where they're at. Remember : If you can’t resolve an issue with a buyer directly, or if you think a buyer violated one of eBay’s policies, we’re always ready to step in and help. Regards, eBay INCBT Team
