3 min article

Search and browse manipulation policy

Manipulating eBay's search and browse experience by adding popular keywords in your listings that don't have any relation to your items, or using other tactics that could mislead buyers, is not allowed.

To create an effective listing that attracts buyers and complies with our policies, be sure to follow these guidelines:

  • Select a category that matches the item you're selling.
  • Provide a clear, honest, and accurate description of your item.
  • Don't engage in tactics like keyword spamming, because this makes it hard for people to find what they're looking for.
  • When you list an item in fixed price format, don't create separate listings to sell multiple identical items at the same time. This violates our duplicate listings policy. Be sure to follow the policy guidelines when you list items in fixed price format.
  • You can have more than one auction-style listing for identical items. However, only one duplicate auction-style listing without bids will appear on eBay at a time.

In addition to our tips for creating effective listings, use the guidelines and examples below to learn how to create listings that comply with our policies.

It's against our policies to do anything that manipulates the search or browse experience. This applies to all parts of a listing (see our HTML and JavaScript policy for more information). For example, the use of superscript, subscript, or other special characters (e.g., ™, ♥, ½) in the title, subtitle, item specifics, or other fields is not allowed. If a seller uses tactics that can inappropriately direct bidders and buyers to a listing, we'll take action.

If you list several related items as a bundle, please make sure you select the appropriate category for the main product included in the bundle. You should also include the word "bundle" in the title and provide item specifics for the additional items. This will help ensure that buyers can find your bundle listing when they search and browse on eBay. Get more guidelines and learn how to improve your performance by bundling items.

Only use item specifics to describe the item you are selling. Item specifics and other fields should only contain the information that the field was intended for. Don't use item specifics to include other information such as your terms of sale or shipping details.

Activity on eBay is required to follow this policy, the eBay User Agreement and all applicable laws, as well as respect the rights of third parties. If it doesn’t, eBay may take action consistent with applicable laws and the eBay User Agreement, and may even be legally required to do so. Such actions may include, as an example only: Removing the listing or other content, issuing a warning, restricting activity or account suspension.

What are the guidelines?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Why does eBay have this policy?

We want your buying and selling experience on eBay to be easy and fun. Our guidelines help sellers create listings that won't break the rules or infringe upon other people's trademarks. When a listing has information that could mislead people or gives one seller an unfair advantage over others, we do take action. We also want to avoid having a seller dominate search results with duplicate listings if the seller doesn't have a solid history of selling these identical items. Misusing item specifics or the item description can make it more difficult for buyers to find information about items they are shopping for. Be sure to follow our guidelines when you create your listings.

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