eBay PreSale Policy
Summary: thecollection93 is experiencing issues with eBay's PreSale policy, as their listings are being flagged despite adhering to the stated guidelines. They mention that eBay's customer service is not providing clear solutions, and there's confusion about dispatch times and how they affect eBay's policy rules. the_brick_lodge and another participant discuss similar challenges, pointing out inconsistencies in how eBay enforces its policies and suggesting possible workarounds. However, thecollection93 shares frustration, noting the difficulty in resolving these issues despite following the stated guidelines.
Hey,
So some of my listings keep getting flagged as going against eBay PreSale policy - I do not understand why and live chat dont seem to be of any help.
I have Pre Sale in the Title and the Description, my description also states the date the product will be dispatched and its within 40 business days as per policy.
I requested a call back from eBay who innitially said its because my handling time is 40 days, so its 40days presale + 40 days handling which is over policy. Turns out (I think) this is wrong? If i presell something today and set dispatch time as 1 day, ebay will be telling me im overdue dispatch in a few days and it will effect my late delivery rate.
They then told me I need to explicatly state the date I will dispatch the item in the description, I told them I explicatly state in the description the date it will be dispatched (which I do) which resulted in them ending the call saying the resolution had been provided.
So now im sitting on a 3 day restriction and none the wiser as to what im doing wrong. Can anyone who is familiar with preselling please shed any light?
Thanks
the_brick_lodge
·3 weeks ago · EditedOne of the CDs you have is being sold by two other private sellers with no mention of presale in the title and a delivery ETA before the release date.
Have you tried cutting your dispatch below 40 days? 40 days should be fine by the rules but this is eBay.
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoAye but as prrivate sellers they shouldn’t be able o do presale anyway, and they can’t actually add on the relevant delays when listing, so they just list incorrectly because eBay don’t care anyway.
the_brick_lodge
·3 weeks ago · EditedWell yes indeed but if eBay wasn't such a terribly run company they would have integrated a presale mechanism about 15 years ago where you enter the release date and the ETA is dynamic based on that and instead of the seller being required to put presale in the title eBay would have their own message hardcoded into the site displaying under the BIN button, or having the BIN button read "Pre Order Now", then when private and business accounts come about that facility would only be open to business accounts with them removing any presale listings for those not registered as a business.
thecollection93
OP3 weeks agoI havent as I dont want my late delivery rate to take a hit.
It does seem its better to just ignore the policy and not mention presale at all, seems to cause less hassle.
Apprently you need to include SHIPPED - 01/01/2026 in both the title and description. The description I understand but it taked up 35% of the title character limit which is a joke. None of this is actually mentioned in the PreSale policy, it just says PreSale in title and description and delivery within 40 business days, all of which Ive been doing. Although the policy doesnt state anything about the exact wording, apprently me putting "dispatched by X Date" in the description, it specifically needs to be 'Shipped 01/01/2026"
Its funny to see that some of my listings get flagged within 1 hours and they hand me a 3 day selling ban and yet we see private sellers with listings up for weeks with no mention of presale, paying no fees and having no issues!
the_brick_lodge
·3 weeks ago"Apprently you need to include SHIPPED - 01/01/2026 in both the title and description."
Wouldn't surprise me if the help page is wrong, nor would it surprise me if customer services are wrong. Never have known a company as disorganised as eBay.
"I havent as I dont want my late delivery rate to take a hit."
Whilst I guess you might miss some sales to the sellers who don't bother and list as early as possible can you not upload 30 or 35 days before release and then have dispatch time as 40?
thecollection93
OP3 weeks agoCS initially told me its because I had set dispatch as 40 days, which they count as in addition to the date of dispatch I had already stated and therefore outside of ebays 40 day policy.
It took them 20 minutes of discussion for them to finally go back and come back with another story. They didnt quite understand setting 1 day dispatch now for something releasing in September will mean by Monday they will be saying my dispatch is overdue and penalising me for late delivery rates.
In regards to the suggestion, it doesnt work. I tried this last month with something which was due to release within 3 weeks of listing and the same thing. Its honestly like getting blood from a stone. I do wonder if they also impose selling restrictions on private sellers or just business, it wouldnt surprise me if the dont.
the_brick_lodge
·3 weeks ago"I do wonder if they also impose selling restrictions on private sellers or just business, it wouldnt surprise me if the dont."
I'm amazed they gave you a restriction, I thought they'd completely given up on enforcing any policies.
I'm sure if customer services doesn't know the answer they just make stuff up, don't think I've ever been told "I don't know the answer to that" and as a result I now never bother talking to them, which is perhaps what eBay really want.