eBay UK Private Seller now being forced to have Returns Policy - is anyone else?

[stephyb]

Hello all,

I am an eBay UK Private Seller, and have had an account for many years, used for both buying and selling personal items. As a Private Seller, I am not obliged to offer a Return unless the item is not as described/pictured.

Since early November 2025 I have found that my sales listings are now being rejected due to not having a Domestic Returns Policy entered. I have checked, my account is still Private and not Business. In addition, I now have to explicitly nominate/exclude sales regions/countries.

If I enter a Returns Policy, then the listing is accepted.

I have asked eBay Customer Support for help (via callbacks), they have confirmed that I am a Private Seller with nothing adverse registered against my account. They are investigating but so far they appear to be as baffled as I am.

I have seen that a few other UK Private Sellers have also had to enter a Returns Policy, but most others haven't had to. This is unfair differential treatment.

I have not seen any announcements made by eBay UK and have not received any notifications.

If you have had the same thing happen, were you able to get it reversed?

Does anyone know if this Return Policy requirement is being officially rolled out to all UK Private Sellers?

Thanks in advance for all useful information/answers.
Regards
stephyb

[jckl1957]

Are you posting from the account you have this issue with?

[tobiasd4]

Account not used for a long time.

Have you added bank details and had it verified? 

This is likely why you are having issues listing items.

[stephyb]

Hi, thanks for the replies so far.

1) Yes, I am posting from the account.

2) Bank details verified.

If you look you can see that a few other Private Sellers with higher feedbacks and recent sales have had to enter a Return Policy.

Regards

stephyb

[jckl1957]

Can you give an example of a member who has posted in the forum saying this?

I can't recall seeing any other posts recently saying this has happened.  (And, I spend far too much time reading and replying to posts!)

I agree with @tobiasd4 that it may be because you haven't listed for a long time/need to get bank account validated.

Is your direct debit to Ebay still set up?

[stephyb]

Hi,

I think I might be the very first to post here about this, I haven't seen any other posts, possibly because this is a very recent issue.

I have a number of saved searches for various collectible items, and when looking at items I can see that the seller is Private, but has entered a Return Policy.

My bank/debit details are all ok.

Regards

stephyb

[jckl1957]

Private sellers can choose to have a returns policy.

[stephyb]

Hi,

The same thing has happened to my partner's account.  He messaged another seller who had a return policy on his listing, the seller replied that he couldn't list his sales unless he entered a return policy.  He wasn't happy about it.

Regards

stephyb

[jckl1957]

I don't think it's a new policy - not official anyway.

I would suggest getting a callback from Ebay tomorrow morning when you are more likely to be speaking to Dublin, who seem more able to understand and explain or sort out issues.

Good luck!

[stephyb]

Hi,

tobias and jck, thanks for your replies.

Meanwhile, if any UK Private Sellers have encountered this forced Return Policy issue and managed to get it resolved, please let us all know.

Regards

stephyb

[fargvs]

Suggest a complete recheck/update of your account settings including Managed Payments setup and having valid UK based Banking details on file --- more information here >

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/help/selling/getting-paid/introducing-managed-payments-ebay?id=4795

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/account/changing-account-settings/changing-account-settings?id=4193

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold?id=4814&st=3&pos=1&qu...

[stephyb]

Hi,

Thanks, but my UK bank details and those of my partner are all ok.

Regards

stephyb

[fargvs]

Worthwhile to have a complete recheck and update of your account settings --- there have been a lot of changes since 1999.

[stephyb]

Hi,

Yes, both my partner and I have checked our account settings.

If any UK Private Sellers have encountered this forced Return Policy issue and managed to get it resolved, please let us all know.

Regards

stephyb

[papso22]

The only people who can reply on this board are mentors.  You might want to post again on the main seller discussion board.

[stephyb]

Hi,

Thanks for kindly letting me know, I mistakenly thought Member-To-Member Support was for ordinary buyers/sellers.  I'll check it out.

Regards

stephyb