Rebecca Garland
Rebecca Garland
Business and Education Expert

Many people have made buying and selling on eBay.com a profitable business model. But not everything works perfectly all of the time. With so many sellers trying to compete for buyers, and so many buyers trying to find the best price on the items they are looking for, eBay's customer service stays busy. Of course, that is assuming that customers can figure out the best way to contact eBay when a problem emerges.

eBay.com is a website with millions of users. Not all of those users are satisfied, and when something goes wrong, they want to be sure they can contact eBay customer support. Unfortunately, looking at the sheer volume of eBay complaints online on sites like PissedConsumer, GlassDoor, and the BBB, contacting the company isn’t as simple as many customers would like.

eBay Questions and Answers

Number of eBay reviews – 29.9K

eBay rating* – 1.8⭐⭐

eBay claimed losses – $16.8M

Successful calls – 7%/270K

Resolved issues – 193

Whether you’re buying or selling on eBay, Inc, the company has customer service support for potential issues.

How Does eBay Work?

When eBay.com was first introduced, it was strictly an online auction. Very soon, however, the business model expanded, and eBay.com became not just an auction site, but also a prolific platform for buying and selling.

Sellers bring new or previously used merchandise ranging from figurines to RVs and vehicles and set a price or set up an auction. Buyers use the eBay search feature to look for the specific item they want and either bid or pay for the item like any other retail site. The seller then ships the item to the buyer.

There are quite a few moving parts in a transaction, and that is why so many customers look for eBay support. Unfortunately, like any website that brings buyers and sellers together, some are unethical. Many eBay complaints include issues with the buying and selling process. But many other negative eBay reviews have concerns about the platform or account issues. Still, others have questions about simply how to handle eBay returns.

eBay's customer service fields complaints about purchased items that never arrive and payment issues. The most prominent articles in the eBay help section are about payment issues and hacked accounts. These are common issues customers complain about when they contact eBay.

eBay help section

What Are eBay Pros and Cons?

Overall, PissedConsumer users find more disadvantages in eBay than advantages. The most common issues concern difficulties contacting eBay customer service and getting refunds, faulty delivery, and fraudulent sellers. 

Some reviewers say that there are too many cons to enumerate. Still, the pros, such as affordable prices, great variety of choices, and convenience, are persuasive enough for consumers to shop on eBay.com.

Pros

  • Good prices
  • Variety of products
  • Convenient to use

Cons

  • Poor customer service
  • Not reliable shipping
  • Refund issues
  • Fake sellers

How to Contact eBay Customer Support by Phone?

The eBay customer service phone number is not readily available on the company’s website. If you dig through the help section in search of the eBay phone number, you’ll eventually find options to chat with the company or have the company call you. The website does post the expected wait time for both of those options on the contact eBay page.

While the company offers to call you, many eBay reviews express frustration with trying to contact the company on their own terms. Customers want to call eBay directly. While it might not be heavily publicized on the website, there is an eBay customer service phone number available for customers to use. You can reach the eBay resolution center by calling (866) 961-9253 for general customer service, (866) 348-9519 for hacked accounts, or (866) 643-1607 to report fraud.

Reaching eBay.com customer service by phone can be tricky, as one customer discovered. In his review (#2928911), the frustrated customer explained that his credit card was used fraudulently. Yet despite calling the various eBay phone numbers, the poster has not been able to reach a live representative, even a month later.

I have called several numbers found on the internet and NONE has been a good contact number. There is NEVER a LIVE agent available to speak with me.

How to Contact eBay Customer Service via Email

eBay's customer service does not list a general email address on the company’s website. If you dig a bit through the automated help chat feature, you can find an eBay email for specific purposes. A fraudulent eBay email, for example, can be sent to spoof@ebay.com and the company will record the message.

For a more general complaint, however, the automatic help chat feature redirects you to the eBay customer service number and give you the option to have the company call you. If you choose the relevant issue from the eBay support menu, you may see an option to email the company for specific issues. Otherwise, you will find the most eBay help by chatting with an agent, having the company call you, or calling the company directly.

One eBay.com user explained his issues with limited communication options in a video review. In his eBay complaint, the user explained that he had decades of positive feedback on the website, but had his account banned for life after a customer complained to the company rather than him.

Additionally, when he tried to contact eBay.com about the issue, he finally got some answers after “chatting with 2 customer support reps (who both hung up on me) who both said I am banned and they cannot disclose why due to eBay policy.” Despite positive ratings on all of his orders, the user was cut off from the service and no email was ever sent.

How to Contact eBay Customer Service via Community and Social Networks?

eBay support does have an online presence on social networks. While you always have the option of using the eBay customer service number, you can also contact the company through Twitter or Facebook. To contact eBay help via Twitter, ask questions using the @askebay handle.

There are many eBay complaints and questions available on the company’s Facebook page (@ebay) as well. Through the eBay Facebook page, you have the option to post on the company’s wall or contact the company through messenger. Some customers leave their thoughts and complaints in eBay reviews by tagging the company or commenting under their posts.

eBay comments on Facebook

How to Contact eBay Resolution Center?

The eBay resolution center may be your best option to sort out issues specifically between buyers and sellers. Inside the eBay resolution center, you’ll find resources specifically for buyers and sellers regarding transactions. In the resolution center, eBay customer support provides information and acts as a sort of mediation service when issues do arise.

eBay resolution center page

If you have an eBay complaint, you might start by finding the specific purchase in your account through the eBay.com resolution service. The links provided will take you to your bought and sold items where you can see unpaid invoices or items shipped.

When you drill down into specific transactions, you are presented with options for how to contact or call eBay. In some cases, you may find options for an eBay email. You may be able to cancel transactions or send additional messages to sellers as well.

The options inside the eBay.com resolution center will be specific to the type of transaction you’re concerned about. In many cases, you may get more targeted support working through the resolution center than by calling a generic eBay phone number.

eBay, Inc has become a powerful force in buying and selling online. Customers can find just about anything they might be searching for through eBay.com, which makes an eBay gift card a great gift for most. The site has grown from a simple auction website to a massive selling platform for just about every industry in the world. While some customers run into trouble with eBay's customer service, for many others, the platform may be the only place they can find what they are looking for.

*The company ratings on the PissedConsumer website are calculated using a mathematical algorithm that evaluates the information in the company’s profile. The algorithm parameters are: users’ rating, the number of resolved issues, the number of company responses and more. The PissedConsumer algorithm is also subject to change in the future.

Legal disclaimers:

1. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide any legal, medical, accounting, investment or any other professional advice as individual cases may vary and should be discussed with a corresponding expert and/or an attorney.

2. All or some image copyright belongs to the original owner(s). No copyright infringement intended.

Leave a Reply for David

John Kunz #6944
I take great issue with EBay basically calling me a LIAR. I ordered 3 buckets for $21 and changeI only received 2 I reached out to the seller twice NO RESPONSE either time.I reached out to EBay they sent a response showing a tracking that the items were delivered, I replied backthat yes it was delivered but only 2 buckets were in the box not the 3.It would probably cost me at least $5 to send them back for a refund. So I will eat the loss.But again your handling of this matter was classless and irresponsible taking the seller Blaise attitude about this issue as fact and basically saying I am a cheater and a liar. Thanks EBay for Nothing.
Burns #6946
Pissed didn't get an order out money and item to
Annette Foulds #6949
I have been trying to pay for items on ebay it will not allow me to check out i have contact my bank all is ok with that my address is right and my card is up to date i have all so uesd a another card but still the same problem , i have contact the seller to let them know the situation can you help thank you Annette .
Patrick Mooney #6952
I'm in the exact same situation as Matthew in the video above. I've had my account for 13 years and they have restricted my seller account because I had a series of bad reviews when I had emergency eye surgery in 2019. I have been trying to reactivate it for almost 2.5 years now and the I.T. personnel are all out of India and have no access to account changes. All they can do is answer questions to try and resolve your issue. They have no contact or ability to contact eBay staff or eBay's internal I.T. that works with user data and bank accounts. There aren't even emails attached to those staff members so that I can talk to, for example, my Canadian representative to fix a problem with my bank linking information. The separate India I.T. people send in requests to the NA I.T. people who send an email to the customer that gets confirmed by me, sent back to India and then forwarded to North America. It is nonsense and doesn't work, I have been hung up on 6 times in the last 2 months and the I.T. company out of India deals with complaints so they have no incentive to send the info on to eBay head office or their company could be fired. It is worse than government. At least with the government eventually someone is responsible and can be changed via voting. All of the people doing work and making changes have a non existent feedback cycle. They never find out if changes that are made are good or bad because they are completely walled off from us the consumer.
David #6961
Waiting for my order today is the last day to come can you help. I hope you understand my situation much appreciate it david.
silke simpson #6965
I can.t sign in my account because I was logging in as a guest I need fill in my full address there is {{{Redacted}}}
Will Reid #6967
I cannot access ebay I was restricted I paid my fees I still cannot access my account
James. Mcpherson #6980
My package was supposed to come today I did not get it. Order number. 120968688683. Item. I'd. 142742426141
Mamil49717 #6987
My payout has been on hold for 24 days. They said it was because I’m a new seller I’ve been selling on eBay for over a year. I’ve been buying on eBay for 15 years. I am so disappointed. That is an excuse. I’m hoping to get it in a few days I know they’re earning interest on my money. I would really like it back. I feel like the Better Business Bureau needs to look into this and they may be too powerful to be able to do what they want with our money. This is not good.
Kenesha palmer #7000
I bought 2 pair of man puma snakners and I don't get them it's saying that they where return to the seller I try to contact the seller more than once n I don't get any response I need a refunds
Peter Shepherd #7007
I need Ebay to contact me on 07445218177, i bought a HF radio from a seller (mwh483) that's his user's name and I received a message from them on 20/2/23 and he told me that I would not be receiving my radio as it was in his van which as now been stolen and he also told me that he doesn't know how to refund me my money, so I really do need Ebay to step in and sort this out for me as I really can't afford to lose £795.50 and that's what I paid this Ebay seller and I now need my money refunding, so again I would really appreciate some help from Ebay in getting my money back from this seller, thank you very much, regards, Pete.
Lisa king #7008
I did not get an confirmation email so ordered the stuff twice how do I get refunds
Deborah Barnes #7052
I was scammed out of 800.00 through eBay I'm trying to recover some of my giftcards sent to this scammer.
Glen McPherson #7054
The ad for a Hood you posted for sale with no item number by seller JKeith615 I believe is false advertisement?
Anonymous #7056
I sold 2 children's books, payments were paid to Ebay, I sent to buyer same day, they received them. Then after about a week or so Ebay told me my account was suspended, after asking for a reason why. All I was told was was for miss use !!!!! And then account closed permanently, still no explanation and I still haven't received my payments for the books.
Yvonne Bunce #7060
I'm still waiting for my order it should have come before the 27/3/23 , an you please look into this for me if l'm not getting it l want a refund please.
Steve Turner #7061
I have an unresolved issue with a seller. My order number is: :01-09667-85950 My return ID is: 5232482094. The requested amount of refund is: $35.30. The seller has replied an made an unacceptable offer of $8.00. I replied and said "Thanks, but no Thanks". Furthermore, I am asking the seller to pay for the return shipping cost. I'll be happy to return this item as it was "NOT" as described in their eBay listing. And, I still have the original package that the part arrived in.Therefore, I am requesting that eBay step-in and resolve this matter. I am expecting a FULL refund and will be happy to return this part to the seller at their expense, not mine. Thanks for your help. I look forward to a swift resolution to this matter. Please provide an update via my above listed email. Thanks again. Steve Turner (317/432-7777)
William lewis #7063
I would like to give a refund on my item I have for sale .
Mahmoud Zaatri #7069
Please can you get intouch with a seller 3xtraID 5232370570Order ID 22-09663-51242Mahmoud zaatari
Mahmoud Zaatri #7075
Hello I am complaining about the seller didn't reply please help me to return the item backThank you