eBay Reaffirms International Selling Compliance Responsibilities
eBay emphasizes requirements for imports and exports, taxes and fees, transport regulations, and buyer data use in cross-border transactions. U.S. sellers shipping directly overseas must pay particular attention to import responsibilities and data compliance.
What are the key facts?
- 1Both parties to a cross-border transaction must comply with applicable regulations
- 2Buyers generally bear import responsibility for overseas orders from U.S. sellers
- 3Buyer data may be used only for orders and shipping
What happened?
eBay’s international selling policy continues to emphasize import responsibilities, tax and fee obligations, and buyer data compliance in cross-border transactions. The policy states that both parties to a cross-border transaction must comply with applicable export, import, tax, product, and transportation regulations. For orders shipped overseas by U.S. sellers through eBay International Standard Delivery, the buyer is generally considered the importer and must pay local customs duties and taxes, while authorizing DHL or its subcontractors to handle import procedures. For international orders entering the European Union, buyers may also authorize local postal operators, couriers, or similar providers to act as their direct customs representatives. Buyer names, addresses, tax identification numbers, and other personal data obtained by sellers from eBay may be used only to complete orders and shipping. They must be deleted after the transaction purpose is fulfilled and may not be used for off-platform marketing or customer re-engagement. The requirements particularly affect FBM sellers in the United States shipping directly to Europe, Japan, and other markets.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
FBM sellers in the United States shipping directly to Europe, Japan, and other markets must accurately handle country of origin, declared value, the party responsible for taxes and fees, and import responsibilities. Errors may cause customs delays, buyer claims, or account penalties. Buyer names, addresses, tax identification numbers, and other data obtained from eBay may be used only for orders and shipping and must be deleted after the transaction is completed.
What should sellers do now?
- 1Export active FBM listings shipped directly from the United States to Europe, Japan, and other markets; check the country of origin, declared value, party responsible for taxes and fees, and shipping information for each listing; make corrections; retain an exception log; and ensure every relevant listing is documented.Compliance
- 2Review the permitted use of buyer names, addresses, and tax identification numbers in FBM orders shipped directly from the United States to Europe, Japan, and other markets. Delete information retained after transaction completion, create deletion records, and confirm that it was not used for off-platform marketing or customer re-engagement.
- 3Create a shipping review checklist for overseas orders shipped by U.S. sellers through eBay International Standard Delivery, state that buyers generally bear import responsibility and customs duties and taxes, complete the checklist for each order, and retain traceable records.