"Spam" is an email (or part of an email) that is both unsolicited (the person who received it didn’t request it) and commercial in nature (discussing buying, selling or trading of goods or services).
What is the policy?
Sellers can’t:
- Send other members emails that are not directly related to a purchase or sale on eBay
- Contact other members to make offers to buy or sell items outside of eBay, or use information obtained on eBay to solicit sales outside of eBay
- Send messages that include email addresses, phone numbers, social media links, contact information, usernames, external web links or addresses, or other personal or business information
- Exception: Sellers may only opt to provide their phone number as part of the Ask a Seller a Question (ASQ) function to facilitate a sale on eBay
- Send emails to other members that are unsolicited and commercial in nature
- Add other members to mailing lists without their permission, or send invitations to other members to join mailing lists that are not related to an eBay Shop
- Send messages impersonating eBay
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.
Why does eBay have this policy?
This policy protects eBay members from the risk of fraudulent transactions off eBay. It also makes sure that users see important messages regarding transactions, without receiving unwanted spam.