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You can change your cookie settings at any time by clicking “Preferences.” Preferences Decline Accept Skip to content 📍 Home ❓About 📰 Archive ✔Support VAR Search Log in Subscribe 🌙 Dark Latest All Ads AI Amazon Earnings eBay eBay Cyberstalking Etsy Legal Mercari News Poshmark TCGPlayer Tech Issues eBay Explicitly Bans AI “Buy For Me” Agents, Updates Arbitration & Dispute Rules In User Agreement Update Liz Morton Published: Jan 21 2026 Updated: Jan 21 2026 Comments Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share via Email Copy link eBay explicitly prohibits AI "buy for me" agents and LLM (larger language model) bots, updates arbitration and dispute resolution requirements in latest User Agreement update, going into effect February 20, 2026. The following summary of changes was provided in an email sent to users: We’ve updated eBay’s User Agreement, including the agreement to arbitrate any disputes you may have with us. Our updated User Agreement was posted on January 20, 2026. For users who agreed to a prior version of our User Agreement, this agreement is effective as of February 20, 2026. In this update, eBay is updating its anti-scraping prohibition to clarify that it specifically also includes bots used for AI or LLMs. eBay is also updating the agreement to arbitrate in the updated User Agreement: We clarified the scope of the class action waiver. We clarified the process for opting out of the agreement to arbitrate. We updated the physical address to which notices for informal dispute resolution, arbitration demands, and notices for opting out of arbitration must be sent. As always, sellers are encouraged to read the entire updated terms carefully, but Value Added Resource has you covered with a side by side comparison highlighting some key changes. Disclaimer: comparisons are made using both automated and manual methods and are provided for informational purposes only - no warranty of completeness or accuracy is expressed or implied and users are advised to do their own due diligence. AI Agents & LLM Scraping First, as the summary calls out, eBay is explicitly prohibiting AI "buy for me" agents and LLM scraping bots from interacting with the platform without permission from eBay. Old Version: In connection with using or accessing our Services you agree to comply with this User Agreement, our policies, our terms, and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and you will not... ...use any robot, spider, scraper, data mining tools, data gathering and extraction tools, or other automated means to access our Services for any purpose, except with the prior express permission of eBay; New Version: In connection with using or accessing our Services you agree to comply with this User Agreement, our policies, our terms, and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and you will not... use any robot, spider, scraper, data mining tools, data gathering and extraction tools, or other automated means (including, without limitation buy-for-me agents, LLM-driven bots, or any end-to-end flow that attempts to place orders without human review) to access our Services for any purpose, except with the prior express permission of eBay; The move comes after eBay quietly changed their robots.txt file with new guidance placing guardrails and restrictions on how AI agents interact with the site in December. eBay Encourages Buyers & Sellers To Use AI For The Holidays While Quietly Updating AI Agent Policy eBay encourages buyers & sellers to “unwrap innovation” with AI this holiday season, quietly adds guardrails on how AI agents interact with site. Value Added ResourceLiz Morton It also comes on the heels of Amazon's controversial Buy For Me test which uses agentic AI to display items from direct merchant websites for sale through the Amazon app, even if the brand does not sell on Amazon themselves - raising concerns about transparency, consent, and control over how product details are displayed to buyers. Amazon’s “Buy For Me” Agentic AI Sparks Backlash As Small Businesses Say Listings Are Being Hijacked Small businesses say Amazon’s “Buy For Me” agentic AI uses their product data without consent, causing pricing, fulfillment & buyer trust concerns. Value Added ResourceLiz Morton While it appears that Amazon Buy For Me currently does not pull inventory from other third party marketplaces, it would not be surprising if eBay is reacting at least in part to this and other agentic commerce news making recent headlines. Arbitration & Dispute Resolution The rest of the changes in this User Agreement update affect arbitration and dispute resolution. eBay's previous User Agreement update in May 2025 made significant changes to arbitration terms and limits on lawsuits, forcing users to give up their right to the sue the company in many situations. eBay User Agreement Update May 2025: New Arbitration Terms & Limits On Lawsuits eBay has released an update to their user agreement with significant changes to arbitration terms & limits on lawsuits, effective May 16th 2025. Value Added ResourceLiz Morton In this update, eBay has finally updated the address to send arbitration opt out requests and other legal correspondence to since selling their former office in Draper, UT in 2024. Old Version: Notice to eBay should be sent by email to DisputeNotice@eBay.com or regular mail to our offices located at 583 W. eBay Way, Draper, UT 84020. New Version: Notice to eBay should be sent by email to DisputeNotice@eBay.com or regular mail to our offices located at 339 W. 13490 S., Ste. 500, Draper, UT 84020 Most importantly, eBay has expanded their arbitration clause which previously prohibited class actions to now also explicitly exclude more types of group legal actions. Old Version: EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE, OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE BE BROUGHT, HEARD, ADMINISTERED, RESOLVED, OR ARBITRATED ON A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE BASIS. ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE. Subject to this Agreement to Arbitrate, the arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the party’s individual claim. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to, nor shall it, affect the terms and conditions under Section 19.B.7 ("Batch Arbitration"). New Version: EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, OR REPRESENTATIVE, OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING, NOR OTHERWISE TO SEEK RECOVERY OF LOSSES OR DAMAGES (WHETHER FOR YOURSELF OR OTHERS) INCURRED BY A THIRD PARTY, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE BE BROUGHT, HEARD, ADMINISTERED, RESOLVED, OR ARBITRATED ON A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE BASIS. ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE. Subject to this Agreement to Arbitrate, the arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the party’s individual claim. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to, nor shall it, affect the terms and conditions under Section 19.B.7 ("Batch Arbitration"). Here's what that means in plain language: “Not as a plaintiff or class member” — prevents someone from joining an existing class action. “No private attorney general actions” — blocks lawsuits brought “on behalf of the public,” a type of claim sometimes used in consumer protection cases. “Nor… for losses incurred by a third party” — prevents a person from trying to recover damages suffered by someone else. Note: this language does not in any way change or restrict legal action that state Attorneys General, the FTC or other regulatory or legal agencies can take on behalf of sellers and/or consumers - so don't be dissuaded from letting those agencies know about your experiences with the platform, like the recent changes to Promoted Listings ad attribution policies. A Seller’s Guide To Speaking Up: How To Report eBay’s New Ad Policies To The FTC & State AGs Concerned about eBay’s controversial new Promoted Listings ad rules? Here’s how to file effective, proactive reports with FTC & AGs to make your voice heard! Value Added ResourceLiz Morton And finally, this User Agreement update has been changed to clarify that only new users may request to opt out of arbitration agreement - existing users missed their opportunity if they did not opt out before May 16, 2025. Opt-Out Procedure IF YOU ARE A NEW USER OF OUR SERVICES, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO OPT OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE ("OPT OUT") BY MAILING US A WRITTEN OPT-OUT NOTICE ("OPT-OUT NOTICE"). And that's it for changes to eBay's User Agreement going into effect February 20, 2026. Let us know in the comments below what you think of these change and how they'll affect your business! eBayAISeller Updates Liz Morton Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Liz Morton is a 17 year ecommerce pro turned indie investigative journalist providing ad-free deep dives on eBay, Amazon, Etsy & more, championing sellers & advocating for corporate accountability. You might also like eBay Tightens Affiliate Rules, Cracking Down On AI Use, NDAs & Influencer Disclosures Paid Members Public eBay updates Partner Network terms, adding new restrictions on AI use, confidentiality agreements, and disclosure requirements for affiliates. Published:Jan 22 26 Updated:Jan 22 26 eBay Poshmark Responds To Seller Backlash With New Updates, Pledges Greater Transparency In 2026 Paid Members Public Poshmark responds to seller backlash with new platform updates and a pledge for greater transparency under new leadership in 2026. Published:Jan 18 26 Updated:Jan 19 26 Poshmark Value Added Resource Newsletter Join the newsletter to receive the latest updates in your inbox. Subscribe Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Recent Comments JUNEYesterday HI YES I HAVE A PROBLEM.I BOUGHT AN I PHONE FOR HUSBAND'S CHRISTMAS PRESENT .IT WAS FAULTY SO I ASKED TO SEND IT BACK.EBAY ISSUED A Q CODE.MY HUSBAND SENT IT OFF WITH ROYAL MAIL. I LOOKED ON MY EBAY PAGE AND IT SAID CASE CLOSED .I FOUND OUT THAT THE QR CODE SENT THE PHONE TO A PRIVATE ADDRESS IN WALES. EBAY DENY SENDING ME A Q CODE .I HAVE POSTE RECEIPT AND ADDRESS OF THE PERSON IT WENT .BUT BECAUSE IT WAS OUT OF THE 30 DAYS THAT EBAY STIPULATE THEY WILL NOT REFUNF MONEY .SO I LOST MONEY AND HAVE NO PHONE. I SAVED HARD FOR THIS PHONE BUT AM GUTTED I CANNOT DO ANYTHING J,PARSONS eBay QR Codes Fail As Sellers Experience Shipping Glitches For The Second Day In A Row Banned in ChatYesterday I have my calendar set for Feb. 16th, this should help with sales. I have over 100 items currently listed on Mercari and all of them would qualify. Mercari Announces Limited-Time Discounted Shipping Rates On Select Prepaid Labels Skankhoe693 days ago Yes, probably. I had Sendle pick a package up on the 23/12, on the 24/12 they handed it to a third party for delivery. It hasn't been delivered. The scum knew they were closing down in mid December, and still took people's money for deliveries 😡 Sendle’s Sudden Shutdown Leaves Australian eBay Sellers in Limbo Featured Posts A Seller’s Guide To Speaking Up: How To Report eBay’s New Ad Policies To The FTC & State AGs 21 Nov 2025 eBay Exposed: A Social Experiment In Free Speech & Corporate Accountability 16 May 2025 From CIA To Silicon Valley: Intelligence Roots Of eBay Cyberstalking Scandal 6 Apr 2025 eBay Governance Crisis: Cyberstalking Case Ethics, Compliance & Disclosure Failures Call For Shareholder Scrutiny 16 Mar 2025 eBay Gears Up for Crisis? New Job Posting Signals Potential Trouble Ahead 10 Feb 2025 eBay Wins Dismissal Of EPA Suit; Court Affirms Section 230 Protections For Items Sold On The Site 30 Sep 2024 Amazon Sellers Hit Walmart With Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Complicity In Online Organized Retail Crime 27 Sep 2024 eBay Demands Identities Of EcommerceBytes Sources In $100M+ Cyberstalking Suit 25 Sep 2024 eBay's Tech Image Overhaul: Is Media Manipulation Covering Up Executive Leadership Failures? 3 Jul 2024 eBay Quietly Grows China Sales As CEO Downplays Temu Competition 12 Jun 2024 Mercari US Undertakes Mass Layoff Months After Major Fee Structure Shakeup 12 Jun 2024 FTC Urged To Investigate eBay TCGPlayer Deceptive & Anti-Competitive Conduct In ROCC Petition 23 May 2024 eBay Sets Up Shop Using TCGPlayer To Hide Conflict Of Interest While Competing With Sellers On The Platform 8 Apr 2024 Etsy Quietly Adds China To Etsy Payment Eligibility List Via Payoneer Partnership 18 Mar 2024 Value Added Resource Ecommerce Marketplace News, Analysis & Expert Commentary Navigation Contact Data & privacy Cookie Policy Disclaimer Newsletter Subscribe © 2026 Value Added Resource -
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Основные изменения в пользовательском соглашении eBay: 1) Запрет на использование AI-агентов для взаимодействия с платформой, включая "buy for me" агентов и LLM-ботов, без предварительного разрешения eBay. 2) Обновлены положения о разрешении споров, расширены ограничения на коллективные иски, а также запрет на использование "private attorney general actions". 3) Изменено место для отправки уведомлений, связанных с разрешением споров, в связи с переездом офиса eBay. 4) Уточнены положения, касающиеся отказа от соглашения о разрешении споров.