I've built up an eBay store over 6 years, 99.8% feedback, 12k transactions. Thinking about selling the whole thing (account, listings, supplier contacts). Is that even allowed? I keep seeing mixed answers.
eBay
can i sell my ebay business account
Read eBay's user agreement. Transferring accounts is explicitly against policy. You can sell the business as an asset but the account itself isn't yours to hand over
People do it anyway. Usually through an asset sale where the the buyer creates a new account and you 'consult' during transition. Risky though.
Yeah I figured. The feedback and history is the valuable part though. Without it the store is just a shell.
You could sell the LLC that owns the account. That's the workaround I've heard. But eBay can still shut it down if they catch on.
Exactly. And if they do, the buyer loses everything and you might get sued. Not worth it.
Ha, I tried this once. Buyer took over, changed password, then eBay froze the account for 'suspicious activity'. Total mess. Took 3 months to unwind.
PixelatedMoose what did you end up doing? Just refund?
Partial refund, kept a deposit for 'consulting.' Lost my account though. Lesson learned.
Have you considered selling on Flippa or similar? They have specific rules about ebay accounts. Mostly you're selling inventory + brand, not the login.
I'll check Flippa. Honestly the account is 80% of the value. The inventory is just generic stuff from Alibaba.
Then you're kind of stuck.Maybe sell the customer list and supplier contacts separately and just close the account? Not ideal but legal.
Also check if your state allows transfer of a business name. Some do, some don't. But eBay is a separate beast entirely.
Just my 2 cents: if you're serious, talk to a lawyer who knows e-commerce. A few hundred bucks now saves thousands later.
Appreciate all the replies. Sounds like the consensus is 'technically no, but people do it and sometimes get burned.' I'll do more digging before I list it anywhere.