These policies describe eBay Advertising’s philosophy and policies. Our policies are not intended as legal advice or to be all-inclusive. You are required to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and industry guidelines, including from the FTC and CARU.
If you are an agency purchasing ads on behalf of an advertiser, you must ensure that the advertiser complies with these policies and all applicable terms. We reserve the right to change these policies at any time.
Universal advertising policies
Pixel tracking can be accepted for impressions and clicks if running banners hosted through eBay’s DFP depending on ad unit.
All cookies must be declared prior to campaign start.
White ads or ads with a similar colour as the site background must have a 1-pixel solid border (hex code #dddddd strongly recommended) .
Audio must be user initiated, animation can be auto-play.
All rich media video must contain controls for pause/play and mute/unmute.
Max animation length for creatives is 15s, no more than 3 loops. Max frame rate is 24fps.
All creatives must be SSL compliant.
All advertisements must be clickable on the entire space.
Creatives must include an advertiser name or logo within their messaging.
eBay no longer accepts Flash creative
Banners must open within a new window _blank
Third party tags can only be accepted from vendors certified by Google for use with their DFP Premium ad-server, or if full instructions for inserting cachebuster and click-tracking macros are supplied and testing is completed before campaign start date.
For HTML5 creatives assets should be delivered as a compressed .zip folder containing the main HTML file and all the components it refers to: JavaScript, CSS, images. The main HTML file must use standard IAB clickTag variable.
Prohibited Content
No refurbished, or auction-related messaging
No “bait and switch” tactics allowed
Faux-functionality is strictly prohibited such as HTML Drop Downs or Search Forms
Promotion or glorification of violence, crime, sex, obscenity or unlawful activity is strictly prohibited
No firearms or ammunition
No Tobacco, e-cigarettes or vaping products
No nudity or adult content
No pharmaceuticals/prescription drug related content
No religious or political affiliations content
No civil/animal rights groups’ content
No violent games and movies
No graphical content – (e.g. animal cruelty ads)
No email aggregators
No services with fraud risk – (e.g. money wiring services, payday loans, escrow services)
OTC medications content approved on a case by case basis
No flashing borders or lettering
No text only
No “Fake Winner” copy
Advertising standards, rules and restrictions
Competitive messaging is acceptable but negative competitive messaging is not. Messaging must be relevant and can indicate advantages (competitive features, pricing, etc.) of an Advertiser’s product over a competitor’s. However, any messaging that directly calls out a competitor or contains disparaging content is not acceptable.
Message must be understandable, concise and neither deceptive nor offensive to the eBay community or brand. Employ a simple, short, consistent message. Make the words easy to read (avoid small font). An ordinary person must be able to make an informed decision about the content from the information provided in the ad. Direct response messaging should have one clear call to action.
Ad must clearly show the advertiser’s logo or company/product or service offering.
The advertiser’s landing page must match the offer being made in the advertisement.
It is the advertiser’s responsibility to ensure that all product claims, warranties, guarantees or other assurances comply with applicable laws & regulations.
The ad and landing page must have detailed disclosures as appropriate; in particular, full terms and conditions of the offer must be easily accessible on landing page.
Images, logos, fonts must be of high resolution/good quality/legible.
Must be suitable for eBay’s mass community.
Usage of the eBay brand is strictly prohibited without prior approval from eBay. Ads may not mimic or resemble eBay brand colours.
ebay WILL NOT accept any advertisement that:
Links directly to a registration/email capture page
Requires registration and/or log-in in order to view a significant portion of the content of the advertisement or the related site
Promotes a business and/or service that competes with the business and/or any service of eBay or any of its affiliates – eBay will use the “Advertisement” or “AdChoice” label to denote advertising above all non-expandable advertisements posted on the eBay site.
Additionally, eBay will include the label “Advertisement” or “AdChoice” inside of all expandable advertisements such that the label is viewable both before and during ad expansion.
eBay reserves the right to limit the number of creatives deployed per campaign, and changes to the creative in rotation, where ad operations support is required.
Advertisements linking to 3rd party sites must open in a new window
