How to Increase eBay Selling Limits in 2023

13 min read

Opening a new store on eBay is never a bad idea, but it is not as easy as a newcomer might think it is. For instance, when starting from scratch, the first limitation a new eBay seller faces is eBay selling limits.

If you just start selling on eBay, you will get only 10 items selling limit. But there is a way to go around it and increase eBay limits. Read it further in this post.

In the beginning, your store will be limited to 10 items that are valued at no more than 500$. This limit was created by eBay to let sellers demonstrate their credibility before getting wider access.

Let’s dive further into this starter’s limit. You will be given a 10 item limit – this means you can list 10 items only throughout that month. Whether you choose to list one product with a quantity of 10 units, or 10 different products each with only 1 unit/variation – it will still count the same.

Furthermore, if you listed ten items and one of them was sold immediately, your monthly limits will reduce from 10 to 9, until the limit bucket renews next month. Let’s demonstrate the eBay limits using an edge case: if you are to list just one item worth $500, your eBay store’s limit will be reached as well and you won’t be able to list more items, even though you listed just the one.

That’s why it is always better to start off selling cheap items in order to optimize your selling limits in terms of product listing and monetary quantity.

How to find my eBay selling limits?

There are two pages on which you can see your monthly selling limits on eBay. The first is your All Selling page. It is showing right after ‘your performance’ box. There you will get to know how many items you have sold and for how many $$, how many items you have listed and their value in $$, and how many items you can still list in both quantity of items and volume.

The second place to find your selling limits is the Overview page of your seller hub. I prefer to work with the seller hub as it is much more pleasant on the eyes and easy to navigate. It will look like this:

If you are new to the Seller Hub and just opted in for the first time, there’s a chance you won’t find it straight away. In that case, go to customize on either the top right corner or the bottom of the page and click on the Monthly selling limits.

Remember that eBay seller limits are not directly connected to the level of your account subscription. So if you will buy a bigger store subscription, it will not automatically increase your eBay seller limits. How can you increase your seller limits on eBay then? 

Why does eBay have selling limits?

Trust. A seller has to prove that he can deliver, and not just sell before he can get a chance to scale up. The limits are applied to all new selling accounts and are protecting both sellers and buyers from scammers and to make people look to start a side hustle like eBay dropshipping to grow slower. That method helps to minimize the risks of bad buying experiences and policy violations, so buyers will keep coming back for more.

Obviously, it’s not only delivering the packages that count. Sellers also have to prove their customer service skills and the handling of after-sales requests like returns or cancellations. Oh, and the products they sell must be authentic and accurate according to their descriptions, titles, and images.

Will eBay increase my selling limits automatically?

Overall, eBay reviews the sellers’ accounts on the 20th of every month and can update your selling limits without you even asking for it. They will reset the existing account limits at the end of the month.

The automatic increase usually happens after 90 days for new sellers, in case they meet eBay criteria and show active selling metrics and performance.  Though,  you should never wait for it:

We’ll review your account every month and adjust your limit automatically based on your sales volume and the feedback you get.
eBay on selling limits.

But new eBay dropshipping sellers who are trying to start a business online are often selling products at a rate that is higher than 10 per month. Methods to increase the selling limits were developed by dropshipping experts over the years and made it possible to grow faster regardless of eBay’s automatic evaluation process.

Tips to Increase eBay Selling Limits Fast 

Before you decide to increase your monthly limits, here are a few things you should take into account before contacting eBay. 

• Exhaust your Selling Limits: 

The idea is simple, if you still have room to list items, eBay will not even try to lift a finger when it comes to providing you with a limit increase. This applies whether it is a monetary increase and/or a listing increase. 

• Keep your Orders & Return cases clean:

It’s important to show eBay that you do your due diligence as a responsible seller by avoiding the issue of having open returned cases or any order cancellations. 

If you want to increase your limits on eBay, you need to show the platform that you’re competent enough to handle more responsibilities — remember eBay has a glass ceiling for beginners in order to avoid any issue between the seller and clients.

• Seller Level in good standing:

eBay reviews your account every month and based on your performance, you’re given a seller level status. There are three categories you can fall into:

1. Top Rated Seller: This means that you’re in full compliance with eBay’s policies and in addition you properly manage your sales and provide great customer support. 

—  Keep in mind that this seller status does not apply to dropshippers since you’re not complying with the eBay Dropshipping Policy. However, this does not mean that your account will be banned.

2. Above Average Seller: This is the sweet spot for any eBay seller or dropshipper to be at. It means that you overall have a good selling ratio, provide good customer service and generate enough traffic in order to make sales. 

So in essence, you may not be complying with eBay’s Dropshipping Policy but you are a good seller, therefore you can be given this status. 

3. Below Average Seller: This is where you are in the break of losing your account. This would mean that you are not listing good products to sell, you slack on your customer support, you are not that active with your eBay store, etc. 

If you have your seller status on the Below Standard mark, don’t even think of asking for a limit increase since it would be extremely difficult to get one. Focus on improving your store. 

Here are a few tips to help you improve your eBay store:

• Shipping your items out on time according to their shipping policies. 
• Updating tracking information on time according to the handling time in your shipping policies.
• Closing cases between you and the buyer, and without asking eBay to intervene.

These are the three main points you should always take into consideration whenever you wish to increase your limits. 

— Is it necessary to have all these points in check in order to get an eBay limit increase? Not really but it will certainly help your case. You see, you can request a limit increase whenever you want, even if you’re barely starting to sell. When you contact one of eBay’s agents, they can decide to give you an increase or not. 

However, having your store clean, in check, and with a couple of sales will prove that you’re a good seller, therefore you can handle an increase. Think about it, eBay benefits here as well. They want to improve the customer’s buying experience by exposing good products to good sellers. 

The better you perform, the better for eBay and the better for you as a seller since you’ll be able to list more items and hopefully make more sales — meaning more profits!

How to increase my eBay seller limits?

There are a few ways to get your selling limits raised. The easiest one is to click on Request to list more button right under your Monthly limits information:

Requesting to increase your limits will direct you to at least one of the two options:

1. Contact via phone – You will be presented with a number to call and with a one-time passcode to enter for verification.
2. Contact via text – There you could write an application explaining why you would like to request a limits increase 

If you choose the call, which is the recommended option, you will be asked to give some personal & business information about you and your store, like your email address, business address, what kind of items are you selling and where do you get them from among other questions. They are basically trying to verify your identity and make sure you’re not selling anything prohibited and that your suppliers are reliable.

Since dropshipping on eBay from retail websites stands against the eBay dropshipping policy you should probably consider avoiding mentioning the word dropshipping and rather refer to them simply as suppliers you work with. 

For beginners, it is also recommended to start dropshipping from Ali Express to eBay and not from US retailers which will also allow you to say you are sourcing products from Chinese suppliers you find online.

Take into account that if you haven’t produced your first sale, or have yet to reach that initial limit, there’s a good chance you will be denied. Worry not, despite what some would think, nothing stops you from calling again after a day or two.

In the case you already have an established account with bigger limits and a selling record, you can contact eBay using the same way, identify yourself as that account holder and ask to link the new store to it, or by clicking on the request button.

However, there are some qualifications on which eBay pay attention in reviewing your request: 

• that your selling account is open for at least 90 days; 
• it has no open cases;
• your buyer feedbacks;
• it has a high/active selling performance;
• PayPal verification;
• not violated eBay policies;
• No comments from your buyers about the product’s authenticity.

 Although, failing to reach the mentioned criteria doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t at a minimum ask.

The increase of eBay selling limits was declined. What to do?

It can happen. In case of a refusal, you can request an increase of your account selling limits in a few days again, for example by calling them. In general, you are allowed to request higher selling limits once in 30 days, but anyway keep attempting more often than that, especially if your sales are growing.    

In order to be able to request the increase of your account limits, you need to sell as much as you can and get feedback. How can you do it? 

• Try to sell cheap products on-demand at very competitive prices. It will raise your chances of sales. 
• Remove the products that didn’t have a sale for a long time and list a new one.
•  If you have a product with multiple variations, you can also remove a few of them to get more space for well-selling products. 

Please remember: eBay does want you to increase your limits since the bigger amount of listings you have, the more you can sell and eBay will get more money and buyers.

Selling limits on multiple eBay accounts

It’s possible you might use different accounts to sell on eBay. For example, you might be a more advanced dropshipper on eBay and you’ve created eBay Stealth Accounts. So if you’re looking for a limit increase on your accounts, take into account the following points:

• No unresolved cases on any of your eBay accounts.
• Detailed seller ratings of 4.8 or higher in all areas if possible.
• Feedback from a successful sale from at least 90 days ago.

If these criteria are met, you can request higher selling allowances.

Final Thoughts

eBay has done a great job of protecting online buyers from any scam, without creating an environment that unfairly punishes honest dropshippers like you. As you may all know by now, it’s not easy to keep a dropshipping eBay store alive without some serious work behind it. 

Especially since eBay reviews your account on a month-to-month basis you need to demonstrate that you’re an overall active seller that provides good customer support to its customers. That is where you can start growing your store by requesting a limit increase on the items you can list and on the monetary ceiling your initially given in order to profit even more. 

That’s why it is important for you not to only understand how to request an eBay Selling Limit increase, but also how to keep your account in good standings in order to get the increase. 

Have any interesting stories about how your selling limits increase requests? Do share with us in the comments below!