How to Set Up eBay Business Policies 2026 (Payment, Postage and Returns)

To set up eBay business policies, go to Account Settings > Business Policies, then create one payment, one postage and one return policy. Once saved, you can apply all three to any listing in a couple of clicks instead of setting payment, postage and return terms from scratch every time.

What are eBay business policies?

eBay business policies are reusable templates for the payment methods, postage costs and return terms you offer. Instead of filling in these details separately on every listing, you create each policy once and apply it wherever it fits, so your terms stay consistent across your whole shop. You can read eBay's own overview on its business policies help page for the platform's official terms and conditions around each policy type.

Business policies aren't switched on by default for every eBay account, so the first job is turning the feature on.

What you'll do:

1. Create a payment policy
2. Create a postage policy
3. Create a return policy

Create an eBay payment policy

An eBay payment policy sets your payment terms, so buyers see this on every listing you apply it to.

1. Go to Seller Hub > Account > Business policies.
2. Under the Payment tab, click Create policy > Payment.
3. Enter a Policy name you'll recognise later (for example, "Standard payment").
4. Payment methods are managed automatically by eBay, so there's nothing to configure there. If you also want to accept cash on collection, tick Allow offline payment > Cash on pickup.
5. Set your payment terms.
6. Click Save.

Immediate payment only applies to Buy It Now listings, so if you tick it, that policy can't be applied to an auction. This leaves you with two ways to handle it: leave immediate payment unticked and use one policy across both auctions and Buy It Now listings, or create two payment policies, one with immediate payment required for Buy It Now and one without for auctions. Most solo resellers running a mix of formats find one unticked policy simpler to manage, but if you rely on immediate payment to avoid non-paying bidders on Buy It Now stock, the two-policy route protects that without blocking you from listing auctions elsewhere in your shop.

Your new payment policy now appears in the list and is ready to apply to listings.

Create an eBay postage policy

An eBay postage policy sets your dispatch time, postage costs and the services you offer, so you don't have to re-enter this information for every listing.

1. Go to Seller Hub > Account > Business policies.
2. Under the Postage tab, click Create policy > Postage.
3. Enter a Policy name.
4. Set your dispatch time (how many days you need to post an item after it sells).
5. Choose your domestic postage services and set the cost for each (flat rate, calculated or free).
6. Add international postage services if you post overseas, or leave this off if you only sell domestically.
7. Click Save.

Your postage policy is now saved and ready to apply to listings.

If you resell a mix of item types, one postage policy usually won't fit everything. A policy built around small, lightweight items (jewellery, trading cards, folded clothing) will undercharge on postage for anything bulky, and a policy built for bulkier items will overcharge on small ones. Setting up two or three postage policies by item weight and size, rather than trying to make one policy stretch across your whole inventory, keeps your postage costs accurate without manual adjustment on individual listings. For the reasoning behind why this matters for your margin, see the Reseller Handbook 2026's chapter on storage and dispatch.

Create an eBay return policy

An eBay return policy sets whether you accept returns, your return window and who pays for return postage.

1. Go to Seller Hub > Account > Business policies.
2. Under the Return tab, click Create policy > Return.
3. Enter a Policy name.
4. Choose whether you accept domestic returns, and separately whether you accept returns on international orders.
5. If you do, set your return period (for example, 30 days) and who pays for return postage.
6. Choose your refund method (money back or exchange).
7. Click Save.

Your return policy is now saved alongside your payment and postage policies.

Expected result

You now have a payment, postage and return policy saved under Business Policies in your eBay account (shown below). You can select any of these three policies from the drop-down menus when creating or editing a listing, instead of setting terms from scratch each time.

Tips and best practices

• Create a couple of postage policies for different item types (for example, one for small lightweight items and one for bulkier items) so you're not manually adjusting postage costs on individual listings.
• Decide upfront whether you want one payment policy to cover both auctions and Buy It Now (leave immediate payment unticked) or two separate ones (immediate payment required only on the Buy It Now version). Switching a policy's immediate payment setting later won't retroactively unlock it for auction listings already using it.
• Keep your policy names specific and descriptive. You'll be picking from a drop-down list every time you list, so "Standard payment" is easier to spot than "Policy 1".
• Review your return period and who pays for return postage against eBay's seller protections before saving, since this affects how disputes are resolved.
• Update your policies in one place when your terms change, rather than editing each live listing individually. Every listing using that policy updates automatically.

FAQs

Can I rename or delete a policy once it's synced with Listing Monster?

No. Once a payment, postage or return policy is synced with Listing Monster, don't rename or delete it in eBay. It’s important to keep policy names the same, so your multi-step sales automations, discounts re-listing can continue to run. Contact the Listing Monster team on chat first if you have any concerns about editing a synced policy.

Why isn't my new policy showing up when I try to apply it to a listing?

Newly created or edited policies can take a few minutes to sync across eBay before they appear in listing menus. Wait a few minutes and refresh the page. If it still doesn't appear, go back to Business Policies and confirm it actually saved under the relevant tab, then re-create it if it's missing.

Can I use one payment policy for both auctions and Buy It Now listings?

Yes, as long as immediate payment is left unticked, since immediate payment only applies to Buy It Now and blocks a policy from being used on auctions. If you need immediate payment on your Buy It Now stock, create a second policy without it for auctions rather than trying to toggle one policy between formats.

Can I have more than one postage, payment or return policy?

Yes. You can create as many policies as you need for each type and choose which one to apply per listing. This is useful for running a lightweight-item postage policy alongside a separate one for bulkier items, as covered in the tips above.

What happens to my listings if I delete a policy?

eBay requires you to reassign any listings using a policy to a different one before you can delete it. You can't delete a policy that's still actively applied to a live listing.