eBay for Charity

Tap into eBay’s marketplace of over 171 million active buyers and acquire new donors by setting up your charity for direct selling.

Over 1,000,000 eBay listings benefit charities on any given day. Here’s why:

Scale and Reach

Increase visibility for your items with 171 million active buyers who are passionate about causes

No Restrictions

Charities receive a special charity rate, 1.4% of the total amount of the sale, plus a 0.30 Canadian dollar fixed fee per order. There are no third-party payments processing fees.

Charity Listings Sell Faster

Users are more likely to buy an item benefiting charity over one that does not

No third-party payments processing fees

For sellers with eBay managing payments, we charge a final value fee when your item sells, and you don’t have to worry about third-party payments processing fees

Does your charity rely on donor acquisition and funds raised from selling donated goods, branded merchandise, or symbolic charity gifts? Then start with Direct Selling on the eBay platform to reach 171 million active buyers!

Not listed?
Let’s Get You Set Up

Step 1:

Gather
Documentation

Make sure you have the following handy to expedite your enrollment:

  • Charity details such as charity registration number, mission statement, website, logo, cause area, etc.
  • Evidence of charity registration such as current Articles of Incorporation that indicate the charity’s legal status.
  • Bank account information and access (bank account needs to be in the registered name of the charity organization)
  • Letter of authorization, signed by the director/trustee, if primary contact is not the director/trustee

Step 2:

Register for eBay to manage your payments

  • Create an eBay business user ID for your charity or designated seller
  • Register on eBay on behalf of your charity
  • Please make sure that the name, address, and charity information on your chequing account matches the name and information on your eBay account.
  • Watch for a confirmation email.

Step 3:

Keep Selling!

  • Once your information is verified, you’re good to continue selling on eBay!
  • Use your social media, website, email campaigns and more to encourage supporters to buy items that support your organization.

Check Out the Programs Available Through eBay

High Profile Campaigns

Leverage your celebrities, brands, and influencers to support you with unique experiences or one-of-a-kind auctions.

Direct Selling

As a charity, sell on eBay to expose your products to a massive community of 171 million active buyers.

Dedicated eBay Store

Enhance the way you merchandise your items through a dedicated eBay Store.

Items to sell

  • Hotel gift certificates
  • Restaurant gift certificates
  • Airline and train tickets
  • Tickets to sporting events
  • Golf green fees
  • Unique experiences
  • Tickets to private events

Items to avoid

  • Wine or alcohol
  • Artwork
  • Large, heavy, and/or fragile items
  • Gift baskets
  • Consignment items
How do I set up a new charity?

If your charity organization has inventory to sell on eBay, please follow the steps listed above on this page.

If I’m a charity seller and have received a notification to register for eBay to manage my payments, what are the next steps?

Step 1: Sign in to your eBay Account

  • Click on the link to register for eBay to manage your payments.
  • You will be directed to the onboarding flow that takes you through the registration process.

Step 2: Select Account Type as “Business”

  • Select business entity sub-category as “Charity”
  • Submit the required details as you navigate through the registration process.
  • Watch for a confirmation email once you submit your registration details.
  • You will hear from eBay on the status of your registration within 3-5 business days.

Step 3: Get Set to Sell

  • Once your verification is successful, you will receive an email that your account is active and eBay is managing your payments.
What documents or information do I need in order to onboard as a Charity Seller?

Keep the following information handy in order to onboard as a Charity Seller:

Charity organizational details:

  • Charity registration number
  • Registered address
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Website URL
  • Evidence of charity registration (such as current Articles of Incorporation that indicate the charity’s legal status)
  • Charity’s logo (maximum file size of 12MB, minimum quality for jpeg/jpg of 90%)
  • Charity specific details such as organization’s volunteer base, cause areas, and mission statement

Charity’s bank account details:

  • Online banking access (if available)
  • Account number (name on the account should match the name of the charity organization provided on eBay account)
  • Transit number

Primary contact (eBay account holder) & Director/Trustee details:

Primary contact is authorized to manage this eBay account on behalf of the charity organization. Director/Trustee has the ultimate responsibility for implementing the decisions of the organization’s governing body. This should be the same as the director/trustee entered in the organization's governing document (for example, president, treasurer and secretary). The primary contact and director/trustee may be the same person.

A Director/Trustee needs to authorize the primary contact to manage all eBay related activities on behalf of the charity organization. The letter of authorization needs to be completed, printed on company letterhead and signed by a director/trustee. The sample letter of authorization can be downloaded while going through the onboarding flow.

The following information is required on the primary contact:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Government issued identification (Driving license)
  • Home address
  • Job title
  • Nationality
  • Letter of authorization (applicable if the primary contact is not a director/trustee)
If my charity is already on eBay, how do I register for eBay to manage my payments?

If you are a charity organization and have inventory to sell on eBay, please follow the steps listed above on this page.

Can I be a seller for multiple charities using the same account?

You will be able to sell for one charity using your eBay account. If you are a seller for multiple charities, you will need to sign up and onboard with separate accounts.

When will the charity receive donations from items sold by sellers?

Payouts are sent directly into the bank account set up for the charity. You can choose to schedule these daily as funds are available, or weekly. Regardless of how the buyer pays, funds will be made available within 2 business days (Monday through Friday, excluding bank holidays) of eBay confirming the buyer’s payment. Once a payout is initiated, funds will be available in your bank account within normal bank processing times, typically within 1–3 business days.

What does it mean for eBay to manage payments, and how does it affect charity sellers?

When eBay manages payments, you can sell and get paid in one place, on eBay, and buyers have new ways to pay (e.g. credit, debit, and gift cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayBright). You can schedule payouts at a frequency you choose (daily, as funds are available, or weekly). Regardless of how the buyer pays, the funds will be made available within 2 business days (Monday through Friday, excluding bank holidays) of eBay confirming the buyer’s payment.

You can access everything you need on eBay: consolidated fees, customized reports, refunds and returns, and simplified protections.

If you use third-party tools, there are no changes to how you use them. Visit the Seller Centre to learn more about eBay managing payments.

If I’m a charity seller, what are my fees when eBay manages my payments?

When you list and sell items on eBay, we charge selling fees. Once eBay manages your payments, we simply charge an updated final value fee when your item sells—and there are no third-party payments processing fees.

Once your nonprofit status is verified, you will pay a final value fee at the special charity rate, calculated as 1.4% of your total amount of the sale (inclusive of tax, shipping or handling, and any other applicable fees), plus a 0.30 Canadian dollar fixed fee per order. If you have been notified to register for eBay to manage your payments, please click here to find more information on all applicable fees and how they are calculated.

Why was I charged fees even though I am set up as a seller for charity?

Charities still benefit from eBay waiving standard listing fees. Charity sellers using eBay to manage their payments will no longer pay third-party payments processing fees. Instead, they’ll pay an updated final value fee at a special charity rate, with no third-party payments processing fees.

Your final value fee at a special charity rate will be 1.4% of your total amount of the sale (inclusive of tax, shipping or handling, and any other applicable fees), plus a 0.30 Canadian dollar fixed fee per order. You will not have to pay third-party payments processing fees.

Also, while sellers of charity items will not be charged insertion fees, advanced listing upgrade fees such as reserve price or subtitle will still be charged. Learn more about selling fees.

Why do you need additional information from me?

For eBay to manage your payments, we require you to provide certain information about you or your charity as described in the Payments Terms of Use. This includes bank account information such as your routing number and account number. eBay protects your personal data through technical and organizational security measures to minimize risks associated with data loss, misuse, unauthorized access and unauthorized disclosure and alteration.

To this end we use firewalls and data encryption, for example, as well as physical access restrictions for our data centers and authorization controls for data access. For further information on the type of data eBay may collect, process, or share, please refer to the User Privacy Notice. You can find further information about eBay’s data security procedures in our Security Centre.

How does eBay use my ID information once verification is complete?

The information you provide will allow us to send your payouts after activation and comply with government and know-your-customer obligations, which helps keep eBay a trusted marketplace.

We will verify the information you provide to us by obtaining reports from, or comparing your information to, information from third-party sources. These sources may include banks, credit agencies, data brokers, and other service providers.

I am set up as a seller for a charity that already has an account set up. Can I add another seller to my charity?

If your charity is already onboarded on eBay as a seller, but you would like to add another seller, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Gather Documentation

Make sure you have the following handy to expedite your enrollment:

  • Charity details such as charity registration number, mission statement, website, logo, cause area, etc.
  • Evidence of charity registration such as current articles of incorporation that indicate the charity’s legal status.
  • Bank account information and access (bank account needs to be in the registered name of the charity organization)
  • Letter of authorization, signed by the director/trustee, if primary contact is not the director/trustee

Step 2: Register for eBay to manage your payments

  • Create an eBay business user ID for your charity or designated Direct Seller.
  • Register on eBay on behalf of your charity.
  • Please make sure that the name, address, and charity information on your checking account match the name and information on your eBay account.
  • Watch for a confirmation email.

Step 3: Keep Selling!

  • Once your information is verified, you’re good to continue selling on eBay!
  • Use your social media, website, email campaigns and more to encourage supporters to buy items that support your organization.
What will happen to my active listings when I register for eBay to manage my payments?

When eBay manages your payments, all of your existing listings and buyer feedback will be retained. Any listings without existing activity (bids or offers) will be automatically updated to reflect the additional ways buyers can pay.

What reports are available when eBay manages my payments?

When eBay manages your payments you will see consolidated sales and payment data in dashboards and reports within Seller Hub. You will alsol get a reporting interface which functions as a single location from which to access and pull consolidated data about your eBay transactions. You can learn more in the Help Hub.

How does international selling work?

If you offer to ship internationally, your listings will appear in buyer searches on supported international eBay sites. You may limit the countries you ship to by selecting specific regions in your listing settings. You may also create listings directly on selected eBay sites outside of Canada, such as the United States (ebay.com), the United Kingdom (ebay.co.uk), and Germany (ebay.de). We will continue to expand international selling to more countries in the coming months. Your earnings from these sales will be disbursed to you in USD or CAD depending on your payout settings. We will continue to expand international selling to more countries in the coming months. For more details on international selling on eBay, click here. Additional fees may apply if either the buyer's registered address or the delivery address for the item is located outside of Canada, but you will no longer pay third-party processing fees for international transactions.

How do I change my charity’s profile and logo?

If you’ve registered for eBay to manage your payments, you can change your charity information such as your logo and mission statement by signing into your eBay account and clicking “Account Settings” under My eBay.

If eBay is not yet managing your payments, you can make changes to your profile anytime by logging into your PayPal Giving Fund Account and selecting “Edit Profile” from your dashboard.