The eBay Android app provides easy access and powerful tools to find, bid, buy and pay for items found on eBay. Below are some frequently asked questions that will help you maximize your searching and buying experience using the eBay Android app.


When I search for an item I get too many results. How can I find what I really want?

When I start typing in a search term there are lots of things that pop up below the search field. Can you explain these options?

What refinement and sorting options are available, and what do they do?

Why can't I sign into PayPal?

Why can't I pay for my item using PayPal?

How do I learn more about a seller?

Can I ask the seller a question using the Android app?

Can I contact the buyer of one of my items using the Android app?

How do I find items for a particular seller?

Can I add or delete a seller in my Favorite sellers list?

How do I leave feedback on an item? How do know if I need to leave feedback?

How do I know if my item has been shipped?

As a seller, can I enter tracking information for an item? As a buyer, can I view the tracking information for an item?


When I search for an item I get too many results. How can I find what I really want?

The app provides a set of options for refining and sorting your search result list. When you are on the search results screen, simply tap the Advanced button in the upper right to see the available advanced search options. On this screen, you can quickly select options, such as a specific category, auction type, price range, etc., to apply to your search in order to help you find exactly what you are looking for. The advanced search options are separated by type: Search refinement options will reset to the default values for each search you perform while the Default search preferences will maintain the selected values for all subsequent searches until they are changed.

Take some time to explore the search refinement and sorting options until you feel the search results are tailored just for you. If there is something you search for regularly, you can save yourself a lot of time by saving the search. To save a search, simply select the Save button above the results list. You will then be able to review the search terms and refinement options and provide a unique name for your search. When you return to the app, you can quickly find and launch your saved search directly from the Home screen.

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When I start typing in a search term there are lots of things that pop up below the search field. Can you explain these options?

When you start typing in the Search field, the app will provide you quick access to Saved Searches, Recent searches as well as Suggested Searches.

Saved Searches will take you to a list of any searches you have saved on the site or in the app. A saved search includes both the keyword and the refinement options so you can quickly get to a refined set of results based on your preferences.

Recent searches will simply prefill a keyword that you've recently searched for and filter based on the text you enter. If you search for similar items regularly, the Recent search items will help you quickly prefill and run the search again but it will not include any search refinement options you may have previously selected.

Search suggestions are provided below the Recents and suggest search terms based on the text you enter in the search field. Search suggestions help you quickly prefill a search term for commonly searched-for items.

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What refinement and sorting options are available, and what do they do?

By selecting the Advanced button on the search results page, you can change or select from a variety of options on the Advanced search options screen and then run the search again to see only the results that match your selected criteria. The options available are separated by type: Search refinement options will reset to the default values for each search you perform while Default search preferences will maintain the selected values for all subsequent searches until they are changed. Below is a brief description of the available options.

Category
By default, the search results will include items from all eBay categories but you can very quickly refine your results by selecting a specific category from the list displayed. Tapping on the category cell will provide a list of all the categories that have matching items along with the count of items found in that category. As an example, maybe you are looking for a new Android phone but the search results include lots of accessories. You can quickly select the "Cell phones & Smart phones" category.

Price range
You may want to restrict your results set by price range. You can set a minimum price, maximum price or both to limit your search results.

Condition
You can refine your results to only include items based on the condition specified by the seller. There are four options to choose from: Any (default), New, Used, and Not specified.

Max distance
You can also limit your search results to only display those items that are near you. You must be signed in enable the Max Distance option. The app uses the postal/zip code of the signed-in user's registered address (not your current location) to determine the distance of an item from you.

Completed listings
Searching completed listings is a great way to quickly research the price and sales trends for a particular item. Selecting this option will limit your results to include completed items only. Results will include both sold (price is green) and unsold (price is red) items.

Note: The completed listing option is only available for signed in users and results are limited to items that ended in the past two weeks to ensure that you are getting the most relevant price trend information.

Sold items only
Searching for sold items only is a great way to quickly research sales trends on a particular item. By selecting this option, the results set will only include items that have ended and sold.

Note: The sold items only option is only available for signed in users and results are limited to items that sold in the past two weeks to ensure that you are getting the most relevant price trend information.

Description search
By default, the search will only look at item titles to find a match. If you are not finding many matching results, you can expand your results by also searching the text used in the description of the item. Keep in mind that this option will increase the number of items in your results and will likely take a bit longer to provide the results list so you should only use it when appropriate.

Sorting
Sorting your result list can help you find the items you are most interested in faster. There are six sorting options to choose from:

Buying format
You can refine your results to only include items based on the type of auction. There are three options to choose from: All (default), Auction or Buy It Now.

Free shipping
By selecting this option, the results set will only include items that offer free shipping as one of the shipping options.

Located in United States only
By selecting this option, the results will only include items that are physically located in the United States. You may want to select this option if you want to find items that are closer to you and will likely arrive faster. You cannot have this option selected if you also selected the Search other countries option.

Search other countries
By selecting this option, the results will include items physically located anywhere in the world but that indicate they can be shipped to your location. You cannot have this option selected if you also selected the Located in United States only option.

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Why can't I sign-in to PayPal?

A common error people make is to use their eBay user id when trying to sign-in to PayPal. Be sure you are using your PayPal login (which is an email address) and not your eBay user name.

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Why can't I pay for my item using PayPal?

In some cases, you may not be able to pay for your item using the eBay Android app using PayPal. In this case, you will need to go to the eBay website to complete your payment.

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How do I learn more about a seller?

When viewing an item, you will see that the Seller of the item can be selected to display their profile. From this screen you can choose to View recent feedback, View seller's other items, or Ask seller a question.

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Can I ask the seller a question using the Android app?

Yes, when viewing an item, tap on the Seller name to view their profile. From this screen you can choose Ask seller a question to launch a popup to compose a message to the seller.

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Can I contact the buyer of one of my items using the Android app?

Yes, when viewing the sold item, scroll down and select the Buyer details button. From this screen you can choose Contact buyer to launch a popup to compose a message to the user.

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How do I find items for a particular seller?

When viewing an item, tap on the seller's name to view their profile. From this screen you can choose View seller's other items to view a list of items currently listed by that seller. If this is a Seller that you like to check back on regularly, we recommend that you Save this search so you can easily load the seller's items whenever you like.

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Can I add or delete a seller in my Favorite sellers list?

No, at this time you can only add or delete favorite sellers on the eBay website.

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How do I leave feedback on an item? How do know if I need to leave feedback?

Each item in your Won list has a small star-shaped feedback icon with a pencil to indicate if feedback has been left. A greyed-out feedback icon indicates that you have not left feedback on that item. A blue and yellow feedback icon indicates that you have successfully left feedback for that item.

To leave feedback on an item, select the item from your Won list or your Reminders/Leave feedback list. On the Item view screen, scroll down and select the Leave feedback button and complete the information on the Leave feedback screen.

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How do I know if my item has been shipped?

Each item in your Won list, has a small package icon to indicate if the item has been marked as shipped by the seller. A greyed-out package icon indicates that the item has not been marked as shipped. A brown package icon indicates that the item has been marked as shipped. You can also be alerted when an item you've won has been shipped by turning the "Item marked shipped" notification on in the notification settings screen.

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As a seller, can I enter or edit tracking information for an item? As a buyer, can I view the tracking information for an item?

As a seller, you can add tracking information on any item in your your Sold list. Scroll down the Item view to select the Mark as shipped button and follow the prompts to enter the shipment tracking info. If you don't have the tracking details available, you can add them later.

As a buyer, when you view an item from your Won list, you can select the Track package button to view the tracking information and history.

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