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Sales proceeds · Money for things you already ownSelling used stuff

eBay (privat verkaufen)
honestly rated.

A big marketplace with auctions and fixed prices: private sellers pay no sales commission within Germany, while extra options, ads and international shipping cost money. It yields sale proceeds for your own items (not pay for time and not savings), with effort for photos, descriptions and shipping, a balance system with possible holds, and platform reporting from 30 sales or 2,000 EUR a year.

At a glance

Fits you if you want to sell individual items by auction or fixed price and do not want to pay a sales commission.

Watch out for: Your proceeds first sit in the eBay balance and, as a new seller, can wait until delivery or be held; Trustpilot ratings are poor, and the platform reports to the tax authorities from 30 sales or 2,000 EUR a year (a report is not a tax).

Payout
eBay balance (default): proceeds stay there until you spend or withdraw them · Bank transfer to your linked bank account, on demand or on a schedule (daily, weekly, every 14 days, monthly) · Balance for purchases, shipping labels and ads on eBay
Threshold
No minimum payout is named on the help pages read (retrieved 2026-10-20). If the balance sits for 365 days without activity, eBay transfers it to your bank account automatically.
Timing
According to the help page, proceeds usually show as available within 2 days of the payment confirmation, then 1–2 working days until the bank credit. New private sellers have a special rule: with tracking, the amount is available 2 calendar days after confirmed delivery; without tracking, 14 calendar days after payment. Holds usually lift within 30 days, later in rare cases.
ID check
sometimes
Check terms at eBay (privat verkaufen) Direct link · no known compensation for EchtVerdient.
EchtVerdient rating

What public experiences say about eBay (privat verkaufen).

A solid place to sell individual items without a sales commission; not a side job, and payouts and support are the weak spots in the ratings.

Overall4 of 5 categories · 10 sources · as of 20 Oct 2026

  1. Payouts

    Does the money arrive reliably and on time?

    Thin evidence

    Proceeds land in the eBay balance first and can be moved to your bank on demand or on a schedule; eBay names 1–2 working days until the credit. As a newcomer you often wait until delivery, and holds of up to 30 days are provided for. Independent reports mostly describe the rules; solid figures on missing payouts are lacking.

  2. Time value

    What's left per hour once screen-outs, searching and waiting count?

    Not enough data

    Instead of a value of time: each item needs photos, a description, haggling, packing and shipping; no documented time per item or documented proceeds are available.

  3. Task supply

    Is there regularly something to do in Germany?

    Thin evidence

    According to the Warentest report, eBay is among the most widespread portals, and the app has millions of ratings. That points to a large buyer base; how fast items actually sell is not independently documented.

  4. Getting started

    How high are the hurdles to get going?

    Moderate evidence

    Listing is free (320 listings a month without a fee), there is no sales commission for private sellers, and a phone and photos are enough. You need to be of age, have a bank account and identity details, possibly an ID document; a tax ID for DAC7 reporting comes on top.

  5. Fairness & support

    How fair are bans, rejections and support?

    Thin evidence

    Trustpilot sits at 1.2 (mixed buyer and seller views, self-selection). A specialist lawyer sees private sellers as often worse off in disputes under platform protection; the example in the report, however, does not concern eBay. According to its imprint, eBay does not take part in consumer arbitration.

What people often praise

  • No sales commission for private sellers within Germany
  • 320 listings a month without a listing fee
  • Auction or fixed price possible
  • Payout on demand or on a schedule

What people often criticise

  • Proceeds first in the eBay balance, newcomers often wait until delivery
  • Holds of up to 30 days possible
  • Trustpilot only 1.2 out of 5
  • Platform reports to the tax authorities from 30 sales or 2,000 EUR a year
Heads-up
  • Ship in a traceable way (tracking, proof of delivery), otherwise seller protection may not apply and proceeds may wait longer.
  • Handle communication and payment only through eBay; the protection works only inside the system.
  • Regularly buying and reselling for profit can count as a business; clarify this beforehand, this is not tax advice.
Show all 10 sources with dates

How the rating is made: we read public reviews, experience reports and tests and summarise them in our own words. We can't verify whether individual reviews on those platforms come from genuine users; the platforms themselves are responsible for that. Commissions have no influence on the rating. Read the methodology

Facts with sources

What the provider and reports actually say.

Every item has a source and a date. Where sources contradict each other, we show the conflict instead of picking the nicer number.

Type of money
Sale proceeds for your own used items, by auction or fixed price. Not pay for your time, not savings. ↗
Private seller fees
According to eBay, selling within Germany is free. Fees can arise for extra options, ads and self-arranged shipping to other countries. ↗
Listing fees
320 listings a month without a listing fee, then EUR 0.50 per listing. Another 2,500 auction listings a month without a fee (start price EUR 1.00 only; 1- and 3-day auctions excluded). ↗
International shipping
If you arrange shipping abroad yourself, an international fee of 5 % applies to the total transaction amount (even if you buy the label from eBay). It does not apply via eBay International Shipping or eBay shipping. ↗
Currency conversion
For sellers with an address in Germany the conversion fee is 3 %; from 2 December 2026 it is 3.25 %. It applies to listings or sales on another eBay site. ↗
Deductions
Fees, shipping labels and refunds under buyer protection are deducted from your proceeds automatically. If that is not enough, eBay charges your stored payment method. ↗
Payout model
Proceeds land in the eBay balance. Payout is set to on demand by default; alternatively daily, weekly, every 14 days or monthly. After a payout is started it usually takes 1–2 working days to reach the bank. After 365 days without activity eBay transfers the balance automatically. ↗
Switch to the eBay balance
According to a dpa report (2025-10-28), since 5 November 2025 proceeds stay with eBay first instead of going to the bank account automatically; if you do not want that, you must trigger the transfer yourself or set up a schedule. ↗
New private sellers
Proceeds are usually released after successful delivery: with tracking 2 calendar days after the delivery confirmation, without tracking 14 calendar days after payment. For orders up to 20.00 EUR immediately after a positive rating; for pickup within 24 hours of entering the confirmation code. ↗
Withheld payments
eBay can withhold amounts, for example with an open buyer-protection case, a restricted account, money owed to eBay, an unusual sales history, or if you are new or sell rarely. Transaction-level holds usually lift within 30 days, later in rare cases; problems with sign-up details and compliance reasons are also named. ↗
Händlerbund on payouts
OnlinehändlerNews (Händlerbund, 2026-05-27) followed up on reports of delays at eBay. eBay said the payout periods had not changed; holds are possible for service status, account changes, high-priced items or unusual sales patterns. The report mainly concerns commercial sellers. ↗
Registration and identity
Private sellers provide full name, address, date of birth and nationality and link a bank account (IBAN). eBay can check the details at registration, after a certain turnover, on unusual activity or after changes; until verified, payouts may not arrive. ↗
Minimum age
Only people aged 18 or over can be members. ↗
Operator per imprint
The imprint names three companies: eBay Marketplaces GmbH (Bern, Switzerland) as service provider, eBay GmbH (Kleinmachnow) as contracting party and Digital Services Act representative, and eBay S.à r.l. (Luxembourg) as contracting party for payment processing. ↗
Dispute resolution
According to the imprint, eBay is neither willing nor obliged to take part in proceedings before a consumer arbitration body. Mediation under the P2B regulation is provided for commercial sellers only. ↗
Buyer protection
eBay buyer protection covers most purchases if the item does not arrive, is faulty or wrong, or does not match the listing, and if the seller does not honour their return terms. As a seller you must offer solutions and meet deadlines; refunds are deducted from your proceeds. ↗
Seller protection
For “not received” you are covered if you ship within the handling time, share tracking within 3 working days of the request, ship to the address from checkout and have proof of delivery. The protection does not apply to pickup or self-delivery. ↗
Criticism of seller protection
zdfheute (2025-05-20): an IT-law specialist lawyer sees private sellers on platforms such as eBay, Kleinanzeigen and PayPal as often worse off in a dispute than under the civil code, for example on returns and shipping risk, because the platform decides at its own discretion. The example in the article concerns Kleinanzeigen and PayPal, not eBay. ↗
Test and press verdicts
CHIP (2026-01-28) on the Warentest check of ten portals: eBay suits structured sales by auction or fixed price, private sellers pay no sales commission, extra features cost money. Selling yourself yields the highest proceeds but costs time. ↗
Consumer advice centre
The general guide to selling used items (as of 2026-09-22) advises honest descriptions and realistic prices, shipping only after payment arrives, and caution about scams; direct sales on platforms potentially yield more than buy-back portals. It does not cover eBay specifics. ↗
Trustpilot
1.2 out of 5 from 8,270 reviews (profile page snapshot, around February to March 2026; live value could not be retrieved). The profile mixes buyer and seller experiences. ↗
Google Play
4.5 out of 5 from about 5.02 million ratings (page dated 2026-10-08); it rates the app, not payouts or support. ↗
App Store
4.7 out of 5 from about 1.1 million ratings; it rates the app. ↗
DAC7 at eBay
eBay reports data if you are resident in the EU and reach at least EUR 2,000 in consideration or at least 30 sales in a calendar year, and collects your tax identification number for it. The page stresses that the rules do not change your tax obligations. ↗
DAC7 thresholds at the NRW tax office
Sellers are generally not reported if, on the same platform in a year, they have fewer than 30 relevant sales and take in less than 2,000 euros in total; both limits must be undercut. What counts is the number of completed transactions, not items. ↗
DAC7 thresholds in the law
Exempt if, in a year, fewer than 30 sales of goods and less than 2,000 EUR in consideration; consideration is counted after platform fees (section 5(2) PStTG, as checked for Vinted). ↗
Allowance in the law (authoritative)
Section 23(3) EStG: gains stay tax-free if the total gain from private disposal transactions in the calendar year is less than 1,000 EUR. Under section 23(1) no. 2 EStG this only concerns sales within one year of purchase anyway, and items of daily use are excluded. This is not individual tax advice. ↗
Older NRW tax office statement (outdated)
The NRW tax office page still names 600 euros as the allowance. This figure is outdated compared with the statute and does not apply here; the 1,000 EUR in section 23(3) EStG is authoritative. ↗
Data & permissions

What you need to bring.

Listed one by one, so you know upfront whether ID, camera or microphone are involved.

  • Identity check: not documented as a general requirement
  • Screen recording: not typical
  • Voice recording: not typical
  • Camera recording: possible depending on the task
  • App installation: not generally documented
  • Purchase required: no
  • Devices: Smartphone · Computer
Still open

What we don't know for sure (yet).

  • Whether and how your sales count for tax (purchase, holding period, item of daily use) depends on the individual case; the tax office or a tax adviser can clarify this.
  • Contradiction on timing for new private sellers: one help page says “usually within 48 hours of the buyer's payment”, the payout page says release after delivery (2 calendar days after delivery confirmation, otherwise 14 calendar days after payment). Only your own account shows what applies in your case.
  • The eBay page describes the DAC7 threshold in a way that includes shipping costs and taxes in the total, while the statute counts consideration after platform fees. The exact basis of calculation is not conclusively clarified.
  • Trustpilot (1.2) and Google Play (4.5) come from snapshots and measure different things (marketplace experience versus the app). Live values could not be retrieved.
  • Independent experience reports from private sellers on payout times and holds are largely missing; the reports found mostly rely on statements from eBay or concern commercial sellers.
  • Realistic time to sell, proceeds per item and time spent are not independently documented (time value stays unrated).
  • Several companies are named in the imprint (Bern, Kleinmachnow, Luxembourg). Which one is responsible in a payment dispute is set out in the payment processing terms, which were not evaluated here.
Last step outside EchtVerdient

Check the terms yourself before signing up.

Sign-up, checks and payouts happen at eBay (privat verkaufen), not through EchtVerdient.

Check terms at eBay (privat verkaufen) Direct link · no known compensation for EchtVerdient.