eBay International Shipping suddenly blocking books to other countries — glitch or policy change?
Summary: yin.x95, a buyer in China, has noticed that eBay International Shipping no longer supports book purchases from US sellers, a change observed around June 27. This issue persisted even when using a UK address. Contacting eBay support resulted in scripted replies about a 'restricted' status but no clarification on whether this is a glitch or policy change, despite books and China not being restricted in eBay's policies. sandypebbles suggested checking the forum for eBay USA, and twyngwyn shared a link, though no additional insights were provided.
I'm a buyer in China and have been using eBay International Shipping (eIS) to buy books from US sellers without issue for months. Around June 27, I noticed a sudden change: every US book seller in my watchlist and cart now shows "does not ship to China" or "ask for shipping quote" — including multiple sellers I've bought from recently.
I tried changing my address to a UK address of a friend to see if it only affected books to China. The UK address had the same problem.
I contacted 5-6 sellers, and they all confirmed they haven't changed their shipping settings. They had no idea this was happening.
I reached out to eBay customer support. I received at least four replies from different agents within 20 minutes, all giving the same vague, likely scripted "restricted" explanation. When I asked whether this was a bug or a policy change, they wouldn't say. When I asked to escalate to a technical team or manager, they refused.
The timing is suspicious — this started right before eBay's new shipping terms went into effect on June 28.
According to eBay's own policy, books are not restricted items, and China is not a restricted destination for eBay International Shipping. So this sudden block doesn't make sense. It seems like a glitch.
Is anyone else experiencing this? Has eBay confirmed whether this is a glitch or a deliberate change?
Thanks.
twyngwyn
·3 months agoAnything here?
https://share.google/Sqozrc2uWUB3AymkO
sandypebbles
·3 months agoYou say you are in China and want to buy from the USA
You are asking if people in Australia are having the same issue....unlikely anyone here in Australia lives in China and trying to buy from the USA
But yes, eBay staff all read from scripts
You would be better off asking on the forum for eBay USA I would imagine
yin.x95
OP3 months agoIt’s not only China has same issue when tried with UK address.