Your eBay seller account is restricted.

• 1. Open eBay from a bookmark or the app, not from a link in an unexpected email. Go to Messages. Save the notice. If you cannot find the email in Messages, eBay says it was not from eBay.
• 2. Record the date, the reason, what you can still do, whether payouts are on hold, and any step the message tells you to take. eBay's restrictions page does not give one reinstatement date for every account.
• 3. Name the reason in the message. eBay's usual list is selling costs you need to pay, a refund you must reimburse, a buyer issue or tracking you need to upload, a rule or policy violation, account information eBay could not verify, or suspected third-party access.
• 4. If the message is about selling costs or reimbursing a refund, go to Payments in My eBay or Seller Hub and select One-time payment, or add a payment method. eBay says the account will be reinstated once that payment is received. If eBay does not currently manage your payments, eBay says you may also need to complete seller registration.
• 5. If the message asks for information, send that information once through the path in the message. Do not open another account. The User Agreement says you will not use eBay's Services if you are temporarily or indefinitely suspended.
• 6. Write down what still works. Depending on the reason, eBay says you may not be able to bid, buy, or sell, leave feedback, create or revise listings, contact bidders, reply to messages, or update personal information. Payouts may stay on hold until the restriction or suspension is lifted. eBay may end listings early. Fee credits and forfeited listing fees depend on the reason.
• 7. Open the Payments tab in Seller Hub or My eBay. The Payments Terms of Use say the hold amount and status are shown there, and that eBay notifies you through Message Center, email, or both. A transaction hold, a payout hold, and a reserve are different. Treat held funds as unavailable. The terms say a hold is released once the associated risk is reduced or resolved. They do not give one date for every hold.
• 8. After the restriction is lifted, do not treat the next sales as immediate cash. eBay's transaction-holds page says sellers who were restricted or suspended have transaction holds for the 30 days after the lift, while eBay confirms delivery. Use the release date shown for each order.

The free eBay restriction and payout-hold guide walks through the reason map, a copyable response, and the cash checklist.

The restriction steps are in Account restrictions and suspensions. eBay says it may restrict or suspend accounts to protect the community, and that payouts may be placed on hold until the restriction or suspension is lifted. It emails the registered address and eBay Messages. If the email is not in Messages, eBay says it was not from eBay. The usual reasons are selling costs, a refund to reimburse, a buyer issue or tracking, a policy violation, account information eBay could not verify, or suspected third-party access. If the reason is costs or a refund reimbursement, eBay says a one-time payment from Payments in My eBay or Seller Hub reinstates the account once the payment is received. If eBay does not manage your payments, you may also need seller registration. Depending on the reason, eBay says you may not be able to bid, buy, or sell, leave feedback, create or revise listings, contact bidders, reply to messages, or update personal information. Listings may end early. Fee credits depend on the reason. eBay decides the case.

What a hold means is in Transaction holds. eBay says funds from a sale may stay on hold until the transaction is completed, or while eBay confirms account information. If a payment shows as On hold, the buyer has paid and the funds are not yet available for payout. In most cases, eBay says funds are released after the buyer has received the item. Available funds may also sit in a payout hold until an account issue is resolved, and a payment dispute hold can last until that dispute or case is resolved. For sellers who were restricted or suspended, eBay says transaction holds last for the 30 days after the lift, while delivery is confirmed. Tracked items are available 24 hours after delivery confirmation. Items sent without tracking are available 31 days after the buyer pays. If you had qualified for faster funds as a new seller, eBay says those funds may be available 2 days after delivery confirmation or 14 days after the buyer pays. Use the date on the order. eBay decides the release.

The payment rules are in the Payments Terms of Use. Unless funds are subject to a hold, eBay says transaction proceeds are generally available within one to two business days after buyer payment is confirmed. That sentence is the no-hold baseline, not a date for a restricted account. For sellers other than consumers in Germany, the hold amount and status appear in the Payments tab, and eBay notifies you in Message Center, by email, or both. eBay says it releases a hold once the associated risk is reduced or resolved. A reserve is separate: a rolling reserve is a set percentage of daily proceeds held for a fixed period, and a minimum reserve is a fixed amount. eBay's example of a rolling reserve is 10 percent for 60 days. That example is not the reserve on your account. eBay decides the hold. This hub is not legal, banking, or financial advice.

The membership rules are in the User Agreement. The Holds and Restricted Funds section says eBay Payments Entities may restrict access to your funds as described in the Payments Terms of Use. The agreement says you will not use the Services if you are temporarily or indefinitely suspended. It also says a failed payment method or a past-due account may lead to account restrictions. eBay decides. This hub is not legal advice.