You’ve got a neighbor with a garage full of vintage furniture. A friend with a closet of designer clothes. An estate executor who just inherited a house worth of collectibles and no idea what to do with them.
They ask you: “Can you sell this stuff on eBay for me?”
Before you photograph the first item or type the first listing, there’s one thing to put in place: a signed eBay consignment agreement.
Without it, you’re operating on a handshake. And a handshake leaves nothing in writing when a $400 item gets returned, a package goes missing, or a client decides your 30% commission was actually supposed to be 20%.
This guide covers what an eBay consignment agreement is, what it should include, who should use one, and what can go wrong when resellers skip this step.
What Is an eBay Consignment Agreement?
An eBay consignment agreement — sometimes called a reseller listing contract or online marketplace listing agreement — is a written contract between two parties:
- The Reseller (you): the person who manages the eBay account, photographs items, writes listings, handles buyer communication, packs and ships orders, and manages returns.
- The Client (them): the person who owns the items and wants them sold.
The agreement defines the terms of that working relationship: what you’ll do, what you’ll charge, who owns what, and how disputes get handled.
It puts the working relationship in writing instead of leaving it as an informal favor.
The End of the eBay Trading Assistant Program
eBay discontinued its Trading Assistant program years ago.
If you offer that kind of sell-it-for-you service today, it helps to put the terms you agree on with each client in writing. An eBay consignment agreement template gives you a starting point.
Who Should Use an eBay Consignment Agreement?
If any of the following sounds like you, consider a written consignment agreement before you list another item for someone else:
- You sell on eBay on behalf of family, friends, neighbors, or paying clients
- You run an estate sale or liquidation service and also list online
- You operate a consignment shop and extend that service to eBay or other platforms
- You’re a vintage or antique dealer who offers eBay listing services to other collectors
- You accept drop-off items to list from other sellers or pickers
- You run any kind of “we sell it for you” marketplace service
It doesn’t matter if your clients are strangers or people you’ve known for years. Disputes can happen between people who trust each other, too — and when the terms were never written down, there is nothing to check them against.
What Should an eBay Consignment Agreement Cover?
A written eBay consignment agreement is more than a commission rate scribbled on a notepad. It should address the situations that can cause disputes between resellers and clients. Here’s what an agreement can cover:
1. Party Information
Full legal names, addresses, and contact information for both the Reseller and the Client. This establishes who the contract is between and provides the contact details needed if a dispute escalates.
2. Scope of Services
What you will do — and what you won’t. This section defines whether you handle photography, listing copy, customer service, shipping, and returns. It also lets you explicitly exclude services you don’t offer.
3. Item Intake and Ownership
The client certifies that they have legal ownership of every item they hand over. This is non-negotiable. You’re not a fence, and this clause puts the client’s ownership certification on record in case they try to sell something they don’t own — or something that’s legally prohibited from sale.
4. Pricing Authority
Who sets the listing price? This should offer options: you set the price based on market research, you agree on a minimum floor and you list above it, or the client approves pricing before anything goes live. Different clients want different arrangements — your contract should accommodate all of them.
5. Commission Structure
Your fee for the service. An agreement can include a tiered commission table — for example, a higher percentage on low-dollar items and a lower percentage on high-dollar items. This should be customizable to your own rate structure.
6. Shipping and Returns
Who handles packing? Who pays for return shipping when a buyer opens a return case? What happens when a package is lost in transit? Any one of these can turn into a reseller-client dispute. Get them in writing.
7. Platform Account Ownership
Your eBay account is yours. This clause states that the client has no claim to your account, your feedback score, or your seller metrics. Clients sometimes forget — especially if the arrangement has gone on for a while — that the account is not a shared asset.
8. Tax Responsibility
A tax clause can treat sale proceeds as the client’s income rather than yours. Your agreement should clarify who is responsible for reporting and paying taxes on the sale, and include 1099 guidance, so both parties have those terms in writing before any money changes hands.
9. Liability Cap
If an item is lost, damaged, or stolen while in your possession, what are you on the hook for? Without a liability cap, a client could theoretically sue you for the full appraised value of a lost item. A liability cap clause states a defined amount as the most you agree to be responsible for.
10. Termination and Unsold Items
What happens when you part ways? How long before unsold items are returned? Who pays for return shipping? What happens if a client simply stops responding? These exit procedures need to be documented before either party needs them.
11. Dispute Resolution
When something goes wrong, how do you handle it? An agreement can specify mediation as the first step before any legal action, identify the governing law (typically your state), and address attorney’s fees so both parties know those terms before a dispute starts.
12. Signatures
Both parties sign. Both parties get a copy. The agreement can state that electronic signatures are accepted.
The Risks of Selling on eBay for Others Without a Contract
Here’s how things can go wrong when there’s no written agreement:
The pricing dispute. You list a vintage lamp for $85. The client expected $150. They’re furious. You have no written record of who had pricing authority.
The return nightmare. A buyer returns a $300 item they claim is “not as described.” You eat the loss. The client refuses to share it. Nothing in writing says who absorbs returns.
The “I thought that was my account” problem. You’ve been selling for a client for two years. The arrangement ends. They insist they have a right to the feedback history you built. Absurd — but it can happen.
The lost package. A $500 item goes missing in transit. The client wants full replacement value. You have no liability cap. Now it’s a legal question.
The tax surprise. You send a client $4,000 in proceeds over the year. At tax time, they get a 1099 they weren’t expecting. They blame you. Your agreement should have covered this from day one.
A signed agreement won’t stop a package from going missing, but in each of these scenarios it gives both sides the same written terms to check. A handshake leaves nothing in writing.
Picking the Right eBay Consignment Agreement Template
If you’re going to use a template, look for one written for online marketplace resellers, not generic consignment shops or retail environments.
A template written for brick-and-mortar consignment may not address platform account ownership, marketplace returns, or selling on more than one platform (eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, etc.). Those are online-specific issues that call for online-specific language.
Our Consignment Agreement Template for eBay Resellers is for resellers who list items on online marketplaces on behalf of clients. It’s one editable Microsoft Word .docx file — a 12-section Reseller Listing Agreement with blank fields for your own commission rates, plus an Exhibit A Item Intake Form, a 10-item log you can print for each client visit.
Its 12 sections follow the same 12 headings listed above. The template is not eBay-only: it is written for online marketplaces in general, including eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, and Mercari, and a checkbox list lets you mark which platforms apply.
It is a template for informational and reference purposes, not legal advice. For jurisdiction-specific guidance, consult a licensed attorney.
Start Every Consignment Arrangement on Paper
The best time to have a signed eBay consignment agreement is before you take a single item into your possession. The second best time is right now, before your next client drops something off.
Verbal agreements work — right up until they don’t. A written agreement gives both sides the same terms to point to.
→ See the Consignment Agreement Template for eBay Resellers
RummageRunner is based in New Jersey. We sell secondhand items and publish tools for resellers, pickers, and marketplace sellers.
