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eBay expands INR Protection for eBay labels amid Managed Shipping push. Published: Aug 7 2026 Updated: Aug 7 2026 eBay's latest seller update offering additional protections for those who purchase labels from the platform raises questions and concerns amidst Managed Shipping rollout. The August news update contained one brief sentence related to protections for late shipments with very little detail, leaving sellers with questions about what actually changed and what it means if they continue purchasing labels elsewhere. From August, eligible delivery delays won't hurt your seller rating if you ship on time with an eBay label. That has left many wondering if that meant eBay is removing longstanding protections from all sellers, reserving those protections only for those who purchase labels from the platform. To add to the confusion, the update links to the Seller Protection Policy page, which still states under the section for Protections For All Sellers: An item arrived late but tracking shows that you shipped on time Value Added Resource automatically adjust your late shipment rate when: * The carrier scan shows you shipped within your handling time, even if it arrives late, or * The carrier scan shows the item arrived by the latest estimated delivery date, even if you shipped it late If there is no tracking or the carrier didn't scan the shipment, it won't count as a late shipment if the buyer doesn't indicate the shipment was late. You can also request removal of neutral or negative feedback where the buyer references a delivery issue but tracking shows Value Added Resource that you met your delivery or handling time expectations. And while the announcement only references protecting ratings, sellers are seeing a different version displayed as a banner in Seller Hub that also references refunds: "Starting August, if you ship eligible items on time with an eBay label, we'll handle refund requests for delayed deliveries and protect your seller rating. No action needed." So what's really going on? There's no indication eBay is removing existing protections for sellers who don't use eBay labels - this update is simply expanding on protections introduced last year for those who do. Those protections sought to address seller concerns about losing both the item and the money in situations where a buyer opens an Item Not Received claim, the seller is forced to refund within a certain time if there is no delivery scan, but then the tracking later shows the item was subsequently delivered. Starting in October 2025, sellers who purchase labels through eBay are reimbursed in those scenarios - but only if/when the tracking was updated to show delivery after the INR claim was closed. That could still leave the seller out both the money and the item for a period of time and if there was never a delivery scan, there would be no reimbursement to the seller for the refund. Based on the Seller Hub banner for this latest update, it appears eBay will now be proactively handling the refunds for INR claims where the label was purchased through the platform, with no action needed from the seller. That would mean instead of having the refund deducted from seller funds and later reimbursed if/when there is a delivery scan, eBay will handle it upfront directly with the buyer, similar to how INR claims are handled for eBay International Shipping after the item reaches the EIS hub. Sellers are understandably sensitive to any changes to protections, especially when it appears geared toward nudging or forcing them into purchasing labels through the platform. eBay has made it no secret that they intend to continue getting more involved in shipping, as its most recent quarterly earnings report shows shipping is a growing revenue opportunity for the company. So far that involvement has taken the shape of International Shipping in the US, Canada, and UK as well as eBay's broader consumer to consumer (C2C) initiatives in key markets. For example, private sellers in the UK are required to use Simple Delivery for most shipments and in Australia, the new fee-free C2C program also requires sellers to purchase labels from the platform. eBay began testing Managed Shipping for select sellers, categories, and locations in the US earlier this year but has been moving cautiously in this area as many US sellers express resistance to the idea, saying if they are forced to only purchase labels from eBay, they'll stop selling through the site completely. A UK seller survey last year also hinted that eBay may have been gauging interest in expanding Simple Delivery to Business sellers, but those sellers have by and large not responded positively to the idea for many of the same reasons that US sellers have been resistant. Notably, the same language about seller protections and eBay labels that was in the US update for August was also in the UK update for Business sellers. So it would appear the company may now be testing if "the carrot will work better than the stick", using increased protections as an incentive to try to shift seller behavior. eBay has not responded to a request for comment to clarify the wording of the update announcement as of time of publishing. Stay tuned for updates and let Value Added Resource know in the comments below what you think of eBay's moves to get more sellers to purchase labels through the platform! Liz Morton is a 17 year ecommerce pro turned indie investigative journalist providing ad-free deep dives on eBay, Amazon, Etsy & more, championing sellers & advocating for corporate accountability.

How eBay is scaling Enterprise AI responsibly. by guest Author. August 6, 2026 Enterprise AI adoption is moving faster than traditional technology planning cycles can support. New tools appear constantly, technology planning cycles are shrinking, and organizations are under pressure to deliver measurable value without compromising security, reliability, or governance. At the AI Networking Summit 2026 in Dallas, John Feldmeier, Vice President of Site Engineering and Information Technology at eBay, shared how the company is building an AI-enabled workplace while embedding governance from the beginning. The biggest takeaway: scaling enterprise AI is not primarily about deploying more tools. It is about changing how the organization operates. Video Player How is eBay using AI across the enterprise? eBay is using AI to help employees find information, conduct research, improve software development, and reduce friction within existing business processes. However, access to tools alone is not enough. "Bringing more tools into your environment isn't going to make you successful," Feldmeier said. "It does take training. It takes enablement programs to really make those tools useful to your workforce." For enterprise leaders, this means AI adoption must be treated as a workforce transformation initiative. Employees need practical use cases, training, guidance, and support, not simply new software licenses. How can companies scale AI without rebuilding everything? Organizations often approach AI with the assumption that they need to redesign complete workflows or automate entire departments. eBay has taken a more practical approach: add AI to specific parts of existing workflows. AI might gather information, generate content, answer common questions, or help employees diagnose an issue. This allows companies to deliver measurable improvements without the cost, disruption, and risk of completely rebuilding a process. Using AI within a portion of an established workflow can remove friction and accelerate work without requiring a fundamental transformation. Video Player What role should humans play in Enterprise AI? Human oversight remains essential, but people do not need to be involved in every routine interaction. For example, eBay created AI agents that help developers find answers about the company's roughly 3,000 microservices. When an agent can answer a question, the developer gets immediate support. When it cannot, the request is routed to the appropriate human team. This human-in-the-loop model allows AI to handle many routine questions while preserving expert involvement when an agent cannot provide a satisfactory answer. The goal is not to remove people from the process. It is to use their time where human expertise provides the most value. How should enterprises measure AI value? Broad productivity gains can be difficult to quantify. That is why eBay increasingly focuses on AI use cases connected to measurable workflows and business outcomes. One example is eBay's AI-enabled selling experience. Sellers can take two photos of an item and use AI to create the listing. According to Feldmeier, eBay saw a 50% increase in listing creation among small sellers using the app, which also achieved 95% customer satisfaction. Strong enterprise AI metrics may include: * Faster response and processing times * Reduced manual work * Fewer escalations * Higher completion rates * Improved customer or employee satisfaction Video Player What does Responsible AI governance look like? Responsible AI governance should not exist only to stop projects. It should help organizations move forward securely. Feldmeier described the challenge as finding a way to "say yes without compromising your principles." That requires organizations to build security, identity controls, engineering standards, reliability, governance, and appropriate human oversight into AI initiatives from the beginning. The companies that gain the greatest advantage from enterprise AI will not necessarily be those that adopt the most tools. They will be the ones that can experiment quickly, measure results, scale what works, and maintain trust as the technology evolves. Video Player Watch the full eBay AI session. Watch Building an AI-Enabled eBay: Platforms, Partnerships, and Impact on demand to hear the complete discussion about scaling enterprise AI, enabling employees, improving workflows, and preparing for autonomous agents. Continue the conversation at AI Networking Summit NYC, where enterprise leaders will explore the infrastructure, networking, security, and operating models required to scale AI responsibly. Guest Author

eBay CEO Jamie Iannone is embracing AI for sellers whilst blocking autonomous AI shopping agents from the marketplace. The company now offers a "magical listing" feature that uses AI to help sellers describe, price, and ship items from photos. Sellers using this tool create 50% more listings and generate higher sales value. eBay reported second-quarter revenue rose 15% to $3.1 billion, with net income up 51% to $552 million. The company has also completed a $1.4 billion acquisition of Depop, a fashion resale site targeting younger consumers. The strategy focuses on "non-new-in-season" items that don't compete directly with Amazon and Walmart. eBay has banned third-party AI agents that autonomously scrape and purchase items, aiming instead to enhance the human shopping experience.