Do you know how many items you're allowed to sell or list on eBay every month? Many new eBay sellers don't realize that there is a limit on the number of items they can list and/or sell each month. Sadly, eBay also makes it pretty confusing to figure out. Don't worry though; I'm going to make it as simple as possible to understand!

What Are Selling Limits?

In a nutshell, eBay limits how much you can sell on their website each month. For instance, if you have a selling limit of ten items, you can only sell ten items each month. At the end of the month the selling limit resets.

Example: Susan has a selling limit of ten items. During the first two week of May she sells ten items. She will not be allowed to sell any more items in May. On June 1, her selling limit resets and she can sell ten more items.

It also doesn't matter when during the month the items are sold. If you hit your selling limit on the first of the month, you won't be able to sell anything else for the rest of the month! 

The Two Types of Selling Limits

Everyone has two types of selling limits: (1) quantity limits; and (2) monetary limits. When most people sign up for a new eBay account they are told that their limit is “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first“. 

Example: Cassian signs up for a new eBay account on May 1st and has a selling limit of “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first”.  On May 5th, he sells one item for $800. On May 6th he sells a different item for $200. John has hit his selling limit for May. He won't be able to sell anything else until June 1. 

As you can see from this example, Cassian hit his monetary limit of $1,000 so can't sell any more items in May. Even though he only sold two items, he isn't allowed to sell eight more. His limit is “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first“.  Since he hit his $1,000 limit first, he's done! Now look at this example:

Example:  Orson signs up for a new eBay account on May 1st and has a selling limit of “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first”.  On May 5th he sells ten different items for $10 each. Orson has hit his selling limit for May. He won't be able to sell anything else until June 1. 

In this example, Orson hit his  quantity limit of ten items so he can't sell any more items in May. Even though he only sold $100 worth of items, he isn't allowed to sell $900 more.

Where Things Get Confusing

Okay so hopefully you're with me so far. This is where things begin to get tricky. But bear with me. I'll give you lots of examples and we'll figure this out together.

Your selling limit includes not only the number of items and price of the items you sold, but also the number of items you have listed for sale and the price of those items. So basically, if your selling limit was a math equation, it would look like this:

**(Number of items sold + Number of items currently listed for sale at this moment) or (Price of items sold + Price of items currently listed for sale at this moment)**

The best way to show this is through some examples:

Example 1: Padme opened up a new eBay account on May 1st and has a selling limit of “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first”.  On May 1st, she lists five items for sale for $10 each. On May 2, she sells all five of her items. Padme can still list five more items for sale this month. She sold five items but currently has zero items for sale in her store (because all of her items sold). 5 (sold items) + 0 (items currently listed for sale) = 5. 

Let's continue the same example: On May 3rd she lists five more items for sale for $10 each. Padme has hit her selling limit for the month. 5 (sold items) + 5 (items currently listed for sale) = 10.  She is still allowed to sell the five new items she has listed for sale already, but she won't be able to list any new items. On May 4th, one of her items sell. Padme still can't list any new items for sale. 6 (sold items) + 4 (items currently listed for sale) = 10 . 

Example 2: Luke opened up a new eBay account on May 1st and has a selling limit of “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first” . On May 1st, he lists two items up for sale. The first item is $900 and the second item is $100. Luke has hit his selling limit for the month. Although he only has two items listed for sale, the price of those items equal $1,000, which is his selling limit. $0 (sold items) + $1,000 (items currently listed for sale) = $1,000.  Let's say Luke sells the $100 on May 3rd. Luke has still hit his selling limit for the month.  $100 (sold items) + $900 (items currently listed for sale) = $1,000. 

Selling Items With Multiple Quantities or Variations 

Let's throw another wrench into this. What happens if you list an item for sale that has multiple quantities available for sale. Let's say you have two of the exact same water bottles that you want to sell. You can put them up for sale on eBay under one listing, but put your quantity at two. Anyone could buy one from you or they could buy both of them from you. If someone buys one, the listing will stay up until someone buys the second one too. 

But how does this impact selling limits? Simple: each quantity is treated a separate listing. Let's go to the examples:

Example 1:   Leia just started a new eBay account on May 1st and has a selling limit of “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first” . On May 2nd, she creates a listing on eBay for ear muffs for $10. She puts the quantity at 10. Leia has hit her limit for the month. Each quantity is treated as a separate listing.  0 (sold items) + 10 (items currently listed for sale) = 10. 

Example 2: Lando just started a new eBay account on May 1st and has a selling limit of “10 items per month or $1,000, whichever comes first” . On May 2nd,  he creates a listing for blue jackets for $500 each. He puts the quantity at 2. Lando has hit his limit for the month. Each quantity is treated as a separate listing. $ 0 (sold items) + $1,000 (items currently listed for sale) = $1000.  

Variations are treated the same way. If you don't know what variations are, they are items that come with slightly different versions. So for instance a shirt might come in three different variations: small, medium and large. Each variation is treated as a separate listing.

Example: Lando creates a listing for jackets he is selling. The jacket comes in blue, orange, or black. Lando has created one listing for all three colors, but it counts as three different listings for purposes of his monthly limit. If each jack is $50, he just used up $150 of his monthly limit. 

Where To Find Your Selling Limit

Your listing limit is easy to find. If you have access to the eBay seller hub, you should head there and scroll down until you see the box that says “Monthly Limits”. Here is a direct link to the seller hub: https://www.ebay.com/sh/ovw

If you can't find it for whatever reason, just give eBay and call and they can tell you your limit.

How To Get a Selling  Limit Increases

The selling limit you start with is not the selling limit you're stuck with. eBay will raise it for you if you continue to make sales and show them you are able to fulfill those orders successfully. 

Here is what I suggest: max out your limit. List up for sale as many items as you can. At the end of the month, call eBay and ask for a limit increase. It’s better to call at the end of the month because you will be closer to hitting your limit. 

You can call eBay by going to your seller hub and scroll down to where it says and scroll down until you see the box that says “Monthly Limits”. Then click on where it says “request to list more” and then follow the instructions.

If you want to listen in while I call eBay to ask for a limit increase, watch this video:

Click here to listen to me ask for a limit increase 

Why I Don't Ask for Limit Increases Anymore

The final thing I’ll say is that I don’t ask for limit increases any longer. If you want to learn why, I suggest you watch this video