How do I change my eBay user ID?

Question: How do I change my eBay user ID?

Answer: There are several reasons one might want to change one’s eBay user ID. The most common of these is for marketing purposes as a business is started or evolves. For example, “tania249” might become “TaniasDresses” or “the_paper_company” might become “the_pencil_company” instead.

If you’ve decided that it’s time to change your eBay member ID, follow these steps to select a new one:

1. Click on the “My eBay” link at the upper right of any page on the eBay website.
   
   
2. Scroll down until you see the “My Account” section in the sidebar on the left-hand side of your screen.
   
   
3. Click on the “Personal Information” link just under “My Account.” The Personal Information page will appear.
   
   
4. On the Personal Information page, click on the word “Edit” all the way to the right of the line containing your eBay user ID. The Change User ID page will appear.
   
   
5. On the Change User ID page, enter your new ID into the entry box and click the “Change User ID” button. Keep in mind that many of the most simple and common user IDs have already been taken (remember that eBay has millions of users) so you may be asked to choose again if your choice is unavailable.

Alternatively, you can follow this link to go directly to the Change User ID page on eBay’s website.

Remember the Consequences and Caveats

Changing your eBay user ID isn’t something you want to do without thinking about it. There are a number of important consequences and caveats to be aware of before you make a change:

• You’ll no longer have your old user ID. When you change your eBay user ID, there is no guarantee that your existing customers will be able to find you when they search for your old user ID on eBay.
  
  
• You’ll be marked as having recently changed. eBay will show a small icon next to your new user ID every time it is displayed on eBay (in auction listings, on your feedback page, and so on) to indicate to other eBay members that you have recently changed your ID. This icon, which remains for 14 days, can scare some bidders away and thus reduce the number of bids you receive on your auctions.
  
  
• You gain no anonymity or freedom from your past. If you are thinking of changing your user ID for illicit reasons—because you have failed to deliver items purchased from you or because your feedback has become worse, for example—changing your user ID will not help you in any way. eBay maintains an internal “user ID history” for every eBay user that can be used to hold anyone responsible for their trading behavior, changed user ID or not. Your feedback, meanwhile, will remain just as it is—it will simply be displayed with a new user ID.
  
  
• You can only change once every 30 days. Be positive about the desired change before you make it, since you can not simply return to your old user ID if you change your mind shortly thereafter. Be careful, too, about typos, since you won’t be able to fix a typo in a new user ID for at least 30 days after you make it.