- Enter your name and address. The top of the registration form asks for your first and last name and street address. It is important that you enter these pieces of information accurately—otherwise you may not be able to pay for or receive the goods you purchase!
- Enter your telephone number. Though some first-timers will balk at this request, this information, too, is essential. Your phone number will not be published anywhere on eBay's website—instead, it will be supplied to trading partners (people to whom you have sold or from whom you are buying) that seek to contact you with questions or important notifications about your transaction. It also gives eBay a way to contact you when necessary to discuss fraud, rule violations, emergencies, or problems with your account.
- Enter your email address. This information, too, is vitally important. eBay uses email to contact you when you have placed the winning bid for an item you'd like to buy or when someone has placed a winning bid for an item you're trying to sell. It also provides a way for eBay buyers and sellers to contact you. Don't worry—eBay doesn't give anyone your email address directly. Instead, eBay members can send a message to you on the eBay website, and eBay will then forward this message to your email address. You're asked to enter it twice during registration in order to ensure that there are no typographical errors that might later prevent eBay from reaching you.
- Agree to the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy. This document describes your rights and responsibilities as an eBay user, as well as eBay's rights and responsibilities relative to you as a member. Read it carefully, then check the "I agree" box to indicate that you have read it and that you understand it.
Once you've finished filling out the preliminary page of eBay registration and have double-checked your input to ensure that it's all correct, click the "Continue >" button at the bottom of the page to continue with the registration.
If you encounter an error message, read it carefully and attempt to correct the information that you've supplied. Spelling errors in your city, numeric errors in your phone number, or typographical errors in your email address are the most common mistakes. If you live in a particularly small or remote area, eBay may also say that it is unfamiliar with your town or city. If happens in your case, simply list the largest nearby city as your own and proceed.
