Why does eBay say my policy does not exist when I can see it?

Usually because the account has not opted in to business policies, so the API cannot read them even though the website shows them.

Do I need a separate policy per marketplace?

Yes. Policies belong to a marketplace, so a US store and a UK store each need their own.

Can policies be created without leaving the listing tool?

They can be created through eBay’s API, which means a tool can make a sensible default set for you. eBay Lister does this when an account has none.

Guides 6 min readUpdated 25 September 2026

eBay business policies, and why publishing fails without them

A listing published through eBay’s API needs three policies and a location. Without them the listing does not go live, and the error eBay returns rarely says so plainly.

The three policies

Policy	What it sets	Worth knowing
Payment	How you are paid	Usually immediate payment required; the simplest of the three
Postage (fulfillment)	Services, cost, handling time	Handling time is a promise eBay measures you against
Returns	Accepted, how long, who pays	Refusing returns lowers how far your listings reach

Opting in first

Business policies are not on by default on every account. Until the account has opted in, the API cannot see any policies at all, which produces an error about a missing policy rather than a missing opt-in.

It is one switch in eBay’s seller settings, and it only has to be done once per account.

The location nobody expects

Every listing published through the API needs an inventory location — where the goods are sent from. It does not appear in the listing, but without it publishing fails.

One location per country you send from is enough. It needs a real address and a country.

Handling time, which is a promise

Handling time is how long after an order you will hand the parcel over. eBay measures dispatch against it and a late dispatch counts against your account.

Set it to what you can actually do on a bad week, not a good one.

Questions

Why does eBay say my policy does not exist when I can see it?: Usually because the account has not opted in to business policies, so the API cannot read them even though the website shows them.
Do I need a separate policy per marketplace?: Yes. Policies belong to a marketplace, so a US store and a UK store each need their own.
Can policies be created without leaving the listing tool?: They can be created through eBay’s API, which means a tool can make a sensible default set for you. eBay Lister does this when an account has none.