• You might use words identifying you and your favourite area of collection for example, JoeTheBookCollector

• You could refer to your business for example, BertsBestBikesnTrikes

• You could refer to your home state for example, georgia_peachman

• You can refer to your own sense of style or your personality for example, happyharriett

User IDs may contain letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), and/or some symbols. They must be at least two characters long.

What you can't include in your User ID:

• The @, &, ‘, (, ), <, or > character

• Spaces or tabs

  Tip: You can use a hyphen to represent a space instead

• Elements that imply an email address or web address for example, xyz.com including but not limited to .com, .net, .org, .edu or any variation for example, _com or -com. (Your User ID can, however, contain an element of an email address or web address that, when viewed outside the context of the email address or web address, identifies you or your brand for example, xyz)

• Consecutive underscores __

• An underscore _, hyphen -, or period . at the beginning of the User ID (for example, -pezcollector)

• The word 'eBay', 'PayPal', 'Skype', 'Gumtree' (only eBay employees may use these in a User IDs).

• The letter 'e' followed by numbers

• Obscene or profane words that violate eBay's guidelines (see eBay’s rules on profanity)

• The same User ID as another seller or similar to an eBay Store name

• A term that is similar to, or might be confused with, a third-party's trademark or brand (for example, CocaColaSeller)

You can only change your User ID once in a 30-day period. This is to prevent confusion for other eBay members. Keep in mind that your User ID is a valuable asset on eBay, like your Feedback Score. Buyers and sellers will recognise you by your User ID, so it's a good idea to choose one that you'll want to use for the long term.

eBay Store names follow the same guidelines and restrictions as eBay User IDs with two exceptions:

• Spaces (example: Georgia Peachman)

• Symbols such as '&' (example: Bert’s Best Bikes & Trikes)

User IDs are a key building block of member identity and the eBay Community. This policy helps members understand how to choose good User IDs.