Formatting the Text for Your Terms of Sale

When entering the boilerplate text for your terms of sale in your item descriptions and About Me or eBay Store pages, make sure your terms are easy for your customers to read. Create a sub-heading in larger, boldface typeface that reads “Terms of Sale,” or “Our Policies,” etc.or something similar, and then list your policies below in a numbered or bulleted list.

Use the same font and type size for listing your terms of sale that you use in your item descriptions. Using a smaller type size can creates distrust in readers as it has the appearance of “fine print.” Even if your intentions are simply to save screen space, your customers may suspect that you are using this notorious trick to sneak something past them. Remember your goal of transparency and how it inspires trust.

You should also avoid using larger typeface, red lettering, or all capital letters for your terms of sale. It’s the text equivalent of screaming at your customers, and no one likes to have rules and regulations screamed at them. Even though some eBay buyers simply don’t read stated policies carefully, using such typefaces insults the intelligence of every potential customer who browses your item listings. Insulting potential customers is no way to win friends and influence people – —and certainly no way to run a business.

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