eBay Phone Verification Requirement Disrupts Auction Bidding
UPDATE 7-17-25
eBay community staff have provided additional information about this phone verification for auction bidding requirement, confirming that the purpose is to verify bids on a specific auction, not a one time identity verification.
Just to clarify on some of the questions being asked. When asked to verify by phone it will give the option of sms if you have a mobile number on your account and call/sms for a landline.
When you complete the verification once you won't need to do it again for the same auction. The bid goes ahead as normal. However you may be prompted to verify on future auctions. We are unable to share any specific criteria details due to security reasons that could allow circumvention.
We appreciate the points raised on this process and will share the feedback with the relevant team.
While it's slightly good news that buyers should only be prompted to verify their bid once per auction, that will still create problems for sniping since bidders will still face a disruptive verification process if they wait until the last few seconds of the auction before entering the first bid.
But based on previous eBay staff responses, that appears to be a feature not a bug as eBay is intentionally trying to stop sniping with these changes.
eBay staff have also still not addressed the many reports from would-be buyers who say the never received the text or phone call with the code, thus preventing them from being able to verify and enter a bid.
UPDATE 7-14-25
This phone verification requirement to bid on eBay auctions is apparently a global change and eBay UK community staff have confirmed it has been intentionally implemented with the specific goal of "enhancing the overall experience for buyers and sellers by reducing sniping, shill bidding and unpaid item situations."
That suggests the purpose of this new requirement may be to verify individual bids, not just individual users.
If that is the case, rather than a one time minor inconvenience that will go away once an account is verified, this could potentially cause ongoing disruptions if future purchase attempts continue to require additional verification each time a buyer attempts to place a bid.
I've reached out to eBay for more information about this requirement - stay tuned for updates!
Would-be buyers air frustrations as new phone number verification requirement prevents bidding on eBay auctions.
The advanced security measure appears to have been instituted in the last few days according to reported in the eBay community forum.
E Bay system would not accept my bid
I was bidding on https://www.ebay.com/itm/236179197447. I had previously submitted bid - accepted as High Bidder. Bidding portal prevented new bid by saying they would verify me by sending a text or calling me. Tried ti bid, increase bid, each time, message replied they would verify me by text or phone call.
Code now needed to bid
This morning I went to bid on some things and got this "note" that I needed a code to bid. I use a desk top for all my bidding. So..sort of going along with it I said sent me a text......text didn't arrive......tried again and it took about a minute to get and by then it was too late. Has anyone else had this problem..Any solutions. Could not find anyway to talk directly yo Ebay
Unfortunately, many users say the text message with the verification code never comes through, leaving them unable to place their desired bids.
Not receiving security verification code
Need to verify my account and only option is to receive via text message, but the text message never comes through.
Others said that they didn't have a cell phone, and that the system that provides the required code does not work with their VOIP phone.
ebay now sending codes to your phone to bid on an item
I tried to bid today and was unable to because ebay has a new security "enhancement" where they will send a code to your phone before you can place a bid. This is problematic for TWO reasons.
No more last minute bids in the final seconds if there are several steps to make now, and you have to wait for a code.
If you don't have a cell phone (I don't) you can't receive a text. And if you have Comcast/Xfinity VoIP, which I do, they block ebay's call from coming through as it's suspected to be spam. Not surprisingly I can't get Comcast agents to understand the issue, after talking to 4 of them for well over an hour. And my spam control is set so that I'm SUPPOSED TO get ALL calls. It's not working.
The Cust Service agent told me that the codes are only sent for auctions, but we can (supposedly) BIN without a code. What the hell ever. So no more bidding from me, and I bid a fair amount. Correction... I USED TO bid a fair amount. I won't be able to bid any longer. And no, I don't want a darn cell phone.
It's not the first time that users have faced this issue - back in 2023, many sellers ran into the same problems (including being told they could not use a VOIP number) when eBay started requiring phone number verification in preparation for the INFORM Consumers Act.
Liz Morton
But buyers have historically not be subject to the same level of vetting and verification requirements, largely because marketplaces are usually understandably reluctant to introduce additional friction into the shopping process - and considering the most recent quarterly report put the number of Active Buyers still below 2018 levels, eBay can ill afford to chase buyers away.
eBay is also not the only marketplace undertaking stricter verification for buyers, as Mercari also recently introduced new security protocols forcing biometric verification for both buyers and sellers.
Liz Morton
Affected eBay buyers say they've checked and confirmed they did not turn 2 Factor Authentication settings on accidentally - this phone number verification requirement is being forced by eBay directly.
Some say when they were given the option of either a text or to have eBay call them to provide an automated message with the code over the phone.
I chose the call me option and i got the call right away on my landline and they computer gave me the numbers to input on the pc.
But others pointed out even if that works, or you are able to receive the text message code, the delay can mean losing out on items they want to purchase if they can't successfully place a bid in the last few seconds before the auction ends.
eBay also recently started testing "soft close" extended bidding for some auctions, and while the test is only supposed to be in Trading Card categories, it's possible they could be testing other changes (like bid verification requirements) for auctions as well.
Liz Morton
One affected buyer shared a possible workaround, suggesting to check account settings to see if it says the phone number is "unverified" under Personal Info.
After many many hours and lots of drama, my issue was fixed (at least for today). You do NOT want to know, other than how it was fixed.
Go to your account settings> choose Personal Info. > Phone number....it may say "unverified" here. Click to edit...remove whatever phone number is there and carefully add your phone number again and click whatever is appropriate. https://accountsettings.ebay.com/profile
I removed the phone number, put the same one back in, and chose to verify. THEY DID NOT SEND ME A TEXT to confirm anything (even though I have a phone that can get texts from the whole world other than eBay LOL) At that point the phone number was listed as verified and I am good to go.
Not to say they didn't do something special just for me, but I doubt it. F.Book ebay threw me under the bus, and sent me to regular CS....this took six hours to figure out.
eBay has not yet provided any additional information or confirmed if it is a test or phased rollout.
Stay tuned for updates and let us know in the comments below if you've had your recent eBay bids blocked by this verification requirement!
