There is a phone-number wall in front of eBay, and this is the way through it. No code, no charge: a number that brings none is never billed. Rent one for the moment you need it: choose where it should come from, type it into eBay, and read the eBay code straight out of your SMS For U account. Behind that sit 1,400 services and numbers bought in markets on four continents.
How you get your code
- Look eBay up in the SMS For U catalogue.
- Take a country from the ones the app is offering for eBay today.
- Confirm the order; the eBay number is live from that second.
- Type it in at the sign-up form, or Account settings → Personal information on eBay and ask to be sent the code.
- The code turns up in your SMS For U account unprompted — copy it into eBay and you are through.
Why a phone number is asked for
eBay wants a phone number so buyers and sellers can be reached about an order, and so one person does not open an unlimited number of accounts. eBay asks for it on the sign-up form, before the account exists at all. The number goes in at: the sign-up form, or Account settings → Personal information. eBay can ask for the same number again later — on a new device, after a password change or during a routine check. Bear that in mind before you tie an account to a number you will not have access to in a month.
What the code looks like
eBay sends a 6-digit code by SMS. Whatever eBay texts to the number is delivered into your SMS For U account automatically, a few seconds behind eBay, with nothing to forward. Codes from eBay go stale fast; use it as soon as it lands rather than later. One number can usually serve more than one eBay account, although eBay may limit that.
What can go wrong
eBay accepts numbers from many countries but not from all of them. Which countries work for eBay changes over time, because eBay adjusts its checks and because the available ranges of numbers change. That is the honest state of it — we can hand you a number, we cannot make eBay take it. Nothing here commits eBay to an outcome, and no hit rate is on display — a published figure would be wrong long before you read it.
Countries we serve
The 50 markets below are the ones we buy eBay numbers in. They are examples of where we work and nothing more: a market on this list can still be empty for eBay by lunchtime, because ranges get used up and refilled all day. So take the list as our reach, and take the country screen in the app as the answer to "can I have an eBay number from here right now" — only the app knows that.
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- France
- Spain
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Poland
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Norway
- Denmark
- Finland
- Ireland
- Czechia
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Slovenia
- Greece
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Cyprus
- Malta
- Iceland
- USA
- Canada
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Colombia
- India
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Vietnam
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Australia
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
Common questions
How do I get an eBay verification code without my own SIM card?
Open SMS For U, search for eBay and pick a country. You get a real phone number, you enter it at eBay (the sign-up form, or Account settings → Personal information), and the code eBay sends appears in your SMS For U account by itself. No SIM card is involved, and the eBay number is not yours to keep.
How fast does the eBay code arrive?
The eBay code appears in your account within seconds of eBay sending it. How long eBay itself takes is up to eBay and to the country the number comes from, which is why nothing here is worded as a promise.
What happens if no eBay code arrives?
You do not pay for an eBay number that brought no code. Cancel the order in the app and the payment is refunded as soon as the cancellation is confirmed. That is the whole rule, and it is why a failed eBay attempt costs nothing: no code, no charge.
Which countries can I use for eBay?
eBay numbers come from the 50 markets listed on this page. Which of them can be picked for eBay at this moment is on the country screen in the app: that list moves through the day, and a page in a search index cannot keep up with it.
Can I use the same number for eBay again later?
Sometimes. eBay can ask for the same number again on a new device, and a used eBay number is not reserved for you indefinitely. If you need lasting access to an eBay account, use a number of your own.