To maintain privacy and security, eBay's messaging system prevents users from seeing each others' personal email addresses. For members to communicate, eBay provides each member with an alias at a generic internal eBay address known as a static email address. eBay serves as a proxy between users, receiving messages at a static address and passing them on to the corresponding user at the user's actual personal email address.
Each eBay member is assigned a static alias to be used in a static email address. The email address ends in @members.ebay.<SiteDomain>. The <SiteDomain> value is based on the user's registered marketplace, e.g. @members.ebay.de. The <SiteDomain> value identifies the user's language. If the user changes their registered marketplace, then the value of <SiteDomain> changes accordingly.
The static alias is used in the "reply to" address in emails from other members. The email address returned by GetMemberMessages is a static email address, in the MemberMessage.MemberMessageExchange.Question.SenderEmail field. Additionally, the conversation ID is in the body of the email returned by GetMemberMessages. The conversation ID also is referred to as the email reference ID. All messages must contain a conversation ID, so eBay can validate them.
In the following calls, the current email address that is returned is supplemented by a static email address, as follows:
- GetSellerTransactions.Transaction.Buyer.Email is supplemented by TransactionArray.Transaction.Buyer.StaticAlias.
- GetItemTransactions.Transaction.Buyer.Email is supplemented by TransactionArray.Transaction.Buyer.StaticAlias.
- GetOrderTransactions.Order.TransactionArray.Transaction.Buyer.Email is supplemented by OrderArray.Order.TransactionArray.Transaction.Buyer.StaticAlias.
- GetMyeBaySelling.Transaction.Buyer.Email is supplemented by OrderArray.Order.TransactionArray.Transaction.Buyer.StaticAlias.