Dial A Deal
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How it works

The full flow — and exactly how your data is used

Dial A Deal is a buying agent: we search eBay for you, take secure payment, and purchase the item on your behalf through eBay's official APIs. Here's every step, on web and by phone, including the eBay API involved and the data that moves at each stage.

User & data flow

Step by step

We collect only what's needed to complete your request — nothing more.

1

You tell us what you want

Phone: call Dial A Deal and describe the item and your budget out loud. Web: submit the same details in a short form. You don't need an eBay account — we shop on your behalf.

Input: your request, budget & delivery address
2

We search live eBay listings

Dial A Deal queries eBay's Browse API and ranks the best matches by price, item condition, shipping, and seller rating. We present the top option(s) on screen or read them back to you on the call.

eBay Browse API — live listing data
3

We confirm the item and the full price

Before any charge, we show or read back the exact item, seller, shipping, taxes, our service fee, and the final total. Nothing is purchased and no payment is taken until you clearly approve.

Transparent price breakdown — no charge yet
4

You pay securely

You pay Dial A Deal for the total. Card details are captured by our PCI DSS compliant payment processor — on the web through encrypted hosted fields, and on the phone through your keypad (DTMF) so our team never hears or sees your card number. We receive only a secure token plus the last four digits; we never store your full card number or security code.

PCI DSS compliant processor — tokenized payment
5

We place the order on eBay

Dial A Deal purchases the item through eBay's Order API and provides your delivery address so the seller ships directly to you. You receive an order confirmation and reference number.

eBay Order API — purchase on your behalf
6

We support you after the purchase

We track the order, keep you updated, and handle any problems — returns, refunds, contacting the seller, and escalating through eBay's buyer protection — all on your behalf. See Order help for the full after-purchase flow.

eBay Order API — status, returns & support
Where the money goes. You pay Dial A Deal; Dial A Deal completes the purchase on eBay. Item prices, shipping, taxes, and availability are set by eBay and its sellers and may change before an order is completed — which is why we always confirm the final total with you first.
Transparent pricing

An example total

We always show the complete breakdown before you approve. (Example figures.)

Item — Nintendo Switch (Refurbished)$179.00
Shipping (seller)$0.00
Estimated tax$14.77
Dial A Deal service fee$9.99
Total you pay$203.76
Data minimization

What we use — and what we don't

We request only what's required to find your item, take payment, and deliver it.

What Dial A Deal uses

  • Your request, preferences, and delivery address
  • A payment token + last four digits from our processor
  • Order references needed to buy and track
  • Contact details (phone, email) to keep you updated

What Dial A Deal never stores

  • Your full card number (PAN)
  • Your card security code (CVV)
  • Anything we don't need to fulfil your order
The phone channel

Ordering by voice, paying by keypad

The phone option runs through the same secure systems as the web. The key difference is how we take payment safely over a call.

How phone payment works: after you approve the total, our system prompts you to enter your card details on your phone's keypad. Those tones are captured directly by our PCI DSS compliant payment provider and masked from our agents and from any call recording — so no person at Dial A Deal ever hears or sees your card number. Your spoken approval of the order is recorded (with your consent) as proof of authorization.

Questions about the flow?

We're happy to walk through any step in detail.

Contact us Security & PCI