eBay indefinitely locked my account for selling items...

[Zuhayb]

Hi,

I'm a newbie on this forum...I'm a private seller, started selling items on ebay September 2017. Everything was going well, and made a lot of profit. However, as from today ebay indefinitely locked my account from selling items. There answer wasn't clear and accurate, they stated due to my level of performance being too low, they made a final decision on locking my account. I've been very persistent and consistent with my buyers, and been onboard dealing with their service on a regular basis, my feedback was more than 500+ positive.

This was my only source of income, and now I am finding it difficult to sell my items. I have opened account an with amazon, but I know they hold your payment for 7-10 working days till funds are released. Is there a possibility where I can sell/list my items from a existing ebay business seller, so I can shift the items and get them sold.

As a private seller I tend to sell gadgets and electronics, like iPads, Vacuum Cleaners, Virtual Realities, and electronics toys for children. These items are x display units or new other.

I hope someone can shed some light, and help me out in this situation.

 

[Mr D]

Amazon hold payment longer. Figure 3 weeks for UK sales before you get payment.

Oh and you aren't a private seller you are a business.

OK, more detail needed on ebay. What particular metrics had you breached? Ebay can be annoying but not usually banning people for no reason.

 

[Zuhayb]

Sorry didn't proof read my post, yes I am a business.

These are the messages from ebay...

A review of your eBay account has raised some concern that your use of services may not meet the guidelines in eBay's User Agreement. As a result, we've taken the following action on your account:
- Selling privileges have been temporarily restricted. You won't be able to list new items. You're also not allowed to register a new account.
- Some or all of your listings may have been removed. A list of any removed items will be listed further down in this email.
- We have credited all associated fees except for the final value fee for your listing(s).

To help you be a successful seller and ensure a safe experience on eBay, we sometimes restrict selling activity, end active items, or suspend accounts until additional information can be verified or obtained. These actions are not necessarily meant to be a reflection of your account's activity, but rather a preventative measure.

eBay is built on trust, and we want our marketplace to be safe for both buyers and sellers. We reviewed your account because of concerns with your selling activity. Based on our review, we've taken the following actions on your account:
- Indefinitely removed your ability to sell. You can't use other accounts or register new accounts to sell on eBay. If you do, your accounts could be limited, restricted, or suspended.
- Removed any of your listings. A list of any removed items will be listed further down in this email.
- We have credited all associated fees except for the final value fee for your listing(s).

You can still bid on items, buy, and complete transactions you have in progress.

If you think we’ve made a mistake, or someone has accessed your account without permission, please contact us as soon as possible. To reach us, go to eBay.co.uk and click the “Help & Contact” link at the top of the page

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Thanks,

eBay

Every time I spoke to ebay they were giving me different answers, like....I had open cases which weren't solved, I wasn't refunding the amount to buyers, I never paid monthly fees to ebay, I wasn't responding to buyers messages quickly enough. All of this was complete BS!!

They even sent me a link to send provide information like, invoices on where I bought my items from, tracking no. of the items that were sold, my bank statements, my passport, and proof of address. After all that evidence they came to a final agreement to indefinitely lock my account.

I can't even appeal against it, and cannot sell my items for life. I'm not too keen on selling items on amazon as they take a considerable amount of commission, and like you mentioned it takes up to 3 weeks to receive the funds.

 

[Mr D]

Could it be because you are registered as an individual on ebay? It sounds like temporary restriction rather than life.
May be worth asking on the forums there too.

 

[Zuhayb]

I honestly do not know, I was just a buyer since 2006 then decided to sell last year September like virtual realities, iPads, smartphones, and other gadgets. I did a live chat today, and their so called "specialist team" reviewed my account and immediately mentioned that my account has permanently been indefinite to sell items. They apologised and said you can still buy, bid, and complete any transactions but can no longer sell.

I will highlight this thread on different section of this forum. I am now asking individual companies to sell/list my items on their ebay account.

 

[MBE2017]

.
I will highlight this thread on different section of this forum. I am now asking individual companies to sell/list my items on their ebay account.

Doubt anyone would do it, they will risk the same. Ebay can be very clever in such cases. Sounds like you might have sold a lot of high risk fraud type products, where there have been problems with previous sellers in the past. Ebay are a law unto themselves, if they do not wish you to sell on their site there is little you can do except appeal.

 

[fisicx]

Ebay doesn’t really care about your account. They have millions of sellers so loosing you won’t even register on their radar.

If you are still registered as a private seller then that’s probably a big red flag. If you are a business seller then it may be their systems flagged a discrepancy in your profile. For example it could be your bank account isn’t a business account. Or they may not belive you are register with HMRC.

Either way it looks like you need to find a new source of income.

 

[Zuhayb]

I’ve heard terrible stories when I was doing my research regarding indefinitely locking accounts to sell on a permanent basis. I’m searching around to sell my items elsewhere but no joy so far.

 

[Mr D]

You will find amazon a harder place to sell. Amazon suspend accounts much easier and can take 3 to 6 months to get money from amazon if they do.
They also are keen on businesses not having individual accounts.

 

[fisicx]

@Zuhayb, did you have a business bank account and were you registered as a business with HMRC?

 

[bigbuzzbelfast]

Time to build your own business buddy sorry it seems harsh but build your own website and market it. Sadly you lose putting your product in front of the millions of ebay and if you are not going to use Amazon registered customers.

If you build your own website and market it then you are at least 98% in charge of your own sales channel. I say 98% because depending on who you choose as your payment gateway they can also sometimes cause a little bit of anguish. If you are going to go down that line at least look at nochex as a great payment provider, I find them friendly and costs for me are pretty low.

In the meantime while setting up a website perhaps you could use the likes of gumtree although I am not sure their system is what I would call a proper ecommerce system.

Talking about ecommerce systems I would go for Opencart if I was you, I have a few websites using that and also woo-commerce the one that gives me the least worry and hassle is opencart

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

I agree. If eBay is your only selling platform currently and Amazon is difficult to get onto then consider having your own selling platform driving the traffic straight to you if possible. If you are selling ex-display/refurb then I'm guessing you have some stock or at least contracts/agreements with suppliers for these rather than drop-shipping? It could well be eBay just doesn't like the products you have introduced, or that you are classed as personal rather than business but getting them to change their mind is going to take time (and possibly involve changes on your side).

There are plenty of ecommerce platforms you could consider, some of which are free (up to a certain number of products). Things like Freewebstore, ECWID or Shopify through to WooCommerce and OpenCart can be considered depending on your expertise. You will then want to look at payment methods for these.

 

[kulture]

As a word of warning, any one selling your stock on ebay on your behalf is in danger of being banned in the same way as you have been. No-one would risk it.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

They also need to be able to prove that they are not allowing their customers to sell stolen goods, so a proof of where you obtained them is reasonable

 

[antropy]

but I know they hold your payment for 7-10 working days till funds are released

Personally I'd say if 7-10 day payment terms are an issue, then a better understanding of cashflow forecasts is required.

 

[jjscruff]

better forum for this https://www.aspkin.com/forums/