eBay account suspended
Summary: aymdefon_0 expressed frustration after their eBay account was suspended. They were selling a virtual product but believe other sellers do not face the same restrictions. iodangie and other participants explained eBay's strict policies, especially regarding digital sales and the need to provide verifiable information for the bank account. Despite the answers given, aymdefon_0 continued looking for answers and expressed dissatisfaction with eBay's customer service. francois-o tried to explain eBay's position on security measures and the limited communication regarding account suspensions.
Hello and good evening to everyone! I hope you're all doing well; aside from my annoyance and anger, I’m going to try to stay as polite and diplomatic as possible
You see, I had just created an eBay account to sell all kinds of items, whether physical items or even virtual items! So I know what you're going to tell me: maybe virtual items are prohibited on eBay. Be that as it may, there are plenty of other people, okay, who do the same as me and who have absolutely no restrictions or anything like that! Let's be clear about that first
So the account I'm speaking to you from is, of course, a secondary account or a duplicate account, call it what you want, I don't care
What happened was that I listed a virtual item for sale! Which is part of the services I offer on a daily basis! And I literally had my account blocked after barely 10 minutes… So I didn't do anything special at all: I entered my identity with my first and last name, as well as my phone number and the address where I lived! I didn't provide my bank details because I had the option to add them a little later, so that's what I did
Everything went very well until I received a message by email and also in the email inbox saying that my account had been permanently suspended!
I looked a little on the Internet at reviews of the eBay site, whether on Trustpilot or pretty much anywhere, and it's been pure negativity since this year, or even since late 2022
So now I have a question for you, and above all don't come and tell me "you can always go sell elsewhere" because that's not the kind of answer I'm interested in! What I want to know is how it is that eBay ends up suspending any account with a deaf dialogue, clearly not explaining the reason to us, and also knowing that there are other people who sell all kinds of things and who have absolutely no sanctions! On top of that, they lie about their age, knowing that some of them are minors! Even though technically we're supposed to provide eBay with proof of identity
So I'd be curious to know how that works
Understand this well, I'm not here to do anything illegal or to do **bleep** or anything like that, I just want to offer my services, which are certainly virtual services but perfectly legal, which I've been doing for quite some time, that I wanted to do on eBay, that a lot of people do on eBay! But bizarrely, I'm forbidden from doing it! Who knows why, I don't know, and since this is a forum, this is where I'm coming to ask for help
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xpraction
·2 years agoHello,
Ebay blocked my account after 18 years without the slightest problem. They are unable to give me a reason for this selling restriction because, obviously, I am still allowed to buy...
Apparently, selling art objects poses a danger to this company. After many exchanges, I kept getting answers just as vague as the others because the people (if they are real people) are not able to understand French.
After a conversation with a friend, I thought I would call to finally get an answer to my question but, even over the phone, I felt like I was talking to a robot who hung up on me. Ebay customer service is the worst of them all.
francois-o
Hello @aymdefon_0 ,
I’m sorry to read that your eBay account has been suspended.
When this happens, we send an email to the registered email address containing more details about the suspension.
When the suspension is not permanent, the email also contains the steps to follow to appeal this decision.
It is understandable that you would like to know the reason for your suspension; unfortunately, for security reasons, we are not able to communicate the specific detail that led to an account suspension.
Let me give you an example:
Let’s imagine that using Google Chrome represents a risk in our security system.
We suspend an account and inform the user that this is due to the use of Google Chrome.
It is certain that the information will spread and that all scammers will use Internet Explorer in order to exploit the loophole.
The security of our platform is one of our priorities. This is why customer service cannot go into the exact details of a suspension and why you always get the same answers.
Simply put, customer service agents are not authorized to communicate the information, and in some cases they do not even have visibility on the reason for the suspension themselves.
I’m really sorry that you are in this situation; unfortunately, if the suspension is permanent, it will not be possible to appeal the decision to eBay.
Regards
François
frelonverre
·3 years ago@aymdefon_0
That's not the kind of response I'm interested in! What I'm interested in is knowing how it happens that eBay ends up suspending any account with total lack of communication
well ask eBay
aymdefon_0
OP3 years ago@lingma85 you want to know the type of listing as well as the body text with the description I put? No problem
Title: GTA V account on PS4 PS5
Platform: Sony Playstation ' and Playstation 5
Games: Grand Theft Auto V
Photo: 2 photos
Description: Left as is
Delivery: National & in person
Fees: at my expense
Delivery method: Registered letter
Payment service: ebay
For delivery I put both because it's an intangible, digital good so I didn't really know what to put but otherwise there you go, that's roughly the type of listing I'm offering, it's also the type of listing that quite a few people on eBay offer and as I've often said a bit above I'm the only one getting suspended! So I didn't remake a listing including my bank account, I'm willing to try… But I don't know if it'll work… After that, once again I'm willing to try but I don't want it to be too much of a shot in the dark
@frelonverre I've already asked them, and they told me that sometimes they did checks but that they didn't give the reason at all for why and how
iodangie
·3 years agoIn any case, in the event of account restriction or suspension, eBay sends you an e-mail to the address you registered as well as in the eBay Messages section to explain the reason. They also explain the steps to take to reactivate your account, provided it is not subject to a permanent suspension.
For info:
Restrictions or suspensions are generally applied to accounts for one of the following reasons:
-You have eBay selling fees to pay.
-You need to reimburse eBay for the amount of a refund we made to the buyer.
-You need to resolve the buyer's issue or upload tracking information.
-You have violated one of our policies.
-We were unable to verify your account information.
-We think a third party may have accessed your account.
eBay's policy is never to give the reasons for a permanent account suspension, simply and for the good reason of not allowing third parties to bypass their security. If eBay gave the reasons that led an algorithm to permanently suspend your account, the users who followed would use that knowledge to bypass the firewalls in place.
Kind regards
felin12
·3 years agoGood evening
@aymdefon_0
Google search: resale of a virtual game account legal or not
Result:
Kind regards
lingma85
·3 years agoso... @aymdefon_0
By digging a little more on the web... we can see that the sale of these accounts is a bit "rock and roll"... and a lot of them are scams...
This may explain that... and since you haven't completed (maybe.. yet)... in due time your identity through your bank account you have "attracted" attention...
Other "0" profiles have currently slipped through the robot's sorting... but for how long..?? - Policy on items delivered digitally | eBay
Regards
aymdefon_0
OP3 years ago@lingma85 "Electronic items must be listed for sale in the category Everything Else > Information Products in the Classified Ads format
Who knows, maybe with this method I'll make it!
@iodangie and you're saying that if the site said how some people get past the mail or what we're being suspended for, there are people who would take advantage of this loophole to be able to sell... I want to tell you that there are some people who, without knowing it, have already found this loophole... And then we're not all bad-intentioned; we'll just be able to offer our services as we should... Before 2022 the rules were much, much more flexible, I don't know what happened from the end of 2022 and then, 2023, but something tightened up, and it became much, much too complicated
frelonverre
·3 years ago@aymdefon_0
the site never gives that kind of information, much less out in the open, so why imagine that other members would know
only you can keep pushing
iodangie
·3 years agoHello,
It would be surprising if you had found underage sellers on eBay.
Since the new terms regarding sellers, they are required to provide various documents before receiving any payment for their sales.
Sellers must provide an ID card, SEPA mandate, as well as their bank statements, which must show the various transactions, and all of this under the same name, knowing that the slightest difference in last name, first name, or address between a bank statement and an ID card will be immediately rejected. And that is only the tip of the iceberg...
So I am perplexed by the fact that a minor could provide all of that, not to mention the fact that many checks are carried out on sellers.
Digital items are the subject of many scams, and eBay is taking drastic measures.
Apparently as a new seller, since you say "I created a new account", eBay will take no risks there, especially if you have not validated your bank account, or provided a SEPA mandate, which would allow eBay to debit any sums from it in the event of a problem with your sales.
eBay cannot monitor every item listed for sale on the site, but it has the power to refuse any new seller account that appears to them to be a danger to the community, or that violates the terms of use.
You create a new account, without providing your banking details, without signing a SEPA mandate, thus preventing eBay from making any debit of amounts due, while putting products up for sale that do not benefit from eBay protection for buyers and therefore pose a certain danger to them.
I think the answer to your question may be here.
aymdefon_0
OP3 years agoSo, I hear everything you’re saying… Right? I hear you perfectly… It’s just that you’re telling me sellers have to provide an ID card, bank account details for a direct debit mandate, a bank statement, and so on… Except I should point out that when I signed up on the site… As I said earlier, I had to enter my first and last name, which is completely normal, as well as my email address and create a password. I think you know how that works, I’m not going to teach you how to create an eBay account, and then I get access to the site and the “sell” section, so I enter the listing title as well as the features and description! And then I can confirm the item for sale, and at that point it asks me to confirm some information and then sends me a code to my number to confirm my phone number! Up to there everything is fine, and then indeed it asks me to enter my bank details! Even so, I would do it! At no point does it ask me to verify the account… Only when a sale is made on eBay… And yes, I know how it works because I’ve had colleagues who made sales on eBay for physical items, for that matter! So I know a little bit how it works, but everything you’re telling me, at no point during account creation do we have to confirm anything among everything you’ve mentioned, so how are we supposed to do it, are we the ones who are supposed to contact customer service ourselves to ask them to confirm this or that…? Because basically it’s supposed to be their famous security department or whatever, who should come to us to ask for that kind of information, actually, it’s not us who are supposed to go to them to tell them that we’re going to confirm this or that, especially knowing that we’re a new seller and that we probably don’t know how the site works
Then you’re not talking about confirming the bank account to authorize eBay to take all the money… As I told you, I looked on the site where users can leave reviews about eBay and I saw I don’t know how many negative reviews about excessive fees… So of course that puts me off confirming my bank account a bit
francexpressdeal
·3 years agoHello @aymdefon_0
Even if you had entered your bank details, that would not have changed anything.
You have evidently offered a product/service prohibited by the T&Cs, and this is not the forum where you will be able to get explanations about that.
Only customer service has the information concerning your account and what you wanted to sell.
That said, you say: " As I told you, I looked on the site where internet users can leave reviews on eBay and I saw I don't know how many negative reviews about abusive fees… So it's sure that it discourages me a little from confirming my bank account "
So there is no reason to regret it or to look for explanations that ultimately seem completely useless ...
aymdefon_0
OP3 years agohttps://www.ebay.fr/itm/314648747563?hash=item494286de2b:g:lmoAAOSwB01kghuy
https://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=compte+gta+ps4&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=compte+gta+ps4&_osacat=0
@francexpressdeal members, he has been around since about 2001 with quite a few ratings and quite a few sales under your belt! I don't know what I'm supposed to take from your reply, but I invite you to check out the links a little higher up that I just mentioned… Did you see them? So I think you understand my question, you saw what kind of items they are? They’re supposed to be items that are banned by eBay, right? Except they’re there along with their sellers! So can you explain to me why these people are there and I get banned every time when I’m doing exactly the same thing, no scams, no fraud, no theft, absolutely nothing illegal, but yet I still get my account taken away! Weirdly enough, I think if this happened to you, since you've been on the site for quite a while, you wouldn't just sit there and do nothing… I came here asking for help… Hoping to find an answer other than "contact customer service" knowing full well that everyone knows these are more or less monkeys sitting in front of computers, refusing to give absolutely any answer and, as a bonus, hanging up on you when you ask them to call you back…
I'm not here to annoy anyone or to make a fuss about anything, I just want to do my business peacefully, but when I see that there are organizations that stop me or pile a bunch of crap on me, I'm the kind of stubborn person who wants to find the answers to my questions, and telling me to contact customer service or go sell elsewhere or not have any regrets to have no explanation or whatever won't make me change my mind
aymdefon_0
OP3 years agoAnd sorry for the spelling mistakes at the beginning of the paragraph
iodangie
·3 years agoHello again,
You can absolutely sign up on eBay and list an item for sale.
However, to receive the proceeds from your sales, you will be required to provide all the documents requested by eBay's Trust and Safety team, because all payments made by buyers now go exclusively through eBay.
Once all the documents have been provided and verified by this same team, the proceeds from your sales will be blocked for a minimum of 21 days. In this way, eBay wants to make sure that your buyers are fully satisfied and that no issue can tarnish the transaction.
Selling on eBay is a tough slog, and as such you need to be aware of what that entails.
In addition, all digital goods are not accepted. Many rules come into play, such as intellectual property, etc..
Also, items transmitted digitally can only be listed in a single category.
And finally, the reviews you may find on sites such as Truspilot are in no way representative of any reality.
You should know that anyone can leave a review on this site, even a non-member of eBay.
No verification of the truthfulness of the facts or of the actual membership of the said author to the eBay community is carried out.
Forums in general and Truspilot in particular only bring together dissatisfied people, because you are not going to post on a forum if you are happy with your transaction or with the sales site you are registered on.
Proof of that, you posted on this forum not because you were happy with eBay, but quite simply because you are dissatisfied with it, and because decisions that you consider unfair were made against you, and that is the case with 99% of the posts on this forum.
Best regards
francexpressdeal
·3 years ago@aymdefon_0
my reply was in no way meant to change your mind. (about what, by the way?)
I just replied to you to try to make you understand that the people on this forum have NO way to help you with the problem you’re having.
And all your persistence won’t change anything ...
Have a good rest of your day.
aymdefon_0
OP3 years ago@francexpressdeal the problem I'm having is on eBay, we're agreed, right? I'm on the eBay community forum, we're still agreed, right? Perfect
So yes, I think I'm finding the answer to the question of why I keep getting my account suspended when I try to sell a product, admittedly virtual, but! One that a lot of other people are also selling, and what would be the way for customer service or whatever damn service on eBay to finally **bleep** off and leave me alone… That's all I'm asking
You say my tenacity won't change anything? On the contrary, it's by having this kind of determined, combative spirit that you get what you want
iodangie
·3 years ago" Thinking I'd find another answer than « contact customer service » knowing full well that everyone knows that these are more or less monkeys sitting in front of computers"....
I don't think this reflects a fighting and determined spirit.
But since you don't seem to understand, I can only tell you to follow @francexpressdeal's advice and contact customer service, but that will force you to talk with "the monkeys" as you call this service.
Perhaps there too you will find the answer, regarding your claim of a "service that hangs up on you"....
Best regards