Getting Past Gumtree

Baffled · #1 12-29-2014

So I have been posting on gumtree for 2 years now.

Looks like they have upgraded their security.

I usually run a bot which posts around 10 ads per day, the bot just posts an add every other hour. Kind of like an auto bump.

Anyhow, they started to ban me etc , I got around it via ip,cookies,user agent etc etc.

But now somehow they are able to still tell the ads are linked to me, now i know they cant tell at the immediate start, I know this because if this were true i would not be able to create an account in the first place, but i can, which means it treats me as a new user, but when i start to post, it some how links me and then removes my ads then bans the account.

What can they be using to link me ? I have tried many things, different ad content, different pics, clearing meta tags etc etc.

Problem isnt that ic ant post, becaue i can, the problem is making the ad stick for more than a few hours, its not the content , pics or anything else on that level because there are many posts out there which are exactly the same but are still live, its like they track me specifically only once from when i start to post.
Just cant figure it out

rsot · #2 12-29-2014

Could be that someone is manually reporting you?

Baffled · #3 12-29-2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Could be that someone is manually reporting you?

I did consider this but in all honesty its very unlikely, as many other people are posting the same thing so there is no real reason why anything would be specific to me.

Also when your add is removed they suually send a courtsey email saying , either its a duplicate add or its in the wrong categorey etc, but now there is no such email, just straigth removal and ban, this is what makes me think there is another foot print somewhere

MM78 · #4 12-29-2014

I agree with rsot, your most likely being tagged by a competitor or gumtree admins.

Baffled · #5 12-29-2014

Yes I did think this but, i really think im actually missing a trick somewhere, I dont think it could be an admin purely because 10,000s ads are posted daily no one would haev the time to manually check. Even if they did check why would they take only my ads down where there are loads of similar ads, makes no sense

Second reason is i actually know my competitors and we are on a level playing field .

I know im missing somethign just dont know what, done user agents, ip addreses, cookies, random pic selector, random ad delay , everything is as random as can be.

MM78 · #6 12-29-2014

Maybe it's your BOT....

Baffled · #7 12-29-2014

There is no way they can distinguish the differnce between a human and a bot

MM78 · #8 12-29-2014

Well...don't know what to tell ya....

JamesNorth101 · #9 12-29-2014

Is this for a high risk item by any chance?

Gumtree changed the way they did things a few months ago.

rsot · #10 12-30-2014

Seems like OP mentioned "ad"...unless it's an ad for a high risk item?

Klemantina · #11 12-30-2014

If oyur bot programmed to do the same thing then maybe gumtree using browser finger print and that's why your getting caught. Try doing the same thing without the bot and with the bot and you will be closer to the solution.

unkown5454 · #12 12-30-2014

I see they are learning from Crai.gsL.ist, albeit slowly.

Baffled · #13 12-30-2014

It's deffo not the bot, I tried the manual method and same result. Its nothing to do with the item being in high risk as there are 100's of the same thing all over the site, it is targeted to me but i just cant figure what footprint im leaving.

JamesNorth101 · #14 12-30-2014

Just because there are 100's all over the site does not mean that it is not the item.

Gumtree have started to block new accounts that are trying to list certain items soon after creation.

Baffled · #15 12-30-2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

Just because there are 100's all over the site does not mean that it is not the item.

Gumtree have started to block new accounts that are trying to list certain items soon after creation.

If his is true this must have literally happened over the last few days because this is when the problem started.

I should let an account mature then? But for how long.

But even then, it makes no sense as sometimes i can list something i will be removed within 5 mins and other times within 12 hours, also this cant be true because if that was the case they would send an email first explaining the reason, but because they remove and ban straight away that implies that they know its from me hence no email from them explaining why it was removed. They would never remove and ad and ban them within 5 mins of posting something

JamesNorth101 · #16 12-30-2014

They do not send emails all the time, much like eBay and PayPal will not send emails all the time.

The changes started happening a few months ago.

Quote:

I should let an account mature then? But for how long.

Depends totally on what your selling.

Quote:

They would never remove and ad and ban them within 5 mins of posting something

They would and they do. This is an eBay company after all.

If you want to try to find out why your items are being removed, phone them and ask. Most the reps will not tell you, but sometimes you will get a bit of info so its worth a try.

oompaloompa · #17 12-31-2014

have you followed stealth prinicples?

what you are selling could be the reason if the ads are same/ similar, you would not be hard to target as you cannot vary them that much and they can see a pattern.

also what kind of product needs that many ads. Artificially botting and bumping above other ads. I would class you as a nuisance too...no offence.

johnnya · #18 01-27-2015

I am also encountering the same issues posting on Gumtree has the OP found a solution he would like to share with me?