Suspended for 30 days Questions READ ALL OF IT

[random_011]

So, about 10 days ago I was restricted from selling for 30 days. I sell electronics, books and some virtual items such as product keys etc. Those virtual items were the main reason for this restriction but they bring me a good amount of money for me to just stop selling them and I have been for 2 years now with a couple of suspensions like this in the past.

Have a in mind that I don't want to be selling on multiple accounts , no matter what , I want all of my business to be done on 1 account. My current account has 20,000 + feedback and I don't want to lose it which is why I'm posting this.

Have in mind that right after the suspension I opened another account which got restricted because I used the same paypal of an account that got restricted 2 years ago. Then I opened ANOTHER account , different email and paypal , same IP , I managed to increase its limits to 10000 items per month with just a few calls but it got BANNED . I called ebay and asked them why and they said because I have other accounts that are suspended. My 20000 feedback account is still there ( not banned ) but I'm kind of stressed out about what to do .


After those "shadow accounts getting banned / restricted , Ive decided to wait till the restriction on my main accounts goes away BUT here is my question, once it goes away , should I open yet ANOTHER account and use that 20000 feedback account as a way to increase its limits ( there is an option to link another seller account when increasing limits ) or should I just keep selling on that 20,000 feedback account ?


There is a possibility to get another violation in a few days / weeks / months once I list the virtual items and I'm not sure what follows after a 1 month suspension , does it reset itself and start with 1 day, 3 days, 7 days again or will the next thing be a 3 month restriction or a permanent restriction ?


Anyone who knows , help would be highly appreciated , should I keep using my main account with the possibilty of its listings getting removed again and restricted or should I open a brand new accounts after the restriction and let my main account settle for another month or two.

[nickopedia]

Welcome to the forum. It looks like you need some "stealth" advise.

I would not involve your 20k FB account at all, try and KEEP IT SEPARATE from what you are doing on your other accounts. Don't use it to try and increase your limits on another account because that obviously links them. In eBay's eyes any accounts that are "linked" are treated as ONE account. The "linking" and associations might not seem that apparent.

I read your post and you have done things that are major vololations in regard to staying safe (and stealth) with your accounts.

One of the cornerstones of stealth is to keep things separarate! If you have not already done so, you *really* should read the stealth guide. It's worth the money, and with the sales you are doing, it's a small investment. After all, that's what this forum is about. Good luck.

[random_011]

I'm not totally sure a stealth guide will help too much, I will read it when I have the time . That hyperlink in your post was blocked by my antivirus for malware btw.

Also the third account I made where I was able to increase the limits to what I want them to be and got banned , it had NOTHING in common with any other account other than the IP, I did not link anything to it.

Also , 1 and half years ago I did get the same 30 day suspension and after it was over I went back to selling right away with no problems but I got lucky and didn't get any violations in months after that . During that 30 day suspension 1 and half years ago, I also made a second account which I LINKED to the temporary restricted account with no problems and used during the entire time my original account was suspended, problem is I forgot the damn log-in info lol.


I am 99% sure that AFTER the 30 day restriction is over , a new account wouldn't get suspended. My main question is how much time does it take for an account to "reset" after a 30 day restriction , how long will it take so that if I get another violation/s , I don't get restricted for 3 months or permanently ? I mean I could wait 3-4 months and sell on a brand new account but that might damage my sales a little , for a customer seeing a brand new account is one thing , seeing a top rated power-seller with 20,000 + feedback is another thing.

[jakobrockz]

You know the reason why you're getting restricted but refuse to want to spread out the risk to multiple accounts - your 20k feedback account is going to be banned soon.

[random_011]

Why would it get banned ? Also , I have no problem selling on a new account for some time , the only thing I have a problem with is selling part of my items on one account and and the other part on another account.

As for the reason , I am not completely sure what it is , is it my 20,000 account't restriction or the account that got banned for using the paypal of a restricted account from 2 years ago . Ebay employee told me they could see ALL of my accounts with my IP so it might be both , I don't know . That's why I decided not to push my luck and wait for the 30 day suspension to be over without creating any additional accounts or attempting anything. I could use a VPN but I don't think it would work as VPNs give you a different IP almost every time you connect, I am pretty sure that would be a huge red flag for both ebay and paypal .

[marvelousmario]

That 30 day suspension is your last strike more than likely. Your next violation will more than likely end in your main account being banned for life. Not only that account, but you as a person and ALL of your accounts.

It basically comes down to this decision. Either stop selling the merchandise/virtual products they are suspending you for, OR start making back-up stealth accounts so you can keep selling like you are now. Because that 20,000 account is about to be banned soon.

.

[jakobrockz]

Yes I agree with the above post. When they give you the 30 day restriction it is literately your LAST straw and eBay telling you... look, we aren't banning you but you need to CHANGE what you're doing and straighten up. And it doesn't look good on your records that you attempted to create multiple accounts to bypass the suspension. If you create a new account, EVERYTHING has to be different. New user, IP, credit cards bank all info, phone # etc etc etc.

Your main problem is your virtual products. And, you're going to have issues with said virtual products when you start creating stealth accounts (if you do).

I know you don't want to give them up, but the market (eBay) is giving you a sign to get a new main product to sell. You're putting all of your eggs in one basket and it's going to bite you in the ass if you don't make some precautions aka spreading risk across multiple accounts.

Take the advice or not, completely up to you.

[MM78]

New Account + Product Keys = failure, you will be back on this forum super fast wanting help. Too many people think that some how all they need is 1 "good account" and they will be set.....no such things these days.

[rsot]

Welcome to the forum OP - all the best as you master stealth

Repetitive activity that is frowned upon by eb will lead to account death. Virtual products are still considered risky by eb and PP

[random_011]

Thank you !

I'm sure I will figure it out , I know A LOT about ebay , just this cooldown time is what I don't know, I have multiple back-up plans already :D

All I need to know is if someone knows what the cooldown time between suspensions is , I know for a fact that it is over 10 days after a 3 day suspension but not sure about the 30 day one , does the cooldown begin once it's over or the moment it is placed because like I said , last time I got a 30 day , I just went right back to selling once it was over, this time I just want to be 100% sure I'm not at risk because I hate relying on luck .


In my 3 years on ebay , I HAVE NEVER been permanitly suspended for listing violations , the most I've gotten is 30 days , the only times I've been perma/ suspended is when I get caught with a second account or linking a new account to a suspended account and man of those were just tests so I know exactly how the site works.

Also , why would ebay want to ban someone with such a high feedback and who's giving them thousands and thousands of $$$ every year , if I were a worker I would never ban someone like that unless they were selling drugs or something REALLY bad .

[random_011]

To be honest I almost managed to get my account un-restricted the day it got restricted with a simple phone call to one of the workers who I know , I convinced her that my restriction was unfair, the only problem is , she didn't have access to the settings to un-restrict me , if she did , this thread wouldn't even exist right now.

I'm not the noobie some of you might think I am.

[jakobrockz]

Good luck selling - update the thread with future results

[random_011]

Alright, I will .

Have in mind that I've read this forum a lot in the past so I am not exactly "new" lol

[dallis]

I've got to agree with everyone else, you're one thin hair width from being banned forever.

Next they'll ban the entire IP range you use from the kind of items you sell.

Once the bots get your measure, they're relentless.

[james13v]

Maybe I'm missing something. What exactly is so special about your 20,000 feedback account?

[dallis]

Nothing that can't be done better and more safely with 10 2000FB accounts.

[random_011]

What's so special about a 20K feedback account, nothing really. When a customer sees someone with 20K feedback though , they are A LOT more likely to buy their item. When I sell I earch about 1000-2000 feedback / month with just 75 items listed , unlike many others who need thousands and thousands to get this much. I just know exactly what I'm doing when it comes to selling

[james13v]

Originally Posted by random_011

What's so special about a 20K feedback account, nothing really. When a customer sees someone with 20K feedback though , they are A LOT more likely to buy their item. When I sell I earch about 1000-2000 feedback / month with just 75 items listed , unlike many others who need thousands and thousands to get this much. I just know exactly what I'm doing when it comes to selling

Where are you getting your numbers, to justify your claim of "A LOT more likely to buy"?

I honestly couldn't even give the faintest of a damn if someone has that much feedback. In fact, I'm probably put off by it, if anything. Of course that all depends on the markets we are in.

But again, there isn't anything much more special about a 20,000fb account and 10 2,000 feedback accounts, from a buyers perspective. You get to a point, where you have diminishing returns. 500 feedback is great. 1000 feedback is better. Anything past that, is just pointless.

And to make matters worse, losing a 20,000FB account is much worse than losing ONE of your 2000fb accounts, from your perspective.

I mean, you're obviously going to do what you want to do. It's not our business. We don't really care that much. But it's hard for us to watch someone drowning, holding on to a floating dead body, when there are dozens of perfectly good life rafts floating around.

[marvelousmario]

Nice analogy. ^

I too have to agree, I usually don't buy from a 5 or 5 figure fb account. If I can find the same item at about the same price from a "mom and pops" (if you will) 500 or 1000 fb account, I usually buy to help the smaller guy who probably has smaller orders to fill.

[MM78]

There's some other thread on the forum about someone wanting to get buyer feedback (around 100) and honestly to me it's a waste of money.

[james13v]

Originally Posted by MM78

There's some other thread on the forum about someone wanting to get buyer feedback (around 100) and honestly to me it's a waste of money.

That's different tho. It still helps to have SOME feedback.

[dallis]

He 'knows exactly what he's doing', and he's had 'a couple of suspensions' in the past year, oh, and the other dead accounts, of course, due to IP, no biggie though, but he's really, really smart, and he knows 'A LOT about EB'.

I'm not really sure why he's here given his mad selling skills, but he'll probably be back at some point with a tale of woe and despair.