eBay requires bank account; existing bank account closed

[anonymister]

I have a problem with eBay and PayPal that's a bit out of the ordinary, and I'd appreciate any advice on how to make it work again.

I was a seller on eBay for about 15 years, but my seller's privileges were revoked about 4 years ago, due to a customer's case of "buyer's remorse". So, I can't sell under my own account anymore.

My wife also sold on eBay for the same period of time, and she had perfect feedback. She would sometimes let me sell things under her name, but she was very protective of her feedback and didn't want to risk having me mess it up; a reasonable concern. Not that I was irresponsible, I just had different standards when it came to capitulating to picky customers. We used different banks.

Unfortunately, about 18 months ago, my wife died from a very aggressive form of cancer. During the 9 months when she was sick and I was caring for her, we didn't work, and after she died, I was left about $70K in debt for medical procedures that our insurance didn't cover. So after about 6 months, I started selling things on eBay under her seller name.

Unfortunately, while I was taking care of dealing with legal issues relating to her death, I stupidly closed her bank account (there wasn't anything in there anyway, and I didn't want to pay monthly fees for keeping it open). I say "stupidly" because it didn't occur to me at the time that my wife's PayPal account was linked to her bank account.

A few weeks ago, her old bank card expired, which sent up a flag at PayPal/eBay. Now, when I try to list anything on eBay, it says that I must first link an active bank account to her PayPal account, to process refunds, etc.

See my problem?

I really do want to keep her account, since it's a PowerSeller with 14 years of history and 1,200 feedbacks, 100% positive. And I need to get selling again soon; bills are piling up.

So, what I'm wondering is if there are any banks (or even "banks") that have the following features:

• accepted by PayPal/eBay as valid banks
• use on-line registration
• are unlikely to check the social security death records

I have her PayPal card, her Social Security Card, her state ID, etc., and can furnish scans of them for any application.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[GreenBean]

Welcome to the forum. You have lots to learn about what we do. Please except my condolences on your sudden loss. My former partner passed away last year under similar circumstances. I hope you become more comfortable with everything.

I can not in all good faith say this is a workable plan. Using any of your late spouse’s ID is actually Identity theft. Our forum does not condone that. You do not need any grief from that.
Couple of questions though. Is your own credit OK? do you have bank accounts?

[anonymister]

Thanks for the response and the condolences, GreenBean.

It's strange but it doesn't seem remotely like "identity theft" to me, since (a) it's my wife and (b) we shared everything else, from a dwelling, cars and so on, to joint tax filings and health insurance. I was her only beneficiary, and I am now stuck with $70K in medical debt that insurance didn't cover. I think that "theft" requires someone else to be deprived of some material good as a result of it, and that's certainly not the case here. So it's difficult for me to consider it to be in violation of the spirit of the law.

Having said that, I apologize if I broke the forum's protocol. Let's just forget that I asked about that specific scenario.

My credit isn't great (unrepaid student loan from 35 years ago), but I do indeed have a solid bank account and an active PayPal account, which is linked to it.

[anonymister]

so . . . no one else has anything to suggest? Really?
Hello? Is this thing turned on?

[Gladiator]

Just attach your bank account and move on. Or open a new one if that one was used with your closed account and move on.

[SaiJin]

What GB is telling you is that using other people's info will create other issues in the future. ANd using her info IS identity theft.

The best way to start is from the beginning thus the stealth guide.
And you'll find out that it's not that big of a deal to just add your bank account to this paypal. There's a lot of moving parts that we don't know since it's not your own account and you are probably not really aware of yet.

This is why I say start from the beginning and study the guide first.

[phaz0rz]

Just open yourself a new bank account and attach it to your wife's Paypal account. The fact that the vast majority of US banks allow mismatched ACH deposits is what makes selling on stealth accounts a possibility for us. I can count on one hand the US banks I know of which don't accept mismatched deposits. The chances of you choosing a bank which doesn't accept mismatched deposits is literally less than .1%.

Open a new bank account, login to your former wife's Paypal, enter the new bank account info and have Paypal send the two test deposits. Check your online banking activity in three days or so to get the two microdeposit amounts, then enter those amounts into Paypal to confirm your bank account. Then you're done.

[sluster2016]

I just opened a wells fargo one, names dont match. confirmed micro deposits next day.
listed first item wednesday, went live thursday , sold today

[phaz0rz]

Originally Posted by sluster2016

I just opened a wells fargo one, names dont match. confirmed micro deposits next day.
listed first item wednesday, went live thursday , sold today

Congratulations?



EDIT: You shouldn't be selling your bank accounts like that...

[ebaystealth1974]

I think he sold an item, not his account? Maybe...??

[phaz0rz]

Just picking on sluster for the random post lol.

[ebaystealth1974]

Gotcha lol...

[anonymister]

Originally Posted by sluster2016

I just opened a wells fargo one, names dont match. confirmed micro deposits next day.
listed first item wednesday, went live thursday , sold today

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I'm wondering how one can open a Wells Fargo account with a different name than what's on a person's ID.

I do my banking there, and they required me to provide picture ID to open the account. So, if they look at the person's ID while setting up the account, how can I get a different name (i.e., my late wife's name) on the account? (Yes, her last name is the same as mine.)

[anonymister]

Thanks for the info, phaz0rz.

I hope you don't mind a follow-up question, but I see a potential problem with eBay and/or PayPal (depending on how much info they share with each other) since -- as I said in my OP -- my selling privileges were revoked by eBay (I can still buy), and my eBay account is linked to my PayPal account, which is linked to my bank, and both of the latter are in my name.

So, since eBay knows that my name is linked to my PayPal account, can't they tell that my late wife's eBay account is trying to link to a bank account that has my name on it? And I don't know if they can see it, but our addresses would be the same too. Wouldn't that be likely to throw up a red flag?

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Just open yourself a new bank account and attach it to your wife's Paypal account. The fact that the vast majority of US banks allow mismatched ACH deposits is what makes selling on stealth accounts a possibility for us. I can count on one hand the US banks I know of which don't accept mismatched deposits. The chances of you choosing a bank which doesn't accept mismatched deposits is literally less than .1%.

Open a new bank account, login to your former wife's Paypal, enter the new bank account info and have Paypal send the two test deposits. Check your online banking activity in three days or so to get the two microdeposit amounts, then enter those amounts into Paypal to confirm your bank account. Then you're done.

[mmartin9999]

Originally Posted by anonymister

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I'm wondering how one can open a Wells Fargo account with a different name than what's on a person's ID.

I do my banking there, and they required me to provide picture ID to open the account. So, if they look at the person's ID while setting up the account, how can I get a different name (i.e., my late wife's name) on the account? (Yes, her last name is the same as mine.)

You open the account in your name.

PP cannot see the account holder name when sending a deposit. The bank must allow the deposit to come in a name different than the name the account is in. Not all banks allow this.

[anonymister]

Thank you!
How would I be able to find out if say, Wells Fargo does allow a "deposit to come in a name different than the name the account is in"? What is the sort of question one could ask to determine this, without raising suspicion?

Originally Posted by mmartin9999

You open the account in your name. PP cannot see the account holder name when sending a deposit. The bank must allow the deposit to come in a name different than the name the account is in. Not all banks allow this.

[phaz0rz]

Trial and error is the only safe way. I don't think you could ask a banker without sounding suspicious. These days it's possible they would think you're asking because of potential BTC transactions and then close your account(s) on the spot.

Wells Fargo works. They are one of the most commonly used banks around here.

[anonymister]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Trial and error is the only safe way. I don't think you could ask a banker without sounding suspicious. These days it's possible they would think you're asking because of potential BTC transactions and then close your account(s) on the spot.

Wells Fargo works. They are one of the most commonly used banks around here.

Excellent! Thank you.

One last question: am I correct in presuming that since my Wells Fargo bank account is already linked to my PayPal account, which is linked to my eBay account (which is blocked from selling) that I would need to open a *separate* bank account there, to link my wife's PayPal account to?

Sorry if this is an obvious question; this is a first time thing for me, and I want to make sure I don't mess it up.

[phaz0rz]

Yeah, you'd need a new account. With Wells Fargo it's easy to request a new account from online banking and sometimes have it ready the same day. Or you could go into a branch. Either way it's a painless process with them.

[anonymister]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Yeah, you'd need a new account. With Wells Fargo it's easy to request a new account from online banking and sometimes have it ready the same day. Or you could go into a branch. Either way it's a painless process with them.

OK! I was a little dubious, but I tried it, and it worked! I got my confirmation that a new debit card account is now opened in my name, and the card will arrive in 5-12 days. Hopefully, that will be able to link to my late wife's PayPal card without too much trouble.

Thanks again!

[rsot]

Originally Posted by anonymister

OK! I was a little dubious, but I tried it, and it worked! I got my confirmation that a new debit card account is now opened in my name, and the card will arrive in 5-12 days. Hopefully, that will be able to link to my late wife's PayPal card without too much trouble.

Thanks again!

Great to hear - this was quite the thread revival from last year