Anyone Know about the New EBAY Rules?

mphinney · #1 08-08-2010

I opened a new ebay "stealth" account. Used a different IP, used a family members name, address, email and bank acct. info. On Both ebay and paypal. Let them both sit for about a week or two. Set the ebay up first, phone verified with a vumber number. Then went through the hole thing with paypal. Connected the two. Then listed only 2 items around 10:00 pm. The next day, logged in under a different ip and saw I had a bid on 1 of the 2 items and both had about 10 watches already. Went to work for the day, knowing I could not check the account from work because I used to access my banned account from there.
Got home, logged in and found a big fat RED account suspended notice. Said it was due to some registration code. So used my vumber number and gave them a call, stating that I was (my family member name). Told them I was new at this ebay thing, what did I do wrong. They simply told me, that I had done nothing wrong, that ebay is setting new rules when it comes to new sellers. The rule will change for all sellers on September 7,2010 but new sellers they are pretty much stopping right off the bat.
From this point on any old ebay seller and new one will need to fax in a copy of their license front and back, a utility bill showing proof of residency and any receipts or invoices for the items they intend to sell. If your only selling items around the house, then a letter must be submitted to say that.
She did clearly state I had done nothing wrong it's just that the rules are going to change and this is going to be required of ALL existing sellers.
Has anyone else heard about this? If this is the case, stealth accounts will no longer work unless we have tons of family members ready to give us their info.
Since being shut down, I have found that ebid.net is very good. Have items up for less than 1 day, though no bids yet, many, many views. My prices are the same as they were on ebay and my items sold extremely well. Also finding that there are tons of people leaving ebay for ebid.net and are selling well. If your account hasn't been banned and you have good feedback they will let you import it to get off to a good start.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone has heard about this new rule and where will that leave stealth accounts from here on out?

**SaiJin** · #2 08-08-2010

If that were the case, I think eBay is going to lose out on income huge time.

mphinney · #3 08-08-2010

I've been trying to find out if this is true. But can't seem to look in the right place. I'm hoping someone can tell me if they've heard of this as well. I know there are a lot of you doing well with your stealth accounts, and hope you can all continue without being shut down. It's just going to make it harder for the rest of us to get back on our feet.

jeffweico · #4 08-08-2010

I should think this is highly unlikely. Can you imagine how many people they would have to verify?

But even if they do, there are ways around everything.

No need to panic yet.

And I would LOVE to see a serious competitor emerge, but this has been talked about for years now. Yahoo, Amazon, MSN, Excite, Lycos, Auctions.com, and many others used to have auctions, but nobody could top eBay's traffic. None of the above still do auctions.

**SaiJin** · #5 08-08-2010

What did you sell, OP? I think that's what most likely triggered it.

wjs010 · #6 08-08-2010

oh snap this is big news...maybe for everyone..if this guys is real ( which he sounds like) then we all better be moving on to better auction sites..screw ebay lol

jbluntz · #7 08-08-2010

That would take a pretty long time to accomplish I don't think they have enough people working at ebay to have every existing and new seller fax in documents, it'll probably be more of a random thing like it already is now.

chknlollypop101 · #8 08-08-2010

I don't buy it...must be the stuff that was being sold....read the book...start slow....with small items...

jeffweico · #9 08-08-2010

I just searched for this, and while it is true that there are updates to the eBay User Agreement that will be effective September 7th, 2010 for current users, I saw nothing about verification.

It DOES say that in order to sell on eBay all sellers will have to verify their identity by putting a credit or debit card on file, or by using ID-Verify. But I believe this has always been the case.

Maybe someone else has more information?

jbluntz · #10 08-08-2010

Here's the new user agreement right here, I don't see anything in there about new or existing sellers having to fax in documents.

TOSBack | EBay User Agreement

OfficialGenius · #11 08-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by saijin

If that were the case, I think eBay is going to lose out on income huge time.

Same thing I was thinking. I'm thinking P90x, Instyler or certain DVD boxsets.

topseller · #12 08-09-2010

Now hold on. There may be some merit to this. I was given the call to verify message on my second time around listing items. Figured it was the "none of the above quiz", but i never even got to the quiz. Asked me my name and address and jumped right to go ahead and fax in your license and utilty bill.
Now it may be because I use a paypal account that his stiffed ebay many, many times, but I used to get a few months out of them before they would shut it down. I think if your ip address or any of your reg info hits any flags you get the fax in message.

Think about it. Ebay is trying to get rid of small time sellers and new accounts cause them the most problems. So what better way then make ythem jump through even more hoops.

Of course this won't stop us hard core mf'er

slapped · #13 08-09-2010

I would NOT be so Quick to Dismiss this Just yet, it would NOT Be as hard as Some Might thing for Ebay to Collect this information from EVERY Seller,, And I also see an Opportunity Here, If this is true, Well once you "Jump Through this First Loop" Selling Might become a Little Easier, on BOTH The Paypal AND Ebay side.

OfficialGenius · #14 08-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapped

I would NOT be so Quick to Dismiss this Just yet, it would NOT Be as hard as Some Might thing for Ebay to Collect this information from EVERY Seller,, And I also see an Opportunity Here, If this is true, Well once you "Jump Through this First Loop" Selling Might become a Little Easier, on BOTH The Paypal AND Ebay side.

Let's hope so!

OfficialGenius · #15 08-09-2010

This is what I received in 1 of my buyer accounts.

Updates to the eBay User Agreement

Dear *********,

I'm writing to let you know that the eBay User Agreement has been updated to support policy and other changes. The updated Agreement is effective immediately for new members, and on September 7, 2010, for current members.

There are two key updates to the User Agreement:

* Provisions have been added regarding eBay Buyer Protection. If a seller changes his or her reimbursement method for eBay Buyer Protection cases from PayPal to a new one, the new method will only be effective for transactions not yet paid for, and for future transactions. In addition, eBay may correct payment processing errors made in connection with an eBay Buyer Protection Claim. Please refer to the eBay Buyer Protection policy for the full terms.

* Clarification is included about instances where seller funds may be held as pending in their PayPal accounts. eBay has at times requested, and may continue to request, that PayPal hold seller funds to help facilitate smooth transactions. eBay will make such requests based upon factors including, but not limited to, selling history, seller performance, riskiness of the listing category, or the filing of an eBay Buyer Protection claim. PayPal may also hold funds pursuant to their own Funds Availability Policy.

As with earlier updates, other changes have been made to keep the User Agreement up-to-date with our product and service offerings.

You don't need to take any further action to accept the new eBay User Agreement. If you choose not to accept the new terms, visit this help page for further direction.

Thank you for being a part of the eBay community.

Sincerely,

Braden Dong
Senior Counsel
eBay, Inc.

mphinney · #16 08-09-2010

This is the conformation letter after my phone call to ebay. Also, the items I had listed was 1 graco baby stroller and 1 graco car seat. The car seat had bids and both were only up for approx. 20 hours.

As I stated, this was a new account that was completely verified according to their terms, credit card, phone, email ect. After everything had been verified the account sat for approx. two weeks before listing 1 item.

As far as the policy change, I didn't find anything specific but this is what the women told me on phone.

Dear ......,

As per our phone call here is the information you will need.

I've looked into the situation and see that your account was suspended
until we're able to verify your account information. We' also need to
check that your use of eBay meets the User Agreement guidelines.

For more information about the eBay User Agreement, go to:
Your User Agreement

If you'd like to appeal your suspension, you can begin the process by
faxing a letter of appeal to:

eBay, Attention: B001 Appeals
Fax number: (801) 880-7018

In your letter of appeal, please include the following:

1. A signed statement acknowledging that you've read and understand the
eBay User Agreement.
2. The email address and User ID of the account you're appealing.
3. A copy of the front and back of your driver's license or other
government-issued identification.
4. A recent credit card statement or utility bill that shows your
billing address. (You can black out your account numbers.)
5. Copies of manufacturer invoices or any other documentation showing
your purchase or ownership of items listed for sale. This includes any
related documentation from suppliers.

-- Important --
Please make sure that all copies are clearly legible and include your
User ID and email address.

What's the next step after you fax the letter of appeal?

Once you've submitted your appeal, reply to this email with a brief
message notifying us of your appeal. As soon as we've reviewed your
material, we'll contact you by email regarding the status of your
appeal.

-- Note --
For your security, all of the documents you submit will be destroyed
after your appeal has been reviewed.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation, and wish you luck with
your future eBay transactions.

Sincerely,
Carly

eBay Trust and Safety

jbluntz · #17 08-09-2010

GRACO, that's what did it.

**SaiJin** · #18 08-09-2010

I had the feeling it was an item he sold, but GRACO? A baby product is a vero
??

rsot · #19 08-09-2010

Saijin makes sense about the baby category but Graco...never heard of problems with that but if it is then makes sense. Especially stroller and car seat - safety...

ptenchick · #20 08-09-2010

I think it was Graco too... You can't sell high priced items on a new account right away... You have to wait and get some feedback first...that's just my opinion...

**SaiJin** · #21 08-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Saijin makes sense about the baby category but Graco...never heard of problems with that but if it is then makes sense. Especially stroller and car seat - safety...

Hmm.... I haven't done my hw on Graco, so that company is bad too huh?

IDK · #22 08-09-2010

Why so much doubt? This is basically conformation that all accounts will need to be ID verified at some point. (Something I predicted several months ago) Now it seems that it will be required earlier than usual. Which is kinda of good if you know how to get around it. At least you get the BS out of the way up front leaving you to focus more on selling than biting your fingernails every time you login.