Things I've learned: eBay Accounts & Paypal (limited)

[heathunter881]

Few tips for those who might be interested. I've been experimenting with Paypal and eBay for quite sometime now and I just want to give my insight to those who might be interested. This experiment was from a California user.

Using the same ip address to login to eBay or Paypal won't cause your accounts to be limited. ip addresses can be issued to others, so Paypal and eBay needs more info before they can limit access to an account. I've logged in to 3-4 different Paypal accounts using the same ip address without any problem, BUT when Paypal limited one of my account the other accounts was linked through ip address. This means it's okay to use the same ip to login to different Paypal accounts, but once they limit an account it's best to change your ip address before logging in to your other accounts.

Matching Financial Information

• Don't register a credit card or bank account twice! Once you registered a bank account or credit card, regardless if you remove it from your current account, that data will be on their server. That means if a credit card or bank account was registered to Paypal or eBay and that account gets limited, whatever account that has that same financial data will be linked.

• Always register a bank account and credit card to a dedicated eBay and Paypal account. This way when an account gets limited it won't link your financial info with a different account.

Spike In Sales

• Expect Paypal to start asking questions when you receive large amount of money. When your normal sales is around $100 - $200 and all of a sudden you receive 3x $500 payments, more than likely Paypal will limit your account and ask for information. Older accounts or accounts with longer sales record is less likely to be questioned.

IP Address

• When your eBay or Paypal account is suspended, always change your ip address before creating a new account. Never create a new account without changing your ip address. Start fresh and erase ALL the cache and data on the browser. Use CCleaner if it's a must.

• Don't login to a suspended account with a new ip address, doing so will link your new ip address to a suspended account.

The easiest way (for me) to get a new ip address is by signing up for a dial up service. A dial up modem will give you a new ip address every time you sign off and sign on. Though slow, a dial up modem is guaranteed to work and it's cheap. I use a dedicated dial up modem solely for responding to Paypal and eBay regarding my suspended accounts.

[GreenBean]

Good post. But be careful of insisting of saying 'FACT' when you are only describing your own experiences regarding the same IP.

Kudos for putting the word back 3 times. But let's agree to omit it. Why? Should an account come down to a manual revision, the same IP puts it at immediate disadvantage. Ergo, practice has found it better to have a new IP. And that statement is a FACT

The forum's overall aim is to allow users to become successfull as stealth users. So it means taking certain steps to create that new person. One of the steps is avoiding linking. Reusing an IP might cause a limitation by way of being linked.
It must be kept in mind that neither ebay/paypal give detailed reasons at times of suspension.
Whatever steps we can take to have successful accounts should be taken.

As I said, good post

[heathunter881]

good advice. ideally i would love to have different ip addresses per ebay/paypal account, but i'm not technically savvy to figure that out so i opted with a dial up modem to save time. from my experience though, i was able to use two Paypal accounts (one is linked with eBay) using the same ip address without any problem for a year +. the only reason my account was linked was because i accidentally registered the same credit card twice, and i had a huge spike in sales this month.

im pretty sure Paypal puts more emphasis on matching financial information than ip addresses though.

[pod]

Originally Posted by heathunter881

im pretty sure Paypal puts more emphasis on matching financial information than ip addresses though.

What you have learned through experience is right and not so right. But you are thinking things out and thats a huge step and will help you [And others here when you share] a lot. So kudos for being analytical. Knowing why you do something is as/more important than knowing what to do....

The IP issue is not hard boiled, you are right. A lot of the IP address is location so that doesn't leave a lot left over, so yes they will have reruns. I actually had one pop up today that I haven't seen in months. So logs, as tedious as they get are important. They will not nail you on IP alone, you are right. But it still needs to be guarded against. If they need 4 things to kill you, dont give them even one....

There are non technical ways to get IP if controlling MACs and so on are not your game. Hardware is an easy way. I always have two strong accounts that I focus on and even though I know how to change everything I actually go hardware on those two just to avoid early morning mistakes. [Translate: Idiot before 5 cups}

A router for each account with the user name label on it helps. Each router will give you a different IP. All you need to do is hook up/reboot everything. Almost foolproof. But a log is still important.

Unless you are running 10 accounts at once, then its pretty paramount you learn how to play with the IPS. And its really a lot easier then it looks. And I suspect you would grab understanding it a whole lot easier than you give yourself credit....

What are you using now for router and modem?

[heathunter881]

i dont think having a router per account is necessary unless the person using it is paranoid. ive never had paypal or ebay limit my account solely based on my ip address. the limit is usually caused by something else like having matching financials, suspicious activities, or with matching personal information. the biggest knowledge to remember here is knowing to change your ip once your paypal or ebay is hit with limited access.

out of curiosity, how do you change your mac address without replacing the nic?

[heathunter881]

i own a netgear router. i have yet to buy a modem but will start shopping for one.

[First Edition]

They can and DO link through the ip address. Why wouldn't they? I don't know of an online business that wouldn't do this. It is by far the easiest way to track someone accessing a website.

Does using the same ip cause a suspension? no... it causes a link, which we try to avoid. Yes, ip addresses are recycled, it's just the law of large numbers. The odds of this happening though are quite small. If you and another account use the same ip address you're obviously the same person/household so you both are shut down when the time comes.

[lakeman]

First Edition is very right.

Heath, I understand your trying to help out, but your post is going to confuse a lot of new people. Changing your ip after the account is limited is very wrong, the ip has already been recorded.

Separate accounts need to be separated. That means a new user account for each and to change your ip when switching between them. Everytime you switch between them you need to change your ip, otherwise they are not separate accounts.

[pod]

"how do you change your mac address without replacing the nic?"

Not the same. But again, you're a thinker. So you can work out the IP thing easy I know you can. The net card ID and the mac from router are not the same.
But I suggest you grab the Amazon Ghost book as well. They track even harder. Even if you don't use Amazon it has great info on network cards and stuff beyond eBay to look at. But I suspect you will find the info valuable

But all that aside: I know you think IP is not that big a deal, and I agree to a point. But its still a bread crumb to be certain. So don't blow it off. My thought is nothing ever touches nothing. Pretty foolproof. What you will find is its always a changing "soup" of what they look at. And always being as ahead as you can is best.

"unless the person using it is paranoid"

There is a gray area between paranoid and cautious. Thats the sweet spot

Originally Posted by First Edition

They can and DO link through the ip address. Why wouldn't they?

It really is that simple. Its call display for the internet. So even though its not foolproof, its used a lot. Almost across the board. So don't blow it off too much. I wont say you are wrong that its a killer. But I don't want you to give it less weight then it deserves either

[heathunter881]

im not disputing that ip addresses are tracked, im just saying paypal wont suspend, limit an account because it has the same ip address. but to avoid all confusion having separate ips is the way to go.

whenever my account gets suspended, all i do is change my ip address, whip out the cache and data on my browsers, and then created a new ebay and paypal account.

[GreenBean]

As a post expressing observations about using ebay/paypal to a good advantage, it went fine. There are answers that give an even clearer picture of how to handle our nemesi.

Bottom line for any stealther is to use proven methods, hone and refine others. Then make accounts that have minimal chance of suspension. (not the same IP, not the same photos).

[First Edition]

Originally Posted by heathunter881

im not disputing that ip addresses are tracked, im just saying paypal wont suspend, limit an account because it has the same ip address. but to avoid all confusion having separate ips is the way to go.

whenever my account gets suspended, all i do is change my ip address, whip out the cache and data on my browsers, and then created a new ebay and paypal account.

If account A is suspended, and account B is active.... and account a and b have the same ip, they will both go down. That is a fact.

Everything else in your original post is rock solid advice.... but the changing of the ip's is essential to keeping ebay and paypal from linking accounts.

[heathunter881]

Originally Posted by First Edition

If account A is suspended, and account B is active.... and account a and b have the same ip, they will both go down. That is a fact.

this is definitely true. basically once an account an ebay/paypal account is suspended or with limited access i will not login with a new paypal/ebay using the same ip. reset your ip, clean your cache and start over. i suggest using a dial up modem to login your suspended accounts or vise versa

[GreenBean]

Why are you even thinking of going near suspended accounts? That's a mine field for the damage that might do.

You have to seperate active accounts and passed/suspended accounts. Keep them well apart.

[heathunter881]

this is true but what if you're still fixing the account and want to sell at the same time? let say you have 2k in pp that's currently limited, in order to submit docs to pp you need access to the account. using your current ip to login to pp is fine since they already tracked it, but what if you want to start selling on ebay again without waiting for pp's final decision? (decisions can take a few days to a few weeks to complete) you can't create a new pp/ebay account using the current ip, so your only option is to get another isp (dialup or highspeed) or reset your router to get a new ip and start fresh.

Originally Posted by GreenBean™

Why are you even thinking of going near suspended accounts? That's a mine field for the damage that might do.

You have to seperate active accounts and passed/suspended accounts. Keep them well apart.

[GreenBean]

Gotchya!!! You are aware of keeping them apart. Nice work.
Lots of users never think like that way.
Always a pleasure to read where users are thinking outside the box

[heathunter881]

can anyone here suggest a good internet broadband stick without the the high cost? i've been searching but all i can find 2 year commitments. i want one with a monthly contract.

[GreenBean]

http://www.aspkin.com/forums/ebay-tr...-accounts.html

Read this thread. I dont have time right now to find more. But I suggest you search posts by either First Edition or lakeman. They speak extensively of their expereniences.
Have you looked thro' the tracking forum here? Should be more info there.
What you need to consider is how much data you will use monthly, what you want to pay. Shed load of plans to find

[First Edition]

Originally Posted by heathunter881

can anyone here suggest a good internet broadband stick without the the high cost? i've been searching but all i can find 2 year commitments. i want one with a monthly contract.

What's high cost? most plans are 50-60 dollars a month. A cancellation fee is going to be about 200 dollars with any company for an air card. If that's high cost... you're probably not making enough money on ebay for you to go stealth in the first place.

You will either pay up front the full retail cost of the equipment for a monthly plan, or get the cancellation fee equivalent knocked off the device at point of purchase when doing a contract. There is not mathematical reason to due a monthly plan unless you have customer owned equipment. Contracts are their to keep a customer from churning when given the discount on equipment. Verizon works great, so does Sprint for the most part.

Read the post that GreenBean noted... I started that thread to get people to talk about using mobile broadband.