I see so many users here asking questions that just make me cringe... Stuff like:
"Do I *REALLY* need to change my IP?"
"Can't I just log in at the Library?"
'Why shouldn't I just use Grandma's account?"
"How can I sell my counterfeit inventory on eBay?"
Here is the thing about stealth.... The
stealth guide was put together to help get people back on to eBay after they have been suspended, for whatever reason. Stealth techniques are LEGAL and they will hide you from eBay/PayPal. But they will NOT hide you from law enforcement and are not a license to break the law.
The whole idea behind stealth is to STAY UNDER THE RADAR and not do anything that would draw attention to your account(s). Selling counterfeits will draw attention to your account. Using a public IP will draw attention to your account. Using the same IP that got you banned in the first place will draw attention to your account.
Having 60 bank accounts at one bank will draw attention to your bank account. Using a
VPN might draw some attention, as eBay bans entire RANGES of IP addresses used by the
VPN providers as they find them. Claiming you are from the USA and logging in from Pakistan will draw attention to your account.
And yet all of these types of things are asked about time and time again.
Do you want to know the secret of the forum's most successful members? REALLY??? Well, here it is, right in the open forum for all to see...
STAY UNDER THE RADAR AND ELIMINATE RISKS!
It is very simple. Those that do well follow ALL of the Stealth techniques. That means NOT cutting corners, NOT using risky methods like
VPN's, NOT running so much money through your bank that they think you are an international crime ring. It means taking the time to do things the right way, not the easy way. Spending a few dollars when necessary. Stealth does NOT have to be expensive, but if you are too cheap to buy a throwaway cell phone, or get a VOIP line for $5 per month, you are really hurting your own cause.
The whole idea is to make eBay/PayPal think that you are just another user. Nothing special, nothing risky, nothing out of the ordinary. That might mean using dial-up, even though it is slow. It might mean getting another internet provider. Or signing up for a mailing address at a UPS store, or something similar.
If you are thinking that something you might be doing (or are thinking about doing) would pose a risk to your accounts, then DON'T DO IT! For example, Amazon reads MAC addresses. eBay does not -
YET. But if you are thinking that it is a good idea to spoof your MAC addresses on the eBay accounts, then it IS A GOOD IDEA! Just because eBay/PayPal/Amazon are not using a specific detection technique at the moment, does not mean that they cannot easily do so in the future.
Go above and beyond. If you find a risk, eliminate it. Don't use your banned account to browse your listings on the new account. Sure, the chances of losing an account this way are small, but WHY TAKE THE RISK? If you find a risk, eliminate it - oops... did I say that already???
The people here who lose the fewest accounts are the ones that are always trying to eliminate ANY AND ALL possible ways of getting an account linked. Not trying to save $5 per month by cutting a corner or two. Those that cut corners lose accounts and then wonder HOW AND WHY it happened since they followed ALL of the techniques (well, the IMPORTANT ONES, anyway)...
Your goal should be to become the MASTER of STEALTH. NEVER cut a corner. Eliminate any risk that can be eliminated. Minimize any risk that cannot be fully eliminated. And "cannot" means IMPOSSIBLE, not INCONVENIENT.
Apply those rules to every other area of your business as well. Have two or more accounts ready to go in case you lose an account. Don't invest every penny you have into ONE product. Don't take a customer service problem personally - ask yourself if it is REALLY worth the $20 in dispute to lose the account....
Sure, each country has it's own challenges. In the UK, bank accounts are difficult to come by. In the US, they are plentiful. But people in the US also have to deal with the SSN issue and the Patriot Act. Australia has some of the toughest anti-money laundering rules in the world. And sellers from China face a stigma to some degree that their goods are likely counterfeit. Of course, none of these things are fair. But they ARE reality.
I truly did not mean this post to sound egotistical or condescending and I realize that it actually DOES to some degree. That was unintentional.
Stepping off of the soapbox now...