No wonder sellers are choosing Stealth

[donkeykong2012]

I have posted a few times on here, I thought I would vent a little.

I am a Top Rated Seller on EBay UK with all Premium listings. It is not a stealth account, but I have worked hard to achieve this status in the last year.

Since the new Premium badge has been introduced in September I have had nothing but trouble. I have been left a couple of low DSR's and received "nasty" emails from buyers who are clearly jealous sellers as well.

Today I was onto Trust and Safety through Live Chat and got one removed only after persevering and practically begging for common sense to prevail.

The last month has shocked me. I cannot trust EBay and do not trust them one little bit, recent events has left me feeling vulnerable, exposed, and very very stressed. It seems we can loose it all on a whim.

I am happy to report that I have been building numerous stealth accounts over the last 12 months which are unused as a safety net, thankfully I have not needed them.

I will build more. I must be honest, I originally thought the concept of stealth was bogus, but I am not prepared to have my livelihood dictated to and interfered with any more.

Thanks for the great site, it is a shame good sellers have to resort to this, but I completely refuse to play Russian Roulette with EBay.

[tmastermind]

Good for you in building the stealths up and yes sadly much as we feel about our rights and hard work, we are at the mercy of ebay and such sites we advertise on and over time these sites are getting worst by the larger crowd of idiots who work there.

That's why we should see ebay and AZ and short term investments. I'm looking at long term with the help of SFB.

[rsot]

Good story to vent - competition can be pretty cutthroat...sadly, when profits are involved, people will do almost anything.

Smart choice to go stealth.

[donkeykong2012]

Seriously in the last few weeks I cannot believe EBay.

I think I first posted on here about this time last year as I was curious about what it was all about.

I am going to accelerate my plans. I got a result today with the removal of a low DSR but that's not the point.

Guess what they said at Trust and Safety? Something like....

"On this occasion we will remove the low DSR as a gesture of goodwill, however further appeals will be denied"

What??????? Its crazy, is this meant to make me feel better?

What if another rogue buyer comes along?

On top of this I read lots of stories of sellers being banned and even buyers who have left the odd neg or case. It is so depressing.

EBay is an unstable mental patient that needs locking up.

[Atw777]

Tell me about it they have changed so much over the years

[jeffweico]

This is nothing new. eBay was GREAT in the beginning (like in 1995 or so) but their platform became unstable once they decided they wanted to be more than "just a venue" and mimic Amazon.

Stealth enables us to run an actual business by spreading risk over several accounts. eBay and Amazon are far too unstable a platform for sellers to actually run a business on the normal way. It is too easy to get shut down even when you are doing nothing wrong.

Like many people, I had heard complaints about eBay canning sellers and PayPal holding money, but I always thought those complaints were just rumblings from dishonest sellers trying to rip people off, sell counterfeits, or engage in otherwise shady activities. Then it happened to ME. I wasn't selling counterfeits. I wasn't ripping people off. I had over 5,000 positive feedbacks, my feedback percentage was 99.7% This was before the days of the DSR's.

Now, with stealth, my business is MUCH MORE STABLE. If they shut down one of my accounts, I might lose 10% of my income, instead of 100% of my income and I can recover much more quickly.

Trying to build an eBay business the normal way is like building a real-world bricks and mortar store on top of a sinkhole.

[rsot]

Tons of rogue buyers exists - need to plan in advance and be prepared for these loser antics - block them, monitor your auctions, etc.

[An0nym0u$]

That TRS badge has its pros and cons. Sure, you will attract some potential buyers that will be more willing to purchase from you as opposed to another seller.

But you will also attract shady buyers who know you will do anything to keep your TSR standing. Its these buyers that are the most worrisome.

To me, the TRS badge is a bulls eye for problems. Having multiple stealths are a more preferred (and less headaches) option for me.

[zoneout]

Originally Posted by An0nym0u$

That TRS badge has its pros and cons. Sure, you will attract some potential buyers that will be more willing to purchase from you as opposed to another seller.

But you will also attract shady buyers who know you will do anything to keep your TSR standing. Its these buyers that are the most worrisome.

To me, the TRS badge is a bulls eye for problems. Having multiple stealths are a more preferred (and less headaches) option for me.

Agree completely. Professional scammers know this well and will extort from TRS seller as they know the chance of success is much greater.

[zoneout]

Originally Posted by jeffweico

Trying to build an eBay business the normal way is like building a real-world bricks and mortar store on top of a sinkhole.

LMAO .... sad but so true!

[joesshooze]

You are correct EB & PP can not be trusted even a half of one bit. If me I would use the stealth accts. you have made even a small amount of activity just so they don't look dormant & sleeper accounts. You might be surprised when you go to use and are treated like you just subscribed an hour ago.

[Geegee83]

I agree entirely, it's a minefield and I don't feel secure at all.

This is my 100% income, so I get a few bad night's sleep. Once stealth is up and running I hope I'll feel a bit better.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by jeffweico

Trying to build an eBay business the normal way is like building a real-world bricks and mortar store on top of a stinkhole.

Find it more of a stinkhole these days.

Glitches everywhere. What worked yesterday no longer works.

Policies negate expectations.

And breathe.....

And breathe.....