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How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Hi, first off I sell a "digitally delivered good" which is against Ebay policy, so I and the hundreds of competitors I have are are walking a fine line, and I'm sure I will get a lecture about that. I have been doing this for 3 years on various accounts and it gives me enough side income that the risk of removals was worth, I know it is all part of the market. I don't report anyone and I just try to have 99.5% feedback, great service and great listings, give refunds for unhappy people, etc.

I was using stealths but got tired of having tons of accounts to avoid the SSN shutdown, so I made a legit account with a real family members SSN and reported the income on my last two 1040s. This account has been solid, I've had it for close to 2 years and it has 1,500 positive feedbacks and I thought the account was so good if competitors were reporting me, Ebay was looking the other way.

Fast forward to this week, I get all 60 of my listings pulled and a 3 day suspension. I have an IP tracker in my listings so sure enough one IP viewed all of my listings, one after another, right before the take down. I used that IP info to discover they had bought one of my items recently and are now selling it on the same account. So I have their IP, their ebay name, their email address, their mailing address. Since they bought and sold from the same account I don't think this is a stealth account.

I normally do not mess with a competitor, but this guy has got to go, because I'm afraid once I re-list he will take me down again. I think he has not been taken down because he claims to send a CD in the text, but his images actually say "not a CD, digitally delivered." I will probably learn from this and try the same thing.

Any advice on how to give this guy a wake up call so he stops messing with people? A 3 day ban on his listings would be enough for him to realize that you really don't want to stir the coals.

Thanks.
- Count Chocula

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Why not email the seller and work something out....Maybe he/she is willing to play ball.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Guys who want to take somebody down have no diplomacy, it does not help to negotiate a deal.

I have endured enough, with these greedy xxx its time to show some muscles. Hammurabi's law has to apply, "an eye for an eye." No mercy whatsoever!

If anybody dare cross me, they will go down too - really fast.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

First rule of engagement is Know your enemy.

Then decide in a feasible course of action.

Tit for tat behavior is counterproductive.

:nono:

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

oh Grasshopper!

Learn to control those urges.

Yes, some deserve the chop.

Others can be melded to your will.

Consider that approach.

:peace:

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Oh i would love the name of the tracker you are using :sly:

Contact the person and if all else fails..you can still report his listing, Ebay will still look at it and see the text in the image?:shhh:

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt. Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

I appreciate GB and those that say I should contact him. I have done that in the past with a seller and it did work out. However in this case I feel I have the upper hand, I know everything about him and as far as I know he was reporting all of his competitors so he will not know I am the one behind his setback. If I approach him but it fails, and then have to opt for more severe measures, it will be tit for tat back and forth from there. If I can put a little hurt on him now he probably won't know who it was and will think twice about pulling this stunt again. Thats what I'm thinking at least.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

IP tracker? Sounds interesting.... What do you use?

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

First off, block this eBayer. If you know who it is, don't get even...get ahead. That's my philosophy. If you want to be diplomatic, then you can try to talk to him. Judging my you text above, you seem mad (which you should be), but you also do not seem to be the "get even" type of person. Maybe you should sit on it a couple days and ponder on it. Maybe he thought you got him suspended. Circle of hate keeps going. So I say again, if you want revenge, don't get even..get ahead!

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

When I first started at this I would get really mad and want to get even, but I have since cooled down after a few years and usually just ride the highs and lows out. This one got me a bit worked up again because I had stopped relying on the stealth accounts so now have a lot of work to do to get back to 100% operational.

Thanks for all the responses.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Make more stealth accounts and spread sales too.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

You may have had a tracker on your listing but how did you link it up to the buyer? Sounds cool, please share.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

I used to take out my competitors years ago...but it's like the Korean war, we couldn't win because the Chinese kept sending more troops to their slaughter.
The same goes with ebay, they just keep coming, it never stops.
So, sell even more that's what I do.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Since I sell digital products I have the IP of everyone who has ever downloaded products from my server. Cross reference that against the IP of the guy who was on 60 of my listings hours before I got the banhammer, and we have our guy. For once, a bad IP helped me.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire.

Re: How To Stop Competitor Taking Me Down?
 

Revenge is a dish best served extra cold. Softly softly catchee monkey.

I am heavily into revenge and some of the things I have done would make your hair curl.