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What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

Ok, Village idiot question:

Why is everyone so paranoid about calling eBay?

Forgive the naivete---prior to this, I called eBay once a month to get my limits increased and never had issues, or even slight discomfort.

Can someone please break it down for me, in simple terms a third-grader could understand:

Why does everyone seem to avoid calling eBay? What is the issue we're trying to avoid here? :noidea:

Again, I realize this is probably a stupid question, so forgive my ignorance and humor me.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

Well, generally speaking, we do not want to call attention to our accounts. When a human being takes a look at them, you don't know what will happen. Automation is our friend.

For most people - and newbies especially - it is better to let the limit increases come naturally. When you call in, they might start asking questions. Or, they might want to verify your identity. Not that it ALWAYS happens, it doesn't - but why take the chance?

If you are comfortable on the phone and can BS your way through almost anything, and you are not selling anything considered high-risk by eBay, then you are taking less of a chance by calling in. But if you are inexperienced and fumble a lot, or you don't know ho to deflect their requests for ID verification, then it is best NEVER to call in.

Personally, I NEVER call in to eBay unless an account gets suspended. I DO take the monthly chitchat calls on my TRS accounts. I figure for the 7 minutes the calls take, I am happy to talk to them, because it gives them confidence that the account is real. Usually, they just highlight any changes or promotions, ask if you have any questions and ask if you want a free consultation with an eBay specialist. I SOMETIMES talk to the specialist because I have been able to glean some good information by asking the right questions.

But as far as just calling in to get a limit increase, I wouldn't recommend it.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

like jeff said. I rather have robots trying to bring me down then have an actual person try and look into my account. Very easy to push the button then.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

Thank you both for your responses. You guys have been a huge help, everytime I post I see your names pop up, I really appreciate you sharing your advice with me. :d

So the bottom line is if you call attention to yourself, you increase the odds of limits or suspensions that otherwise would not have occurred.

My follow up question is this:

Assuming you're not selling any high risk items and your account is otherwise on the up-and-up, when does calling to request higher selling limits (the "reward") outweigh the odds of getting limitations on your account (the "risk"). I'm not asking for an exact timeline---but I know some of you guys have a bunch of accounts, so I'm just looking for a general idea of how many months active/items sold before the odds of them deciding to randomly harass you for ID or something decreases significantly enough to make it worth the risk of calling to get an increase that might not otherwise occur.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

Plenty of legit accounts have been limited by calling in. It's wiser to avoid it at all times.

Whether the reward outweighs the risk is up to your own judgement. I would rather do it early on before an account becomes established. Nothing worse than a high limit high feedback account going down the toilet.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

The answer to that is how long is a piece of string.

There is no hard nor fast rule.

Each account is different.

This is the crux of ebay AND paypal. Each account is treated differently.

If you play poker you can decide if you should or plod along like others do & run successful stealth accounts.

Depends on your business plan.

:juggle:

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

Also, you might be surprised at what eBay defines as high-risk. Some people think it just means counterfeits, or ultra-expensive items, like higher-end jewelry. And while those things certainly ARE considered high risk, so is costume jewelry, cell phone cases (even unbranded ones), most electronics, some health and beauty items, and many other things you wouldn't necessarily think of.

You are also taking a chance on the MOOD of the person you are talking to. If they are in a bad mood and feel like being a jerk, they CAN be a jerk.

And, are you calling in from the number you listed on the account? Because eBay DOES have caller-id. If they see a different number pop up, they could either ask you about it directly or put your account in a queue for further investigation.

All kinds of things can come into play. So, while it is certainly POSSIBLE that someone could call in and have a good outcome, it is not recommended because of the risks involved.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

When I first started out, I once called in and had to do the strong identification questions on a stealth account.

Three of the questions were clearly related to my original, limited account with my real name, asking things like did I ever own a car with a particular, unusual color name, did I ever have an address on a certain street, did I ever have a phone number which ended in these last 4 digits, ( all of which were directly related to my real identity ).

I answered no to all the questions and got through it, but I'll never take that risk again.

That stealth is now 4 years old, with no problems, and I've never had a stealth shut down for any linking, but I studied carefully and changed my process and tried to
eliminate any possible errors when I made future accounts.

But what it taught me is that in the world of the computer, ALL things are connected, somewhere, somehow.

Computers know stuff, but it's just numbers, it requires a human brain to interpret and read the data and draw a conclusion. The computer doesn't know to tell a human what it found unless and until the human asks the right question the right way.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

Yeah, that would be me.

As said before- Let's enjoy the sort of playable robots and let's not **** with real people. As long as they have sort of semi-decent bots looking at our accounts, it gives us a chance.

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

Thank you all for your responses. You've given me a lot to consider.

It's difficult to imagine having waiting for eBay to upgrade every account in its own time....and managing dozens of stealth accounts just to have the ability to sell items.

Aside from the hassle of making new identities, is there any real disadvantage to having accounts get shut down?

What I'm asking is, if tomorrow I set down and create 6 stealth accounts, and then call in to all of them and request limit increases, and 2 of the get banned, but the other two are fine, is there any loss other than my time? Assuming I use entropay and GV (yes, I realize this is a higher failure rate), my accounts are essentially free. Getting past the first few months of hurdles and getting higher limits on a few accounts with a higher initial failure rate seems to be a better option for me, personally, than creating a dozen accounts and letting them rank up over months.

Just wanting to see if I'm missing anything? I know everybody has their own method, and everyone has their own goals----just trying to make sure I'm able to see the forest through the trees. Thanks again guys (and gals).

Re: What's the big deal with calling eBay
 

If you need higher limits in a hurry check out the marketplace. As far as calling in its not recommended. You can go ahead try for yourself that's the only way you'll know if it's worth it. But I'm sure they will ask database questions to try to confirm your identity.