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Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

This is why I personally feel some people loose accounts in the long term.

The more an account grows the more fires you have to put out. Obviously depending on what you sell can give you more exposure to bad buyers but we all get them. If you choose NOT to call eBay and let the system decide outcomes for you then yes you will loose majority of your issues. The problem is a couple "issues" can get you a limitation depending on the problem.


I don't call them daily but my accounts would DEFIANTLY not be producing the sales I have been if I didn't call in, ever.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Not totally correct there Ghost

The longer members of the forum at the time advised that people new to stealth don't phone eBay as it was not a good solid stealth method.

That still applies IMO.

If you ring eBay, you always get the chance to have an ID/address/invoice ect request.

For someone just starting out on their stealth journey getting their first account limited because they rang I would think would be pretty disheartening, so for the first account or 2 I am of the opinion that its best to keep it safe and simple. That view has not changed despite our many debates :)

As a stealther gets more confident they can take more risks, but (in the UK) you would need a bank verified PayPal account before you can even think of ringing eBay. If you then get that eBay limited (or docs requested) you are potentially down a bank account.

Ringing does give an eBay agent licence to look over your account and to look for links to other accounts. They will often catch things that the bots (for whatever reason) seem to miss.

Alternatively if you just let the automated system give you increase after 2/3 months the accounts usually go from 10 to 200+ items.

If someone is happy to ring then great, but it can always end badly. Its a calculated risk, but a risk none the less

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

I am guessing that you dont have many large accounts then because if you do, you have no option to call and have them call you. Both ebay and paypal.

If yo start selling 30K+ a month or several thousand items you have no options but to work with ebay and paypal. They are your partner at this point.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

You're right, wich is why I always have plenty of backups besides you can't even make 30k+ a month without a tax I'd number.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Just because they can doesn't mean they do?

I think with that mindset your acting like your guilty of something. If stealth is done correctly they can't find a link so them searching would be pointless.

I've never had a rep go out of their way to search for a link on my account. The only reason they will is if you ALREADY have a linkage on your account in the first place. If you don't then there is no reason for them to go out of their way to check if your a stealth user.

That's like every time I deposit cash into my bank instead of using ATM I'm chancing them filling a report because it looks "suspicious". I think everyone with strong accounts can agree that there is NO problem calling stealth if your confident in your account and don't have any major problems.


IMHO...just saying.

The people who believe NOTHING will get done by calling in will get exactly what they think. If you have the mindset that your chancing a account overview and they might find a linkage then there's probably a reason why your paranoid of it. The people who call in knowing they get actual benefits out of it don't have issues. There would be NO reason for some users to say there is nothing wrong with calling in if you are confident in your account.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

What is hard about a tax number? You know you are legally allowed to have an unlimited amount of them in the USA? You can get a new tax number at least every single day if you choose but if you really need, you can get multiples under some circumstances such as one LLC and a Trust, etc...basically different types of entities.

Plus you have a variety of other options to handle the tax situations such as other country accounts as well. Most countries don't have such limitations.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

I've always looked at my accounts like a pack of cigarettes, just smoke each one till they're gone, I'll have to start looking into making some long term accounts with tax Id..

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

While I do agree with that, I still just wait personally for the increase to come automatically.

Automatic increases seem to come monthly when an account gets to a strong position.

When calling they can still request docs/invoices ect even without there being a link. It really does just depend on the rep you speak to sometimes.

I practise a low risk stealth method, which works for me. Others may want to ring in every 30 days, and they can do that. But its just important to know that eBay can ask for docs, invoices, proof of postage ect when phoning at anytime. By not phoning I eliminate that risk

All comes down to personal preference really.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

If you have a good selling staple items that can be relisted over and over and have good till cancelled successful BIN listings then long term accounts are the way to go. Just automate everything. Focus on sales and shipping and not making listings.

On my items I have one or two of, they go on small stealth accounts. When I buy out businesses and they have 2 of these and 5 of these, etc...they go on non verified stealth accounts.

But my everyday sellers end up on mega accounts. It makes everything easier. Just make sure you have backup accounts doing the same thing just in case. Run them until tax limited. You can add an EIN at any time if so you choose.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

How do u get a tax id every day? I have a sole prop, one for a lifetime. For tax Id on llc, it costs 800 bucks a year for California alone.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

They are free on the IRS website. You can take up to two years to file with a state and you have 50 options to choose from....

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Tried it already, asked at my local Oakland, ca office, wouldn't let me do it. I can only get one ein per person in a lifetime, unless you're an llc, but that would cost 800 bucks per year here in California.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

I already answered you but I will again.
You are allowed at least one EIN a day from the IRS. You have up to two years to file with A STATE and you have 50 states to choose from.

$99 or $800 that is how it works. Lots of good states to choose from. I like WY, FL, NV and IN has some cheap startup options too.
Personally, CA is not a state I will do business in. I happen to live in one of the worst states almost as bad as CA and I do use LLC in MA for my tax advantages and write offs, although I do very little business in MA. Basically covers most of my expenses such as auto, much of my travel, passes income to Real Estate that I get taxed at a lower rate, pays for internet, cell phones, etc...

Next is, who the heck cares about a $800 business fee? MA companies are $500 every year plus taxes...even if you endure a loss. It is a cost of doing business and a very small one at that.

If you are not going to think and operate like a business, why are you in business at all? Rhetorical really. Just something to think about.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

That's 800 dollars per ein, that's y, unless your accts can last that long, your acct might not even make enough money the first month, before buyers open some type of request, and several requests open, bye bye acct, and there goes your 800 bucks plus all the accountants u had to talk to on the phone for hours..

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

lol
Well, you only add an EIN to accounts you are making $$$, have received the second request or have been limited for selling 200 items and 20K and accounts you know that are going to last.

Let me put it this way, If you are not selling thousands of items and tens of thousands of dollars, you most likely would be better to spread sales. You would not even need that many accounts to do it.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

and I have to mention again, you have 49 better options than CA.... It is not very hard for you to open a NV for say $100 and for some reason you also missed that YOU HAVE TWO YEARS to file with the state.

That is two freakin years to determine if you even want to file and in what state to do so. The first two years is FREE and if you loose the account or decide a company is not for you, you don't even file and close the EIN.

Not rocket science to operate a good account, but business and owning companies certainly is not for everyone.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Wait for automatic increases - build new accounts - lot of options to relaxfully get more accounts going

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Hmmm, way too much work, and complicated. Much easier to report your sales independently, and concentrate on creating new accts. seems like the older the acct, the quicker it falls.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

That doesn't make sense...

It can't become old if it falls quickly...

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Ohhhh. Ok.

It really depends on YOU and what YOU are selling.

As for work, how lazy can one be? I mean, it does take at least 2 minutes, LOL and you can have your CPA do it for you. Good riddens. I mean, common man.

and report your sales as a sole proprietor? The MOST taxed entity possible with the maximum amount of liability? I will gladly keep my 15% self employment tax that you will be paying and double my deductions with a company. Thanks for the advise, but I would rather keep my money.

A LOT of times being cheap costs you A LOT more in the long run. But if you offer crappy service or sell items that keep on killing your accounts, you dont have much to work with anyways. Turn and burn away my friend

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

For the record I wasn't talking about just limit raises.

There is 100's of reasons to call in when sales are getting pushed threw the account regularly.

I understand your point though. :FF:

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

To be fair James, the UK and US are different beasts. Personally, out of hundreds of limit increase requests on dozens of accounts, I've only had ONE request for docs. Its well known that the UK is a lot more strict in some areas, and I would imagine doc requests are there as well.

I don't suggest taking advice from members in other countries without the proper research. If you're in the UK, Italy, Australia, Japan, etc etc, definitely do your research. Try calling in a couple of new accounts, something thats brand new with low limits to start, and see how that works. THEN, once you have an idea of how it works, figure out if it's worth the risk in YOUR country. Better yet, right your own post on your specific country! Give others info. :)

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Or u can have one llc and report it independently as such and get your 15% tax rate, rather than paying 800 bucks per ein per acct. that's just bad advice.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

What are you talking about? You have completely lost me. Nothing you state is logical or makes any sense.

Did you even read this thread?
I'm not going to bother responding at this point. It is pointless. You clearly did not even read the thread.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Personally I'd avoid all phone contact with eBay prior to 90 days first sale, but 90 days and solid performance, I see little to no risk in calling eBay.

Needless to say if you call eBay with a lot of defects/sketchy things going on at the time like OP, you're probably going to open yourself up to human review and raise a lot of red flags.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Good point GOA.

I know at least UK was facing tougher scrutiny with paypal and id requests so that's a valid statement.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

It's a double edged sword:

One the one hand, on a new account, you have very little to lose on the off chance something goes belly up.

On the other, as you said, with no record for them to review, they're more likely to deny a limit increase request than with an account that had a lot of positive feedback, deliveries on time, etc.

Still, it's my opinion that confidence is key. I believe eBay trains reps to look for people are a shifty/suspicious/nervous on the phone (it isn't hard to tell). People with something to hide almost ALWAYS have obvious "tells", which give away they're up to more than what they are letting on. It only takes a basic social awareness to pick up on this, so if you're calling and stuttering, "forgetting" info, or just generally seem to lack confidence in your request, eBay is going to assume something is up. THAT'S where you get increase denials, requests for docs, etc.

Imagine if eBay asked 50% of people who called for documents. Do you know the expenses/manpower involved in verifying all these people this way? It would be tremendous! Much cheaper (and we all know eBay LOVES cheap) to have your outsourced India reps vet your sellers and only pull that trigger when something comes up fishy.

Since I don't work for eBay, these are all educated guesses based on my experience calling them over and over and over again. Still, my theories are a lot more solid than those who never or seldom call eBay, due to the aforementioned experience.

Re: A reminder not to ever call eBay
 

Having the relevant information is the key doesn't matter how confident or shifty you are IMO and answering those key questions. How quickly do you ship your items, Do you provide tracking numbers and do the items belong to you . In my experience If you answer same day /next day, yes and yes to those three questions that's the battle won there providing you have the information to hand.

I keep a record of the information on each account and open this before I speak to Ebay so I have the information to hand although I prefer to not to contact Ebay sometimes its unavoidable.

If you are nervous then practice or write down what you ideally want to achieve from the call beforehand.

As someone has posted many times also trying to guess the rep's mood is also key. If they appear to be offhand with you put the phone down and call back later.