eBay Documents

[sgnapa85]

Hi everyone,
I don't know if this is the right section.

I wanted to have some information.

I created some stealth accounts in the name of my company, because eBay had banned me practically immediately for no real reason (I think because I had created 3 new accounts and therefore they thought I was doing it to "cheat" their listings limit policy, while I did it to differentiate).
I'm quite familiar with eBay, I had other (non-stealth) accounts with my previous company, but then I moved (country) and eBay doesn't allow relocation, so they told me to create new accounts and they would help me too have the limits I had earned at that time (old accounts were from 2015)

So instead of helping me, they banned me.
I had no flaws in the account, no problems with customers.

But the business must go on, and therefore I decided to return to eBay through a Stealth account, but still in the name of my company.

Lately, at the first sale, ebay always asks me for documents, whether it's an account in the name of my company or in my private name.
Only personal documents (I have already sent my passport and driving licence, I don't have any others).
They don't ask me for corporate documents at the moment.
However, I don't know which documents to send, because I'm still the shareholder and I wouldn't want the documents to get me banned immediately.


As for the company, I've read that the trader name can also be used, so in theory you can have infinite company names, but the shareholders?

The rest is all disconnected from the other accounts, different phone, different ip, different profile etc etc
At the moment I haven't even entered my VAT number (which I should do, since it's mandatory in Europe) but I think eBay obviously links banned accounts also via VAT number.

I apologize if I was a bit confusing, if there is someone, especially from Europe, who knows how to do this..
Because I wouldn't want a newly created company, just to do business on marketplaces, to be practically unusable after a few months.

[SaiJin]

eBay DOES allow relocation. Their customer support is as usual... full of ****.

you did create 3 accounts and they all got linked.

So start with the stealth guide and then we'll guide you on specific needs.

I'm also moving the thread to the top of the forum so that more people can pitch in to help you

[murdered_by_ebay]

the proper way to do it would be to develop personal accounts and upgrade to company later

[degsey69]

Originally Posted by murdered_by_ebay

the proper way to do it would be to develop personal accounts and upgrade to company later

Yes I second that, get a good selling history as a personal account and then convert it to a business one.

[solefoodbk]

Originally Posted by murdered_by_ebay

the proper way to do it would be to develop personal accounts and upgrade to company later

Is there a reason why you say this? I restored my aged account from 2009 and already sold a few items. I upgraded to business and went from 70/$3000 to 50k/500k. Never seen that before but I guess its a new thing they do since I added my full SSN.

The few accounts I made using a real business upon sign up all had tiny seller limits.

[murdered_by_ebay]

in general business accounts registered in the name of a corporation attract more attention as they imply the account wants to sell a lot

that is why I recommend to go with personal first

[solefoodbk]

Originally Posted by murdered_by_ebay

in general business accounts registered in the name of a corporation attract more attention as they imply the account wants to sell a lot

that is why I recommend to go with personal first

I very much agree. I haven't been able to test that much because these accounts are so costly to make now. My most recent account which I really intend to baby and make sure it lasts is a personal account upgraded to business but sole proprietorship.

I defiantly see a difference so far. I thought the general consensus here was to start with a business account upon registration. But I'm thinking the best is to follow the old Paypal method. Create a personal, upgrade to business. I'm not sure it matters sole proprietorship vs llc but the last llc account I made upon sign up immediately got flagged hours after it was created for a 5 day review. Ended up getting numerous problems within a month, probably some self inflicted by growing too quickly but regardless had zero complaints, 100% feedback, no INRC, truly squeaky clean.

Only reason for MC099 was I posed risk to eBay. Every other time I've gotten MC099 on serious accounts was because something I did like late shipments. Slow and steady + personal into business = longevity.

[murdered_by_ebay]

personal account means you swim within a large quantity of other personal accounts , that is the best way to go

corporations etc. it is all for accounts that are already up and running

[sgnapa85]

Selling in Europe, not have problems selling with a personal account?
Also because the money would end up in the company account, which allows me to create as many IBANs as I want.
But I will discuss this with my accountant, explaining the situation to him.

however, it is absurd that eBay lets private individuals sell as much as they want, who pay no taxes or anything and instead those who do it for work are blocked for no apparent reason, but probably because of their lousy algorithm and a customer service that is incapable of know the result of 2+2

[sgnapa85]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

eBay DOES allow relocation. Their customer support is as usual... full of ****.

you did create 3 accounts and they all got linked.

So start with the stealth guide and then we'll guide you on specific needs.

I'm also moving the thread to the top of the forum so that more people can pitch in to help you

Unfortunately I have contacted them many times, but they don't really let me change the country, but they always told me to open new accounts..

Thanks for moving the thread, in fact it seemed strange to me not to receive answers

[rsot]

many ebay agents won't be able to handle this higher level kind of request

[solefoodbk]

Originally Posted by sgnapa85

Selling in Europe, not have problems selling with a personal account?
Also because the money would end up in the company account, which allows me to create as many IBANs as I want.
But I will discuss this with my accountant, explaining the situation to him.

however, it is absurd that eBay lets private individuals sell as much as they want, who pay no taxes or anything and instead those who do it for work are blocked for no apparent reason, but probably because of their lousy algorithm and a customer service that is incapable of know the result of 2+2

As @murdered_by_ebay pointed out upon account creation or when you are gaining traction on the site if you are group A) normal account vs group B) business account, there is a vastly different pool of sellers.

It makes complete sense to me that the algorithms are much more sensitive towards a seller who starts as a business vs an individual. It is all about risk. We know what we know, but from eBay perspective they have no idea. So if you are a brand new seller selling a lot of product on a brand new account the only way that really happens is if you are a previous seller. I mean, I have spent enough time on newer marketplaces selling since 2019 and I don't go from 0 to 100 on any of them. There is always a learning curve, and understanding of the site before sales come and it takes time. It gets hard to ⊗⊗⊗⊗ that illusion as a seller on eBay, I struggle with that myself.

Since 2020 all my problems with eBay is I have tried to grow too quickly and recover what I lost. I would suspect that is 90%+ of the problem with everyone else here if we are being honest. It is hard to accept $500 a month starting out when you know you're able to make 20K+ a month. At least from my perspective. I've learned my lessons and moving forward really going to take it slow. It's the only way.

[sgnapa85]

I also believe that starting as a personal account is the best solution, I will definitely talk about it with my accountant.
The important thing is that after a few months of changing the account from private to business with my company and vat number, they are not linked...

However it's not a matter of money, $500 or 10k+$, it's a matter of stress, when I was selling as a sole proprietor, I went to sleep at night and woke up happy.
Now when I wake up, the first thing I do is see if I have any banned accounts haha and that's not business in my opinion.

[murdered_by_ebay]

personal accounts have more limits than business accounts , in general they can not sell a lot as ebay would stop it at some point and demand business registration

so business accounts do matter but they should not be opened to develop the business but they should be upgraded to expand the business

[sgnapa85]

The company could have many different names, the problem is the shareholders, and I noticed that ebay is now on its first sale, asking me for all the documents.
instead the VAT number, you can't have more than one, seems to me to be illegal.
I think ebay link all of these things.

Or starting personal and then after 3-4 months and maybe 10-15 sales, change it to professional, it won't linked?

I even thought about opening a new company, but I don't want to do it, too many costs and little security that it won't be banned

[SaiJin]

Originally Posted by sgnapa85

Unfortunately I have contacted them many times, but they don't really let me change the country, but they always told me to open new accounts..

Thanks for moving the thread, in fact it seemed strange to me not to receive answers

yah, for ebay related questions like yours, just go to the top of the forum and post in the ebay main category.

the ebay-dwellers are all here as you can see and they don't have the ability to scroll below. HAHAHAHAHA

[SaiJin]

Originally Posted by degsey69

Yes I second that, get a good selling history as a personal account and then convert it to a business one.

have you been doing this a while or is this recent to you?

I've always just changed to business immediately.
Never had any issues with anything myself

[murdered_by_ebay]

the problem with business accounts is absence of selling history so that they get easily suspended , you open a new company and if the details get suspended many times on attempts to open a new ebay account I would not be too sure they do not get blacklisted

[solefoodbk]

Originally Posted by sgnapa85

I also believe that starting as a personal account is the best solution, I will definitely talk about it with my accountant.
The important thing is that after a few months of changing the account from private to business with my company and vat number, they are not linked...

However it's not a matter of money, $500 or 10k+$, it's a matter of stress, when I was selling as a sole proprietor, I went to sleep at night and woke up happy.
Now when I wake up, the first thing I do is see if I have any banned accounts haha and that's not business in my opinion.

I totally feel you with that. Sigh, I get anxiety if I don't check my accounts within a day, and it starts much earlier than that. Sometimes I used get to my office and log in and almost always expect something like this happening, then it happens. Have to change your mindset otherwise you end up attracting it, IMO.

Why do you feel there is a difference from sole proprietor to "business" llc? You think eBay treats the accounts differently?

[sgnapa85]

Originally Posted by solefoodbk

I totally feel you with that. Sigh, I get anxiety if I don't check my accounts within a day, and it starts much earlier than that. Sometimes I used get to my office and log in and almost always expect something like this happening, then it happens. Have to change your mindset otherwise you end up attracting it, IMO.

Why do you feel there is a difference from sole proprietor to "business" llc? You think eBay treats the accounts differently?

I don't know, I had 3 ebay accounts as sole proprietor before, and I've never had problems, (not even disconnected from each other) I had Amazon, no problem there either.

Then I changed country and opened these accounts with the company (LTD) and both Amazon and Ebay are giving me severe problems.

ebay/amazon haven't let me work for 6 months, and who knows when this will end...
Amazon at least makes appeals, even if they always refuse them, even if they send all the documents.
eBay doesn't even grant an appeal, despite the fact that I proposed to send him all the invoices, contracts with my supplier, etc etc...

The strange thing is that they started giving me problems at the same time.

[csproo]

You took a risky move by changing personal information, which is one of the most serious red flags