You have a better chance of winning a multi-million dollar lottery prize than you do of ever getting the eBay accounts reinstated. eBay rarely reverses their decisions.
Stealth IS the answer. Everyone on this forum has been in the same situation with eBay. Some of us lost accounts producing a few hundred dollars a month in extra cash. Others lost thier livelihood. One poor guy just recently lost his business - complete with 17,000+ positive feedbacks and 3 employees - after 14 YEARS on eBay. He was totally dumbfounded - he couldn't believe that after 14 years eBay terminated his account, wouldn't tell him why and refused to allow him to appeal the decision. It happens to a lot of people and more often than you think.
Some people find this forum and think we must all be a bunch of con-artists, counterfeiters and other types of criminals. But most of us are honest people who were selling legitimate items. I was banned after 9 years with eBay. I had over 2,700 positive feedbacks and ONE negative in all that time. Then I get a generic form letter email from eBay telling me they are closing my account. I tried calling them, thinking it HAD TO BE a MISTAKE. Nope. They told me I violated an eBay rule. They woldn't tell me WHICH of the 101,987,456 rules it was. If I wanted that information I would have to go to court and get a subpoena. That was my thank you from them for being a seller for nine years and paying them over $100,000 in fees.
A google search led me to this forum. I went stealth and never looked back. I've never been a fan of ebooks, as most of them are crap. But this one is an exception. It not only showed me how to get back on eBay, but also how to spread out my risk and how to keep the new accounts - the last two parts being the most valuable, in my opinion.
I don't own the forum and I don't benefit if you buy the
stealth guide. But I am a big fan and also an active forum participant, as I wanted to give something back and help others.
My suggestion is to get the guide, read it THREE TIMES. Let it sink in. Then, post any questions you may have. Someone here has the answer.
You said that you saw many different answers. That is because there are many users here from many different countries, each with its own challenges. For example, here in the USA, if eBay wants to do a full verification on you, Social Security Numbers can be an issue. In the UK, you don't have that problem. But bank accounts in the UK are harder to come by and eBay/PayPal often only want land lines for phone verifications. But there are ways around all of these things.
Stealth seems overwhelming and complicated at first. But it quickly becomes second nature. And it works without having you do anthing that is illegal. It might violate eBay's rules, but that is NOT illegal! And besides, haven't YOU pretty much been violated at this point? They didn't strip you of your clothes, but they DID strip you of your INCOME!