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My suspension story - UK member
 

Hey everyone, first I would like to say that from the little amount of information I have read, I know this is THE place that can help me to get back selling again.
Thanks for everyone's contribution to this very useful board :)

I am a uni student in the UK who started selling on ebay about a year ago. I'm nowhere near a business and sold stuff to basically fund weekly expenses which are typical of a student. My first ebay account is about 4-5 years old and I have 4 accounts in total, all in my name. This is because I had plans to sell different things in each account and one of them is used to buy stuff only.

About 8 months ago, I hit some financial difficulties and unfortunately took an easy way out to get some money, selling ⊗⊗⊗⊗ gear on ebay. It was ⊗⊗⊗⊗ designer shoes to be exact, and though at the beginning I sold a few, VERO stopped my auctions on 3 occasions. On the first two occasions, they cancelled the listings, but me being a fool :) I listed for a third time as I was desperate to shift them, they suspended me on the third time. I was suprised and panicked a little as I had no idea what to do. I then logged into another 2 of my accounts, to check if I owed any fees and if they had been suspended as well.

Then 3 days later I receive emails from ebay that these accounts I had logged into are now suspended as well for violating ebay's policies of not using any other accounts while one is suspended. I was under the impression that I could log in to check if I owed any outstanding fees, I did not 'use' them in any way such as contact other ebayers, bid, or sell or anything like that. Ebay was not having it however and kept the two accounts suspended. I then emailed ebay and told them that my ebay accounts mean a lot to me etc etc. and then amazingly, I received an apology and they restored ONE of my other two suspended accounts, but refused to restore the originally suspended one and the other suspended one for logging in.

I learnt that I had to send documents to verify my identity to restore my accounts. I sent them off for the first account, the one that got VERO'd, and it was restored without delay. However, to my suprise, for the second account, ebay claimed the documents were ineligible, even though they were exactly the same for both accounts :rolleyes: I then sent them the documents for a second time, and after 2 weeks of no response, I emailed them and I received the same automated response that ebay have decided to keep my account suspended and won't be considered for restoration until summer 2008.

I know its not long to go for summer 2008, but I have quite a bit of stock just sitting in my room with a fair amount of cash tied up in them. It might be pocket money's worth to a lot of other memebers here but its a lot of money to me :) I tried selling the ⊗⊗⊗⊗ designer shoes on another auction site, ebid, but I was suprised that they were removed within a few hours. I now had the feeling that I was being watched lol! So I didn't bother trying for a second time. The sales on these other lesser known auction sites have not been good, I have only sold 2 items in just over a month! If this was ebay I would have cleared them out in 2 weeks max!

So, what do you guys think I should do? Wait till summer 2008 and try to get my last remaining suspended account restored, or follow the advice by members on this board and open up a new anon account and sell off the remaining stock? If things go well, I will continue selling stuff but NO MORE ⊗⊗⊗⊗ stuff, I want to go legit this time. Thanks in advance.

how about your paypal ?? is that limited ??? untouched ??

I have 2 paypal accounts. One of them is currently limited because a dishonest buyer on another auction site - cqout.com claimed I didn't send the item, and Paypal like always, has favoured him. I actually tracked it and Royal Mail confirmed that it was delivered to his address! Cash is so tight at the moment that I can't even afford to refund him (and he would be stealing my money and keeping the item as well).

My other paypal account, thankfully its fine right now.

you can always register new accounts and start using them without offering paypal.. as paypal can get you into trouble. if you follow this guide/forum to its fullest you can have an extra ebay account plus you can also reinstate your old account in mid 2008

just make sure it doesnt get linked in any way to your old accounts..

some advice on vero.. dont do it otherwise u will get kicked out very soon..

Thanks for the advice powerbid, much appreciated.

Has anyone here found that they can still sell at a decent volume without offering Paypal? Ebay practically force ebay sellers to accept Paypal as a payment method and buyers are brainwashed into thinking its the only safe form of payment.

in one of my accounts... i donot accept paypal atall.. atleast it is not offered in the auction.. i accept nochex, postal order, and checks.. for uk buyers say u donot accpet paypal due to its high charges.. for international buyers tell them you will send an invoice after end of auction and ask for their paypal email address and send invoice from your paypal which is not limited.. 99.9% buyers donot have any problems paying this way... but you have to be vigilant in communicating with your buyers to gain their confidence.. if you can do that.. u will be successfull... like i have ..

The problem is that ebay forces you to have a "safe" payment method, i.e. a way of accepting credits cards. A lot of us aren't doing enough business to warrant a full-blown merchant account so they are a necessary evil

Silver surfer, I wouldn't bother trying to reinstate your accounts, it's slim that they will if you got done for VERO.

Also, do NOT use your old paypal account in conjunction with your new account. They will link you, and you'll get suspended again. Happened to me.

It's easy to setup a new ebay account, paypal account a little more difficult. You need to verify your paypal by adding a bank account, that has to be in the name of your paypal account. So I think you have to setup the new paypal account in your name (or, your real surname at least), and link it to a new, REAL bank account.

unload ur ⊗⊗⊗⊗ stuff on ioffer.com. They don't care and the site is filled with 95% ⊗⊗⊗⊗. Meanwhile, wait until summer and get ur ebay accounts restored properly. You don't want the hassle of making ⊗⊗⊗⊗ accounts. Its really a freaking hassle!

it'd be better to start over, new acc, new paypal, clean your pc.
however in the long run it'd be wise to stop selling ⊗⊗⊗⊗

ioffer is filled with ⊗⊗⊗⊗ junk, if you want, you can sell on gumtree, being from the uk myself, i find it popular among online auction sites (reliable ones anyway)

and its free!!