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Invited to be Powerseller - but is it worth it?
 

I've been able to get my account running for 3 months, and now have been invited by eBay to become a powerseller. On the acceptance screen, I get:

Step 1.
Review your eBay contact information.
To update this information, go to the change your Registration Information page.

E-mail address xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
User ID xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Full name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Address xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
City xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
State, Province, or Region xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Postal Code (Zip) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Country United States
Primary phone # xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Secondary phone #
Fax #

And then step 2 is just Review the PowerSellers Program Terms and Conditions and an agree button.

I x'ed out my info for obvious reasons. Question is, is joining the powerseller program a safe thing to do? Normally, I wouldn't bother thinking twice, but Step 1. where it says Review your eBay contact information makes me concerned. I'm worried eBay may send me something in the mail, comes back to them undelivered, which could be grounds for abusing eBay. Or maybe since I'm powerseller, they will try to verify my contact information.

I am passing on being a powerseller unless someone can confirm that it's safe to do so.

While I had my powerseller account, they usually call your phone more often then usual (for every violation they would call you to talk to you, or certain promotion or event they are doing etc). They even send you an ebay award printed on cheap paper. Woohoo!

Although they do do that, I am not sure if not being able to reach you via phone or address will cause a suspicion though.

EBayEmployee:

Do you know of any safe way I can become a powerseller again?

The phone number is fine. I am using my own cell phone number, so there shouldn't be any problems about the phone.

The only thing that worries me is the address. The address isn't a valid address of course. Can you tell me in some more details what happens when I become a powerseller? Specifically the following:

1. What information, if any, does eBay actually try and verify from me once I become a powerseller?

2. What action does eBay take, if any, when eBay sends to me my powerseller certificate and it comes back as undelivered because of no such address? Also can't I choose not to receive anything in the mail from eBay?

There is absolutely no advantage to power seller status. It makes no difference to sales. The only thing that matters is having the right products at the right price. Plus you will be held to higher standards than most. ReaLLY- YOU DONT NEED IT

I sell products that are over $100 a piece though, so a powerseller status could be helpful

Does anyone have answers to these questions? Mainly if eBay actually tries to verify information such as address when you become a powerseller.

It's not worth the risk.

yea, I wouldn't risk it bro. Consider the scenarios here.
Scenario 1
You enter your information and pray they don't suspend your account. Everytime you log in, that thought will always come to your head "will the suspension screen come up??!!" At the end of the month you conclude you are safe and continue selling your products, making $100 a piece and maybe gaining the trust of a few new ebay customers because of your "powerseller" status. Though those people might have trusted you anyway because of the amount of positive feedback you have received.

Scenario 2
2. You get caught. No more money, no more $100 a piece listing. Back in square one, trying to get back on ebay.

Now...is it worth it?

power seller doesn't mean much. I peruse forums for items that I sell and they are always complaining about powersellers selling ⊗⊗⊗⊗, etc. Just because you are a power seller, does not mean people trust you.

To me, the only advantage is a bit more trust from certain buyers.

Aside that, nothing.

I 2nd that you are more under the radar dont do it.....its a fckin way for ebay to track you even more and ban you.

i am Uk based and have had 8-10 seller IDs reach powerseller status and each with feedback over 1000 on each

i haver been on eBay since 1999 and indeed was one of the first showcased featured powerseller members here in the UK and i even spoke for them at a eBay univeristy praising them - bully for fookin me :(

Now since then, i still dont have a phone number have noticed no increase in support no nothing, still useless and pointless generic cut n paste responses from trained chimps


So even as a showcased powerseller on Uk powerseller home page, speaker at their university. They still took all my IDs away from me overnight without one word of warning, phone call or anything

I did not get treated any bit better than your serial DVD countfeiter, porn lister or plasma TV selling scammer

The only advantage was coupling a powerseller ID with perfect 100% feedback and emphasiing this - made your really stand out from crowd as you always went the extra yard to help or offer better products

PAULUSS

Power seller only gives them more opps to screw you over. The only advantage is they try to make you believe you are in some unqiue category and you are NOT. Dont ever think they dont screw over powersellers, they do!
Millions of pwersellers out there, not a unique group at all and nothing to be proud of either.

Here's why would you want to be in the power-seller program:

You get a fun logo next to your name and buyers are more likely to come to you. As someone who mainly buys on ebay, other things things being equal, I'd go to the person with the logo than without. It attracts attention, and gives people the feeling that you're a bigger shot than you actually are.

Another little side benefit, you're less likely to get suspended as a powerseller :) I know I'll get flamed for this (as with all of my other posts), and I'm not saying you won't get suspended, but a couple of things play into this. Depending on your powerseller level (i'm guessing you're low so it doesn't matter too much), sometime permission has to be asked from a supervisor, etc to suspend a powerseller account. And when an employee is reviewing a powerseller account for suspension, they're sometimes more inclined to just let it go if it's borderline, or depending on their laziness level they'll just give you the benefit of the doubt because you're a powerseller and not review it thoroughly. This really depends on the employee looking at your account of course, but it helps.

And no, being a powerseller won't attract any special attention to get you suspended. If your account needs to be suspended for whatever reason, it won't be any sooner just because you're a powerseller.

Have you been selling at least $1000 amonth for 3 months? If not this invitation could be a hoax to get your personal information. I have had invitations like this that looks like it was from ebay even when I was not making $1000 amonth for 3 months. Please make sure this is from ebay. If it is from ebay it will also appear in your ebay message in box. If you do not see this message then it did not come from ebay. Just be careful! Good Luck!

yo, don't listen to tcho. He wants ya to get caught, take the majority vote. Not worth the risk.

LOL...yoko you really think I'm out to get everyone on here eh. Here I am just trying to give advice from my own personal and professional experience and I get hated on. What's up with that?

Former power sellers unite has their own website tryng to figure out what went wrong.

They screw powersellers just like they have all of us.

Meg would screw over her own mom to get in that plane.

I have been asked so much to be a powerseller that I thought I was already one anyway.

Turned it down every time.

Why have someones phone number to talk to at ebay, they only hire ditwits who are collecting info from you so they can set up their own ebay accounts and run your off.................:D

Might as well be a poooseller then a power seller.

If the power seller group have meetings to discuss ebay then they are not meeting to have tea with Meggy baby.

You're right, and I'm glad you pointed that out. Everyone is treated equally (really that's not true) but we'll suspend powersellers just as much as the regular guy if we have reason to.

I never said being a powerseller gives you some kinda special immunity. It just gives you a neato logo by your name which to some ebay buyers builds more trust. That's all.

well, it's more like the way you're giving out "advice". I could do without the "all mighty ebay is never wrong" tone. If you wanna help, fine do so. Just don't do so in a matter that insults members who you feel are in the wrong. It's not your place to decide. And albeit, your advice towards people have seemed to be more "civil" then from your first posts. In this section I have justification, why should he mess with a good thing? As you said, being a powerseller just "gives you a neato logo by your name which to some ebay buyers builds more trust. That's all." Why ruin a good thing eh?

And really...if you do things right--impress your customers, encourage referrals, keep your prices reasonable, and in general treat everyone well...you'll have that trust anyway.

I was just giving my 2c on the matter. I don't know how much he sells or if it'd make a difference in his case, but just speaking as someone who mainly buys, all other things being equal, I buy from the guy with the logo :)

Maybe I missed something previously, but the op didn't say he was violating policies or anything previously? I mean, if it's a completely clean account, why not take the logo right? If it's not a clean account and he's linked to other suspended accounts, well, they'll suspend him in the same amount of time as he would get suspended anyways. So either way, nothing to lose.

But you're right...if he's doing fine right now and is worried about being linked to a suspended account, he may feel safer not being a powerseller, even though I know from the inside it doesn't make a difference :)