I did myself-in trying to be honest, and communicative!
I've been a member since 2003, but since my wife came into my life, and given she works at a retail store here where I live, I thought it would be neet for us to earn extra-income selling on Ebay! I'll try and make a long story short...1st Vero (yet we thought it was b/c how we were crafting the listings...she's from out-of-the-Country, and she didn't understand copyright law...sometimes she used stock-photos, and even the box's same description (which I've come to learn is ok, as long as it is the "technical-specifications") So, it's not as if we were totally ignoring the removals...but we started talking/w Ebay front-end personnel, and other people sellling the same product, and it fooled us into thinking that we needed to re-work our listings, and maybe go a lot slower; Well, one-day, too many removals was met with our fist suspension. I did everything that was asked of me, faxing-in info. verifying my identity! We totally quit selling the questionable item...and thought all was well!
And then we accepted a return on some Coach shoes my wife bought with an employee discount at her job; Normally we don't take returns, but this person was very nice...and it seemed appropriate...so we did! Yet my wife couldn't re-list the item, b/c of listing-restrictions placed on our acc. for this particular product; I was aware of selling restrictions from our being limited in some of our listings with certain products...so I was waiting until I met the conditions to have those restrictions removed, before I applealed to Ebay; So now seemed like the perfect time to ask for any selling restrictions to be removed! I did, wrote a detailed e-mail, with point-by-point support of why we should have selling restrictions removed! I related that our 90.1% positive feed-back would have been 100% if they wouldn't have suspended us in mid-shipment, spooking our buyer into thinking we were fraudulant! I said everything is a professional and polite manner. My wife and I left the house, and I was actually feeling confident that ebay would approve my request!
Got home from a busy day of shopping, and I met my wife carrying some groceries-inside with a big frown on her face: ebay denial, removal of our current two items, and a 2nd suspension! Boy was I fired-up, sad, mad, and totally feeling run-over...and mis-treated! I wrote a return-email to Trust-and-Safety, again polite, but blunt, informing them that we only wanted to be able to re-list our returned product! It was late in the afternoon, so I wasn't expecting a reply until the next day.
Went to sleep, agitated and very up-set! Why? B/C we've never consciously scammed anybody! Rather, we've had good trade relations with our customers and often we exchanged 'good-vibes' with one-another, always shipping ASAP, and very communicative with our buyers. We had authenticating feedbacks, from our buyers, who loved the value and professionalism we worked hard to offer! So, here's where I made grand-mistake #3 (In short, don't ever say more than you have to with Ebay...Always remember, the least said is the best-said! Honesty isn't part of their game...they aren't looking for it, as much as they are looking for ways to suspend you, if you trip-up but once!) So, my grand mistake number-3 was feeling that my contest email reply to our 2nd suspension wasn't enough...so before they could reply to me, I thought more "horse-power" was needed, so I e-mailed the CEO! I didn't know his e-mail address, but I guessed it using standard business e-mail protocol...thinking surely it would be returned b/c of it being "non-deliverable"; Went about my day, and when I saw a "reply" from it later in the afternoon, my heart almost exploded with nervous agitation...Actually, it wasn't from John directly, it was from an associate in the Office-of-the-President's office! I won't name him....but suffice to say, he was as harsh and non-forgiving as anyone could be...He never accused me personally of any wrong-doing, but he basically suspended me indefinitely for a minimum of 12-months! He tried to say that my asking for selling-restriction removals had nothing to do with my inventories being removed and utimately our second suspension. The inventory (2-boots) he removed were b/c of "trade-mark infringment"--not VERO removed, and all of it was done within minutes of my getting a denial from the request to have selling restrictions removed, inventory removed, then 2nd suspension! We exchanged a couple more emails, and he talks about the first VERO we received being b/c of the DCMA and its requirements. But his error is that our products we not "copyright infringments", but rather, trademark infringments, so I don't have any recourse to file a "counter-claim"...only a law-suit! I'm pretty good on the legal-end of issues, but I ask myself if I really want to devote myself to such a cause...when I'd really rather go stealth anyway...just b/c I know that I'd be fighting a "corporate-culture-of-contol"...and it would take a lot of effort and time! I really don't want to fight that battle...I just want to open at least -1- other account...and be a "buyer" again...on Ebay...and sell a bit on the side...and forget about my first acc., my new blue-star...and nearly 100% feedback, and me and my wife's joint mom-and-pop effort to be the "best ebayers we could"! That's a bogus dream with ebay's current inability to distinguish between true "scammers" and mom-and-pops, who got popped for a whole lot of nothing! Actually I hope EBAY breaks $11.00 PPS and we get another competitor to come-along and give Ebay a run for its money! What they are doing by suspending largely innocents accounts is just plain wrong, morally reprehensible...and they deserve such karma back at them!
For now, underground and stealth, with a few questions about how to be ulitmately sussessful at such!
Good luck to all, and thank-God for Aspkins and the support we can find here!
eom!
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