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does IP linking expire?
 

Hello

Has anybody tested this below?

1. Log with account A with IP 1
2. Wait a couple of months
3. Log with account B with IP 1

Are accounts A & B linked?

I wonder if eBay only links accounts based on IP if you log with both accounts on the same IP within a short amount of time.

Reason I am asking is because I have just found my first stealth account I created back in 2008. I had completely forgotten about it. I created it with the same IP of another account that got suspended 2 years later. The account is still standing in 2013.

I am going to try to sell with it and see it what happens.

thx
j.

it is worth a try.

you are better off with differing ips a big selection of them though, for general use. with single ips this accident can happen.

I do not think links expire once established, but time could make a difference, just like alerts can expire or go down to less severity.

if you were to start slow, start by browsing on it for a while, then bid on a couple of things you would be outbid on.

Don't think it's a great idea to test in my opinion - only because you are chancing linking via IP - but any knowledge is good.

The problem is what conclusion can be made with 1 account test? Not much - if it works, I am happy for you john but...hardly proof enough for all people to appreciate.

And - worse - if you have problems, it's not good for you - unless you are fine with the idea of potential account losing

They stay flagged.

Subsequent behaviour will come into play to work out any type of (adverse) reaction from ebay.

Porceed with caution

:mod:

You can reuse old Ip's that have no suspensions connected to them but if one acct gets hit ebay still remembers the other one.

They won't restrict it right away but they do it later after a sales run it seems for no reason.

@john456

The key to what you wrote here is within a short amount of time. This looks suspicious in the eyes of ebay. Think about it...two people cannot have the same IP at the same time (especially if they are physically far away from one another).

The only way 2 users can have the same IP is if they are on the same LAN segment (i.e. in the same house). Another example would be if I were in my car on the road outside of your house and I logged into your wifi network..this example is a GOOD reason alone to always encrypt/secure your wifi network! Ya' never know when I"ll be driving by :p

In short, this just doesn't make sense to ebay and, as such, would draw flags on their side.

Now, if you logged into an ebay account that used the same IP a couple of years ago...ebay would not link you alone on reusing that IP today.

This is because most ISPs recycle their pool of IPs to their customers via DHCP. Let's say we both have Comcast. An IP you used back in 2008 can easily be assigned to me by Comcast 3 or 4 years later.

Again, the keyword here is linking alone on IP. There are other factors such as cookies, web beacons, etc. that come into play when linking accounts. Ebay cannot link you on an IP you used 4-5 years ago.

By the way, the fact that you know you used the same IP 5 years ago impresses me. This is the best record keeping of IPs I've ever come across! :thumb:

Re: does IP linking expire?
 

hello there
i currently have 3 internet connections in the house. one with virgin media and the uther 2 are with dongles. i have one account which is only used to connect through virgin media. if i creat 2 stealth accounts to use with each dongle do i still need to keep track of the ip address? would it be a issue if i get the same ip address used on a different dongle? or am i correct in thinking it can only be a issue if i use the same ip address using the same dongle?

Re: does IP linking expire?
 

No need to ask this question more than once in the forum.