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Need New Strategy
 

Well, PayPal does what they do best. Limit and suspend an account because of unusually high number of sales. In other words, I was punished for doing too well apparently.

At this point, I am wanting to approach this differently. It's obvious that having one long-term account is playing with fire. I want to spread out my sales across 10 or so temporary stealth accounts.

How do I do this given the new PayPal policies that require you to "claim" the money? Would I just need to have a unique bank account attached to each PayPal and make deposits? My plan is to use each PP account and discard them before the 200/20,000 limit is reached.

More specifically, my plan is to re-use bank accounts after I discard those PayPal accounts in favor of new ones. Is that possible?

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Your not going to be able to reuse bank accounts.

You can look at getting 3/4 accounts that each are long term accounts. If one gets limited then replace it with another account. That stops you needing to have so many bank accounts

Re: Need New Strategy
 

If I am using bank accounts for the long haul, that would require a tax ID for each PP, which I cannot provide. In order to obtain EINs, it would require me to make LLCs. I have already made 10 in the past and got burned on each one. Extremely costly.

So if I create stealth accounts and just remove the bank accounts for each before the 200/20,000 threshold is reached, I cannot link up those bank accounts to new PPs?

Re: Need New Strategy
 

You cannot reuse bank accounts. It would just get the accounts linked and limited.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Not sure I am explaining this properly.

What I would do is use a stealth PayPal account and then attach a bank account to it. I would be using this to make deposits to the bank account before I reach the 200/20,000 threshold. Once this occurs, I would remove the bank from the stealth PayPal account and then likely close it out. This asserts that the account is in good standing.

After that, the bank account would not be on file with an active PayPal account. So I would attach the bank account to a brand new stealth account.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Thats silly....If youre making LLCs then you can open business bank accounts....
Provide them with the EINs to keep the cashflow going...Unless youre doing this to avoid Taxes?? Thats the only thing I see this coming too? Am I wrong?

Also, as James said, Paypals mechanics will NOT allow you to reuse bank accounts.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

That's actually a really good question.

I have had 2 of my newly set up stealth ebay accounts go down without any explanation even before listing an item (may be a bad choice of address ?) I don't know.

But i'm gutted my bank accounts associated with the paypals can not be used.

Having said that ... the paypals were in good standing. I removed the bank accounts, VCC, and closed the paypals on both of the suspended ebays.

Could I therefore attach the banks to a fresh paypal without any links, any one done this ?

Re: Need New Strategy
 

I created 10 LLCs last year and they were all wiped away by PayPal eventually. They all got limited because apparently I was making too many sales and the fact that I was dropshipping made them think the accounts were too risky to allow me to continue. This just happened today, even though I provided hundreds of tracking numbers. And that was with an account several years old!

This is just a matter of being cost effective. Not really in a position to scrounge up $5000 for 10 new LLCs....just to see the accounts get limited for some cockamamie reason. I was annihilated last year and I won't make the same mistakes again.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Doesnt matter how you explain it, you still cannot reuse bank accounts.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

PayPal will simply not allow a bank account to be used more than once

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Okay, because I was reading previous threads on the site that claimed the contrary, so was wanting clarification.

I did not realize that they keep all bank accounts on record, even when they are no longer being used.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

PayPal always keep details

There used be to talk of people adding the same account using different formats, and that may well still work, but its just naive to thing that if you get close to hitting the tax limit, close the account remove the bank account and then reuse the same account that PayPal wont be aware what your doing and limit the account. Its just not a good strategy and great as it would be if it could work.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Obviously I realize PayPal would be leery if they caught on to this fact, I just had read in places that bank accounts not attached to an active PayPal would no longer be on record.

Well that pretty much puts me in a dead-end situation, especially since they do not allow sending or spending money in the balance any longer without a SSN.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

it is not hard to open 100 new bank accounts next week. USA has more than 10,000 registered banks. Come on now, stop belly aching about banks in the USA. It is a non issue for anyone, even people with check systems problems can open bank accounts if they try.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Just seems very impractical. I would pretty much have to open 10 new bank accounts every month, many with the same bank...with the intention of closing them out soon after. Not sure banks, when they eventually catch on, will not take issue with that.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

why the same bank? 10,000 banks in the USA.

Walk into one bank.
Open a business checking, add two business savings.
Open personal checking and two savings.

Dude, what the heck is hard about that?

Do that at 10,000 banks and you have 60,000 accounts. Never mind that you can have multiple checking and savings accounts at each.

In all reality, you are doing something wrong if you are burning through 10 EIN accounts a year. I run hundreds of thousands a dollars over tens of thousands of sales on EIN accounts the first year. If I can do it, you can to. It has NOTHING to do with selling to much on a real EIN accounts. It has to be about what you are doing and/or selling.


:deadhorse:

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Agreed. Probably a mix of dropshipping and business practices. There are people out here doing big number without PP limiting them for the reason you gave.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

10,000 banks in the country maybe, but not in my town. The only factor mentioned that makes this feasible and sustainable is to add savings accounts to my already existing banks.

I burned through EINs for a variety of reasons. One is the fact that my supplier was suddenly not shipping products over Christmas. Another was somehow triggering reviews when withdrawing from PayPal. Any review inevitably led to a limitation regardless of my providing the required documents.

Recently, with a 2-3 year old business account, it was limited and banned after making a couple hundred sales or so over the course of a week. I was dropshipping but provided all of the tracking numbers. Still, ended up with a review due to "unusual activity". Code for "selling too much". After explaining my business practice of buying products from Amazon, they regarded the account as too risky and just shut it down lickety-split.

The thing is, I could legitimately make $1000+/day if PayPal would just stay the Hell out of my way.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

paypal stealth is a joke nowadays.

would recommend finding another payment gateway to link to ebay

like authorize.net

or try the new adyen payment gateway when they are fully functional in usa.

having to go through all that work of creating LLCs and bank accounts all to have it limited for little to nothing at the end of the day after taxes, and luckily 30-40 percent profit margins........leaves you with little to be desired.....

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Unfortunately, this is not working anymore for ebay or paypal. This is an area I have no advice.

On a side note, you can open bank accounts online at almost any banks. I opened one 2300 from me last week up on the Quebec Canada border. I did have to answer a couple questions via email. So far, only one small credit union in TN would not allow me to open a checking account without going in.

I set these up for my wholesale buyers to transfer funds or make cash deposits. It is easiest for them and faster for me if I set up accounts at local banks they already do business with.

Just food for thought.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Not an option anymore.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Sounds like you're going balls to the wall, right out of the gate. Try gradually increasing your sales, instead of doing a couple hundred per week right off the bat!

Re: Need New Strategy
 

It's total crap anyway.

OP, it seems pretty obvious that you aren't gradually increasing your sales on new accounts as is recommended in order to avoid this. Go slooowwww at first. If you show natural growth there's no reason you can't accept a half mil or more in the first year.

I don't recommend trying to stay under 200/$20,000 on all your accounts because that would probably end up a costly turn and burn operation. You'd never build credibility on any of your accounts before you abandon them. Plus like you were mentioning (I think), you wouldn't be able to access the payments in any of your PP's without giving an SSN or starting as an EIN business account. It's just... a bad idea.

sax4 has been saying on this forum for years that he's able to remove bank accounts from his European Paypal accounts and later reuse them on other Paypal accounts. Evidently he's been discredited and nobody believes him, since you seem to be running into a brick wall by even bringing that up. He always says it's specifically Eastern Euro accounts he's able to do this on. As far as I know, nobody has been brave enough to try that on USA accounts.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Yup.
I like the 5/500 accounts for this very reason. Sell 5, get an increase to 30, sell the 25 more, get an increase to 60 or 90, sell, get increase to 280, sell, and then you are in the thousands BUT it keeps paypal happy for those first three months and a great track record.

But uploading tracking numbers from all over the place will get a doc request at 30-90 days almost 100% of the time. Then they will ask for a tracking number, determine drop shipping and close the account. It was this way 5 years ago and a lot harder now.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

But... why? So your customers can save the $20 wire transfer fee or whatever it is? I can see the advantage but it seems like you're doing a ton of leg work to make things only slightly easier for your big customers.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Not tons of work at all.

A few clicks on a screen, cash deposits and another bank account, etc.. for other paypal, etc...

Always need bank accounts anyway, so I might as well open the two in strategic locations. It is no work.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

OP,
Connect a new stealth PP to a bank a/c
Send money to this PP from all other PPs
Withdraw to bank.
Unlink the PP and add new PP to bank a/c BEFORE you reach the 20k/200 limit

(Be aware that sending money frequently to same PP may get accounts linked, so create new stealth PPs frequently)

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Not just linked but also blocked...careful indeed

Re: Need New Strategy
 

and this no longer works because paypal is requiring a Social Security number to send payments in the USA.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

I agree, the only way to sell on PayPal is not to get on PayPal's radar.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Oh okay. Didn't know that.
So doesn't that defeat the purpose of a stealth account? So does this mean that stealth PP are no longer possible in the US?

Re: Need New Strategy
 

For actual residents of USA it's still possible to run US stealth accounts because we can withdraw all the $ to a bank account.

For people in the rest of the world who can't drive into town and open a USA bank account, it's no longer a good idea to use US stealth accounts. :nono:

Re: Need New Strategy
 

10 checking and 10 savings per bank is not hard at all. I have well over 100 total accounts backup and in use. Online credit unions are fantastic

Re: Need New Strategy
 

I ordinarily go very slow. This most recent limitation was with an account 2-3 years old, with many transactions under its belt.

After selling on Ebay last year and the year before, I went to sell on Bonanza which does not have listing fees. Because of that, I was able to list and sell many items in a short amount of time. I was surprised that they would be so concerned with this well-seasoned account with no prior issues.

But of course, PayPal plays the villain once again. They are my nemesis, not my pal.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

So after absorbing all of the thoughts and opinions, I think this is my best approach.

I will open savings accounts with all of my currently active banks (around 10). I will attach one of these new accounts with each one of my stealth PayPal accounts.

After this, I will start making sales until I am up to 5-10 a day with each PayPal account. I should not reach the 200/20,000 threshold for a couple months. Once I reach this point, and everything is going well, I will then form an LLC and provide an EIN to continue selling.

Hopefully at that point, the account would be stable to consider it a permanent fixture, and the money it costs to form the LLC would not be wasted.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Many RECENT transactions, or nah?

Re: Need New Strategy
 

Was probably pulling in $500/day or so last year with that account. After January it was pretty dormant as I discontinued selling on Ebay due to fees being racked up, swamping my profit margins.

I was overconfident that this account, with a very large track record, would be immune to such scrutiny. They really are wasting their time treating me like a scammer after proving my worth over several years.

Re: Need New Strategy
 

I can't imagine running a large business with many employees, depending on PayPal as my primary source of income.

Every night would be a restless night. Any day, they could just shut you down without valid justification, just as business begins to boom.

Would just have to tell everyone "Sorry, you are all fired. PayPal decided to be an asshole. Hope your kids don't go hungry now."

Re: Need New Strategy
 

I'm very confused by this. Maybe I don't understand what you mean... but if your fees are swamping your profit margins, you don't HAVE any profit.

You gotta pay those fees, man! lol

What am I not getting?

Re: Need New Strategy
 

I'm saying my profit margins were being diminished by racking up all the listing fees. Some days I was actually losing money. Overall, what I was making each month did not correlate favorably with all the time I was spending. That is why I am now moving on to Bonanza, which has no upfront costs, just commissions.