Can they suspend for selling outside of ebay?

jeff52 · #1 06-22-2015

Hey all,

I was selling something on ebay and it got pulled, wont even get into how this ticks me off, but anyway after they took it down I had many people emailing me wanting to know what happened to it. For each one that was interested all I did was just give them a private email to contact me on, I did not say anything about selling it to them.

One of the potential buyers backed out because he said he got an email from ebay threatening him and that big brother was watching. Well, of course I didn't believe him so I asked for the email and he sent me this:

"Do not respond to the sender if this message requests that you complete the transaction outside of eBay. This type of offer is against eBay policy, may be fraudulent, and is not covered by buyer protection programs. Learn More
Dear xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
Further contact through eBay concerning the purchase of items prohibited by eBay may result in the suspension or termination of your buying/selling privileges."

Is this Legal? Who are they to say what a person can and can not sell outside of ebay?? That is why I had them to contact me on private email. This item was defiantly not going back up on ebay to sell so WTF?

Any insight into this would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

wtfebay · #2 06-22-2015

Read that message 10 times and then you'll see there is the answer to your own question.

They are not saying this person CANNOT buy it outside of ebay. The message says DO NOT talk about the purchase of that item ON EBAY MESSAGES as it will result in termination of their account. It does NOT say "you can't email this person"....it says you cannot use EBAY MESSAGES to talk about the purchase of the item.

jeffweico · #3 06-22-2015

eBay does not allow users to offer to sell items outside of eBay. So, when you are using their messaging system, you MUST be careful!

I think the reason your customers got this letter is because your item was removed. When an item is removed, eBay sends every buyer a message saying that the item was removed, etc.

I think that the letter you are referring to is related to the removed item, not to anything you sent through the eBay messaging system.

Is it legal? YES. eBay can decide what people are allowed to sell on their website and also how users conduct themselves on their website. There is NO constitutional right to sell on eBay.

Can eBay stop you from selling anyplace else? No. They can only control what happens on eBay. However, if your item is illegal, or just plain problematic, PayPal can stop you from using their system to accept payments for it. You can google "PayPal prohibited items" to find a list of things that PayPal does not allow you to accept payments for.

Of course, staying under the radar, it is very possible to accept payments for ANYTHING through PayPal.

jeff52 · #4 06-23-2015

Thanks much for the info guys! I really appreciate the the help in trying to understand their stupid logic!

Take care,
Jeff

wtfebay · #5 06-24-2015

No problem. Hope ebay doesnt give you anymore hassles.

doL · #6 06-24-2015

Did you attempt to mask your email address when messaging the user? IE: "MyAccount(at)g m a I l dot com" ? EB may have just automatically sent the user an email just solely based on that.

GhostOfAmazon · #7 06-24-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by doL

Did you attempt to mask your email address when messaging the user? IE: "MyAccount(at)g m a I l dot com" ? EB may have just automatically sent the user an email just solely based on that.

This message is standard and automatic when an item is removed from eBay, for any reason.

It had nothing to do with messages he sent to the buyer.

LoopHole · #8 06-25-2015

I just got a violation for this lol

GreenBean · #9 06-25-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff52

Thanks much for the info guys! I really appreciate the the help in trying to understand their stupid logic!

Take care,
Jeff

1st lesson.....e bay has no logic.

Never think they do anything in a logical way.

Learn to think like them and you learn to beat them.

Good Luck.

rsot · #10 06-25-2015

Just dont apply your thinking to everyday real life...you'll go nuts

jeff52 · #11 06-26-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoopHole

I just got a violation for this lol

What happened? Can you share? So that I and others dont do the same thing.

Thanks,
Jeff

jeff52 · #12 06-26-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenBean

1st lesson.....e bay has no logic.

Never think they do anything in a logical way.

Learn to think like them and you learn to beat them.

Good Luck.

to that Brother!!

jeff52 · #13 06-26-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Just dont apply your thinking to everyday real life...you'll go nuts

Thanks but I'm already there!!

rsot · #14 06-26-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff52

What happened? Can you share? So that I and others dont do the same thing.

Thanks,
Jeff

Hah doesnt take much to imagine what happened.

gamerguy · #15 06-26-2015

depends on what you're selling. I have sold plenty of times outside of eb saving the buyer money! it helps to have your website if you have one posted in your profile

james13v · #16 06-26-2015

I've sold countless things off ebay by sending or receiving a paypal email address ( cryptic of course...). Haven't been caught yet. Who knows how long that will last.

LoopHole · #17 06-27-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoopHole

I just got a violation for this lol

Seller reported a problem with the transaction and the spies looked into it. They definitely read your messages thats for sure.

jeff52 · #18 06-27-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamerguy

depends on what you're selling. I have sold plenty of times outside of eb saving the buyer money! it helps to have your website if you have one posted in your profile

Thats what I am doing now, setting up my own Antique Shop website so I can sell what ever the Hell I want too

Am I allowed to mention my site on my auctions?

rsot · #19 06-27-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff52

Thats what I am doing now, setting up my own Antique Shop website so I can sell what ever the Hell I want too

Am I allowed to mention my site on my auctions?

Can't overtly advertise but you can have it in your "About Me" page or attach as a stamp on your pictures.

Kalikat1 · #20 06-27-2015

They did the same to some of my customers but I just explained that I am a legitimate seller and that I will post item and update on PayPal. This should work, however all customers are different.