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Some questions after reading eBay Stealth
 

Hi all,

firstly hello and thanks for all the tips and pointers in the forum threads. I was pulled off eBay a couple of days ago, and after going through the initial shock I found this site and it has been very helpful.

I have just read eBay Stealth and I have a few questions that I am hoping you guys can help me answer.

1. I understand that Firefox is the best way to go. I am planning to open my new accounts each with a seperate user profile on my PC. Given that the cookies will clear each time firefox closes and that I will be in a different user profile, does the IP address still matter so much? I was a little confused about this part of the book.

2. Does the credit card need a name printed on it, and does this have to be the same name as my new identity? I am located in Australia and gift cards are available. However our gift cards do not have names printed on them and also are not able to be topped up. I can get a new debit card from my bank but this will have my real name on it. Is this for activation and verification only, or is the idea to have the card if I need to fax it in?

3. With my suspended account I used eBay Blackthorne (similar to Turbo Lister) for listing, invoicing etc. This will be located in my original user profile on my PC and not in my new profile/s. Is this safe as it is in a seperate user profile or will it still present a risk. I would like to keep it if possible as it has loads of contact information, shipping information etc. that I cant currently access from eBay.

4. In Stealth and through the threads I am getting confused about Paypal withdrawals. On one hand it is suggested to withdraw every day to make sure there is not much in there in case the account is suspended. On the other had it is suggested that too many and too large withdrawals will draw attention. What's the best way to go?

5. I understand about starting slow. However, once the account is running is it safe to add buy it now listings with multiple items available (ie 10 or 20). This obviously avoids listing fees, but does it wave a red flag at eBay?

6. I use a wireless broadband dongle. I have checked my IP address. Similarly to dial up, this gives me a new IP address each time i log on. If I have all cookies removed and I am using different user profiles, do I still need to cross match and record the IP address each time I log in (understanding that I will need to log off the web in one profile and log on again in the new profile).

7. Is the issue with trademark violations having warnings for the same product, or an violations at all?

That's it for now! Thanks so much to you all for your help and assistance.

1. DON'T CLEAR THE COOKIES!

2. CC is compared by numeric portion of address (numbers but not street plus postal code).

3. You will NEED to remove all traces of that from your computer. Clean the registry of all residual entries. Open a 3rd party process viewer (not the lame windows task manager which only shows 1/3 of processes) so you can see ALL processes and determine that you really are clean. Be very very thorough about removing ebay apps.

4. It's a subjective thing. Don't start out doing that the first week of a new account. Gotta build up trust between you and PP. At first, 100-150 a few times a week. Then a bit more often. Then larger amounts. (eventually, you can freely move 3500 every day - if you need to - and have a good history).

5. Perfectly safe, once you've been around for a bit.

6. Use different profiles. KEEP THE COOKIES. Use the IP changing dongle (that sounds so dirty). If the IP changes every time, don't bother logging it. If you get a pre-used IP on the wrong ID - BUT - the cookies for the login name are correct, the IP duplicate will slide right by. But this only applies to wifi dongle users, not wifi at home on a DSL or Cable (these need an extra step).

7. Same product.

oh... i didnt know that ip address has a chance of getting used again. i thought they are always the same when you turn on and off the modem. what do you mean by the 'IP duplicate will slide right by'?

^^^^^^
Be more specific. IP changes for some devices and not others. Also depends on ISP and connection type. Interwoven and plurally dependent. Sometimes it changes by itself. Sometimes it needs help. Sometimes it won't change. Sometimes we can achieve the impossible anyways. Depends.

What modem. What service? Static or Dynamic? Router/No Router? WiFi? Mobile/Laptop/Desktop? Work/Home?

There are millions of combinations that can come up in several bottom-line possibilities. Give me info, I'll give you some kind of answer.

that's a tough one to answer. im not good at the technical details. i have a dynamic connection so whenever i check ipburger.com i can see that the ip number changes everytime i turn on and off the modem. i have a router and wifi. i use a laptop. and this is home connection.

thanks.

Vic, not sure what you meant by dont clear cookies. I have Firefox set to clear cookies everytime I close Firefox. Do you mean leave like this and dont manually clear within sessions?

some forumers favour the option of not clearing cookies or flash objects and keeping a seperate user screen for each account, ebay sees if you clear cookies, as it doesnt recognise your computer..

If you don't have to, do not clear your cookies every time you use an eBay account. If you use separate windows or firefox user accounts, don't keep cleaning your cookies. eBay likes to see the same cookies over and over again.

So, I presume you have a DSL, then. You didn't answer that part. But if you are getting a new IP every time you reboot the device, it isn't cable.

If you keep your ebay accounts separate by using different windows user accounts, it won't be a problem if you get a duplicate IP *once in a while*.

The linking is a sure thing - as regards certain factors - but is a cumulative determination as regards other factors. IP address is one of the things that ALL BY ITSELF won't be a problem. You just don't want it to be frequent and you don't want that to add up in combination with other factors.

Hi, thanks for the feedback. I am a little confused about the credit card information above. Will I need to verify the card with ebay if I am asked to fax in information? I cant find a card to put my 'new' name on as gift cards here in Australia dont have names. However I do have a clean debit card that I can use, however this wont have the same name on it as the ebay account.

I can't answer your question about Australian financial instruments specifically. Others here will know the answer.

Typically (with extremely rare exceptions), the card is only compared to the digits of the street address and the zip code when being confirmed. The name is not often checked.