FR%OMM002 and MC170, need to fax in documents

[soultrain]

I think this is a great forum but I think sometimes people do not provide enough information to actually help others. Here is my situation and I will provide as much information as I can as well as follow up with what happened.

About 6 months ago, I was selling VER0 items on my initial account, the account had ~1000 FB, and it go indefinitely suspended because of the ver0 items.

So then about 45 days ago, I get a friend to create an account and started selling under that. Selling totally legitimate items this time, completely legal, not against rules at all. And the sales were doing very well. I think in the 30 days that my store has been open, we've sold about 150 items, and brought in about $2k in gross income.

Then, a couple days ago I think my store had about 800 items listed with 15 FB, all 100% positive. Then, out of nowhere, I get a couple emails from eBay. The first email was as follow:



Subject: FR%OMM002 A message from eBay's Trust and Safety Department

Hello ********,

Your listing activity has been restricted to ensure a safe trading environment for you and the eBay Community, as well as confirm your use of the services meets the guidelines of the eBay User Agreement.

I understand that this process may seem confusing - please allow me to explain. We’re committed to reducing both fraud and negative buying experiences on the site. To maintain a safe marketplace, we sometimes restrict selling activity, end active items, or suspend accounts until additional information can be verified or obtained. These actions are not necessarily meant to be a reflection of your account's activity, but rather a preventative measure.

You can review the eBay User Agreement here:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html

We'd be happy to review your account and, if possible, adjust your selling restriction to allow additional activity to take place.

In order for us to review your account, I need to ask you to submit all of the following information by fax (fax number below):

- A readable copy of the driver's license, front *and* back, or other government-issued ID.
- A copy of a recent credit card statement. Your billing address should be visible, along with the first and last four digits of your credit card number.
- Documentation that shows that you purchased or are in possession of the item(s) currently listed for sale on eBay. If you have many items for sale, we just ask that you send two or three invoices.

-- Important --
- Make sure that your name and User ID appears on each document that you submit.
- Be sure your submitted documents are current, valid, and legible.

Fax all documents to:
eBay
Attention: SRM
Fax number: (801) 880-7018

-- Note --
- It may take up to 3 business days to review your information.
- All documents submitted will be destroyed after we review them.

We appreciate your cooperation in resolving this matter as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,
********

eBay Customer Service


This kind of freaked me out. Immediately afterward, I received this email:



Subject: MC170 NOTICE: eBay Listing(s) Canceled



Hello *******,

The following listing has been removed because your account is currently suspended:



And then it had all of my listings being removed. Probably almost 1000 of them.

Now, my friend is faxing in all of that information, and for the invoices, I am a dropshipper, so I sent him screenshots to print out of online invoices provided by my supplier saying that certain items were shipped.

What really worries me is their use of the word "suspension" in that second email. I am still allowed onto the site, and can still communicate and send messages to my buyers, as well as leave FB for them. The PP account hasn't be changed at all either, fully accessible. Also, when my first acct was suspended 6 months ago, they emailed all of my buyers, but they don't seem to have done it this time as I haven't heard one peep from any of them.

Can anyone give me any advice about their experiences under these circumstances? I'll be posting back on this thread when this whole debacle is over with the results, as I have searched and seen similar situations for others and it is frustrating that we never hear how it turned out.

Any and all help and support is much appreciated!



EDIT: Just thought I'd add that none of my items were suspect, they were mostly t-shirts and jewelry with no name brand and no VER0.

[rsot]

Welcome to the forum and yes, lot of us have seen this. While, I can't talk about other people's experiences I will ask - did you set up everything in your real info? When I have seen this message, I have moved on because eb is known for just taking all your info and still leaving you hanging.

If it's stealth, you can go ahead and give it a try - does not hurt but don't expect much. On side note though, 15 FB is hardly worth worrying about. In your shoes, I would open few new accounts and spread sales out. This way - one goes down, you aren't scrambling.

The stealth guide is really solid for this and you seem to know how to operate so this guide will serve you well + forum info on trends and issues.

[cardfelon]

800 listings on a account with only 15fb?? That right there is a major red flag to Ebay

[rsot]

Another reason why the account was nixxed - even though op says he had a store...

[soultrain]

@rsot - yes, my friend used his real information for everything and is faxing in his real information.

One thing I'm worried about is having to constantly "juggle" accounts. I made one mistake 6 months ago, and now I know how to actually operate and sell legitimate items, and make a good living off them, and I am worried that if I have to keep opening and closing accounts that I will not be able to make much profit and actually earn a living off them. I am in the habit of selling many small-ticket items... if I purchase the ebay stealth guide, is it more geared towards selling several ⊗⊗⊗⊗ high-end purses, and then closing the account? Or is the strategy presented in the guide also geared towards people who actually want to keep accounts for a long time and build up a lot of feedback with them? Thanks.



@cardfelon - It's a red flag, but is that necessarily a bad thing? The way I see it, there are really two ways EB views your account when it's restricted/suspended: they legitimately just want to make sure you're a real person, or they know that you're messing around and they're just waiting to pull the plug on you. So I would hope that in my case, the 800 listings with 15fb, it is just a case of the first scenario, in which they genuinely just need to know that I'm a real person. If you can provide more information, please advise.

[rsot]

One thing I'm worried about is having to constantly "juggle" accounts.

Beats putting ALL your eggs into one account to see it suspended and having to restart from scratch...

if I purchase the ebay stealth guide, is it more geared towards selling several ⊗⊗⊗⊗ high-end purses, and then closing the account?

NOT AT ALL ha - it's not a scamming guide - it's about how to get back into the game of eb properly without being constantly blocked and, worse, LINKED to old accounts...the nightmare of the game.

And as your friend is faxing his real info, I still feel that eb does not play "ball" well - i hate having these random net companies having my info on file and that's why i stopped using real info. That kind of info in the wrong hands is DISASTROUS...think about it...all it takes is for one wayward eb employee with his hand on the button of scanned IDs to cause big problems.

Edit: I need to my a$$ moving and get some dynamic IP, such a slacker I be.

[soultrain]

UPDATE:

So without going into specifics, the day after I received the initial message from EB, I responded to their email saying that I was going to send in the documents soon, but that I was surprised and confused as to why they had decided to restrict my account. After all, I had 100% positive feedback, etc.

Then a few days later (yesterday), I received a reply from a representative saying that some of the factors that influenced their decision was how many items I had for sale, what categories I had listed in, how much feedback I had, how long I was on the site, etc.

Today, my friend faxed in all the documents. His real ID, his real bank account statement, plus dropshipping invoices as well as pictures of 2 different items. I emailed the representative saying that I had mailed in all of the documents and asked them to please email me back with confirmation. I have not yet heard back from them and will update again when I do.

[soultrain]

UPDATE:

So today I received an email saying that the information I submitted was either incomplete or illegible.

They said that they have accepted my driver's license and my credit card statement. Then they said that they still needed documentation that shows that I purchased the items recently for sale on EB. They said that they could not accept photos of the items and that the "email printouts" (the invoices) I sent them were insufficient. They said they need a detailed dropshipping order from my supplier that clearly identifies who my supplier is.

So what I've done since my dropshipper is online is taken screenshots of the invoices INCLUDING the supplier's name, etc, as well as screenshots of some paypal payments made to the dropshipper. I'm in the process of faxing those all in now and will update again later.

[ONE]

I just got the same message today from them after I listed some industrial equipment on a full legit 1yr old account with 50 plus positive feedback...

All they asked me to do is submit an invoice showing proof of purchase...did not require id. They did this cause my phone number was old and i never changed it and they tried to call. The auction was up and running for about 12hrs and showed in the listings. When I went to list it they said they were going to call but didn't do it right at listing...so i thought maybe it was a bluff...not...lol

I stepped away from ebay for the past year cause the stress of having your income ripped from you and held hostage was not setting well with me. Hope you get your account back if anything strange happens I will post an update.

They just never seem to amaze me, I can understand some of the precautions they take but some are flat out uncalled for.

[soultrain]

UPDATE:




Merry ****ing Christmas everyone! After faxing in those additional documents, they sent me an email explaining that I simply had listed too many items for such a young account, and have lifted my selling restrictions! I feel like I'm floating on a cloud, I'm going to tread so lightly on EB now, even though I wasn't breaking any rules in the first place!

They said that I can list or sell up to $10k or 1000 items once every calendar month for at least 30 days, then I need to ask them for permission to increase my limit. Yeah, definitely going to wait like 4 months and have 99% positive feedback before I do that.

Well, I'm glad this thread had a happy ending and hopefully if anyone is reading this months from now, you can glean some information from my success. Good luck everyone!

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by soultrain

UPDATE:

So today I received an email saying that the information I submitted was either incomplete or illegible.

They said that they have accepted my driver's license and my credit card statement. Then they said that they still needed documentation that shows that I purchased the items recently for sale on EB. They said that they could not accept photos of the items and that the "email printouts" (the invoices) I sent them were insufficient. They said they need a detailed dropshipping order from my supplier that clearly identifies who my supplier is.

So what I've done since my dropshipper is online is taken screenshots of the invoices INCLUDING the supplier's name, etc, as well as screenshots of some paypal payments made to the dropshipper. I'm in the process of faxing those all in now and will update again later.

See just like my last post. Its a worker trying to steal your supplier and business so he she can make all the cash