account suspended - my own fault

mikeandrach · #1 01-01-2015

ok I apologise for this being long winded, its my own fault and I don't want to be judged on this but I do appreciate any help.

I had an ebay account that due to a personal issue got some negative feedback and paypal ended up refunding a buyer approx. £500. I also owed ebay approx. £110 in fees.

they suspended this account and I moved on with my life ignoring it.

a few months later I opened a new account, using my real name etc. I got 25 + feedback, all really good, with selling limits of £5000 per month or 100 items. I supplied ebay/paypal my passport as id and had no limits on my paypal account. I then downloaded the ebay app again and signed in, this I think was my error. my account was immediately suspended as it had been linked to my first account.

I sell a lot of high value (£100-£300) items, mostly furniture, and these are all collection only. I also sell a mixture of items that are posted.

I want to set up a new ebay account and am 100% genuine and wanting to trade as a business. once I have earned the money I will repay my debt to ebay/paypal but I cant afford to do that yet. I have a lot of money tied up in stock that although does sell on gumtree etc it doesn't sell very quickly compared to ebay.

I have found a virtual office address nearby that I could use, and by coincidence have got a new mobile since this issue, so the ebay app and number are unused on ebay/paypal. could I simply open an account with a virtual office address?

if so, what do I need to do id wise?

I want to set up a long standing successful business and don't want to be constantly looking over my shoulder and be worried they will link my account etc, I know I will need a new bank account and card I can sort that easily enough, what else can I do? any help appreciated

ooooo.halo · #2 01-01-2015

The ebay app is never a good idea but most likely the real address was the link. They dont.always notice straight away but its usually only a matter of time.

Starting again would mean starting slow again and low value

Virtual offices are fine. I use two of those for my addresses. Stay.away.from the app..It might be ok but the app requires location info, so i would be worried about installing it for that reason

They ask for real id. Provide it. Most allow one additional name within price. Use your stealth name as the additional name.

As said, start from scratch. All new info. Leave no traces of links behind you :-)

mikeandrach · #3 01-02-2015

What do you mean by one additional name within price? Do you mean the virtual office?

In theory if I set up a virtual office using my real name and get that as my correspondence address for a new bank account should that be sufficient? I can't rememener what Id PayPal/eBay asked for.

I guess in theory I could even change my driving licence to say I live at a virtual address, then use it as id then change my driving licence back again?

I will be able to list a number of items that will definitely sell but may take some time, I'm happy to be very patient in terms of waiting ages to list them all but if for example 18 months down the line I've spent ages listing 80-100 items I want to be confident my account won't get spotted and resteicted

rsot · #4 01-02-2015

Welcome to the forums - virtual office is kind of hit and miss...manual review can easily show it as false address. Why not consider po box?

ooooo.halo · #5 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeandrach

What do you mean by one additional name within price? Do you mean the virtual office?

In theory if I set up a virtual office using my real name and get that as my correspondence address for a new bank account should that be sufficient? I can't rememener what Id PayPal/eBay asked for.

I guess in theory I could even change my driving licence to say I live at a virtual address, then use it as id then change my driving licence back again?

I will be able to list a number of items that will definitely sell but may take some time, I'm happy to be very patient in terms of waiting ages to list them all but if for example 18 months down the line I've spent ages listing 80-100 items I want to be confident my account won't get spotted and resteicted

Yes, virtual office. You usually get an additional name included. So they will accept mail in your real name and in your stealth name. Ive never changed my real.details to go in line with that address in terms of bank accounts and drivers licences etc...
The address for me was purely to offer eb and pp a real address and an address to which i could handle returns :-)

mikeandrach · #6 01-02-2015

WHere would I stand if eBay or PayPal ever asked for proof of address etc?

ooooo.halo · #7 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Welcome to the forums - virtual office is kind of hit and miss...manual review can easily show it as false address. Why not consider po box?

They are real addresses....well my two are. I ensured i checked postcode before signing up and address is definately registered...Definately check that out OP
There is always the risk of them being overused.
The two i have offer mail forwarding or collection if i want. They are hundreds of miles away from me so collection is not an option.

mikeandrach · #8 01-02-2015

I thought eBay/PayPal didn't allow po box addresses?

I have a virtual office, well a choice of 3, all within 10 miles of me in a local city but otherwise the area is very rural, I can't see them being heavily used addresses in this part of the world. I have been to one of them in person and could easily collect mail etc from them daily if needed

ooooo.halo · #9 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Welcome to the forums - virtual office is kind of hit and miss...manual review can easily show it as false address. Why not consider po box?

I agree that their are more options...
Mail forwarding, mailbox rental, storage facilities, etc...
Its all very dependent on your anticipation of returns volume.
I rarely have returns and if i want item back then will use the service but in most cases i would refund and let them.keep. But my items are low risk and low.value so makes sense to.me. im just a small time seller :-(

rsot · #10 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooooo.halo

They are real addresses....well my two are. I ensured i checked postcode before signing up and address is definately registered...Definately check that out OP
There is always the risk of them being overused.
The two i have offer mail forwarding or collection if i want. They are hundreds of miles away from me so collection is not an option.

You're right halo - the potential is there for overuse...I wasn't clear with my comment on that.

mikeandrach · #11 01-02-2015

the office I have in mind is real and ive been there often for other reasons. I don't think it wil have a lot of users, its in a very touristy/olde worlde city, and in a very rural place by city standards. its not so much returns that im worried about (in all my years on ebay ive never yet had one), its more if I buy something for me, eg if my car needs brake pads I tend to buy them one bay and fit myself, I collect football programmes etc so buy those etc etc

ooooo.halo · #12 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeandrach

the office I have in mind is real and ive been there often for other reasons. I don't think it wil have a lot of users, its in a very touristy/olde worlde city, and in a very rural place by city standards. its not so much returns that im worried about (in all my years on ebay ive never yet had one), its more if I buy something for me, eg if my car needs brake pads I tend to buy them one bay and fit myself, I collect football programmes etc so buy those etc etc

Sounds good to me :-)

ooooo.halo · #13 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeandrach

I thought eBay/PayPal didn't allow po box addresses?

I have a virtual office, well a choice of 3, all within 10 miles of me in a local city but otherwise the area is very rural, I can't see them being heavily used addresses in this part of the world. I have been to one of them in person and could easily collect mail etc from them daily if needed

They dont like them. Some companies offer a kind of po box number but in those cases you would just reword it to room, flat, suite etc...
Collection sounds great. What are you doing in terms of name?

mikeandrach · #14 01-02-2015

so lets suppose tomorrow I go and sign up for a virtual office that is in a small city nearby, a 15 minute drive from home but totally different postcode area, what do I do?

I have a mobile phone number that has never in any way at all been connected to ebay/paypal as a contact, and obvisouly would have an address via the virtual office, and can set up a new email address.

what would you advise bank wise? open up a new account in my real name? use a prepaid visa? (but then what about a sort code/account number for withdrawing money to?)

I will buy an ipad and use that exclusively for ebay (any reason why not to? also what about logging into facebook from the ipad? any way at all that could link to my ebay?

initially I would watch/bid on 1 or 2 items totally unrelated to anything I have ever bought before, then over time list a couple of items for sale that have no relationship to anything I have sold before. over time I would like to build up a shop with hundreds of items, but this can be a slow process I don't mind, as my sales on gumtree/facebook are good.

what do I do when paypal/ebay inevitably ask for id? do I get a bank statement sent to my virtual office address? or am I getting this all wrong? thanks for your help guys it is appreciated

ooooo.halo · #15 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeandrach

so lets suppose tomorrow I go and sign up for a virtual office that is in a small city nearby, a 15 minute drive from home but totally different postcode area, what do I do?

I have a mobile phone number that has never in any way at all been connected to ebay/paypal as a contact, and obvisouly would have an address via the virtual office, and can set up a new email address.

what would you advise bank wise? open up a new account in my real name? use a prepaid visa? (but then what about a sort code/account number for withdrawing money to?)

I will buy an ipad and use that exclusively for ebay (any reason why not to? also what about logging into facebook from the ipad? any way at all that could link to my ebay?

initially I would watch/bid on 1 or 2 items totally unrelated to anything I have ever bought before, then over time list a couple of items for sale that have no relationship to anything I have sold before. over time I would like to build up a shop with hundreds of items, but this can be a slow process I don't mind, as my sales on gumtree/facebook are good.

what do I do when paypal/ebay inevitably ask for id? do I get a bank statement sent to my virtual office address? or am I getting this all wrong? thanks for your help guys it is appreciated

Virtual address sounds fine to me.

New number, email address good too

Open account in real name. Use that to verify paypal. Sort code and account number is all pp will see. They dont see names

Dont break the bank for an ipad if its solely for stealth use. A cheap android is fine. Thats what i use. I use facebook app. Cant see why there would be a link using the facebook app.

Browsing history good. Buy if you want to but buying feedback is nothing compared to sellibg history. List slowly...low value...household items perhaps. Build a bit of feedback. Then in time you can slowly introduce your own stuff. Its a slow process to begin with but it serves you well to do this.

If id is required, then come back and ask on here. Ive not gotton that far myself to know the answer.

Finally....have you read the stealth guide plus a read around the forums. Its just that you havent mentioned a VCC in your plan which is necessary for you to confirm the account :-)

mikeandrach · #16 01-02-2015

Was planning on just opening a basic bank account that gives a Visa card with a high street bank in my real name rather than a vcc, is that likely to be ok?

ooooo.halo · #17 01-02-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeandrach

Was planning on just opening a basic bank account that gives a Visa card with a high street bank in my real name rather than a vcc, is that likely to be ok?

Do NOT use real card details. It WILL fail the AVS :-)

I think you really need to read the stealth guide and scour the forums. I really do.advise that

mikeandrach · #18 01-03-2015

thanks, been reading as much as I can. if I don't use real cards how can I pay for items unless I use my paypal balance?

also will I be able to eventually get all my limits removed with a vcc and a virtual office address?

Callidus · #19 01-03-2015

You upload funds to Entropay and then you transfer money from the 'main entropay card' to the sub entropay card that is attached to your PayPal account.

Getting your limits removed is proving more difficult with regards to £1900 EU receiving limit. Submitting documents to PayPal in the stealth info is what is needed

mikeandrach · #20 01-03-2015

what documents do they need?

mikeandrach · #21 01-04-2015

anyone????

ooooo.halo · #22 01-06-2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeandrach

anyone????

Weekends are pretty quiet here as people are away spending time with family so tends.to.be a bit quieter.
For me, weekends are hectic with three babies lol

Documents could range from anything....photo id, proof pf address, invoices, proof.of postage etc...
New paypal rules mean that they could ask more or doing more to.verify people..We dont have the answers to that yet
Hope this helps :-)