Many of us have been there.
Our eBay business is growing, with sales going up month over month, only one day; we log in and are hit with this message.
Head to the following section:
1. What’s the difference between Suspensions, Restrictions and Holds?
2. Why does eBay suspend seller accounts?
3. How to unsuspend your eBay account – a step-by-step guide?
4. eBay suspension action plan summary.
5. Common questions about eBay account suspensions.
If you sell on eBay just to get rid of some items you may not need anymore, suspension is less of a problem.
However, if you’re running a business, getting your account suspended can lead to some serious cash flow and employee related problems.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about account suspensions on eBay and what to do if your account has been suspended.
Suspensions vs. Restrictions and Holds – What’s the difference?
These are all different.
Some of them are more related to minor issues, such as late payments or expired payment information while others are much more serious.
Suspension – This is the most severe form of action that eBay will take against an account. Typically, this happens for the most extreme cases, for example selling illegal items.
Restriction – A restriction is more severe than a hold and usually has to do with things like performance standards. If you don’t meet eBay’s selling standards, they may lower your position in search results or restrict you from selling certain items.
Hold – A hold is often placed on your account when your payment information expires or you haven’t made a payment. eBay does this to protect themselves from losing money. Usually to resolve these, you just need to update your payment information or make a payment.
Why does eBay suspend seller accounts?
So, why does eBay suspend accounts, anyway?
Since eBay operates as a marketplace, it’s their job to make sure the community is safe from buyers and bad sellers. If the platform is riddled with buyers and sellers looking to rip each other off or trick the system, this can hurt eBay’s reputation. Ultimately, eBay wants to protect their brand, which means they’ll take action against anyone who isn’t behaving within their listing guidelines.
Since this is ultimately case-by-case, there isn’t a full list of reasons for why eBay suspends accounts, but here are some of the most common ones.
1. Late shipping of orders
On eBay, late shipping can be a huge issue. Most of the buyers check the estimated delivery date before making a purchase, so it’s important that you respect the handling time that you’ve stated.
Shipping an item too slowly will result in poor seller metrics, which can lead to account suspension.
How to resolve late shipping issues with eBay – Ship your orders quickly. Ideally, you should ship your items immediately after you receive payment. If you want to go the extra mile, try and get the item to arrive to the buyer before you said it would.
2. Payment issues
eBay will place a hold on your account if you have one of the following issues:
- You fail to pay eBay’s seller fees.
- You haven’t reimbursed eBay for a refund they made to the buyer.
- Your payment information is out of date.
How to resolve payment issues with eBay – Fix any payment issues you have on your account. Make sure you’re paying the required seller’s fees on time, reimburse eBay for any refunds given to your customers, and keep your payment information up to date.
3. Late tracking number uploads
Online shoppers are always eager to receive the items they paid for.
Think about it – how many times have you purchased something online only to check the shipping details just days later?
eBay knows this, so when you sell an item, eBay shares tracking details with buyers. Doing so quickly is essential in maintaining customer satisfaction within their marketplace. If you fail to upload tracking info at all, eBay may assume that you don’t have the ability to properly manage your business, or you aren’t using a tracked shipping service.
Ultimately, failure to provide tracking information quickly can result in a bad buyer experience, which can lead to an eBay suspended account.
How to resolve late tracking number issues with eBay – Upload your item tracking information as quickly as possible. Not only will this improve your seller metrics on eBay, but you also won’t be at risk of suspension. All this can be done with automation, which will save you lots of time and there won’t be space for human errors.
To learn more about tracking conversion, uploading, feedback reminder and a complete auto-message system visit https://www.trackerbot.me/
4. Problem transactions
Problem transactions could be anything from small mistakes – such as damages during shipping – or much larger, more deceitful issues – like selling an item that was clearly used but marked as “new”.
This is an easy way to get your account suspended. Don’t overpromise on quality. In your product descriptions, describe the product as-is without any dishonest sales tactics.
It’s not just about making the sale; it’s about delivering on the expectation of the customer.
How to resolve problem transactions with eBay – Don’t lie in your listings. If you’re selling an item that’s been used and has some scratches, say so in your description. Describe the product as-is so the customer knows exactly what to expect and so that those expectations are met.
5. Failing to resolve buyer conflicts
If a customer has an issue with an item, you need to be ready to address it quickly. This is why eBay has a seller resolution center. When you receive a case in the customer resolution center, do what you can to resolve it. Even if you think the customer is being unreasonable. It’s also a good idea to design your listings in ways that don’t result in more of these cases. Don’t add small print to your listing with terms that are specific to your business. eBay’s buyers are unlikely to pay attention because they expect a consistent experience within eBay’s ecosystem.
How to resolve buyer conflicts on eBay – Design your listings with the buyer in mind and avoid small print terms specific to your business. If a customer has an issue with a purchase, do what it takes to make them happy.
6. Sharing contact info or selling off of eBay
Selling off of eBay is a big no-no and will most definitely result in an account suspension.
Transaction fees from your sales when you are selling on eBay are how they make money. Even if a shopper makes a request to transact off of eBay, it’s against eBay’s terms. So don’t do it. Additionally, you are only aloud to communicate with buyers via eBay’s messaging system. Sharing contact details will result in your account being restricted or suspended. eBay does this so they can look back at buyer/seller communications in case any issues arise later on.
How to resolve off-eBay selling and contact issues – Simple. Don’t transact or communicate with buyers outside of eBay.
Want to make sure you’re staying up to date with all dropshipping news? Check out our blog filled with awesome articles.
7. Intellectual property theft
Profiting from others ideas or copyright material is forbidden on eBay. This means that you aren’t allowed to use other seller’s photos or descriptions. Not only that, but customers hate being lied to, so eBay prevents the sale of knock off or fake products.
How to resolve intellectual property issues on eBay – Don’t steal photos or descriptions from other sellers and don’t sell fake or knock-off products. Everything on your listing should be unique to you without any intent to deceive the customer.
8. Listing banned items
Listing items that are banned or restricted from being sold on eBay is an easy way to get your account suspended. Additionally, for obvious reasons, you aren’t allowed to sell anything illegal on eBay.
How to resolve a banned item listing on eBay – Look through eBay’s restricted item list before listing an item to make sure you aren’t violating their terms.
How to un-suspend your eBay account – a step-by-step guide
1. Understand why your account got suspended
In order to recover from a suspension, it’s important to have a good understanding as to why you were suspended. Most times, eBay will tell you why by sending you an email.
2. Follow eBay’s instructions
In the suspension email, eBay will usually tell you how you can go about reinstating your account. They’ll also tell you, if applicable, the duration of your suspension. This could be 7 days, 10 days, or 30 days. In worse cases, it could be indefinite with a complete loss of any selling privileges. If your suspension is for a set period of time, all you can do is wait it out.
3. If eBay hasn’t reinstated your account, call them
So, you’ve completed all of the necessary tasks eBay has required of you, and have waited out the suspension period, but your account still hasn’t been lifted from its restrictions.
What now?
This is when you should call them. Before you hop on the phone with them, have the following information available:
- Your eBay user ID
- The email address associated with your account.
- Your case reference number
- A copy of the email they sent about the suspension
In addition to the above documents, you want to prepare your arguments. Do your homework. Review eBay’s policies that have to do with your unique situation so you can back up any claims you may need to make about your account.
eBay suspension action plan summary
Here’s a summarized version of the 3 steps above:
- Understand why you got suspended.Think back on your actions, any alerts you may have received, and how you’ve been conducting business on eBay. Does it warrant a suspension? If not, you should have no problem convincing eBay to unsuspend your account.
- When you get suspended, eBay sends an email containing details about the suspension period and the necessary steps to unsuspend your account. Wait out the suspension, complete the necessary steps, and change your business practices to avoid future suspensions.If your suspension is indefinite, change your ways, wait a year, and contact eBay about being reinstated.
- If you completed the necessary steps outlined in eBay’s email and they still haven’t reinstated your account after the suspension period, call them if necessary and be ready with your account information and compelling arguments as to how you followed their instructions and terms. Be polite and honest about everything.
Common questions about eBay account suspensions
Is an eBay suspension permanent?
In most cases, no.
If your account has been suspended, eBay will send you an email with the information regarding the suspension period and steps to take to reinstate your account.
Usually, the suspension period is a set timeframe of 7 days, 10 days, or 30 days.
Can I open a new eBay account if mine has been suspended?
Yes, you can technically open a new eBay account after you’ve been suspended, but I don’t advise this. eBay has sophisticated systems in place to detect this kind of activity, and if caught, this will lead to indefinite suspension. Practically speaking, opening a new account will only delay your suspension unless the issues you were previously suspended for are resolved. If you go this route without fixing the issues that got you suspended in the first place, you’ll find yourself in an endless loop of opening new accounts until eBay catches you or suspends the new accounts for the same issues as before.
Because of this, it’s better to fix the problem rather than find a temporary solution.
However, if you wish to proceed (again, I do not advise this) you’ll need to do so under another name, new email address, new phone number, new address, and ideally, a new location so the IP address isn’t tracked.
For informational purposes only, here are a few options to accomplish this.
How to open a stealth account on eBay
Option A – Buy an eBay account online
There are services available online where you can buy aged eBay accounts that have high selling limits and 100% positive feedback. Many even have PayPal accounts attached in the same name. If you go with this option, the real name will already have been registered, so your identity will remain anonymous to eBay. To go stealth with this option, you’ll need to get a different IP address, work from a different computer, and take care of some other technical things that protect you from being identified.
Option B – Have a family member or close friend open an eBay account under their name. If they’re willing to, you can ask a family member or friend to open an eBay account on your behalf.
You’ll need to open a different LLC and follow the stealth practices listed above to remain anonymous to eBay
