I got my account restricted [MC011] and someone else got their account restricted because of me

[leawinter84_seller]

First and foremost, hello fellw eBayers, this is actually my first post here. Most of the time I usually just read through everyone's posts here but this time I think I really need some advice on what to do as this situation is quite peculiar. Also I have to apologise for the wall of text in advance!

So..., just some background information about my account, I've been a member since early 2013 and most of the items I've sold consist of laptops/gadgets/games and PC parts. 

Now, my account's performance is excellent.

- My current seller level is Top Rated 

- My transaction defect rate is 0.49% (only 1 out of 204 transactions)

- Late shipment rate is literally 0%

- Cases closed without seller resolution is also 0%

- My return rate is 1.49%, which is 3 out of 201 transactions. 

With that kind of performance, the last thing I thought I would get from eBay is a restriction but here I am, getting restricted for some reason. 

My eBay account got retricted (MC011 - I can still buy things but I can't sell) on 6th of September 2019 and eBay emailed me this:

A review of your eBay account has raised some concern that your use of services may not meet the guidelines in eBay's User Agreement. As a result, we've taken the following action on your account:
- Selling privileges have been temporarily restricted. You won't be able to list new items. You're also not allowed to register a new account.
- Some or all of your listings may have been removed. A list of any removed items will be listed further down in this email..
- We have credited all associated fees except for the final value fee for your listing(s).

To help you be a successful seller and ensure a safe experience on eBay, 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.

To learn more about eBay's User Agreement, go to:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/user-agreement.html

To appeal this restriction, please review the following guidelines:
-- Provide proof of delivery for all of the items sold on your eBay account. This may be in the form of feedback left from buyers. If you prefer, you can submit tracking numbers for each of the items posted. This will help show buyers more of your selling history and will also allow us to confirm that your items have been posted.

If you'd like to fax the tracking information, send it here:
eBay
Attention: SRM Appeals
(801) 880-7018

To upload tracking to my eBay:
1. Go to My eBay. You may need to sign in.
2. In the "Activity" tab, click the "Sold" link..
3. Select the item(s) for uploading.
4. Click the "Add tracking number" button.You'll be redirected to the Add/Edit/Delete Tracking number page, where you can enter tracking numbers for the selected carrier.
5. Enter the tracking information.

If you use Selling Manager Pro to manage your orders:
1. Go to Selling Manager Pro > Sold.
2. Select the appropriate item(s).
3. Click the "Add Tracking Number" button.

When you submit the tracking number, it will be displayed below the item in My eBay "Sold" (for the seller), My eBay "Won" (for the buyer), and the View Order Details page (for both seller and buyer).

So, first of all, right after I got this email from eBay I replied to the email on that very same day and I've attached 4 Australia Post postage receipts along with my email as proof of tracking number/postage of my items. However, this was more than a week ago (on 6th of September 2019) and I still haven't got any reply or update ever since. 

I've already contacted another eBay representative 2 days ago (on 12th of September 2019) asking them for an update and after waiting for another 2 days I called them today and I've sent them another email asking for a follow up and I've attached another proof of Australia Post postage receipt that I have. 

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Now, as if it's not bad enough, an acquaintance of mine who has a completely different eBay account somehow got restricted today as well. I talked to him and apparently after he asked eBay on why his account got restricted, it appears that eBay restricted the account because his account is somehow related to my eBay account. 

This isn't true AT ALL because his eBay account:

- is under a completely different name

- has a different phone number associated with it

- it's associated with his home address/email address which are completely different from mine

- is associated with a different PayPal account. 

However, we used to live together years ago and maybe that's why his account got restricted as my eBay account was still under his address? I don't know...., I remember that I changed my eBay account's address right away after I moved out. 

Now I've called eBay again just recently asking them to find a supervisor who can call me back but at this point I don't know what else I can do 😞 

Is there anyone who's been through similar situation? Any advice will be appreciated!

[kitty-kat-kollection]

I am chuckling at the OP going "strangely silent". 😂

I thought a random place holder was a person who sits in a celebrity's seat at award shows while they go to the bathroom. 😉

[*tippy*toes*]

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@kitty-kat-kollection wrote:
I am chuckling at the OP going "strangely silent". 😂

I thought a random place holder was a person who sits in a celebrity's seat at award shows while they go to the bathroom. 😉

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They always do when they're found out.

[bimberiretrosystems]

you deserve everything you get Mr S.Bidder - this sort of thing is why i don't use ebay anymore and only have a casual glance but will never buy again, or god forbid sell on here

[*tippy*toes*]

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@bimberiretrosystems wrote:

you deserve everything you get Mr S.Bidder - this sort of thing is why i don't use ebay anymore and only have a casual glance but will never buy again, or god forbid sell on here

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More and more of his shill accounts are being discovered. If I get bored later, I might start reporting them all. Lets see how much he screams when all his accounts become NARU. The very best he could hope for would be only allowed to list BIN listings. That would certainly upset things quite a bit.

[kitty-kat-kollection]

I may be a little slow, but how do people even make multiple accounts?? I thought once you used your credit card, bank details or paypal, that was it and you couldn't create another account with those same details.

[lyndal1838]

All you need to start another ebay ID is another email address.....you can add up to 8 email addresses to your paypal account.

[*tippy*toes*]

I have 6 accounts, including this one which was created purely for posting on the forums. 3 are active selling accounts. One buys or sells something if a voucher is issued. It has 4 feedback. I have sold 3 high priced items when a fee free voucher was issued. Saved a motza in fees! I've had a few bargains from that rarely used account! The other, hasn't been accessed from around a month after it was created. It was created as an experiement. I probably should close it down. It could already been closed down, but I've not checked.

The experiment was to create an ID on an overseas site, and listing on the AU site. These days you can do whatever you like in that respect, but years ago when I created the account, there were a lot of questions as to whether it could be done. Whether you could create a foreign ID and post items for sale from Australia. Yes, you could. 

My accounts have different email addresses, but the 4 accounts are linked and also linked to the same PayPal account. The other 2 don't need to be linked as they aren't used for buying or selling. Both have 0 feedback and always will.

[jane-de-cluttering]

where do you get this information from?  I'm loath to bid on auctions for the very reason that has become apparent via this thread.  So how can I check things like this before bidding?  I'll I can see is feedback.  where is the detail about who bid what on sales?

[*tippy*toes*]

In an auction, next to the price, is the amount of bidders currently bidding. If you click on that, it will show a list of the bidders, but doesn't actually show their user ID. Instead, you will see something like a****t(16). Only the seller can see their real ID. Those ID's will be highlighted blue. If you click on it, you get taken to a page the same as the screenshot that Padi posted.

There you can see how many bids they have placed in the last 6 months, how many bid retractions and what percentage of those bids are with that seller. If they are showing 300 bids with 100% with that seller, then I'd be suspicious, especially if the bid retraction count was high. Even moreso if they have 0 feedback. That usually indicates they haven't won any of the auctions.

It can take a fair bit of time to go through completed auctions to see if there is a pattern, that could be suspicious of shill bidding, but if you are suspect, then it's worth going through some to check for patterns.

[springyzone]

If you are a bit worried about shill bidding (just as a general thing with auctions, not because you have suspicions about any particular seller), then the best thing to do is to hold back on bidding till you get into the last 12 hours of an auction. In fact if you can leave it to the last hours or minutes, all the better.

The other thing you can do is go to one of those sniping sites and sign up. Some offer a few free auctions before you have to pay a subscription. That way, you can feed in your top bid and details days before and the program will bid in the last seconds even though you are not there in person. Doesn't guarantee you will win of course, depends what others bid against you, but again, no time for shill bidders to interfere.

I don't think systematic shill bidding is all that common but it does happen occasionally. All the same, it would be a pity to miss out on some good auctions out of worry over something which is probably not even going to happen, so just do as I do and bid late to ensure it can't.