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!

[repentatleisure1952]

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@*tippy*toes* wrote:

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.

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@*tippy*toes* wrote:

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.

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eBay UK have removed the ability to do all that...gotta protect the shills...wonder how long before it comes in here?

[*tippy*toes*]

WOW! Really? I'd better go have a look. Why would they do that? No one can see who the bidders are, so it's not like they are protecting anyone (except the shillers).

[*tippy*toes*]

I just went to the UK site and checked and you are right Tuck, you can't click on the bidders anymore. I changed back to the AU site, clicked on one of the bidders, then changed back to the UK site and the bid history page loaded, so they are still lurking in the background. I guess if it's something you really want to check up on, change it back to the AU site and check bidders that way. I'm sure they will bring it in here soon enough though, which is crazy. You can't see who the bidder is, so it's pointless!

[lyndal1838]

Just another way of making life more difficult for the responders here.

Shill bidding was one of the few things that we could still check on.

[*tippy*toes*]

I went through quite a number of the different sites and it appears at this point that it's only the UK site that has stopped it. Repeating, at this point. *sigh*

[springyzone]

If they have introduced it in UK, then it's obviously an idea that is being floated by ebay, it is out there and could eventually filter through to other ebay sites.

It sounds as if ebay(UK at least) does not want outsiders to be able to trace any of the activity of any individual buyer, even though the ID of the buyer is not visible. 

We would have to totally rely on ebay systems to weed out shill bidders.

I would question how much of a priority this would be to ebay. Obviously they frown on it because if bidders get wind of it happening with any particular seller, it will just make them lose a bit of confidence in using ebay itself.

But otherwise, it isn't hurting ebay, they don't refund the listing fee etc and in fact it may be bringing in more fees if a price is driven slightly higher.

Ebay is really keen to smooth out any visible problems for buyers- items arriving late, items not arriving, items not being exactly as described etc

If there is a problem with shill bidding, then it wouldn't particularly want buyers to see it.

Or maybe I am just cynical.

[brerrabbit585]

Buyers can still see if a seller lists the same item over and over again. Sometimes a seller does have several of the same item but in the OP's case you wouldn't expect them to have multiples of secondhand items that are exactly the same.

In some ways shill bidding doesn't bother me because it's not much different to the seller starting their auctions at the price they're willing to sell for, ie. the price of the highest shill bid. Yes, it's wrong, but the buyers aren't forced to bid higher than they really want to pay.

[digital*ghost]

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@brerrabbit585 wrote:


In some ways shill bidding doesn't bother me because it's not much different to the seller starting their auctions at the price they're willing to sell for, ie. the price of the highest shill bid. Yes, it's wrong, but the buyers aren't forced to bid higher than they really want to pay.

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They're not forced to, but they can be encouraged to, as many bidders adjust the value they place on an item (and therefore how high they are willing to go) according to how contested it is, which is one of the reasons bidding wars happen. Any way you look at it, it's a manipulative tactic that encourages certain bidding behaviour and higher end prices under false pretenses. 

[davewil1964]

Only for mugs. Sensible people would buy at BIN for a guaranteed price.

Back when I did auctions, I was often bemused by the prices I got for not particularly rare or desirable books. Often more than the same books were available at BIN. I was happy for the results, but it didn't make the buyers astute or sensible.

[digital*ghost]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

Only for mugs. Sensible people would buy at BIN for a guaranteed price.

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Congratulations on being smarter than the "mugs", I guess.