I permanantly lost my ability to sell because I was in the hospital. [MC011]

[extraelectronicsau]

Hey guys, Before I get to this I do suspect that this forum is heavily moderated so I wouldn't be surprised if this is deleted. But I did want to try shed some light on this one way shape or form.

Before I start I should mention that I have a disability that restricts me from working a normal job and driving, that's why I care about my account a lot as it was my main source of income for a while.

In late may of this I got very sick with influenza A, I was very since, I was in hospital on and off for about 2-3 weeks, I sent the orders out a lot were late but I still got them out, I explained to a lot of the buyers I was in the hospital sorry, It was bit hard to cancel 200 orders because I would get penalized for cancelling so many by ebay. So some arrived late, for the most part buyers were cool with it. Yes I did get a few chargebacks, but all were resolved in due time. None were not deceided in my favor. I did have someone working with me so it did help for the most part,


I send 90% of my items with tracking, I was restricted on June 1st (I believe this is fair because of the sudden surge in chargebacks) I resolved any issues, disputes and verified my ID, etc. I didn't appeal it till 2 weeks later to make sure everyone didn't have any issues or whatever, I was unrestricted on August 1st.

I then sold for about 20 days then was restricted again on August 21st  (to this day I still haven't got a response as to why) During those days,I sold about $1kAUD worth of items and 50 transactions, I had one fraudulent chargeback that was past 60days but the buyer was still able to open the case for some reason, the case was not covered by eBays money back gaurantee so therefore it should not be covered.

After going back and forth with the seller risk management team, had to verify my ID and that I purchased the goods AGAIN? I dunno why. They told me it was cause of the amount of bad experiences my buyers have had? And I'm like how? I've already been punished for this.
Then they blamed my "outstanding ebay fees" which was surprising because they come out automatically and weren't due at the time. But they did say "we look forward to restoring your selling privillages" So I paid them, After paying them they told me I could no longer sell on ebay.

"We appreciate you taking the time to resolve the cases and the balance. Unfortunately due to the high volume of bad buyer experiences caused and the risk this poses to our community, we have decided to leave your account restricted.

 Our decision is based on evidence from our records as well as any additional information you've provided. Please keep in mind; members who are restricted are prohibited from registering new accounts with eBay, or selling on eBay using any existing accounts. Although future emails from you will be read, we may be unable to respond to any further requests to reinstate your selling privileges. At this point your account will remain restricted indefinitely with no plans for reinstatement."

I find it strange because during that time of 20 days I did not have any bad experiences??? I didn't even have an chargebacks for a recent sale?

I called customer support and the told me to file an appeal but submit proof you were in the hospital.

Half way through September I was finally able to get a Statutory Declaration from someone who was treating me at the time, It took the US risk management team up until today to respond.

I emailed it in on the 19th of september, 5 business days no reply, Called customer service they said they will send an email on my behalf quoting that and the document number. The customer service rep was able to see the document was attached.

10 business days later nothing, Was told there was a high volume and they would send another email. At this point I got fed up and started recording the calls, the customer service rep also said they'd lodge an interal appeal. As there was a problem routing messages

15 business days later, same thing as the 5-10 business days after just worded different, was told it was still pending,

Now we at october 18th, I was told the document was never attached and we cannot find the email, please can you reply to my email and attached it again, This made me laugh because the fact is another customer service rep recited the ACTUAL file name to me, I sent proof and screenshots of me sending the email attached, so on so on reading from a script.

5 business days nothing, called up asked for supervisior, apparently he can email them directly.

Now today, finally got a reply,

"We are committed to reducing both fraud and negative buying experiences on eBay. To maintain a safe marketplace, we sometimes restrict selling activity, end active items, or suspend accounts until an additional review can be completed. We have completed an additional review of your account and show that your account was originally restricted because it was in violation of eBay policy and your behavior posed a risk to the eBay community.

Because of this, we have decided that your account will remain indefinitely restricted from selling. We have taken this action out of concern for the safety and integrity of the eBay Community. Due to eBay policy, we cannot provide you with more specific information."

It took them 1 and half months to reply with that, 10 phone calls 5 emails.

I was previous a Top rated seller,
28961.52 AUD in transactions
0 Number of cases not closed by seller resolution
0 Number of transaction defect rate
6.16% late shipment rate
0.71% return rate
4000+ transactions
98.4% feedback
Above standard
$3k AUD paid in ebay fees,

I think to myself at this point? What do I do next? This is a joke...

I filed a complaint with onbudsmen for paypal (the ebay fees) and one with the ACCC


P.s sorry for the bad formmating with font sizes sure how to use it :(((

If you need clarification with anything happy to provide or if I forgot to add anything I will let you know

Thanks for reading

Have a good day.

[extraelectronicsau]

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@imastawka wrote:

I noticed in your neg feedbacks that it wasn't just the processing time though.

Quite a number of buyers received the incorrect item or not a full order.

And then no communication from you.

In hindsight you should have shut down your listings until you were able to take care

of business.

I can't honestly see any way back from this.

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Yes but that's here say, I am happy to show you screenshots if you wish, but the buyers got the right item they just ordered the wrong one, they wanted a refund or express shipping for "correct one" at my cost because I refused they left me negative feedback, I had sold over 140 of them
There was a total of 2 of them, the iPhone 6 and 6s are almost the same, just small differences, Its people trying to do a DIY phone repair when it should be done by a proffesional,

Yes I agree on taking listings down, but again I note, I had no issues after August 1st and that is not the point of the post, as I had already been punished for my mistake.

[extraelectronicsau]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

It sounds as though you have tried to sort it through, but still had no luck.

I'm truly sorry about that.

Just double-checking, though - have you used the Have us call you option, or have you called eBay yourself? It makes a difference. The CS reps responding to Have us call you are (anecdotally) higher up the decision-making pole, and have more discretion and authority.

Just one more thing as well... When speaking with eBay staff, the one thing that you want to avoid if at all possible is that the rep puts you into the "argumentative" basket. Even if you're right, and even if you're not raising your voice and screaming with (often justifiable) fury, an argumentative eBay member on the other end of the phone who appears to be saying "Yes but" is very easy to dismiss, from an eBay CS rep's point of view. All they need to do is sit tightly on the already-made decision, and refuse to budge. They can "drop" your call; they can go through the motions of hearing you without actually listening or engaging with you...

(Also I've just read imastawka's comment. Assuming it's valid  - and imastawka usually is! - then what eBay reps would have heard from you is "I'm not taking responsibility for my mistakes", even if that's not what you're saying.)

What you will want to do is create a sympathetic emotional auditorium. You won't go through the "Yes but" dance. You'll say, "I accept that I was posing a risk as a seller. That it was due to circumstances beyond my control - as evidenced by the hospital records/medical certificates/etc - does not diminish the risk, and I am so very sorry about that. I realise that eBay have the right and even the responsibility to reduce risk. In acknowledgement of that, I have consulted with a number of others with the specific intention of reducing that risk and ensuring that, going forward, the sales and after-sales process would go smoothly, irrespective of such circumstances arising. I want to assure you that I have learned from what occurred, and these are the specific procedures in place now:

#1 ...

#2 ...

#3 ...

I have updated my personal business policies to better anticipate issues and successfully adapt around them. I have conducted a risk analysis and as a result have identified hazards and mitigated risks with these measures:

#1 ...

#2 ...

#3 ...

Can you give me a fax number or email address to which I can send the evidences of these now while we speak? I have them ready to fax or to send as PDF attachments, whichever method you prefer."

You'll finish with a firm, confident-yet-modest request to be allowed to sell. Say that you're more than willing to prove yourself by working your way up again if that would give eBay some reassurance about your effective measures to make the risk negligible.

If you've indeed done all of this, and still got nowhere, I am not sure that there's anything further I could suggest... I'm sorry; eBay have arbitrarily closed member accounts even without what I consider adequate cause, and they've been impervious to persuasion or tears. At this stage, you don't have anything to lose, so it's at least worth approaching them again via Have us call you...

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Yeah I have,

Yeah I only recently started doing it, I usually ask for supervisor right away,

The only time I've lost it at them is that 3 of my negs had buyers that had left negative feedback on almost all of their recent transations all were 15+ and I'm like the buyers is clearly abusing ebay with the intent of getting stuff for free,

I haven't done it in that deep but I did say I'm very very sorry and with wont happen again, Put it this way it wasn't sugarcoated but it was apologetic and proffessional etc.

Good idea for the rest, I did have a good closing statement, I just dont have a fax number or anything haha. I did explain how I updated my business model but apparently I'm still violating.

Yeah I did a call back earlier Ill let you know how it goes. 🙂

Hey thanks for your help even though it might not help I appreciate it

[davewil1964]

Selling electronics online is fraught.

Your response to your buyers is less than professional, at least as far as the negatives are concerned. In that you apparently have never made a mistake. Or taken ownership of problems.

eBay, as been noted on more than one occasion, is unlikely to reverse their decision.

No amount of venting on the boards is going to get you anything other than, possibly, a feeling of vindication. It certainly won't get your selling status changed.

[extraelectronicsau]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

Selling electronics online is fraught.

Your response to your buyers is less than professional, at least as far as the negatives are concerned. In that you apparently have never made a mistake. Or taken ownership of problems.

eBay, as been noted on more than one occasion, is unlikely to reverse their decision.

No amount of venting on the boards is going to get you anything other than, possibly, a feeling of vindication. It certainly won't get your selling status changed.

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Yes i am aware selling electronics online can havw faulty products etc, but that is not the case i am more than happy to pay for the return shipping if the item is faulty or damaged however. They ordered the wrong part i asked them to send it and they refused, again this is a phone part, not an electronic, a part.

Anyway regardless again my point is not from back then that feeback was from before I was reinstated. So if any I have ALREADY been punished for this as I did not get any bad feeback after being reinstated

[davewil1964]

Unfortunately none of us can change eBay's mind. Nor will eBay even know; they don't read or even monitor the boards. Your self-justification notwithstanding.

It is pretty much a done deal. If you've tried the avenues presented already, then you should definitely look at other avenues to sell, Regardless of your dislike of the common venues.

[yeoldecoinco]

The lesson from this story for other eBay sellers is that you have GOT TO HAVE A BACK UP PLAN.

No-one knows or can handle your business like you can and a eBay business is very demanding.

I know that no-one else can make my eBay business work like me, it requires specalist knowledge that only I possess.

if you suddenly have an accident or get very sick and go to hospital there has to be a plan in place to cover yourself.

Mine is, that if this happens (and it did last year, I got a nasty dose of pleurisy and thought I was going to die) is that the wife immediately puts my eBay store on vacation mode and hides all the listings.  This limits the damage that can be caused to the account.

If the wife is incapacitated as well, then my trusted friend comes to my place and puts my eBay store on vacation mode and hides all my listings.

I also have an order drawer and all orders that I see come in are immediately placed in that drawer for posting ASAP, so that in the event of sudden illness, at least my wife or my friend can get those orders sent.

eBay follows metrics and are quite merciless, even though I have been selling for 20 years on eBay and have sold millions of dollars in product, this would most likely count for nothing in the event of buyers not receiving their items in a timely manner.

As for getting the account re-instated. This is difficult but not impossible, it does happen. A few years ago myself and some others got a friend's eBay account re-instated after it was permanently restricted by eBay. This was done by getting help from eBay's facebook group. eBay don't like having facebook used against them. The circumstances of that restriction were exceptional but it was re-instated.

I do sympathize with your situation and hope you can get your account re-instated. Read and take note of the excellent post by countessalmirena for some tips of how to approach eBay.

But, as you have found out the hard way, it is extremely important to have a good plan in place to cover yourself in the event of sudden accident or illness.

[*tippy*toes*]

Seriously, I highly doubt eBay will reinstate your account. The only thing you can do is start from scratch, but there is a catch. My sister's friend was shut down a few years ago and she is now a successful seller again. Except eBay doesn't know! This is what she did.....

Install a VPN on your computer. It gives you a different IP address. There are some free ones about, but some are better if you pay for them. The free ones can often lag your computer. Turn it on and create a new eBay account. You need a new email address. Create a hotmail or gmail account for free. Make sure your details are different to your current account.

If your current phone number with eBay is a landline, use a mobile number. If you only have a mobile, go and buy a cheap $20 phone with a new SIM card to give you a different number. Use a friend's address. Nothing at all can be the same as your current account or the eBay bots will pick it up. Don't forget to use a fake name!

It would also be useful to create a new PayPal account as well. Completely detatch yourself from your current account. ANY time you access your new account, you MUST remember to turn on the VPN, otherwise the eBay bots will detect your IP address and shut you down. You would only have to log in once without it to get shut down. If you need to log into your current account for any reason, make sure you turn the VPN off.

I believe the Opera browser has a built in VPN, so it could be a lot less hassle to install that browser on your computer. If you did that, you could use that browser exclusively for your new account, and your regular browser for everything else. It would save having to remember to turn it on and off all the time. The built in VPN would only be active on that browser, not the whole computer like a stand alone program.

Of course you will exhaust all avenues before doing any of the above. I can't remember how long it's been since my sister's friend has been back selling, but she's got over 5000 feedback. It would only be 2 or 3 years I think. It was back when the defect system was a lot stricter than it is now.