Inherited a small business and need access to their account

[nells250]

HELLO all

I have been on Ebay with the same account since 1999.  A few months ago, I inherited a friend's small vintage auto parts business.  He had also been on Ebay MANY years and has a huge amount of positive feedback.  He has returning customers who essentially will now be mine.

I spoke on the phone to a customer service rep just after he passed away, and they told me a "private" account cannot be transferred to a new person, BUT that a BUSINESS account CAN be.  

Has anyone ever had to take over a "business" account?  How can I tell if that is what he had/has?  His brother in law gave me the account log in info, and a good thing, too, because his listings keep restarting and I don't know why!  There's no payment method on file, customers are asking questions, etc... It's all a mess and I'm not sure what to do next since I don't seem to have the correct access to switch everything over to me.  

I suppose the best thing to do is try and call Ebay (if I can find the call-back option again) but thought I'd ask folks here first.

[crazystuff4sale]

End the listings.

Then start selling the items on your own account or start a new one.

I wouldn't spend time trying to do something that probably can't be done. 

Not worth the time and hassle even if it could be done in my opinion.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi @nells250 where are you seeing that an eBay “business” account can be transferred to another user? Are you looking at the latest Help and policy pages for eBay.com?

The current eBay policy does not appear to offer special circumstances where an account can be transferred from one person to another. See link below:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/selling-ebay-account?id=4134#:~:text=In%20the%20interest%2....

”…you can’t sell your eBay account or change its ownership.”

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@nells250 wrote: ... His brother in law gave me the account log in info, and a good thing, too, because his listings keep restarting and I don't know why! ....

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Of course the listings keep on going: All fixed price listings automatically renew each month unless they are sold out or the seller ends them.  You should immediately end all the listings, or at least put them on "Time away" status (and elect to block sales) until you get this straightened out. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling-tools/time-away?id=5137

[nells250]

Firstly, as clearly stated in my first post, someone AT EBAY told me ON THE PHONE that business accounts can be updated/transferred.

Secondly, we DID stop the listings, but they restarted all on their own in LESS than 30 days.  His brother in law turned on the "time away" option, which we will have to update again as well.

Thirdly, it IS worth the time and hassle, because as I also said, he has many followers which means many potential buyers.  

[crazystuff4sale]

Unless it was a corporation it's not possible.

If it was talk to your lawyer that you probably already have engaged in this corporate matter.

Ebay phone support is not going to be any help as they are famous for giving out bad info.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/selling-ebay-account?id=4134

Have a nice summer.

[lacemaker3]

@nells250 

eBay doesn't allow accounts to be transferred to a new owner:

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https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/selling-ebay-account?id=4134
...
Your eBay account has value when you develop a strong feedback rating and satisfy your customers. Feedback is intended to reflect a seller’s performance, so we don’t allow accounts to be transferred or sold.
...

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@nells250 wrote: ... we DID stop the listings, but they restarted all on their own in LESS than 30 days.  His brother in law turned on the "time away" option, which we will have to update again as well.....  

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The maximum allowed for "Time away" is 30 days, but perhaps the BIL specified a shorter time, so as noted you can just restart it, and then renew it if needed.

[maxine*j]

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@nells250 wrote:

Firstly, as clearly stated in my first post, someone AT EBAY told me ON THE PHONE that business accounts can be updated/transferred.

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What you were told on the telephone by a CSR does not mean a darned thing.  Most of the CSRs at the overseas call centers are badly-trained, over-worked, and under-paid.  They are notorious for misinformation and for telling callers whatever the callers want to hear, so they can get them off the phone and get to the next call, to make their quota. 

I cannot find any exceptions to eBay policy, which is unambiguous: 

"In the interest of protecting our buyers and sellers, and maintaining a safe marketplace, you can’t sell your eBay account or change its ownership.

"Your eBay account has value when you develop a strong feedback rating and satisfy your customers.  Feedback is intended to reflect a seller’s performance, so we don’t allow accounts to be transferred or sold."

To pursue the matter, though, use eBay for Business on Facebook, where U.S.-based CSRs with some authority will help you, and you can get a transcript of the communication.

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[fashunu4eeuh]

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@nells250 wrote:

Firstly, as clearly stated in my first post, someone AT EBAY told me ON THE PHONE that business accounts can be updated/transferred.

Secondly, we DID stop the listings, but they restarted all on their own in LESS than 30 days.  His brother in law turned on the "time away" option, which we will have to update again as well.

Thirdly, it IS worth the time and hassle, because as I also said, he has many followers which means many potential buyers.  

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The first thing i should have said is sorry about your loss.

Please accept my apologies, @nells250 , you did clearly state the CSR gave you the info about a business account.

That didn’t register because, as you are a long-time user, i made a leap you’d probably already tried to verify the info you were given. So this was my bad—if it is not in writing, i discount any data they give out.

(Since eBay shut down the old helpful call centers during the pandemic, and did not reinstate them, things have sadly deteriorated with the current poorly manned, untrained reps. They are notoriously wrong.)

For some bonafide answers, you’d be better off talking to the eBay for Business Facebook customer service. They are stateside with authority to help. This may be a complex issue, requiring some legal direction.

Good luck in your efforts.