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How do I get ebay to stop blocking me? I'm an old licensed attorney with no history of doing bad stuff?
Summary: w_2638, an attorney with a long-standing career, is experiencing issues with being blocked on eBay despite having no negative history. They express frustration over being unable to bid on items, particularly a specific model of GE oven, and seek advice on resolving this issue. eburtonlab suggests checking any VPN usage and browser settings, while mr_lincoln advises checking for account associations and contacting eBay support through specified steps. gosimus inquires about specific error messages and mentions the possibility of account restrictions due to inactivity.
I'm an attorney in Hawaii and have been for 49 years. You can search my name William H. Lawson and find a dozen websites confirming this. I've never been reprimanded or disciplined by the Hawaii State Bar Association nor have I ever been convicted of a crime. Somehow ebay has gotten the idea that I'm a bad dude and refuses to do anything but block me. Every now and then, there's a product on ebay that I'm interested in. (This time it's a GE JRP20BJBB single wall oven - our GE JRP20BJ3BB has never worked properly and I'd like a single wall oven (even if it is no longer in production that's the same size to replace it). But ebay treats me like I'm a bot - or an crook - or corrupt - or something and refuses to allow me to bid or even communicate with a seller. How do I get this to stop - and ebay to treat me fairly and reasonably?
gosimus
Mentor1 month ago@w_2638
< ebay . . . refuses to allow me to bid >
There must be an error message pop up when you try. What does the error message say? The exact words.
Does the same thing happen when you try to buy or bid on something of lesser value than a wall oven? I'm thinking maybe if you haven't bought anything in a long time, the newbie limit has been re-applied to your account.
mr_lincoln
Mentor1 month ago · EditedHi @w_2638
First let me say sorry for your troubles.
In looking at your Feedback history I see that you have 4 left for you as a Buyer and they are more than a year old. Your account dates back to 2021. Within the last year since you made purchases has something changed like your location and thus your IP address?
Are you using the phone app or a PC ... if the latter has anyone else with an eBay account logged in to THEIR account on your computer or vice versa? If so what can happen is the two accounts become "associated" and if one has a restriction the other one can and does receive the same restriction. eBay can also interpret that as suspicious activity and block Buying and Selling.
We have no account access but every Buying and Selling account has limits. Here is a link to the eBay Help page that addresses Buying limits: Buying limits and restrictions | eBay
You may want to try reaching out eBay, below is what we advise members in that regard ... sorry it isn't as easy as picking up the phone and making a call:
Here's how to contact eBay general customer service.
1. CLICK THIS LINK:
https://www.ebay.com/help/contact?type=ContactUs&topicId=4000
2. Select a category that best matches your problem.
3. Answer the chat bots question by stating what you need help with. Be brief when you reply to the chat bot.
4. Type AGENT (you may have repeat steps 3 and 4)
5. Request a call back or live chat. (Note that the contact options vary depending on the topic and staffing availability)
Monday to Sunday 5:00 am to 09:30 pm PST
3. Or you can also contact customer service by sending a PRIVATE message on social media. Customer service verifies your identity before responding.
https://www.instagram.com/ebay/
6am to 6pm PST
eburtonlab
Mentor1 month ago@w_2638
Are you using a VPN, hotspot or Starlink network connection? Any of those can cause issues.
Make sure your browser is up-to-date and has JavaScript enabled (and not blocked):
https://www.whatismybrowser.com/
In some cases, if you are using a bad link and getting stuck in a redirection loop, you can get that error message.
If the problem happens when trying to sign in, see if you can use a different link to sign in.
https://signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll
Try another browser, preferably a new install of the latest version of a popular browser with default settings and no add-ons. Problems with add-ons such as grammar checkers and language tools have been known to cause problems entering text.