False Policy Violations Due to eBay's Algorthym Misinterpretations
Summary: tarnotop contacted eBay support regarding three false policy violations affecting their account. These violations are related to selling outside of eBay and unauthorized travel services, which they assert are misinterpretations by eBay’s automated scanners. The issues are caused by the automated system misreading text strings in their vintage postcard listings as links or services. They request a manual review of their listings, as the violations are affecting their ability to list new items and could impact their account standing.
Hello eBay Support Team,
I am reaching out because my account has been hit with three false
violations, and my formal appeals (which were basically requests for info because
I had no idea what was being misinterpreted), have been unanswered.
Two violations were for "Buying or Selling Outside of eBay" which I have never done.
One violation was for "Travel Services" without authorization. I sell postcards not travel services.
I am a vintage postcard seller, but eBay's automated scanning
algorithms are generating false positives by misinterpreting
normal words as hidden links, hotel, etc.
Here are the exact text triggers causing the bot errors:
1. "Off-Platform" Reference ID: 2-108484086669
Title: VTG Postcard - Jacksonuille International AirportPrinted in
Ireland,.
The Error: A missing space created the string AirportPrinted . When
the bot strips spaces, it misinterprets the text block containing
printED. IN ... as a hidden off-platform web extension.
2. "Off-Platform" Reference ID: 2-108484088712
Title: VTG Postcard - Royal Pam Hotel - Miami Beach.
The Error: A spacing/typo issue created the string royalpamhotel
When the bot removes spaces to scan for URLs, it misreads the
pAM.HOtel text transition as an attempt to hide a
extension or an off-platform website.
.am domain
3. "Travel Services" Reference ID: 2-108653744730
The Error: The bot flagged this because it contains the words "Hotel"and "Miami Beach," falsely assuming
that I am trying to sell unauthorizedhotel bookings or vacation rentals off the platform,
rather than a piece of vintage paper.
As you can see, these are entirely legitimate, physical vintage postcards.
The automated system is freezing these listings and issuing unfair account strikes based on keyword matching.
Could a human representative please manually review these listings, overturn the violations, and clear these strikes from my account record?
I have over 40,000 postcards listed with more being listed daily.
I fear many more may be subject to these false violation accusations.
And, if they trigger quickly, eBay might be unfairly harsh in their response.
I will gladly edit my current listings to conform to what ever standard eBay defines,
but I need to know exactly what is actually triggers these false violation, in orer to do that.
Since they are false, I do not know what to change.
I cannot conform without accurate information.
My eBay Username: tarnotop
Thank you for your help.
