Does eBay enforce harassment from someone maliciously multi-accounting?
There is a buyer who avoids my BBL by making multiple purchases in succession under new usernames, and has been doing so for almost a month now. They use a different username each time but the same name and shipping address and there have already been over 200 suspected instances. I’ve reported all instances to eBay citing their abusive buyer policy and policy on multi-accounting with the intent to bypass BBL, and they claim to be looking into it but they’re still coming everyday to drain my inventory (22 so far today alone).
Does eBay actually enforce their policies or am I fighting a futile fight reporting these?
40 comments
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agoI'm trying to understand why the buyer is doing this.
Are they buying the same item over and over? Are the items low value? Sounds like they are buying and paying for each transaction rather requesting combined shipping.
Could this buyer be using stolen gift card numbers or something similar?
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoYou have yet to respond to a few questions multiple respondents have asked. If this has been going on for almost a month you may be in for a shock when eBay does your next seller evaluation depending on what reason you are using for canceling the orders.
You should be aware that the customer support is less than reliable these days and they will tell you what you want to hear simply to get you off the phone. That includes lying to you. Again to repeat the unanswered questions.
1. Is/are the buyers paying for these items?
2. What reason are you using when you cancel the order?
Take a look at your seller metrics to see if there are any issues that may impact your seller evaluation level next time around. If any of these are above 0 other than the tracking uploaded on time and validated you may have a problem..
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoThanks for all the feedback.
Confirming that the buyer does pay. However the root of my question here was essentially do they enforce my means to block that activity, and it's a pretty clear "no."
My suspicion for the intent is it's a competitor trying bleed me of shipping costs given the price point.
I've been keeping an eye on my seller level, and while it was at risk of falling out of the "Top Seller" category because I stopped cancelling orders for 1-week just to see if that would impact anything, I just checked and the "Not uploaded at all" issues putting me at risk seem to be gone.
I'm using the process that customer service provided, but now I see that they might just essentially be saying "yea, whatever" and their feedback should not be trusted.
As mentioned, thanks for the feedback, but on to better pursuits and a better use of time for me.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoSo the buyer does pay. And then do you ship?
I guess I still don't understand the issue except that it must be annoying.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoSo the buyer does pay. And then do you ship?
I guess I still don't understand the issue except that it must be annoying.
I am a bit lost here as well. So the buyer pays but unclear what is happening after that. Not sure if buyer is requesting the order be canceled, if the seller is actually shipping (it appears not), or if they are shipping is the buyer then opening return requests or is the seller simply canceling the order for some reason before they ship based on the buyers address.
I saw the OP's follow up post and don't understand the "bleed me of shipping costs" if the OP is not shipping and is canceling the orders. From OP's follow up it appears they have their answer and unfortunately eBay does not provide a means to block sales by an address. While that may appear to be a useful feature there are always trade offs for any action.
golfingaddict
·2 years agoI think it has something to do with the .99 with free shipping variation listing the seller had listed.
It showed "Save up to 50% when you buy more" and had 754 sold.
When I first saw the listing I thought it was suspect. While there is nothing wrong with a listing like this, it seems to be one where a competitor (or not) could grab up a bunch of cards repeatedly. Again, just guessing. My guess is this repeated action is on the cheap cards.
Sadly, I think the seller may have gotten in too far with bad advice from CS. If the buyer is paying the seller should ship. Cancelling paid transactions will never end well with eBay, no matter what CS might say. Of course, if the seller ships he could also end up with a gaggle of returns.
Hard to get a take on the whole thing because we are getting information in drips and drabs.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoIf the buyer is paying for the orders, I don't see what the problem is?
What difference does it make if one buyer buys 20 items or 20 buyers buy 1 item?
ckimodog
·2 years ago@timdunkin21
Since all of your items are buy it now, do you have immediate payment required enabled? Do you have seller preferences for payments like the customer must have a form of payment on file to pay? @kensgiftshop Can a buyer block a particular state? I see it all the time with Alaska and Hawaii. Just curious...
Sorry for your frustration @timdunkin21 . This sounds like one big pain the culo.
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoThanks for suggesting these. I believe so, but I’ll keep on reading up on it. Do you happen to have links to help center pages on these by chance?
Thanks again, and truly thanks for the empathy: it’s disappointing, as this is something I really enjoyed.
ckimodog
·2 years ago@timdunkin21
I would try this route, as eBay CS is pretty worthless:
https://www.facebook.com/ebayForBusiness/
These agents are US CS eBay employees and may better serve you and your situation. Many positive posts with their ability to be helpful. In the past they were helpful concerning my issue at hand. Give it a try...it might be worth it.
Again, good luck to you and hope all is resolved somehow for you.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoDo you mean can a seller block a certain state?
Other then Alaska, Hawaii and the territories, no, but it would be nice if we could.
robbie31415
·2 years agoI'd like to block addresses.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoIs this member paying for the orders or not?
ten_o_nine
·2 years agoWhy do you think the buyer is doing that? Why are they on your BBL list?
Unavailable member
·2 years agoIs this buyer paying for the items?
Or just buying with no intention on paying?
Why did you initially block the buyer?
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoWell I guess that’s another aspect of my question for clarification: Does it matter why they’re on the BBL?
I don’t just randomly add people, however I also don’t see verbiage that qualifies when you can add someone to the BBL.
The verbiage on the help page is “eBay sellers have control over who can bid on and buy their items. You can block individual buyers or set buyer requirements based on specific criteria.
If you’ve had an issue with a buyer and don’t want them to purchase or bid on your items, you can add them to your Blocked buyers list. They'll be unable to place bids or buy from you until you remove them from the list.†Am I missing some verbiage?
golfingaddict
·2 years agoYou can add anyone to your blocked bidder list. You can add my ID to your list simply because you don't like my name or my answer.
The problem is getting eBay to do anything to a buyer (or non-buyer) you haven't said that they are paying or not. They don't seem to move quickly against buyers and it is made even harder because the person keeps using different accounts.
You might need to use Immediate payment required until the issue is resolved.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoAs far as I can tell, the OP has not clarified whether this buyer pays or not.
And, if this person uses a different account each time, adding his ID to the BBL is useless, because he will apparently buy tomorrow under a different ID.
Unavailable member
·2 years agoThe only reason I ask is.
I had a buyer send me a ridiculously low offer on an item. I didn't respond I just blocked them. I ended the listing. Relisted it and increased the price slightly.
A few hours later I make a sale on a different item by the same author the buyer was new either using a guest account or a newly created account. At this point I had no idea it was the buyer I blocked until two days after I shipped I got a payment dispute through PayPal that the buyer didn't recognize the transaction.
The buyer put in a message"Yes. I ordered this Audiobook CD (Anthony Trollope, "The Way We Live Now") on Ebay from a seller: I paid the seller $39.16 on 7/6 from my PayPal account by selecting the PayPal option on the Ebay check-out page. Now, there is no record of the sale on Ebay in my Purchase History and nothing in "Canceled Orders" -- only the charge on PayPal. This seller was acting oddly before I made the order -- changing the price, and blocking me from other orders. I suspect foul play here.".
Lol That buyer called himself out circumventing my buyer block he never bought the item he lowballed me on because I never accepted the offer. I won the dispute when the item was delivered to that buyer.
I reported the buyer to eBay what action they took they never said. That buyers second ID is also blocked. I never heard another peep from that buyer.
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoGotcha. Thanks for sharing. I don’t think it’ll be that easy here. No response via messages and despite reporting, it continues to be an every-day occurrence.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoPerhaps I missed this in your initial message, but does this person pay or not?
If they do not pay, are you routinely cancelling, citing "buyer did not pay" as the reason?
Do you have any idea why this person would be doing this?
soh.maryl
·2 years agoAs others have mentioned, a buyer can be added to your BBL for any reason or for no reason at all.
As far as I can tell, no one monitors a seller's BBL. You can have hundreds of buyers on it (and some sellers apparently do.)
12345jamesstamps
·2 years ago"New username"...could be a guest...every time they make a purchase it is a new user name. But has same address. I think you might have "jumped the gun too soon". And reporting as such to eBay.
And I would play it cool...until there is a problem with an item sold there's nothing to do.
And I wouldn't email any buyers unless they email you first.
Some buyers are so strange. I have some who buy one item at a time with buying 10 items and paying them separately. I hate that but I don't want to upset any "repeat buyers". "Repeat buyers" are my best buyers.
Good luck.
mr_lincoln
·2 years agoHi @timdunkin21
It is against eBay policy for members to try and circumvent a Block by creating or using different Account IDs. You should try speaking with eBay's Trust and Security Department, confirm it is the same Member and it is quite possible that person will be banned indefinitely for their abuse of the system.
Do you have another Selling account? I see 72 sales on this ID in the last 90 days ... one sale dated for today April 4th.
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoThank you. How would I get in contact with that team specifically? I’ve been connecting with chat support and filing reports for each.
That 72 must not include cancelled purchases as I cancelled at least 82 from them yesterday (which were over the span of about 2 weeks). Note: The eBay reps confirmed my ability to cancel those orders citing suspicion of policy violation.
janet9988
·2 years agoIS there actually a way to cancel citing that?
I have never seen that option ever.
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoTo clarify: it was via chat that I received the approval/alignment to cancel them citing suspicious activity. Whether or not the reps were correct there, I have it documented in the SR transcripts.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoAs far as I know, there's only 4 reasons to cancel an order.
Out of stock
Buyer requested
A problem with the buyers address.
Buyer didn't pay for the order
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoThanks for clarifying. I thought I was being diligent asking two different reps and getting the same answer (asked again the second time just to make sure), but I’ll ask a third time.
kitschy*loot
·2 years agoAre these items aren't being paid for?
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoWhat if it is a guest?
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoThanks. I hadn’t really considered that there’s probably nothing eBay can do if they’re approaching it this way and their policy isn’t enforceable.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@12345jamesstamps
Guest purchases would still register on the Selling account ... OP mentioned 22 instances today alone ... can't imagine someone Buying 22 items on separate Guest buying logins ... BUT, truth is stranger than fiction.
It's one of the reasons I asked about another Selling ID too.
golfingaddict
·2 years agoThe OP has a variation listing that shows 24 items sold in the last 24 hours.
The op hasn't stated if they are paying or not. Either way, it is cause for concern to have someone making multiple purchases like that. It sounds like someone trying to mess with this seller's listings.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoMy buyers are not guests and some do buy 22+ separately as I get charged .30 cents per payment. So for me, it's not unusual....it's a pain.
timdunkin21
OP2 years agoIn all honesty, as maybe I’m just uniformed here: Do you think those buyers would continue to buy the same items over and over everyday after they get cancelled everyday?
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoWe only know parts of the story.
An unhappy previous buyer...maybe
12345jamesstamps
·2 years ago"cancel everyday"....how many?...just a few might cancel someone's account for selling.
Again, how do you cancel these orders?
soh.maryl
·2 years agoDon't understand. First you state you think it's only one person using different IDs.
Then you refer to this as "these buyers". Which is it?
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoHi @timdunkin21
It is against eBay policy for members to try and circumvent a Block by creating or using different Account IDs. You should try speaking with eBay's Trust and Security Department, confirm it is the same Member and it is quite possible that person will be banned indefinitely for their abuse of the system.
One of the biggest challenges is the flexibility a buyer has when it comes to things like this. Unlike a seller buyers can create or use guest accounts, utilize VPN's and circumvent a lot of the security and identity processes eBay can so rigidly apply to sellers.
There are simply too many buyer loopholes and trying to screen the buyer community takes resources that eat into eBay's bottom line.