Accounts getting restricted for failing irrelevant questions?

[sframe-collects]

I've bought figurines from Ebay before, and sold 1 at $460 in March, with no dispute.

This month (end of April), I tried listing a collectable scroll for $50. A few minutes after posting, the listing got pulled down, and my account is restricted while I was trying list a figure for $380.

I contacted live chat support, provided proof of purchase for the two items (photos of the physical invoices with tracking numbers), and then proceeded to answer security questions that asked if I've ever been associated to the addresses they've listed. I replied accordingly per their prompts - i.e., "I have never been associated with any of these addresses".

And then I'm told that my account's restriction is now permanent.

Seriously. What the hell. I'm in San Francisco, and I've only ever had my name associated with Bay Area addresses, yet the addresses provided had nothing to do with me.

I can't conceive of any valid reason why my account would be suspicious - Ebay's $500 monthly limit is pretty restrictive, but my sales are still priced within that margin. I've a flawless newborn account that has yet to get any sort of negative feedback. I'm at a complete loss; can somebody tell me what went wrong?

[sframe-collects]

Haha, I honestly was in half belief that I was speaking to robots at that point, so I felt it pointless to waste emotions over it, especially when I had other alternatives to Ebay that don't cut into margins as much.

Yet alas, it took a while (first reply took about 2 hours; second reply took 11 hours) (after which, I hadn't replied for 27 hours since I was busy on another platform), but the displayed level of English and situational comprehension was noticeably better. I even had some revived hopes of reaching a favorable conclusion.

It was not so, but I received some closure at the very least. (I finally spoke to what I think was a human!)

Here are the chatlogs from the facebook conversation:






TL;DR/I.e., they simply aren't willing to deal with the risk that their data (where ever it's sourced) suggests.

Despite it being abnormally conservative to me, the reply was fair, and again - the agents directly involved in the facebook conversation at least felt like humans (or much, much better robots).

Sharing in case this helps any other sellers and investors looking into Ebay as an option, or those that got slapped with similar issues.

Thanks for all the replies, guys - though I'm still screwed, you and the two agents on facebook definitely helped me keep my sanity. Best of luck!

[sframe-collects]

Wow. I sincerely appreciate you sharing your insights... I'm now kind of inclined to believe that it's significantly less probable to get an account running with them nowadays unless you've already a long track record accrued from when the company/platform was at a younger stage, e.g. before such restrictions were put into place.

I guess I'll just have to accept it as how it is, as with getting onto any trend or platform after it's matured beyond its prime.

I probably won't ever see myself here again, but again - really appreciate your help throughout the thread! Always nice seeing a healthy community. 🙂

[luckythewinner]

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@sframe-collects wrote:

At such a point, it's not a process of verification, but more likely a culling of the seller population to a more manageable level...

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Occam's razor might suggest that eBay's verification system simply matched you to the wrong public database record.

[sframe-collects]

Ahaha, I'm inclined to believe that. Those livechat agents' unwillingness to clarify and limitations on how quickly a response from the user's end is expected however suggests a management-level standards deficiency for that CS center. Hence, I couldn't dispose of the possibility that they'd honestly be happier if the workload was lessened, regardless of the expense of company's general reputation.

The facebook support was definitely better. Slower, implied that more care  and effort was invested. That went a long way for me, personally.