Dear eBay,
I would like to start off by saying even though our relationship has been rocky this last couple of months I'm not writing this letter with malice in my heart. It is my sincere and genuine hope that someone up the chain in corporate will read this and maybe implement change that is beneficial for everyone. I will not go into the source of this rocky relationship. Anyone whos reading can look at my last two posts and see me speak on the issue at length.
Secondly I would like to say this is not my first eBay account. I've been on and off your platform as I've pursued reselling as a career. During the learning process I didn't always think it was profitable enough so I would stop and then pick it back up again because that treasure hunting spirit still burned deep within my soul. So please don't take this as it's coming from someone whos only been here for 4 years. I've been around the block a time or two.
When I last wrote you eBay I was so fed up. My account restricted, my listings suppressed, another couple grand worth of listings removed as counterfeit and I wont lie...I was angry. In my anger I lashed out and my criticism may not have been as constructive as I would have liked it. This is my attempt to reconcile that.
My story begins the day after my last post. Completely defeated by the policy department, items banned, account restricted and listings suppressed. Rejected. But the next day I dusted myself off reached deep down inside myself and tapped into that old pirate flame that still burns and got to work on my other platforms. That's when something magical happened. My revenue almost doubled in a mere 3 days. I hadn't realized it but I had been spending so much time trying to figure out the policies, speaking directly with the policy department, trying to keep my listings from getting banned I had completely neglected everything else.
Now the question that corporate eBay needs to seriously consider is this. What does it say about your platform when you suspend a sellers account, suppress his 2000 listings worth $80,000 and his revenue actually increases almost the day of said suspension? I will not tell you my opinion on that because I don't think it would be as constructive as I hope this letter would be.
I would like to take a look at just one of the root causes of that. Policy. To have a policy where secret code words have to be used for a specific brand or a random word. Then that secret code word needs to be inserted into the title of that brand item or whenever another random word is used. Then to have no mention of secret code words in the posted policies or even make sellers aware that you are now using secret code words. Then to make the only way a seller can even find out is when his listings are banned as counterfeit, his account restricted THEN you send him a letter saying you didn't use the secret code word. That gentlemen is a policy straight from the depraved mind of a mental patient. And to have an entire group of people who not only think this is a great idea but should actually be implemented shows a detachment from reality that I honestly don't know if you can come back from.
To summarize I would like to stress that I hope something can be gleaned from my experience on your platform. And I have earned the right to say this. It was not my listings nor myself that were the issue. I have not changed. This platform is the eBay I remember in name only. My listings were not counterfeit. YOU are counterfeit. Which from this day forth is how I shall reference you. As Counterfeit eBay.
Sincerely,
-Happy
