Land line phone number no longer sufficient for identity verification to sell on ebay

[brandonsvsu]

Maybe I'm the only person left on earth with a land line and who doesn't want to give his cell phone number to a company such as ebay, but I have found out today after a lengthy conversation with an ebay rep that unless I provide ebay with a phone number capable of receiving text messages, my seller payout funds will be put on hold indefinitely.

I find it ridiculous that they can't just call my land line number with an automated message containing a verification code.  Practically every other major company that requires verification offers this.  Ebay?  Nope.  You gotta have a cell phone to sell here.

[varebelrose]

Good thing I no longer sell on this site. To get a signal on my flip phone, I must go outside and climb a 20' Hill in the woods behind the house. Thats the major reason we still have a land line.... reliable 911 service if ever needed.

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain friendly and respectful as required by the Community Guidelines.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[reallynicestamps]

I'm in Canada. Our two cellphones cost us $100.80 Cdn/$72.40USD monthly.

That's a lot for perhaps three phone calls a month and a dozen texts from DD.
Mostly I use it to read books on the bus, and figure out if the bus is late.

[reallynicestamps]

Hmm. I also use DH's cellphone to take pictures occasionally.

Do we have to have a "plan" for the camera to work? How would I transfer pictures to my computer if I don't have a plan?

I can take pictures with my own phone, but the email service doesn't work anymore.

[policequilts]

I have only a landline.
Don't know how to use a cell phone - my nephew thinks it's funny.

Have no real use for one and don't need that type of phone bill.

What I remember, that EU has adopted the  SCA - Strong Customer Authentication.
Part of this is because Paypal was locking out people with no mobile phones.

[a_c_green]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

Hmm. I also use DH's cellphone to take pictures occasionally.

Do we have to have a "plan" for the camera to work? How would I transfer pictures to my computer if I don't have a plan?

I can take pictures with my own phone, but the email service doesn't work anymore.

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@reallynicestamps: You should have a charging cable for your phone that you can plug into your computer. You're in need of a cable with the correct plug to match your phone on one end (most likely a mini-USB or micro-USB, or a lightning plug for iPhones), and a standard USB plug for your computer on the other end. 

Once you have the two connected, your computer should recognize your phone as another storage device, and you can go into it using the File Manager on your computer in order to copy over the photos from your camera to your computer. You don't need a service plan on your phone to do any of this.

I have to generalize a bit with these steps above, but if you get stuck, get back to us with your make and model of phone, and what kind of computer you're using (Windows or Macintosh), and we can get more specific. Transferring photos is really not a big deal once you have it worked out for the first time.

[yuzuha]

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@pburn wrote:

And eBay wonders why it's consistently losing sellers quarter after quarter after quarter--not just for this kind of requirement but for the long list of less-than-seller-friendly policies and procedures. 

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Needing some kind of phone number that can receive verification texts is a fairly standard requirement in general these days. I've signed up for multiple non-eBay-related things that required me to have a number at which I could receive a verification/authentication text.

[ittybitnot]

Just posting to this thread in general.  

I would hope (but know better) that eBay would put the requirement to have a cell phone that receives text messages right up front when signing on new sellers. Like put it FIRST.   That way the new seller won't have to waste a lot of time giving up all that  personal information/data  only to find out after the fact if they don't buy a smart phone, they don't get to sell anyway. 

Actually, I don't think they are using this form of  verification to insure your identity anyway.  Anybody's phone in or around you would likely suffice temporarily.  That would be until they spring the two step send you a text nonsense again, of course.   

Don't sign up for the "spendable funds" program.   You can never opt out, and the phone verification becomes a permanent fixture in your life. 

[deltilogical]

Its probably about making everything as easy as possible for ebay - 1 size fits all trustless and no human interaction and if they lose some sellers who won't buy into the Digital Reich, good riddance, you weren't giving them free data to sell anyway.

[pburn]

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@yuzuha wrote:

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Needing some kind of phone number that can receive verification texts is a fairly standard requirement in general these days. I've signed up for multiple non-eBay-related things that required me to have a number at which I could receive a

 verification/authentication text.

I've run across three sites asking for a mobile number. All three have accepted Google Voice.

Those are the only sites I've encountered that have had that requirement. Interesting, because I'm online every single day, and sometimes many hours a day if there's inclement weather, and I do the overwhelming majority of my shopping online. I bank online, access my investment accounts online, and pay my credit card bill .online. I pay miscellaneous vendors' invoices online (like my plumber, electrician, landscaper, etc.)  I watch movies, listen to music, access news/informational sites, and read books online.

What is it you people are doing that I'm missing out on by not having a text-receiving phone? 🤣

[1786davycrockett]

elizabeth@ebay 

I have no cell-phone.  I have NO need for a cell-phone.  Will sellers who do not own cell-phones be kicked off eBay, due to not having cell-phones?

When I signed up for eBay in 2010, I was assigned a private eBay email account, which is personally and individually identified ONLY with me, and NOBODY else.  One would think that eBay would comprehend that the personal email accounts individually assigned to its members would be the most SECURE method to communicate with its members, rather than a cell-phone, the ownership of which eBay can not specifically verify.

The bottom line is -- when does eBay plan to kick all of us non-cell-phone users off eBay?

[yuzuha]

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@pburn wrote:

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I've run across three sites asking for a mobile number. All three have accepted Google Voice.🤣

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I do think it's a bit odd they won't take a Google Voice number. The sites I've signed up for that require texting capabilities all would accept that, IIRC-- they just needed something that could receive texts.

[a_c_green]

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@1786davycrockett wrote:

When I signed up for eBay in 2010, I was assigned a private eBay email account, which is personally and individually identified ONLY with me, and NOBODY else.  One would think that eBay would comprehend that the personal email accounts individually assigned to its members would be the most SECURE method to communicate with its members, rather than a cell-phone, the ownership of which eBay can not specifically verify.

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When you talk about a "private eBay email account," are you talking about your Messages page on the eBay website? Access to that is granted by your primary eBay login, so confirmation by sending a 2-factor authentication code to that would be pointless.

They want to send the confirmation code to an outside account (e.g. third-party email host, or phone number that can receive text messages) that's under your independent control, so that if your eBay account gets hacked, you can recover control and set a new password, and under other circumstances, you can confirm that your account info is correct (including the SSN for IRS purposes, and/or bank account info for payment purposes).

Ownership of your cellphone is confirmed by you at setup time, when you first submit a phone number to eBay, and they proceed to text a code there for you to return to them.

[buyselljack2016]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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elizabeth@ebay wrote:

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@dhbookds wrote:

elizabeth@ebay 

I'm sorry, I'm not clear on this.........Is it required to have a text able phone to sell on Ebay? 

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Sorry for the confusion @dhbookds. You do need to have a valid cell phone to sell on eBay. Things such as Google Voice or Text only devices would not work. 

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Thanks for the confirmed info on this. It appears CS is not aware of this requirement as many sellers are getting the run-around. As posted above, @buyselljack2016 has spoken with CS several times the past few weeks and all the reps told him the landline was OK for verifying his selling account. Several others are getting the same kind of answers. This is an area where CS (chat, phone, social media) should have clear guidance they can pass on to sellers elizabeth@ebay that a cell phone is required to verify a selling account and a VoIP service will not be acceptable, but e-mail may be sufficient to verify an account exclusively for buying.

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See, here is where the big confusion comes in.  Verifying a seller as in verifying their identity to start/verify a selling account is one thing, but all that is being asked of me is "TO VERIFY MY PHONE NUMBER", the one I have been using with eBay for over 2 decades of selling, which for whatever reason, suddenly can not be verified. They have verified my email. How did they do that without sending a "code " to a cell phone? Why can't that code be sent to a "verified" email?

Also complete absurdity to text a code to a "cell" to verify a phone. eBay has my phone #. They call me on that #.    I suppose a "bot" can not call me to verify that the # is me.  Someone at eBay has lost touch with reality. 

Also complete absurdity to require someone to have a cell phone for any reason.

[pburn]

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@yuzuha wrote:

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@pburn wrote:

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I've run across three sites asking for a mobile number. All three have accepted Google Voice.🤣

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I do think it's a bit odd they won't take a Google Voice number. The sites I've signed up for that require texting capabilities all would accept that, IIRC-- they just needed something that could receive texts.

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Would it shock you to find out the information posted in that regard might be incorrect? It wouldn't surprise me a bit.