MC011 Restriction

[collectiblestothemoon]

11 days ago I received the dreaded MC011 restriction on my account. I was told to do the following:

"- Provide proof of delivery for all of the items you sold on eBay by uploading tracking. Track items you've sold. "

I thought this was strange as I buy my labels through Pirateship with my ebay account linked, which automatically uploads the tracking numbers to my orders once the label is purchased. I contacted support and explained this to them but was told to wait for another response. A day or two later, I get a message from eBay saying that I need to upload the following:

- Documentation that shows that you purchased the item(s) recently listed for sale on eBay. Documentation that will help us verify your items can include either manufacturer invoices or receipts. Unfortunately, we will be unable to accept photos of the items to fulfill this requirement. (NOTE: This documentation must show your suppliers' information, items purchased, quantity purchased, price per unit and your payment information.

I submit around 40-50 pictures of order receipts for almost all of the items being sold on my account. One of the receipts is from a site called "Snkrdunk" which is a site similar to StockX. Both of these sites are mainly used to purchase high tier footwear, but also have sections for other items such as "hype" items and even trading cards. I'm told to wait 24-72 hours for a response. 72 hours passes and I get no response so I call ebay support and ask what's the status of the investigation. I'm told that my documentation for the pokemon cards is invalid because "snkrdunk is a site that sells nike footwear and other sneakers, not pokemon cards." This was extremely frustrating as just taking one visit to the snkrdunk site shows that they show sneakers, but also pokemon trading cards. I've just uploaded additional proof where I circled the area showing that trading cards is a category on the site. What I don't understand is that in my receipts I submitted previously, it shows the pokemon card boxes in the screenshots. How did they come to the conclusion that snkrdunk doesn't sell trading cards?

Any tips or suggestions for my next steps besides waiting? I'm currently waiting on the revaluation of my receipt documentation.

[mam98031]

Boy that is a tough one.  You just need to keep working on Ebay to understand what the paperwork is actually showing them.  I'm so sorry they have made this so difficult for you.

I would suggest that you contact Ebay for Business on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for the better trained CSRs.

Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service.  Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is.  Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message.  It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.

https://twitter.com/askebay

https://www.facebook.com/eBay/

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

Your options will be on the left.  If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options.  Not all options are available 24/7.  It will depend on staffing available.  So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't.  Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me.  If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.

If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.

If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

[collectiblestothemoon]

Hoping for some good news in the next 72 hours after providing additional proof. I reached out on all 3 platforms as well. Not sure how much help that would be for me but it's definitely better than nothing.  It's very frustrating, considering all it takes is one proper google search of "Does snkrdunk sell pokemon trading cards?"

[mam98031]

I hope it works out for you.  PLEASE keep us updated.

[collectiblestothemoon]

Restriction was lifted, however they responded with this.

After careful consideration, we have decided to remove the seller restriction but restrict your account indefinitely from listing in the Toys & Hobbies category. You are still able to list and sell items in other categories; however, you will not be able to list in this category any longer. We know you may be disappointed with this decision but please understand we have taken this action to help ensure a safer buying and selling environment on eBay.  

Some of the things we look at when reviewing accounts for category restrictions are:

-- How much history a member has selling these types of items on the site.

-- Positive selling Feedback for the items in question.

-- Any Feedback that questions the authenticity of the items.

-- Unresolved disputes with buyers for these items.

-- Compliance with eBay policies.

-- Previous account suspensions or eBay policy violations.

-- The current status of your account.

-- Any supplier information that cannot be verified.

Keep in mind that you are restricted for this type of item or category with any eBay account. Any associated accounts circumventing the outline of our decision, will be suspended with no chance for appeals. This may also affect your current account and appeals processes it may hold in the future.

Our goal is to make sure eBay is a safe and trusted marketplace. In our continued effort to help meet our goal, we've introduced account limits to all of our sellers.  Many members already have limits placed on their account. Account limits allow us to learn about your selling activity and make sure you're adhering to our selling practices policy and performance standards. Limits vary by seller and can change over time. These limits are not in place as a consequence, rather as a preventative measure to help our seller's keep from becoming overwhelmed with large increases in account activity.  

These limits will allow you to continue selling while also allowing us to monitor your incoming Feedback, Detailed Seller Ratings, and any customer complaints.  

During this time, we want to confirm you are creating a solid selling foundation by ensuring you are focused on creating great transactions for your customers. Doing so will greatly increase the chances of having a successful eBay business and help to avoid any future account issues that may arise. Please understand that the actions we have taken do not mean your account performance is not good, but we do this to help all eBay sellers further improve their selling history and account performance. The selling limit on your account is based on the number and dollar amount of open (active) items and successfully sold items per calendar month.

You can now sell up to 150 items monthly or up to $15000.00 monthly.

(Keep in mind that this includes multiple quantity listings which can greatly influence this number.)

If you do reach one of these amounts during a month you will be unable to list additional items or increase the price or quantity of your active items until some of your items end without a winning bidder or until the 1st of the next calendar month, (If you are still exceeding the selling limit at the first of the next calendar month your selling activity will continue to be blocked.)

If you do reach the limits on your account and want to increase your sales, please work within the limit for at least 30 days. Once that time frame has passed (1 Nov 2023), please reply to this message, and we will conduct a review to see if adjustments are appropriate. We ask that you do not use or create any other eBay accounts during this time. If we determine that circumvention has taken place, it is possible that all accounts could be suspended indefinitely.

We hope that you will use this selling limit to your advantage and focus on succeeding with your current sales. We value you as a seller and hope to work with you in order to establish a strong selling history and successful business relationship. It is in our best interest to help our sellers succeed so that we can have a positive trading environment and eliminate bad buying experiences on the site.

Kind Regards,

Dan

eBay Trust and Safety

Not sure what to do now since I have a lot of money in product that would sell within this category.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Nothing you can do; their decision is final. Sell 'those' items elsewhere is your only 'out'. 

[collectiblestothemoon]

Has something similar happened to you in the past?

[mam98031]

I've read about similar situations before.  But unfortunately I don't remember any that were able to get Ebay to reverse the decision.  I am so sorry.

[rugerskick]

The answer is to sell those items on other sites.  Perhaps delve into selling on (the largest river in South America) website.

[iamalwaysright]

How long before you got the original restriction did you start selling pokemon cards?

[collectiblestothemoon]

I've been selling pokemon cards since late 2020. I didn't sell as much in 2022 so probably got flagged for ramping my volume back up too fast.

[iamalwaysright]

Yet ebay doesn't bat an eye when our volume plummets that fast. While going up and they're like "Not so fast buddy."

But your volume was this high level prior to your sales hiatus? If yes, dude, ebay is brutal. After all, it's not like you've never operated at that scale before.

[collectiblestothemoon]

Yeah in 2020- end of 2021, my gross sales was about 3x what it is currently for 2023.

[az93]

I must admit, I did not read this while long letter. I just wanted to say I cut and paste my tracking number and add it to ebay myself. Twice, the regular add tracking number place then again under my sold item on ebay where it says add a note.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

It appears that your choice of suppliers has raised the Ebay perceived risk of allowing you to sell in the Toys and Hobbies category.

You will need to find another way to sell this inventory.

You will not be able to sell products from your supplier on Amazon either.