@beverlyw256 wrote:Any full or part time resellers have multiple eBay accounts? What are the pros and cons of doing this? Just curious....thanks!
I currently have three selling IDs and one purchasing IDs. I've used a purchasing ID since I first discovered that it's possible to buy large lots on eBay and then resell the items individually, especially if you test them and confirm condition first.
eBay -does- allow for multiple accounts per individual, but there are rules. Like don't use some fake name to try and hide the fact you are creating another account. Which is common with folks who do the next thing eBay says not to -- shill bidding (using one of your accounts to bid on a listing from your other account to drive the price up).
And don't list the same inventory on more than a single ID. You can move inventory from one to another, but don't have it running on more then one at a time. I do this a lot via SixBit -- I can change the ID an inventory item is connected to and then post to that ID instead of the original, all with just a few clicks and not much more.
Some infractions will affect only the ID involved. Others, or if you have a lot of warnings across all your accounts, will trigger a "all-for-one" penalty assessed against all your IDs. And eBay's pretty good at connecting accounts - I can think of three ways to do that right now and I'm not a security or networking person. So I'm sure they have better methods than I could dream up. 🙂
My accounts were all created several years apart, with this one being first and being my primary ID. When I was doing consignment sales, converting my purchasing ID to selling and putting that client on that new selling ID was a good way to let the client look at their listings without seeing all the other stuff I was selling for other people. So, over time, I've accumulated three active selling IDs and one active purchasing ID.
I'm considering converting my current purchasing account to selling soon -- I have a couple thousand Hot Wheels vehicles and sets to sell and I'd kinda like to keep them separate from my elongated souvenir pennies and used computer parts. Since the purchasing account has several hundred feedback, that should lower the 'newbie scams' that seem to plague sellers starting from scratch.
One problem I only noticed recently -- when I changed my mailing address from our family home (where we raised our now independent adult children) to our current home (apartment where we don't have to fix any of the appliances, pay a plumber to open a drain, or mow the yard, trim the trees, and keep the gutters clean), I had four IDs to update. Still not sure I've changed everything I need to in all the accounts... we still own the house, still get mail there - we just don't eat or sleep there. One of our granddaughters has expressed an interest in purchasing it - and they are already renting for a couple hundred buck more than a decent mortgage would cost them. We're thinking about it -- I just think it needs more work than they realize.....
There is a Help page out there somewhere that explains the whole multiple account thing in more detail. It works well for me because I'm very risk-averse...I want easy transactions with no stressful returns. Which means work is giving me figurative ulcers -- the boss is one of those hyper folks who 'pushes thru' and then picks up the pieces, rather than taking some time to think it through and avoid the issue(s) altogether. I think we are both teaching each other to be better. 🙂
-Bob.
