It is annoying; however, from a business perspective, I do understand this. I run a business alongside eBay, and I have had customers for 10+ years whom I deem to be loyal. They always paid on time, were extremely polite, and had no issues with their accounts—until.
Until they were ready to switch businesses.
Until their business ventures no longer panned out.
Until they filed for bankruptcy.
Until, for whatever reason, they deemed paying me no longer important.
Because they were trustworthy customers, I didn’t mind when they were late. However, the first time they were late—and that lateness extended for a certain period—was the last time I ever heard from them. Learn from this now and have policies in place to prevent this. My point is that having a 100% rating with 25,000 feedback, while a great indicator of reliability, is still not foolproof.
For eBay, let’s say they let their guard down because, as you stated, you have been a customer for 24 years and perhaps have an outstanding rating. All it takes is one survival move, emergency, or incident in your life where you falsely post an expensive painting, collectible, etc. (that you do not actually have). But you post it anyway and get a sale. Let’s say that sale is $10K, and by the next day, the money is deposited into your account. You withdraw the funds, abandon the account, and disappear.
I know it sounds far-fetched to you—and even to me—but humans are extremely innovative when it comes to survival. By no means I am supporting ebay too, but I am sure they are looking to protect their interests from every angle they have seen or think of.
