Permanent Restriction Due to Out-of-Control Orders – Need Help from Appeals Team

[thetrendstore]

Hi eBay Community,

I’ve been selling on eBay for several months and recently got permanently restricted due to a high Bad Buyer Experience (BBE) rate. However, I believe this was due to issues that were out of my control, including:

A Canada Post strike that affected delivery

A few buyers who provided PO Box addresses (which couriers couldn’t deliver to)

Orders going to Puerto Rico and American Samoa, which experienced known delays

I tried appealing by email and contacting customer service, but I keep receiving automated replies, even after providing full order details and valid explanations.

I’ve been working hard on my account, received positive reviews, and was aiming to become a Top Rated Seller. This situation feels extremely unfair as I’ve taken steps to correct all past issues, updated my shipping policies, and removed high-risk regions.

Can someone from the eBay team please escalate this or advise me on what more I can do to reinstate my selling privileges?

Thank you for any help or direction.

[lakefor94]

The BBE permanent restriction is just that, permanent. There is no coming back to sell on eBay.  

[thetrendstore]

I completely understand that eBay has strict policies, but I believe my case deserves a fair review. Several of the orders that caused the high BBE rate were clearly out of my control — including shipments to PO Boxes, a Canada Post strike, and delayed deliveries to U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and American Samoa.

I canceled these orders to protect the buyer experience, not to avoid responsibility. I also updated my shipping policies immediately after seeing the issue. My feedback is positive, and many buyers even thanked me for excellent service.

I’m not asking for a special exception — just a fair appeal based on eBay’s own policy that says you can appeal when situations are outside the seller’s control.

[thetrendstore]

There were 5 orders that caused this and all of them were outside of my control ebay customer support is not helping

[lakefor94]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. There are no appeals that we have heard of here on the Community Forum.

The BBE permanent restriction is just that, permanent. There is no coming back to sell on eBay.  

[thetrendstore]

I appreciate your honesty, but I still believe my case is different. eBay’s policy clearly states that sellers can appeal if the defects or cancellations were due to reasons beyond their control — and that applies to me.

Out of the 5 orders that impacted my account:

One was to Canada during a postal strike.

Two were to PO boxes or U.S. territories where shipping isn't supported.

One was due to a buyer providing an invalid address.

All actions I took were to avoid disappointing buyers.

I understand the system is strict, but if sellers who genuinely acted in good faith aren’t allowed to appeal, it’s discouraging. I’ve contacted support and provided all the evidence — I’ll keep trying until someone at eBay sees the full picture.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[jerseyboymusic]

@thetrendstore 

I can't see anything when I click on your account... BBE isn't applicable here in the USA BUT...

Why wouldn't you ship to a SECURE PO BOX?

Canadian postal strike - I know of the one last year... looks like there was another in May? Ebay would not let us ship to Canada during the 2024 strike. I moved May/June, so have not been selling... but can you clarify?

Did you send the orders to PR and AS? Why cancel those orders?

But if this is a permanent restriction, then it's permanent with no chance of appeal, but again, here in the US, we don't have BBE (unless it was very recently adopted here)

[lakefor94]

I cannot supply any false hope.  If you find a way to appeal and get your account selling privilege reinstated,  please come back here and share details so we can share with others falling into the BBE initiative. 

[thetrendstore]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply — let me clarify what happened:

I'm based outside the U.S., and my eBay account was restricted due to a Bad Buyer Experience (BBE) rate above the market average. The system flagged 5 orders, but 3–4 of them were genuinely out of my control:

Canada Order: This one was during the 2024 Canada Post strike. The buyer also gave a PO Box address, which the courier couldn't deliver to. I didn’t want to risk a lost package, so I canceled the order proactively.

Puerto Rico & American Samoa Orders: Both were delayed because of extended delivery times and logistics issues. One of them was a PO Box address, which again couldn’t be serviced by the courier. I’ve now excluded U.S. territories and PO Boxes from my shipping policies.

Another case involved an invalid address from the buyer, who didn’t respond to my messages. I canceled to avoid a worse experience.

I acted in good faith and updated all shipping policies before my account was restricted. Unfortunately, eBay’s system doesn’t seem to factor in valid shipping limitations or regional courier constraints.

[doc-holmes]

Fair or not, eBay doesn't want to do business with you anymore. It's just how it is. 

[thetrendstore]

Thank you for your honesty and transparency. I completely understand your point. I just wanted to know if there's any direct way to contact a higher-level review team because in every reply from eBay support, they mention this is an automated restriction due to the BBE policy — and they say even if they wanted to help, there is no manual process for reinstatement.

However, in eBay’s own seller standards, it says that if the issue was outside the seller’s control, it can be appealed. I had multiple orders affected due to real issues like Canada Post strikes, Puerto Rico delays, and PO box delivery failures, all of which I documented and reported.

If anyone here has successfully contacted a team higher than general support or found a valid appeal route, I’d really appreciate if you could guide me or others in the same situation.

Thank you again for your support.

[christworks]

Everybody says it isn't their fault and their case is different or special. 

In your earlier posts you stated all of these issues were out of your control, but in a later post you seem to indicate the system flagged 5 sales, and 3 OR 4 were out of your control. 

I don't know whether or not you can get your account back. I do feel like you are leaving something out. 

[reallynicestamps]

Six experienced sellers have told you NO.

No one has agreed with you.

For the record, the most secure address you can ship to is a Post Office box. The owner must have a key or sign for their package. A courier can leave the package on the porch for anyone to snatch.

[mam98031]

No one here can help you with your problem.  We are all members just like you.  This is a Community of Buyers and Sellers.  You need to contact Ebay directly to try and work this out.  However my understanding is that there is no coming back from this issue.  But none of us here can help you, sorry.

[albertabrightalberta]

You keep repeating the same reasons why you don't think you should be permanently restricted and others have answered so I won't repeat the same thing. 

But I want to comment on one of your "excuses." 

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@thetrendstore wrote:

Canada Order: This one was during the 2024 Canada Post strike. The buyer also gave a PO Box address, which the courier couldn't deliver to. I didn’t want to risk a lost package, so I canceled the order proactively.

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I'm not sure how you got a defect in 2024 because you weren't even a member until January 3, 2025

• Member since: Jan-03-25 in Pakistan