Restricted from selling indefinitely (EU) - how do I get the money from the listing

[oman20112012]

Hi, there. I recently decided to sell one single item on eBay cause it seemed like the best platform for a wider audience. The item sold, I got paid, I shipped the item, it arrived, no issues. Then I get an email from eBay saying I need to provide them with receipts and proof of purchase (they were original receipts directly from the manufacturer). I find what they asked for and submit it. The next day I get the classic:

"We are committed to reducing both fraud and negative buying experiences on eBay. To maintain a safe marketplace, we sometimes end active items, restrict selling activity, or suspend accounts until an additional review can be completed. We have completed an additional review of your account and show that your account was originally restricted because it was in violation of eBay policy and your behavior posed a risk to the eBay community."

Seeing as this is the one and only item sold (I'm a private person, not a store), I find it unfathomable that an account would be banned this easily for no apparent reason. However, seeing as I'll never be selling through eBay again, that's not the issue here - the issue is I was supposed to get 2200 EUR paid out by eBay 2 days ago, and those funds are now "On hold". I realize they have "unresolved issues", whatever those may be, but surely doing this without supplying a reason for it isn't legal. 

When can I expect the funds to be released? I'm getting no reply from eBay, which makes things even worse. Thanks!

[fbusoni]

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@oman20112012 wrote:

"We are committed to reducing both fraud and negative buying experiences on eBay. To maintain a safe marketplace, we sometimes end active items, restrict selling activity, or suspend accounts until an additional review can be completed. We have completed an additional review of your account and show that your account was originally restricted because it was in violation of eBay policy and your behavior posed a risk to the eBay community."

Seeing as this is the one and only item sold (I'm a private person, not a store), I find it unfathomable that an account would be banned this easily for no apparent reason. However, seeing as I'll never be selling through eBay again, that's not the issue here - the issue is I was supposed to get 2200 EUR paid out by eBay 2 days ago, and those funds are now "On hold". I realize they have "unresolved issues", whatever those may be, but surely doing this without supplying a reason for it isn't legal. 

When can I expect the funds to be released? I'm getting no reply from eBay, which makes things even worse. Thanks!

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The reason for your account suspension is in red above.  

Its completely fathomable.

I find it amusing that you expect a reply from eBay, given what eBay has concluded about your practices.

As for your funds... I hope its several months at least.

[iamcara]

Right it sounds like you were typing out things you shouldn't have.

I report people all the time for belligerence, so to speak.

I'm sure a lot of them get banned.

Some sellers with thousands of ratings, 100% positive feedback, write in all caps, act like infants when something doesn't go their way, they leave feedback in all caps acting all entitled.

I report most of them.

I'm sure they have a fun time when they get banned.

[klhmdg]

This is the US .com boards -

That being said, in the US new sellers have up to 30 day holds.

Please read about payment holds.

The payment is not being held without a reason and not illegal. 

Im sure the biggest reason is the eBays MBG allows 30 days from delivery for the buyer to filed Not As Described, and eBay would rather use your funds to refund the buyer.

It appears you jumped in with both feet to selling on eBay and didnt do any research on what is and isnt expected.

At this point your options are to wait.

[oman20112012]

I'm not sure what the hostility is for. The text you highlighted in red doesn't explain anything, though? All I see is a general reason most people get for getting their accounts banned (as I've seen on this forum), not a precise one. What exactly does "your behavior posed a risk to the eBay community" mean?

[oman20112012]

I wasn't being belligerent in any sort of way. I was very cooperative with eBay, provided all the requested documents, and in turn got a ban with no specific explanation. I never even commented on anything as I haven't used eBay in a while, all I did was successfully sell an item and was banned for it. It seems unreasonable, especially a permanent ban.

[oman20112012]

Thank you for taking the time to answer respectfully. I get holding funds for some time (that time was supposed to be October 5th, as per eBay's message). What I don't get is the permanent ban. They didn't say your account is under review, they said your account has been reviewed and we decided to ban you forever. What kind of policy is that? This is the first item I ever sold on this platform, it made eBay around 500 USD, and as a thank you I get banned without a proper explanation. It just doesn't make sense.

Also, as you said, it's not being held without a reason - why can't that reason be disclosed to me so I, too, am aware of what that reason may be? It just seems like a very grey way of doing business, especially when holding someone's funds.

[fbusoni]

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@oman20112012 wrote:

I'm not sure what the hostility is for. The text you highlighted in red doesn't explain anything, though? All I see is a general reason most people get for getting their accounts banned (as I've seen on this forum), not a precise one. What exactly does "your behavior posed a risk to the eBay community" mean?

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Really, it's so tiresome and annoying to read questions like "what did I do wrong?" when you know full what what you did wrong.

Here is what eBay wrote to you... it seems crystal clear what the reason was, but maybe you can use this opportunity to share with all of us the precise details (peddling counterfeits would be my guess; then you set up a second account.  Am I getting warm?).

We are committed to reducing both fraud and negative buying experiences on eBay... We have completed an additional review of your account and show that your account was ORIGINALLY restricted because it was in violation of eBay policy and your behavior posed a risk to the eBay community.

[dbfolks166mt]

     Some confusion. Your first sentence indicates you sold one item that you got paid for but I see in your sold listings that you sold 2 items. Did you get paid for one and the funds are on hold for the other? It is possible there are two issues that may or may not be related. If eBay is holding funds they may do so for up to 30 days so depending on which item they are holding the funds for, the one that sold on 18 September or the one that sold on 11 September, there are a few days remaining. 

     Since you are not worried about the suspension I won't venture to guess what may have happened to cause that but it happens a lot. Sellers post quite frequently on this forum about account suspensions or restrictions. Contacting eBay for further details seems to be a useless effort. 

[oman20112012]

I can share, sure. I sold a Wacom drawing tablet that I myself purchased about a year or so ago. I had the original receipt from Wacom, which I sent to eBay, with my name and address on it. I also sent my PayPal stub from when I bought it.

I bet it gets tiresome, but your hostility really isn't warranted, as you know nothing about the details of this case. Assuming I was "peddling counterfeits" when you can open my profile and see what I was selling + how long I've been a member seems unreasonable. I didn't sell 20 pairs of fake Nike Airs, I sold one tablet that I had a receipt for (with an original logo, stamp and everything else on it, as it was bought online). The user also already confirmed the tablet arrived, is in perfect working condition, and was definitely not a counterfeit (if that's even possible).

Also, no, nothing is crystal clear from the sentence in red. "Violation of eBay policy" is as vague as it gets.

[oman20112012]

See, this was a very helpful comment without all the judging, thank you.

The camera order ended up getting cancelled and the buyer was immediately refunded, and I paid any processing fees to eBay as demanded. I'm waiting on the tablet funds. What puzzles me is the fact they banned my account after reviewing the receipt I sent, which seems very strange seeing as it's an original receipt from a reputable company.

Either way, I hope you're right about the 30 days, as I've read up to 6 months in some places. Thanks again.

[klhmdg]

@oman20112012   eBay does not give "exact" reasons for suspension.

And the reason for that is that they dont want it to get out so scammer / criminals (not you) can find a way around it.

The reason says "your account was in violation of eBay policy"

Do we know what policy - no

Will eBay tell you what policy - no

At this point all you can do is wait for your funds to be released.

[fbusoni]

Please don't confuse hostility with incredulity.   We've all be around the block a few times.

And eBay did explain fully... you were accused of fraud and from what I can tell from eBay's note, re-opening a new account after your first account was restricted / closed because of fraudulent activity.  

eBay will not reveal its methods, but because eBay works with law enforcement around the world, I'm sure they were justified... the number of sellers who come here to complain about their account being closed is very, very small.    

Why is it that so many million seller are able to sell easily with with no restrictions?   

[oman20112012]

Yeah, but that's you reading too much into what "originally" means. This account is 10+ years old, do you really think I'd be saving it for 10 years only to have it banned? When was the "original" account opened, do you think? 11, 12, 13 years ago? Did I take a 10 year hiatus from selling fake merchandise?

This is the one and only eBay account I've ever had, the only thing I've done with it is bought stuff (all of which was 5+ years ago). I've never in my life sold anything through eBay, through this account or any other. Now, if eBay has made a mistake by linking my account to another one, that's their fault. I know how IP linking works, so if I was a scammer, I would definitely not be stupid enough to try selling from another account made on the same IP address. Either way, the lack of communication and explanation from a supposedly "reputable" company is astounding.

Also, yes, I realize some of the people who come complaining are most likely frauds, but that's visible from their accounts (made recently, sells obviously fake luxury items, etc). Why would I risk selling an original item I own through an account that could be linked to my "original" account?

Final note - I didn't even care about the reason, as I've read posts from vendors with thousands of positive reviews being banned for no reason and working for weeks to get their account reinstated by an actual person who can comprehend eBay's made a mistake. All I wanted to know is what the waiting period is for the releasing of funds in this case, as I sold this tablet to buy my kids a larger Christmas present this year. Seems like I'll have to find another way to get that money, since it's looking less obvious like it's going to be resolved before Christmas.

[kensgiftshop]

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@oman20112012 wrote:

The camera order ended up getting cancelled and the buyer was immediately refunded, and I paid any processing fees to eBay as demanded.

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Did Ebay have to get involved?

If you canceled and refunded the buyer, there wouldn't have been any fees.