Seeking Clarification on Store Suspension and Communication

[djoko_granata]

Hello eBay Community,

I hope you are all doing well. I find myself in a bit of a quandary and am turning to this community for insights and assistance.

Recently, my eBay store faced suspension, and I received a notification mentioning concerns about my selling practices and business model. However, the message didn't provide specific details about the issues that led to this decision. As someone who has always strived to follow eBay's rules and guidelines diligently, I'm genuinely perplexed by the lack of clarity.

To provide a bit more context, my account had a brief hold on funds, which I was informed was a normal procedure for new accounts. The suspension was lifted the following day after my appeal. Afterward, I relisted all of my inventory and sent a message to another eBay user regarding a potential sale of a similar supply. The message I sent was as follows:

"Hi,

My name is Djordje, I am from Serbia. I have a similar supply, really old but in good shape. Do you have an interest in this?

[Link to eBay Listing]

BR"

I mentioned this communication to eBay customer support, explaining that my intention was to sell the item on eBay, but I also wanted to reach out to this particular user. However, they did not provide a positive response to this explanation, suggesting that this might have been the issue. They mentioned that by revealing the cause, I could avoid future detection.

I'd like to emphasize that if my intention was to circumvent eBay policies, I certainly would not have used eBay's message center for this communication.

Additionally, I would like to highlight that I am currently blocked from accessing community.ebay.com from my main account. As a result, I am using this account to communicate with the community, as I believe it is essential for all involved parties to have a clear understanding of the situation.

My question to the community and eBay support is, why was I not warned or provided with guidance regarding this matter before my store's suspension? I genuinely appreciate any insights, advice, or support that members of this community can offer. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I eagerly await your responses.

Best regards, Djordje

[ckimodog]

@djoko_granata 

Very sorry for your situation, however, your guidance is clear in rules and policies that eBay provides. All new sellers should be required to read and honor them.  Grant it that's my opinion, but it's a good idea in theory. Can I ask what you were selling? If you could provide a bit more info, I'm sure there are people who can advise & perhaps help, if they can.  

[luckythewinner]

My question to the community and eBay support is, why was I not warned or provided with guidance regarding this matter before my store's suspension?

eBay already answered this. They said that if they exposed details about the criteria they use to assess risk, it would allow bad actors to accumulate a list of of that criteria and avoid detection in the future.

eBay user agreement:

"We reserve the right to refuse, modify, or terminate all or part of our Services to anyone for any reason at our discretion"

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/user-agreement?id=4259

[djoko_granata]

Door locks, and levers for big doors.

Yes, but regulations are broad, and I am not lawyer. I am simple sales man and person with healty logic. 

Thank you for your swift answer.

[evry1nositswindy]

You are not allowed to contact eBay members seeking sales. 

[djoko_granata]

So, are they essentially implying that if they dislike your store name, brand color, or if they choose to transition into a cryptocurrency platform, you will be collateral?

Just curious

[djoko_granata]

Quote me that please in the eBay's policy, i was trying to find that statement, but I could not find it.

thank you in advance.

[bonjourami]

Ebay can suspend a seller for any reason they choose.

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@djoko_granata First, got to tell you that your post was the most professional and easy to read that I've seen in a long time.

     It was probably that other seller who reported you to ebay. I believe that your intentions were good but you cannot contact another seller and make offers.

    Best to you.

[ckimodog]

@djoko_granata 

I believe this is what @evry1nositswindy meant:

eBay fee avoidance policy
Search eBay Help...

What is the policy?
Why does eBay have this policy?
Avoiding eBay fees is not allowed, whether intentional or not. Sellers attempting to avoid eBay fees create risk for themselves, and a poor experience for buyers.

Examples of avoiding fees includes making offers to buy or sell outside of eBay, requiring the buyer to make additional purchases, or charging excessive shipping fees.

What is the policy?
Sellers are prohibited from activities that avoid eBay fees, intentionally or not. This includes:

Making offers to buy or sell outside of eBay
Linking or promoting sites, items, or catalogs that can be used to order items outside of eBay
Requiring a buyer to make additional purchases or to agree to terms outside of the listing
Canceling bids or ending a listing early because the desired price has not been met
Charging excessive shipping and additional fees not already included in the price of the item, or passing seller fees on to the buyer
Changing a listing duration more than 2 hours after submitting the listing
Misusing the reserve price feature in a listing
Listing items outside of the correct category
Falsely canceling orders using Buyer hasn't paid as a reason, or refusing payment at the end of a successful transaction
Changing the information in a listing to sell a different item instead of listing a new item

Hope this is helpful. 

And Good luck to you with future opportunities. 

[djoko_granata]

I felt that in a very very bad circumstances. 

I invest into logo design, video presentation, i developed special templates for listings of my products, studio pictures i bought products 9 ton, waited in time to post them gradually ... first sale, all happy! Sending, posting tracking numbers .... permanent suspension - funds on hold! Wait for 6 months for money.

[luckythewinner]

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@djoko_granata wrote:

So, are they essentially implying that if they dislike your store name, brand color, or if they choose to transition into a cryptocurrency platform, you will be collateral?

---

They are implying that if they choose to suspend you, they can.

[djoko_granata]

But my intention was not to sell outside of the eBays platform.

[luckythewinner]

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@djoko_granata wrote:

Quote me that please in the eBay's policy, i was trying to find that statement, but I could not find it.

thank you in advance.

---

"We don't allow our members to send each other spam. "Spam" is an email (or part of an email) that is both unsolicited and commercial in nature."

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/membertomember-contact-policy?id=4262

[evry1nositswindy]

@ckimodog I was referencing spam, which I had typed and then deleted before posting.  I was also thinking of what you are referencing, but didn't want to assume that.  Both are perfectly good reasons for suspension.