Seller Account Suspended Forever

[cnsdistributing]

Hello,

in 2016 I was running an online business while going to college. I also sold on Amazon and was using Amazon FBA to fulfil the items sold on eBay. The program I used also would update the item quantity on eBay to match the available inventory in Amazon's warehouse. The program then had a glitch in it that was showing one of my items having one item in stock even when it was sold out. This went on for a few weeks and everytime a buyer would buy that item I would cancel the order, refund them, and send them a message saying sorry. For this my seller account was suspended. I tried appealing a few times accepting ownership of the issue and showing that I have grown from it and it would never happen again. I tried again a few years ago but was shot down again with them saying that my account was forever suspended. I tried calling eBay tonight again to ask about any possibility of reinstatement and the woman on the phone said that beucase my account was suspended in 2016 their records don't go back that far anymore. And because their records don't go back that far anymore then there is no way to review the account and my account is forever suspended. Any business venture I do, no matter how little it is connected to me, cannot sell on eBay ever again. Does this seem right? I just don't understand how an oversight from college can make a person forever banned from selling on eBay. I do understand that I should have worked harder to correct the issue but what I don't understand is how I am forever banned from selling on eBay.

Any insight or corrections is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

[gew6463]

Yes, it does seem right to me. I'm not wanting to be harsh, but buyers really don't like, and don't deserve, to have orders cancelled. Some sellers think that when they cancel & refund, the customer should be fine with this and happy about the transaction. Well, they tend to be very disappointed. And frustrated overall. And some don't come back to buy again. Ebay doesn't want that kind of reputation for their site (and we are hearing more & more of buyers angry about these type of out-of-stock cancellations, versus an item getting lost or such). 

This is one of the reasons I won't buy from drop-shippers. I also don't understand how the big A allows some people to drop-ship without repercussions. When I signed up for Prime it stated that I could not use my Free P shipping to do this sort of thing (only for Personal shipping to me, and gifts for family & friends). But perhaps you had an Amazon fulfullment account? I guess that is a whole other discussion. No offense meant. That just may have compounded the whole issue. 

[cnsdistributing]

Yes I have sold on Amazon for a long time and was using my own inventory that I had in fulfilemnt centers to send to customers. I was not dropshipping other people's products. I totally get what you'r saying about eBay's reputation and protected that. I have just read online that eBay typically will give warnings before an indefinite suspension. Once again I am not defending the error that was made. I was mainly asking the question to see if there was any way of reinstating my account or if I am just never allowed to sell on eBay for as long as I live haha (I'm 25...)

[twnpopcards]

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@cnsdistributing wrote:

Yes I have sold on Amazon for a long time and was using my own inventory that I had in fulfilemnt centers to send to customers. I was not dropshipping other people's products. I totally get what you'r saying about eBay's reputation and protected that. I have just read online that eBay typically will give warnings before an indefinite suspension. Once again I am not defending the error that was made. I was mainly asking the question to see if there was any way of reinstating my account or if I am just never allowed to sell on eBay for as long as I live haha (I'm 25...)

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Ebay has changed their rules somewhat since you got suspended but also when the question was asked about old suspended accounts being restored the answer was a swift and firm no.  I won't get into whether what they did was fair or not as i can see both sides, but as a seller you were also warned to check your Sellers Dashboard to see where you really sat with Ebay.  If you had an item that was out of stock you should have taken the listing down until it was back in stock, but you evidently had reasons to leave it up.

I did read i believe it was a year or two ago that Ebay was allowing some suspended accounts back through another company that was collecting a hefty fee for whatever their part in it was, so you might want to try and find out something about that if you are really interested in coming back.  I am not sure they are still doing this either but that might be your only option.  I would strongly suggest reading ALL of the Seller Updates that have come out since then to see if you can actually live with the policies that Ebay has put into place, one of which is Seller Accounts whose Dashboard ratings are below standard will pay an additional 4% FVF on all items untl they are able to pull themselves out of being below standard.  Mind you that is difficult as your listings are still limited on visibility due to being below standard and the amounts you can list are drastically reduced from what you were used to.

I hope this helps you if you are really serious about coming back, but your attitude on how to operate will need a major adjustment or you will be wasting your time and money as you will wind up suspended again and whatever money you paid that other company will have gone down the drain.  

[gew6463]

I apologize if I came across too harsh. I mentioned the fullfillment account because I do understand there is some sort of set-up allowed in that area. And I respect that you accept mistakes were made. I have never received warnings myself, but have seen it stated repeatedly here in forums that you will receive several warnings before final action is taken.

It would seem Ebay is quite final about these things. I think there is an appeal process, but as you said, maybe it is too late for that. I wish I could be more helpful. 

[tunicaslot]

Just tagging - OP  it's very hard to be reinstated once your account has been suspended and I would advise just working on your business to boost sales on the A. So many people - both buyers and sellers are confused about the use of Prime and Amazon's fulfillment center - so if a package they ordered on Ebay is sent from Amazon - they automatically assume that the seller misused their prime.

They don't realize that there is a personal Prime acct that CAN NOT be used to dropship and a Business Prime acct wherein the seller uses Amazon fulfillment to sell on both platforms.

Due to this even if your acct was reinstated - you may have problems with feedback as some buyers feel by receiving an item shipped from the A that you misused your Amazon Prime even tho you haven't as you have an Amazon Business Prime acct.

[dhbookds]

A suggestion:

Go on the Ebay for Business Facebook Page...........and mention that you would like to talk to a rep about a suspension.........don't give all the details but ask for an email consultation....

At one time, some people reported that they got a second chance......how many or what the criteria was, we don't know.

Mention the connection with Amazon fulfilment, that you are not drop shipping, etc.  Don't whine, but be professional.......

No guarantees, but might work.

[goodfor.u.2002]

Yes,

I'm very sorry, the same thing has happened to me as well, and ebay needs to apologies to you for not giving you a chance, as I'm sure you apologies to your customers.  Life is full of errors, but only when we correct them do we have perfection. 

Ebay stepped its way up on the American peoples back to build its global sales industry along with the "sellout" corporate giants.  No matter how hard we try to reason with ebay "we cannot reason with unreasonable people".  Ebay has changed its business model which doesn't not in anyway favor its sellers or its people.

This is to be expected from corporate America, and with its help hand the politicians. 

Say goodbye to ebay, along with its affiliations with corporate greed, ebay is gone and no longer are who they use to be!

[rixstuff]

f I recall correctly, there was a time when dropshipping was STRICTLY forbidden for this very reason.  You weren't supposed to sell items you didn't physically have because you couldn't guarantee condition, availability, accuracy, and authenticity.

I don't buy into Ebay selling (for me anyway) being a "business" but it is SOME work and you do have to stay on top of it.  I think the sentence is harsh but I do understand where Ebay is coming from.

[7198dave]

seems rather harsh just for being out of stock. A two year suspension seems long enough. I could understand if you were scamming people. 

[rixstuff]

Exactly! Why not a 6 or 12 mo suspension instead of forever?

[reallynicestamps]

@rixstuff 

f I recall correctly, there was a time when dropshipping was STRICTLY forbidden for this very reason.

I've been around since 1998 and I don't remember any such prohibition. (I've only sold goods I have in hand, so it was never of much importance anyway.)

In any case the OP has confirmed that he was not dropshipping, but using AZs Fulfillment Centre to ship purchases from both his AZ and his eBay accounts.

I don't buy into Ebay selling (for me anyway) being a "business" but it is SOME work

Before we retired, eBay was an important part of our business, in some months outselling our B&M shop and usually equaling our own website.

Running more than one online venue is a lot of work and requires much more attention than many realize.

Even in retirement, eBay provides a useful income to supplement our pensions.  With more effort, we probably could ramp up to the same income it provided for the shop, with much lower overheads. But we are old and tired.

[tenbigdogs · Accepted solution]

Hi @cnsdistributing, When others come to these boards with your complaint, the truth of the story is usually easily confirmed by the account profile.  Just before stopping altogether, there is often a block of negatives from angry buyers.  You have like three spread out.  Can you even sell moonshine supplies on eBay? 

Quite contrary to eBay having been against drop-shipping, eBay until fairly recently maintained a page of recommended drop-shipping partners.  It was the board responders who tried to caution new sellers away from them because of the high initial cost and many stories of failure. 

I don't quite get that "business" remark, either.  There are a lot of hobby sellers, and eBay continues to be the best venue for odds and ends and vintage, but there are millions of very successful eBay enterprises that make a ton of money.   That requires work, and sellers work very hard to provide great customer service, keep an outstanding profile, and maintain their Top Rated status. 

@cnsdistributing, if you were to ever get this account reinstated, eBay would keep you on a very short leash for a very long time.  You might have to provide documentation as to your financial standing beforehand, and then your seller limits as to number and dollar value of listings would be kept very low.  eBay would also have the same questions asked here as to how this account has been active since you were a child and still has a Store.  Good luck! 

[trene-n-josh]

It happened more than once.  Why didn't the OP get more inventory or end the item?

[lasantino]

I don't think most buyers understand exactly what amazon fulfillment is.

I can see from the responses to the op that many sellers don't understand either.

Amazon has a logistics ,warehousing, shipping division.. where a seller can send their inventory to amazon to warehouse., catalog. package and ship when a sale is made..

This fulfillment service is NOT DROP SHIPPING.  It is a business service for sellers who understand that amazon's logistical system is so advanced and costs so low. that a seller would be better off sending his product to amazon.  wherein, amazon acts as a shipping warehouse... 

Seems to me,, buyers , and a lot of sellers on here apparently,  seem to think that sellers who us amazon fulfillment are basically looking for price discrepancies, i.e. arbitrage. and then listing a product on ebay, that amazon sells for less money.. then when a sale is made,, the seller just buys it on amazon and has it shipped to the ebay customer.... THIS IS NOT WHAT FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON IS..

Price arbitrage ,I believe is what ebay, and buyers and many ebay sellers frown upon..    correct me if i'm wrong.