Seller account restricted for seemingly no reason

[chumz111]

Hi, 

So I'm incredibly frustrated. Over the past little while, I've been selling on eBay. Recently I sold a lot of items in a short period of time. Although I would think eBay would be happy with this (as they get a nice cut of my profit), instead they restricted my account.

After a week of trying to get through to an eBay representative (due to covid) they finally responded to an email I had sent. The email I received was very poorly written and did not explain a lot. It basically said that my account was restricted because I sold a lot more than usual and I therefore had more cases opened against me than usual. Also I should upload tracking numbers to all my items.

A) I don't have any cases opened against me

B) All my transactions have tracking numbers on them as I've purchased the shipping labels straight from eBay. 

So I responded to the email saying that I've corrected the issues and please let me know what else I can do. And their response?! Please wait 24 to 72 hours until we can get to you.

I am VERY frustrated as this is devastating to my growing business. 

Anyone who is able to help me, please respond. Thanks! 

[chumz111]

I didn't think of this. Don't all eBay members get extra free listings for March (due to covid)?

[mam98031]

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@chumz111 wrote:
I didn't think of this. Don't all eBay members get extra free listings for March (due to covid)?

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Free listings have nothing to do with it.  Selling limits are completely separate.  

Lets say you had 50 free listings.  You are allowed to only use as many of those listings as long as the $$ value of what you are listing remains within your Selling Limit.  If after 25 listing, the $$ you listed met your selling limit, you would not be able to use any of your other free listings unless you closed some listings you currently had running.

But if you sold all those 25 listing within the month, they you would not be able to use your remaining 25 free listings because you had already hit your Selling Limit.

[tamarindmonkey]

To be honest, I don't think that would apply in this situation.

If you get hit with an MC051 or something similar you are screwed until their customer support figures out how to read your messages and emails. I hope that you only got hit with a monthly listing restriction or something. When I got one I googled around and found out that the majority of people who received an MC051 never get their selling account reinstated at all.

I know the feeling. It sucks being systematically gamed by a system with no customer support present to help you while someone in a mysterious department flips a switch on you to play god while you line their employers pockets.

Just keep hitting them with messages. Respond to them ASAP when they send you something. Get your account back in order, but please try to diversify where you are selling so you don't hurt yourself. eBay is not a good platform for those of us who play by the rules.

[mam98031]

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@chumz111 wrote:

@tamarindmonkey

Yes I received an mc*** message which I responded to immediately. EBay did not respond to my response for a while though.

I am shipping my items from more than one location, within eBay's guidelines.

I do feel validated from your message so thanks for that. 

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What did the notice say?

[coffeebean832]

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@chumz111 wrote:

I am shipping my items from more than one location, within eBay's guidelines.

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Are you drop shipping? Do you have contracts with the retailers who are drop shipping for you? Has eBay asked you to supply those contracts?

If your items all show the same location on the listing but you're shipping from multiple locations then that's at least one policy you're violating.

Without knowing what the message from eBay said we can spend all day coming up with possible reasons you were restricted.

[aproudparent2010]

All the listings I viewed show they ship from Brooklyn, New York. If it ships from a different location you have a problem.

You need to change each listing to where it actually ships from

[earlyant-77]

I wonder if it's because when they relisted when the quantity went to 0, they relisted at a higher price - like 100.00 more?

[imakesugar]

I did not see a response from You on whether You are drop shipping. If so that might be Your problem. Many of the return/payment/INADS etc are generated by DROP SHIPPERS. 

Since You haven’t  had any issues drop shipping perhaps eBay is being proactive by suspending you. 

Like others said before check how many listings you have per month and how much money you are allowed to make per month. 

Like others have also said make sure every item has the location of the shipment. 

If You are using PAL PAL be sure and keep track of that. If they don’t feel secure about a Seller then they are known to “hold money for as much as 6 months.” 🙃

[earlyant-77]

I assume you meant to address that to the OP and not me?

[chumz111]

@coffeebean832
I am not drop shipping. I am shipping from a few of my warehouses. Generally, I ship all from the same address, but recently I've been having trouble getting them all the correct shipping warehouse (due to COVID-19).

[mam98031]

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@imakesugar wrote:

I did not see a response from You on whether You are drop shipping. If so that might be Your problem. Many of the return/payment/INADS etc are generated by DROP SHIPPERS. 

Since You haven’t  had any issues drop shipping perhaps eBay is being proactive by suspending you. 

Like others said before check how many listings you have per month and how much money you are allowed to make per month. 

Like others have also said make sure every item has the location of the shipment. 

If You are using PAL PAL be sure and keep track of that. If they don’t feel secure about a Seller then they are known to “hold money for as much as 6 months.” 🙃

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For what reason?  Drop shipping is allowed on Ebay.  Retail arbitrage is not.  They aren't the same thing. 

Drop shipping, also known as product sourcing, is when you buy stock from a supplier and work with them to send items directly to your buyers without ever handling them yourself.

Drop shipping, where you fulfill orders directly from a wholesale supplier, is allowed on eBay. Remember that if you use drop shipping, you’re still responsible for the safe delivery of the item within the time frame stated in your listing and for the buyer’s overall satisfaction with their purchase.

However, listing an item on eBay and then purchasing the item from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer is not allowed on eBay. Activity that doesn’t follow eBay policy could result in a range of actions including but not limited to: administratively ending or canceling listings, hiding or demoting all listings from search results, lowering seller rating, buying or selling restrictions, loss of buyer or seller protections, and account suspension. All fees paid or payable in relation to listings or accounts on which we take any action will not be refunded or otherwise credited to your account.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/drop-shipping?id=4176

[destiny22470]

But that such bullcrap. Makes you just want to come off their platform and start-up with a competitor, and given how this global pandemic is preventing them from taking phone calls sucks as well. Especially as your sales do increase. This kind of defeats the purpose of even offering us the 50,000 free listings. 

[luckythewinner]

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@usgamecollector wrote:
they can do this by giving the seller a listing limit, even if it's only a few items a month, not completely suspending him.

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I don't see anything in this thread that suggests the seller was suspended.

The OP made reference to a restriction, which is quite different from a suspension.

[mam98031]

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@destiny22470 wrote:

But that such bullcrap. Makes you just want to come off their platform and start-up with a competitor, and given how this global pandemic is preventing them from taking phone calls sucks as well. Especially as your sales do increase. This kind of defeats the purpose of even offering us the 50,000 free listings. 

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You can still reach customer service if you need them.  There is still customer service, it is just the main call center is closed for now.