Selling limits

[redmodelt]

After reading a number of post, got to wonder about how eBay sets the limit on new or even old account. I see questions from people that have been on eBay for many years as buyers or have not sold in a while,  when they do go to sell something have limits of 1 item and $10? Then you see new sellers that have maybe a $10-500 one item limit per month, then someone else that is new, no track record and is listing/selling $1000s worth of items!

With the old seller/buyers I could see maybe having something to do with their past record, but why such a difference when it come to new sellers? Shouldn't they all be at the same selling level when they start out, esp if they are selling high end stuff that has a higher chance of them being scammed?

[eburtonlab]

eBay does not really explain what factors go in to those decisions, but it seems likely that eBay is using detailed analysis of many different things besides simply how long an account has been registered to determine seller levels. What kind of payment methods are linked to the account are certainly a factor, for instance, and what sort of verification the user has undergone recently may play a role.

eBay probably has some sort of statistical model that calculates the probability that an account has been abandoned, transferred or hijacked, and eBay changes selling limits in response.

If eBay has reduced your limits to one item or $10, that is an indication that eBay suspects the account is no longer active or up to date, and you should contact customer service for an account review to verify your account before attempting to sell.

[luckythewinner]

I think it is due to the risk of undetected fraud in semi-dormant accounts.

A new seller is far more likely to be actively monitoring his account. If his account gets hijacked, he will notice right away.

On the other hand, a long-time user who has not sold for a while may not even be using his account actively. So if his eBay account gets hijacked, his linked financial accounts (PayPal, credit card, bank account) could be exploited by a scammer for quite a while before the user notices.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

I think it is due to the risk of undetected fraud in semi-dormant accounts.

A new seller is far more likely to be actively monitoring his account. If his account gets hijacked, he will notice right away.

On the other hand, a long-time user who has not sold for a while may not even be using his account actively. So if his eBay account gets hijacked, his linked financial accounts (PayPal, credit card, bank account) could be exploited by a scammer for quite a while before the user notices.

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^^THIS^^

Dormant accounts are limited to $10/1 to stop hijackings. The account owner has to contact CS to verify that they are truly the account owner so the limit can be lifted. 

Yeah, it's inconvenient, but a lot less inconvenient than dealing with the aftermath of a hijacked account.

[redmodelt]

My account is fine at this point, this is just a question from things I have observed.

[redmodelt]

I have seen questions from people who seen to be active buyers run into the limit when they go to sell something.

Maybe with the new sellers, their credit score plays into it?

This question is as much about new sellers compared to members that have been on here for maybe years. How does eBay decide between two sellers that both have signed up say in the last couple of months, which one gets to sell in the $1000s with multiple items and the other $10 and only one per month if both, say, ticked off pretty much the same boxes and filled in the same blanks when they signed up?

[eburtonlab]

@redmodelt 

How does eBay decide between two sellers that both have signed up say in the last couple of months, which one gets to sell in the $1000s with multiple items and the other $10 and only one per month if both, say, ticked off pretty much the same boxes and filled in the same blanks when they signed up?

Many legitimate sellers would no doubt be curious to know what they can do to prevent those low limits from being imposed by eBay.

Hijackers and scammers would likewise be very keen on knowing how to avoid having those limits imposed on the accounts they take control of.

It should not really be surprising then that eBay has held off on describing in detail the "10 things you can do to make sure no one thinks an eBay account has been taken over by a scammer".