To change my I.D., or NOT to change my I.D., that is the question?

[gew6463]

Years ago, my husband opened an Ebay account, to buy with & for selling. 15 years later, I am still selling (notice the change there?). He cleverly used his initials and certain numbers for his I.D name.  It's just my luck those initials are 'gew'. I say this all in fun, as I adore the man. 

But often people think I am a male. Not a big problem for me. It has even provided a few chuckles when people tentatively approach using it in messages. I can roll with it. But I have been feeling some definite I.D. envy in some of the names here in forum. Not wanting to name anyone (though I would technically not be shaming, but to respect their privacy). To be blunt, having an I.D. name that sounds like you stepped in something isn't nearly as much fun. 

Just a side note: Yes, I do use my selling I.D. in forums. Probably should have used my buying I.D in retrospect, but here we are. I do realize someone could use it against me, but I've already had that from a competitor, so at this point i would just weather the storm. 

But back to the name change. When I considered it before (a while back) Ebay had a pop-up that said buyers would see that I had changed my I.D. for a few months. Or maybe that meant if I changed my store name? Not sure. Anyone know how that would work? I'm not sure that is a negative exactly, but it was enough to make me put it off. Why note that a seller changed their I.D. if it doesn't affect feedback at all?

If anyone has any suggestions (ideas on names) it would be greatly appreciated. I sell in 2 main categories: Christmas decorations (Year-round, and mostly Vintage), and Vintage Play food. Not exactly similar to each other. I also love cats. I thought 'the cat's meow' would be cute..but buyers might think I sell animal products? And it's possibly already taken. 

How did YOU choose your posting I.D. name? Was there a correlation to what you sell, or was it just out of fun/imagination? Any suggestions for mine? All reasonable suggestions will be considered (as long as they are better than the one I already have..). 

[tunicaslot]

I've had my selling ID for years and it in no way reflects the items I sell. I've thought about changing it to refect my items but I don't think that buyers today - at least most - follow sellers. I don't and I have few followers. Back in the old days - I use to follow sellers who I bought from as I found the items clean and felt the seller was trustworthy - but now with many buyers just searching for lowest cost, fastest shipping, sales and the overabundance of sellers in every category - I don't know if it makes a difference.

I will say that I'm sure on Ebay - it's going to be extremely hard to find something you like that's available as I had a heck of a time on the smaller sites finding names that weren't taken yet.

[duncanvr]

You can have several eBay stores you could always start a 2nd store under a new id name and gradually build it. I've stuck with my ID since I started in 04. But I've a 2nd eBay store with a completly different ID name. The two eBay stores generate different buyers. If you start a new store you'll have to build it from scratch, selling limitations etc at the start. But in the long run you can convert it to your main eBay shop.

[gew6463]

I know what you mean about the best names being taken already; I once tried a short list of favorites, and of course they were all taken. I used to blog on blogspot, and it was the same way there. I had to choose a longer, convoluted version of the name I wanted. 

Do you know if it reflects in any way when you change your I.D./name? I realize there was a lot of  filler in my post..lol. But I do want to make sure that part is no problem; I don't want it to look like I am trying to dodge anything (no negative history to hide from the present I.D.). But I have been wanting to change it for a while. 

[gew6463]

I do have another account that I buy with, and my husband & I occasionally list stuff there. But I don't want to start another store due to the additional $cost; plus, I get alot of special listing offers on that account (which seem to dry up once you open a store).  Also, with some serious health issues, I feel it is better to have 1 store that I can operate successfully, than 2 that I struggle to keep up with. 

Of course, my husband picked the other accounts I.D. as well..LOL. And it isn't that much better than this one  But I appreciate the advice, and will keep it in mind in case things change for me in the future. 

[lacemaker3 · Accepted solution]

It used to be that if someone searched for a seller's listings using the old name, it would continue to pull up that seller's listings for 30 days after they changed it, and it probably still does using advanced search, but I don't think that would be a drawback.

eBay displays an icon next to your new ID that shows it has been recently changed for 30 days, and the older IDs that you have used can be seen by clicking on ID history from your feedback page (although now, some older IDs are masked there).

Your "history" of feedbacks given and received, and DSRs, all stays the same when you change the user ID, so it wouldn't help if you were trying to get away from bad feedback or something.

If the name you want has been used already, then you can just add some numbers to it. Or you can put in special characters like * or _ or . (period).

Personally, I would check the feedback scores of any other  members whose names are similar to the one you want. I wouldn't want to be one letter different from a seller with 84.3% for example. I would want a bit more difference in the IDs to make sure that people can tell you apart.

[coolections]

You're putting way too much thought into it. Change your name and be done with it. People can still see your old I.D. for 30 days. After that, no one will ever remember you used to be a gew6463.

[gew6463]

This is very helpful. I knew there was some sort of stipulation with the change, but that doesn't sound too bad. I still search for some of my favorite sellers by name. That's why I think having an I.D. that is a little easier to remember might be a good idea.

I do have quite a few regular customers, so knowing the old I.D. will be searchable for a while is good. I think I will take the plunge. Thanks for your help Lacemaker3 🙂

[gew6463]

Hmm...I will be forgotten that fast? I have to admit, I like your bluntness. Just telling it like it is. I think my husband would probably agree with you that I put too much thought into things at times (okay, all the time). But hey, that can be a good thing in some areas. Thanks for the imput! 😉

[jewelbiz]

After 20 years selling here with user id customer that name somehow conflicted with Ebays new inner working of its program code in Germany and I kept on getting suspended in German and all my listings deleted because of this.

I always liked my customer name but after the 4th time it happened the Vice President of EBay called me & told me I had to change my name as it would continue to happen.

So I did!  

It was such a drag getting suspended all my listings deleted not a registered user and hours on the phone with customer service fixing this EBay code mistake.

I lost a lot of time and money.

Jewelbiz is a fine name.  It’s my business name, my website name and I am trademarked Jewelbiz. 

[gew6463]

Wow..that is a lot of trouble over a name! When I did a little research (reading articles on how to choose a Ebay I.D.) they mentioned modern businesses that have used a mis-spelled word, making them memorable to customers. So Jewelbiz is a great example of that. I imagine it is easy for your customers to remember. Thanks for the input!

[jewelbiz]

But I was Customer here for 20 years since 1998 and I really like that user name!

I wanted to keep EBay and my business Jewelbiz separate but now I see it kinda makes sense to combine them.

Several Times because of the German name code conflict 78 or more listing were gone, deleted,

I was suspended and I suddenly was not a Registered user because of the name.

Whew!

[fern*wood]

Your story sounds almost like mine.  Husband started selling way back in the day (still does some) and used his name and b-day.  So I finally changed it to something more to my liking.  I like ferns and live in the woods.  The asterisk is because someone else must have liked ferns in the woods before I did.  It went smoothly.

[adkhighker]

"Any suggestions for mine?"

Well, from your post it seems like you don't like "gew" because it sounds like "goo." How about "gewless" or "goo_less" which I think are available. 🙂

[adkhighker]

oops, ran out of edit time. Never mind on those two names. Didn't realize at the time that they sound too much like clueless, something you definitely are not! 🙂