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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

 

   There are many on ebay who can't tend to the computer bidding 24/7, and so who have signed up for various auction bidding services (AKA "sniping' services).

 

   I am one of them.

 

   I simply enter bid at the last second for what the item is worth. If I get it, I get it. If I don't, I don't.

 

   After years of using a bidding service, suddenly bids are being rejected - about one in seven of them - with the explanation "Ebay Account Verification Required".

 

    Repeated calls to ebay, each with a referrel to a higher level - either "security" or "account specialists" or whatever - have uniformly resulted in being told "there is no restriction on your account - talk to your bidding service" (which naturally, I already have), a suggestion to use ebay's own "bidding services" (aside from proxy bidding, I don't know what that is), AND that the "problem is fixed" - sometimes, with a statement guaranteeing same.

 

   Then it happens again. Four times in a row!

 

    I suspect ebay tech reps don't know there's been a decision make way up the food chain to eliminate third-party bidding, and they haven't been told - and the mechanism is to harrass them with unneeded "security verifications" until people stop using them. The absolutely stupid inanity of such a decision is hard to believe.

 

    To check as to whether my auction bidding service is at fault, yesterday I signed up for a new one - with the same "Account Verification Required" results.

 

    It's so unfair to sellers (and buyers, but especially to sellers) to deny them the bids they are seeking and are entitled to. I believe it to be a breach of some fundamental contract of the ebay/seller relationship to arbitrarilty impose unneeded and unwanted "security checks" on bids.

 

    I hope someone on here can convince me that the above is not true, but here are the facts:

 

    If I set up 20 bids for a day, likely 2 or 3 - but sometimes more - will run into the "verification" error message. There seeems no rhyme or reason or pattern. One rep I spoke with said it was part of Ebays "security algorithm" - that the computer, based on prior bidding, etc, flagged a bid for verification. This makes NO sense at all, from what I see. If bid #4 is flagged, why are the following six bids not flagged? (I bid on the same types of stuff, and have for most of the past 16 years - no surprises with MY bidding patterns, for sure!)

 

    I feel sorry for sellers when the bids are stopped. One which was stopped was for one hundred dollars more than the winning bid. That's a fair amount for a seller to not receive.

 

    In frustration, I've taken to alerting sellers when this happens. Ebay doesn't seem to care to fix the problem (as nine phone calls indicate), but maybe if enough people become aware and start complaining...

 

    Again, I hope someone will see this and come up with a fix other than my leaving in rejection of such blatent manipulation of the ebay market.

Message 1 of 20
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19 REPLIES 19

"Ebay Account Verification Required"

Ebay's security algorithm is a joke.  I just got flagged and locked out of my account for attempting to list items for sale.  I listed the first 10 without any problem, and then got kicked out because Ebay randomly decided that it couldn't possibly be me accessing my account.  They claimed it was because I was accessing the account from a computer that I've never used before: I've had the same computer for three years.  And then they claimed it was because I changed internet service providers: I've been with Time Warner for the past five years.

 

I've been on here for 13 years, and I did nothing today that I haven't done on multiple previous occassions.  So yeah, I totally believe you when you say that your bids just get randomly rejected for no apparent reason.  Being asked to verify accounts for no reason is just random intrusive stupidity. If it happens to me again, I will be off the site for good.  It's just not worth the hassle.

Message 2 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

I'm hoping we can make ebay understand that it's not a funny joke. Buyers are frustrated; sellers lose bids. And all for what? I just had 5/6 bids stopped because of this **bleep** search for "Account Verification". I suspect ebay has over the past months stopped several hundred of my bids via one or more auction bidding services. God knows how many dollars sellers have lost because of this incomprehensible policy. Just finished my tenth call to ebay on this. I was told I had so many items lined up for payment that it may have reflected on my account. (Generally, you have 7 days to pay for an auction - but according to this ebay rep, if you take the seven days, you could be in for problems (???) - waasup with that?) I was also told ebay "doesn't like non-personal bidding" - which converts the "account verification required" into simple harassment, in my view. It's a sad situation. I've cut back on bidding - what's the point? [Shakes head...]
Message 3 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

I'm having the same problems and it's obvious that Ebay is not providing any useful customer service on this issue. This dispite my paying them hundreds of dollars every month.

 

Ebay needs some firm competition, and doesn't have any, period.

 

That's the problem, as I see it.

Message 4 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

I recommend that you notify your customers in your item description that you will honor all sales that fall through as a result of Ebay blocking third party bidding. That's what I'm going to do on all future auctions.

That is, if the customer provides you proof of a valid bid through a third party process, you will honor that bid, regardless.

They need some competition.

Reid

Message 5 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

Here's imagery reduced, so you can see the crazy **bleep** reason they used to deny my third part bid.

 

 

Message 6 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

Unfortunately, I don't think most sellers are aware of this interference by Ebay with the free market aspect of their auctions - or of the tremendous loss of money they are unaware of losing since the disallowed bids are not visible to them...
Message 7 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

 

I was happy when the sniping services came up, freeing me from having to sit at my computer at most uncomfortable times and it worked fine throughout the years, but now i run into the same problems that you described.

 

Apparantly eBay doesn't understand, that the common "sniper" will only revert to manual bidding (resulting in less bids as most of us also have other things to do than hanging out at eBay) but will never use their stupid "proxy bidding" instead. So blocking these snipes does not only affect the sellers it also affects eBay itself as lower winning bids result in lower fees.

 

Anyway, i think the main problem is, as  fossil_rocks already said, the lack of competition.

 

I'v been on eBay for more than 15 years now and i never had the impression that they give a **bleep** about what their members want and meanwhile they have become so big and fat, they simply don't need to care.

 

However, letting the corresponding sellers know, whenever they did not receive a bid due to eBay's stupid policy is a good idea!

I still don't think that eBay will "move" even when more and more sellers complain about the lost bids, but at least it will make their lifes a bit harder, which, at least for me, partly compensates the anger about blocked bids Smiley Very Happy

 
Message 8 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

same problems ,   ebay sucks, I bid on ebay EVERY friggin  DAY, spend TONS of money    from home and using auctionsniper and occassionally from work . They keep  raising bidder password  security and  asking my auctionsniper for varying  numbers verifications  which they cannot duplicate to  verification me as  bidder. I try to bid from away from home and they will not allow without phone or email verification which I cannot supply from work?????????. Auctions going cheap since auctionsniper not placing my bids. So they are screwing sellers too by taking money from them by not allowing  my and I assume other bidders  bids.    What is wrong with them?? Many of us use auctionsniper  !!!!!!!  What part of this don't they understand????????  I don't want my accounts continuosly verified,  If I bid with a password I WANT ALL MY BIDS PLACED WHETHER I AM AT HOME OR NOT. As long as someone doesn't get into my paypal account I have no need to highly secure my bidding. That is what my password is for, and if I didn't bid on the items I would not pay for them.....    HELP!!!!    John P.

Message 9 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

   Here's one possible action to take. I sent this out to a major seller on ebay, one with whom I have done a LOT of auctions:

 

Dear XYZ,

Howdy, folks. Just an FYI: No bids from me last PM because of ebay's new unannounced policy so detrimental to both buyers and sellers, relating to harassment of automatic bidding. As a major seller on ebay, it's critically in your best interest to protest this to them because of the direct way it impacts your bottom line.

Tell them anything - anything! - which results in fewer bids is anathema to any seller - and that you don't appreciate it being done "under the radar" without any input from their most crucial customers - you, the seller.

Thanks,

Jack/rifleman4

PS: For more on this, see [link to this thread]

Message 10 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

Has this been fixed? I have not experienced any more of this for at least two weeks, and am hopeful that ebay has fixed it...
Message 11 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

I haven't experienced any more trouble, but II added a second service as a back up.

Message 12 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

Automated bidding is sometimes used to prevent competition from selling the same item at a lower price. If you have a history of bidding and not paying you are required to verify your bid. This promotes fair competition.
Message 13 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

 
Message 14 of 20
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"Ebay Account Verification Required"

I know this is an old thread,but I am getting this same message when I try to BUY something on BUY IT NOW!  Repeated attempts to fix it by calling the number provided for a verification code have been unsucessful.  How in the world do I fix this?

Message 15 of 20
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