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What Makes EBay Invincible?

EBay continues to stand out as one of the few clear-cut successes in the online world.

The auction giant has been consistently profitable at a time when other Internet companies are languishing in the red or closing down altogether.

So, what is the company’s secret? Experts say a combination of factors has boosted EBay to the top of the dot-com heap.

Perfect Fit

Unlike some other Web companies, EBay’s business model is truly suited to the Internet, analysts said. “The whole concept of actions translates extremely well to the Web environment,” Gartner analyst Walter Janowski told the E-Commerce Times.

“The type of real-time auctions that EBay hosts, with people simultaneously participating from all over the world, just could not exist without the Internet,” Morningstar.com analyst David Kathman agreed in an interview with the E-Commerce Times.

Unlike EBay, Kathman said, other Internet companies closely resemble brick-and-mortar firms. “Amazon is ultimately just a retailer, Expedia is essentially just a travel agency, and Webvan was essentially just a grocery delivery service, all of which existed long before the Internet,” he noted.

Merry Middleman

EBay also is less capital-intensive than other e-commerce companies like Amazon, giving it a leg up on those companies.

“They are the middleman. They connect buyers and sellers and enable transactions, but they don’t have to do any of it,” Janowski said.

“Amazon had to build warehouses to hold all the stuff they sell, and … they have to pay to ship it to the customers,” Kathman added. While EBay leaves storing and shipping to buyers and sellers, fulfillment costs slash Amazon’s gross by more than one-third.

The Fun Factor

Then there is the pure pleasure some people get from the auction process. “It’s fun,” Forrestercanalyst Christopher Kelley told the E-Commerce Times.

“Just like people like to go to flea markets or yard sales for used goods in the summer or to outlets for new goods, EBay gives people a chance to have fun shopping, searching for the often-elusive deal on the perfect collectible or new item,” Kelley added. “EBayis an outlet mall or flea market on steroids.”

EBay also can be an inexpensive option for online shoppers. The site’s users often know how much a particular item costs at a brick-and-mortar store, and they go to EBay looking for a deal.

“For consumers who have to tighten their financial belts, it’s the perfect place,” Kelley said.

Community and Critical Mass

But any auction site could be described as fun, less capital-intensive than other e-businesses, and well suited to the Web. EBay clearly has something extra.

According to Janowski, EBay has an edge over other auction sites because it worked hard to build a community. “Buyers and sellers are easily able to communicate with each other and share ratings and opinions,” he said.

That sense of community has led to what Kathman calls the “network effect.” “The more people use EBay’s system, the stronger it becomes,” he said. “All the buyers go there because that’s where all the sellers are, and all the sellers go there because that’s where all the buyers are.”

Simple, Safe, and Secure

Another thing EBay has done right is Web design. The company has shunned bells and whistles and has kept its interface simple and easy to use.

“EBay learned early on that people who use the Web want the sites they use to be very fast and efficient and uncluttered,” Janowski said.

EBay also has focused on reliability and security, according to Janowski. “They have built a sense of trust with their customers,” he noted. “They work very hard to maintain standards for what’s being offered, to restrict people from abusing the system and to pull inappropriate material.”

On the technical side, EBay has focused on making sure its site is always up and running and able to handle user traffic with no trouble.

“They very rarely have service interruptions, and they struggle to give the impression that they really have their act together and that it’s a stable environment,” Janowski said.

123 Comments

  • Ebay makes much of its revenue by randomly permanently suspending accounts with quite significant AM ounts of money from a sale, say a few hundred $$$$$s £££££ or whatever and then permanently suspending the account and then the user cant access the funds and ebay keeps it, kind of a form of fraud and theft, so essentially ebay is no better than a mugger who goes out beating up old grandmothers and taking their purse after they cashed their pension.

    You’d think ebay would take a long term view and realise that doing this is A very short term orientated and theyd make far more by haing a long term relationship with their sellers, but then again ebay is a kind of corporate wrongun and doesnt think like that.

    So a word of caution of youre ever thinking of selling on ebay, NOT a compnay to be trusted.

    If you think this is untrue, go onto youtube and type in “how ebay stole from me” and this will verify this is a true statement.

    This statement has been made in order to make the public aware that they are not the morally good firm they are often perceived to be.

  • eBay suspended me without an logical explanation. Had nearly no negative feedbacks or disputes on my end, yet they still suspended me outright for one fraudulent buyer dispute. Did they give me a chance to appeal? Nope, they just charged my account off and kicked me to the dust.

    Hopefully eBay changes their thieving ways where they skew it for the buyer. Sick of dealing with fraudulent buyers which causes huge losses for sellers.

    Tried several ways to get back on with no success. Still ended up getting suspended outright.

    Has anyone used these people: auctionessistance.com to help them get back on eBay? Am frustrated that I can no longer sell as eBay nearly makes up half of my total sales.

      • They suck, they lie and cheat you out of your money frauduently charge your credit card after they suspend you for unverified complaints. I lost $7,000.00 this week alone DIRECTLY due to their unjust policies and Criminal acts. I AM filing a class action lawsuit against them, and would apreciate all of you who have had a bad response with ebay.com Please send a written and signed statement to Kyle Haines PO BOX 2483 Albany, OR 97321-0629 and I will add you to the lawsuit. THX for your support.

        • My comment is about how Ebay took my e-business with them for the past 4 1/2 yrs, from a profit of $2500.00 the 1st year to $300,000.00 the 4th year and then SHUT ME DOWN due to complaints from Buyers without investagation of these SO CALLED complaints.
          I have had NO communication from Ebay on this. I have emailed over 50 emails to all the frigen departments with NO help what so ever from them!!
          I called due to I WAS a Powerseller and the girl I spoke with was extremly RUDE, she called me a LAIR, told me I was a FRAUD, I was a THREAT to the ebay community!
          I was to say the least PISSED OFF by this and have since been TRYING to get SOMEONE at ebay to respond to my emails to NO AVAIL!!!
          What is the deal ebay???
          Why do you NOT see that YOU Not only throw away a money making deal with me as a seller but you did NOT investegate these claims further BEFORE you SHUT ME DOWN??????
          Do you NOT INVETSEGATE CLOMPAINTS 1ST BEFORE YOU JUST SHUT SOMEONE DOWN???
          Let it be known that EBAY DOES RIP OFF IT’S SELLERS IN ALL WAYS POSSIABLE and that they LOST thousands of $$$ by doing this to, not only me but others as well…
          Check out EBAY LAWSUITS thru GOOGLE and you see what I AM talking about…
          I AM in the works of yes, SUEING EBAY!!!
          If you would LOVE to jump on this Lawsuit band wagon, PLEASE email me with your info!!!

          • If only there WAS a real auction site other than Ebay — I for one, gladly would pack up and RUN like the wind. Ebay is horrible (and PayPal is WORSE) but they have such a stranglehold on the selling format / /market, if you want any CHANCE of success in terms of making money (or god forbid a living) off of online auctions, you have no choice. And PLEASE don’t mention to me Ubid, or Overstock or one of the others — they might be more friendly, customer focused, but they’re very small time, and not viable unless yo’re just trying to get rid of junk or clean out your garage and don’t care about a bottom line. Ebay can be very profitable if you can fly under the radar but if you ever have a problem (warranted or not — it doesn’t matter folks, trust me), be prepared to get the short end of the stick no matter what because they know they are the shot caller and you’re at their mercy. It might seem to you like they should care more / have some semblance of customer service because you pay your $100/ mo or whatever in seller fees, and are a trusted member of the "community" but trust me — they DONT!!! I pay close to $1000/mo in fees, have never had neg feedback (not that that means much, I know) and they suspended me without warning or just cause and 4 days later, have yet to even respond to me with regard to the "matter" which is really no matter at all…If only I’d known, I’d never have started in this business! Now, I’m screwed! Don’t make the same mistake!

          • Ok ‘miro46’7 you must be on e-crack, or you just don’t know how to effectively communicate via email, those are the only reasons I could see you having problems with eBay.

            ‘Cheematanu’ I AM a powerSeller on eBay and I love it, occasionally I will have problems, mostly with people who can not effectively communicate via email, and struggle understanding how online auctions work. EBay provides you with a wealth of knowledge. Just as the article states it’s fun, so go get yourself an ebay and PayPal account and have at it.

          • ‘miro467’ for your information I AM the head distribution technician for a major company that does kick ass e-business on ebay. I deal with half-wits such as yourself every now and then; I think you have a very disturbed outlook on life and ebay itself. We get nothing but A+ feedback, customers are extremely happy with the items we ship them… We have had no negative feedback in the short months we have been involved with eBay. Now dig your head out-your-a** and give eBay a chance….

            Your Friend;

          • Dear nicsun
            None of us have problems communicating. Ebay holds that title as you will soon find out. I would like to hear back from you one year from now after you have received your "just deserves" Ebay does not police their own site,instead depend on snitches to report fellow ebayers. Once you step on another sellers toes, you too will be reported for some minor infraction you didn’t know existed. I AM willing to bet I could find a violation in one of your listings right now. Are you up for the challenge?
            Ebay threatened me with suspension for making their phone company public.. LOL They are a publically held company who jealously guards their own contact information so their financial base can’t reach them for any reason. What other company of any size has rules like that? I have an email from ebay saying " We do not have enough staff to answer phone calls from our members".How insulting to all of us who pay their salaries…Love them now, learn your lesson later..

          • Short months?! Just wait! you haven’t been at it long enough. I thought Ebay was the coolest thing since sliced bread when I first started…You’ll see:) By the way, positive feedback doesn’t mean a sh!t — you can have all the positive feedback in the world and still get screwed by Ebay — it only exists to ease the anxiety of buyers with sending money to a nameless face 1500 mi away; It WILL NOT help you in the least if you think you can use it as leverage with Ebay!

          • I felt just as you did until this week. Everything I sold on ebay was completely legitimate and I had almost 300 sales with 100 percent feedback.. glowing feedback at that! I got involved in trying to speak reason to someone (another ebayer) who was having a dispute with a family member of mine. That was 3 weeks ago. First I got messages from people I didn’t know. Then I got fraudulent information. Then yesterday was suspended for who knows why. They said shill bidding because I had bought something from someone they "believed" I had relations with. Actually, it was someone who I had been recommended to by another ebayer. I ended up buying at different times because they were in my list of "favorites" so I’d check their auctions.
            first they sent me something saying they were ending my auction. One thing.. no biggie! Then they sent me a message stating that I was being warned, that was an hour later. Then they said that I was suspended temporarily and can appeal.
            I had worked hard to obide by all rules and regulations and sent people quality merchandise.
            I don’t know what will happen, but I’m not that worried. My family all have ebay accounts that they never use. I have already relisted my item. It cost me a couple of dollars, but luckily I wasn’t power selling like before. I usually just shop around.
            But to say that things are thorough and fair? That is just blatently not true. You didn’t say that but others have.
            Wait until you’ve been on a while. It took me getting burned for no reason to feel this way. I’d been ripped off 3 times and was "supposedly covered by the protection policy". Once I got delivered an empty box with a tracking number. Since the seller could provide a tracking number they closed my case. I just ate it and realized that I’d eaten a number of things like that. you begin to take it in stride. My first 6 months I thought I might do ebay full time.
            I don’t think they are purposely trying to be negligent, I just don’t think it’s an organized company by their own admission.
            So I wish you luck, but watch out for yourself. Even the most careful shoppers do get burned.
            Take it from me!

          • Simple answer – it isn’t. Didn’t it just withdraw from Japan having failed to penetrate/dominate? Haven’t we learned anything from recent history – no commercial entity, least of all in this industry, is!

          • It’s easy to see one failure and generalize that EBay isn’t perfect. We know it’s not perfect, but that doesn’t mean it’s not extremely successful. Instead of citing one example, compare how many other countries it has been successful in versus how many it has failed in. Last time I checked, they have expanded their system to over 16 countries.

          • I work for eBay investigations. I AM sorry to hear you were selling illegal items and trying to rip eBay off, and that we claimed the money you had neglected to pay us when we suspended your account. There are people whose sole purpose in life is to steal, cheat and rob from others. You must be one of these people.
            The main thing to remember on eBay is for the buyer to beware. It is the same in all places of business. And FYI- eBay only suspends people after there is more than enough legal proof they committed some sort of fraudulent act- such as yourself. There are strict guidelines from our QC dept. that we must follow or we could be fired. So we never suspend people based on customer complaints alone. And believe me, we do investigate every complaint very thoroughly.
            Good luck with your lawsuit against us, dufus. Do you know how many people sue us everyday? Do you know what our win percentage is? Take a guess??? It is 98%. And the 2% we have lost were on cases where the customer was wrong, however due to not following procedure or lack of correct paperwork, we lost by a lame legal rule. Now I know how cops feel when real criminals get off the hook because of some legal loophole. So, have fun wasting your money and feeling stupid in the end.
            And for everyone else, eBay does have the best deals around- so enjoy!

          • Please let me know how does the class action lawsuit works and I probably will join you to fight this injustice against ebay.
            It is so unfair that ebay only listen to buyer complain and just ignore our response against the complain.
            I appreciate your response with regards to this matter

          • I have the same problem with ebay. My account was suspended for without any explanation. The customer service sucks, they don’t even answer your questions non help you in anyway. Ebay emailed to all my bidders and buyers that I may involve ebay violation or fradulent activity which really upsets me. Not only that, ebay asked me to pay the balance which includes all the transactions which were not completed after they closed my account. They threaten to file bad credit for my account. They don’t really care of neither buyers non seller. All ebay does is rip off the seller with bunch of fees. No customer support whatsoever. Ebay think it’s the king. They can do whatever they want with their altitude. Giant company like ebay doesn’t even have a telephone customer service system. They don’t want to be bothered with buyers, sellers, that’s why they only have customer service thru email. The system sucks. Please send me an email on how to join the class lawsuit against ebay. I would like to join your lawsuit. Thanks for your help.

          • Re:Wrongful Suspensions +####s?
            Let’s stop just talking about the problem and "do" something about it. All the people that support the good of Ebay havn’t been hit by the bad (I was one before hit)- we’re now dealing with the Ugly!
            Anyone that is in a Class Action Lawsuit *ACTIVE*- Please let me ASAP. *I would like to be added* Any others working on it lets join to together and fight this.

          • Hello People!
            Wow, what a great topic… Well, I would like to address the "Ebay Investigator" before I provide my post.
            Mr. Ignorant (aka/ebay investigator),
            It is simply AM azing that you gathered, Investigated, and replied to a basic post with such detail. The most AM azing part is that you slandered the user numerous times at the end of your completely worthless post. <– my two cents.. Anyway, down to business… So you are telling us that every single person that works for ebay (you and probably most of your ignorant co-workers), employees that give advice and direction on ebays behalf (live help), employees that interact with ebay members (the useless emails), and any other "ebay employee" has the exact same training and the exact same "mindset" to understand and use the training without EVER making a mistake. Now I have been impressed before, but that is truely the most impressive customer service record that I have ever heard of. Ebay, the company that never makes a mistake. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha …
            Actually, ebay’s "winning lawsuit" rate is 81% and they do make mistakes everyday, like billing errors. Secondly, ebay is currently paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a "discrimination" lawsuit that they lost.. but not the way people usually think of it. The whole concept of "we only punish people who are reported by other members" didnt settle so good in court.
            But, with investigators like this guy, what more can you expect from the company.
            On another note: are you licensed? are you bonded? are you personally insured?… Then why call yourself an investigator?
            You are a pencil pushing, phony telephone call making joke. NOT an investigator! Deal with it..

          • mr ebayman yeah right i can offer you a ton of paper work to prove what goes on on ebay.per paragraph 17 section 17.1 of your user agreement im required to get a phone call.i was wrongly accused and have receipts to back me up where is ebays proof???? i havent seen any yet just a complaint, come on?

          • eBay Investigators beware of 18 U.S.C failure to disclose felonious acts, why do you hold for upto 2 hours auctions before being posted and then one can see many illegal postings????.
            What are you looking at???eh!

          • Hey Ebayman how come you didn’t post the form e-mail that we all get? something like this is Lexi on behalf of Bill Cobb like they even read our e–mails I know for a fact they dont! Nice try Ebayman but no dice LOL.

          • To:Ebayman
            It does not matter if ebay wins 99 or 100% of their legal cases.It matters that all court cases cost ebay a large AM ount of money and that the lawsuits can go on for yours and build clients for those sueing ebay.I believe if you check out the listings on the internet you will see this problem is becoming a loud voice to the fact ebay will destroy you business and people are starting to get scared along with all the fruad on ebay I would guess ebay to be a lossing force in a few years.Also,Please note that Micrsoft that they could win all their case and after a vast AM ount of money spent they lost a very big case.Nobody wants to pay 499.00 a month for your store you plan to shut down and then tell them they have to pay fees from those who bought from them when they can not complete their sale becasue of you..that is called damage and you will lose on this one.Courts will not allow you to cause harm without just cause and they look at the numbers and ebays is very large and growing everyday

          • To all those who want to file a class action lawsuit against ebay.Please note that this can be filed pro-se in the federal courts and you can file a motion for an attorney to be appointed.Also, you file a subpeona and the U.S Marshal will serve it and when discovery starts you can have the U.S Marshal seize their computers and you can cause them to have to spend so much time in gathering records that they will learn to stop this evil work they are doing.If done right they will in the long run settle out of court and change their policy so the federal goverment will not look into all thier polices and make them change to a point they do not like.

          • Ebay is not invincible, it is incompetent.
            Ebay is like Napster, you take your chances. They will eventually be closed down for owning every aspect of their business. They own Ebay, paypal, square trade and anything else that has any effect on their income. There are laws against that and there are active suits that will soon be resolved.
            Sell through a number of different accounts owned by people you know and trust. As long as you don’t use them to bid on your other auctions, everything is legal.
            I know 12 year olds who have ebay accounts.
            I also know 80 year olds who have no use for ebay and are happy to let you use their information to sign up.
            Distribute equally and don’t have too many listing under one name. Then if they do try something stupid (like they generally do) you can just log onto another account.
            The advantage to this is that if they end your listings, they are only ending a couple of them and not doing much damage.
            The problem isn’t the "criminals", they do fine! They have dozens of negative feedbacks and unpaid item disputes and they never get suspended. They’ve learned the system. If you are not a criminal, there’s no reason to learn all of those loopholes.
            You think because ebay charges fee’s for everything and collects as much as they can through greed, then they owe the courtesy of good customer service. You have to learn that ebay is not a moral company. Check out the person who sent this email that is supposedly from ebays "fraud" department. They respond to someone who’s been burned as DUFAS. That should give you an indication what you’re dealing with.
            Ebay consists 80 percent of garage sale items and 99 percent of all of their Authentic Brand Name things are knockoff’s or seconds. There are many websites on how to spot them. Ebay doesn’t care. They support criminal activity, they don’t prohibit it.
            They simply get a complaint and occassionally if someone has made a big enough fuss about it, they will go ahead and suspend people. They don’t respond to the suspension because they haven’t thoroughly investigated it. They probably figure that if you really want to sell, you’ll just re-sign up under a different identity.
            DO NOT expect for them to protect you against bad sellers. They don’t! Their protection plan is a bunch of hot air. If they can’t immediately recoup from the person who sold then they back out of it some way.
            They function on very little staff, very little effort and collect the most they can. Making your invoice so confusing that you almost never ask questions.
            So use it for what it’s for. Treat it as they treat you. As long as you know you are sending quality things to your customers, that’s really the only obligation you have.
            If you have been suspended and have a grandmother you’ve got yourself a new account. The older generation rarely cares about getting into these things.
            Sell what you can and if they lock up your account, move on. Don’t expect proffesionalism.
            It’s the only way to success with a company that functions on such low morals and no customer service.
            Craigs list costs nothing, you can post pictures and have closer interaction with those who you deal with.
            Check them out if you’re sick of ebay. Other auction sites are pretty lame too.
            Cover your bases and be aware. There is no protection and no fairness in ebay. You can find other sellers who are great! They usually end up writing to your email. When they do, then deal with them outside of ebay. You can send pictures back and forth of what you have for sale through email and no one will charge you.
            DON’T BE TAKEN IN BY A BUYER PROTECTION PROMISE!!
            It’s a selling tactic and they will NOT follow through with!
            Ebay is good for a few odds and ends. If you use it that way you will not find yourself hurt and disappointed.
            Good luck!

          • It is hard to believe that you work for eBay Investigations. Though I AM sure that some people in this forum may not be fully honest in their horror stories, slinging accusations or calling names publicly puts you in the same class that you so heartily denounce.
            If you are as you say, I’m positive that your employer is unaware of your unprofessional representation – and would send you packing in an instant if you were to admit it.
            I AM aware that this posting is quite old but it caught my eye more than the others. Can you guess why?

          • I’m in the same position, but I was a BUYER. Two "power sellers" sent RETALIATORY FEEDBACK that was untrue, malicious, vindictive, unprofessional and that got me "SUSPENDED" without investigating or even giving me a chance to show what these two "power sellers" had conducted business with me so poorly! Ebay doesn’t need ANY office staff since they REFUSE to take any calls, there is NO CUSTOMER SERVICE! I’m expected to send back a email or fax to the Buyer Non-payment Appeals to DEFEND myself! I’m sending something back alright! The emails, proof of what these two "power sellers" did. The one that wrote the negative feedback calling ME a non-payer, deceptive emailer, promising payment is the ONE who was deceptive, received payment in 7 DAYS, even though the site had no instructions! I could go on and on to the total falseness of both sellers. I’ve seen other sites with many, many sales or buys that say just like my site now states "NOT A REGISTERED USER" Registration blocked, etc, etc. What does that say about me?? I’m a deadbeat, thief and all around BUYER not to be trusted!
            Yes, I’m more than willing to join in on a lawsuit since I have no idea why Ebay has never been brought up on charges before now! Ebay needs to be brought down, and if they lose enough money they may learn a lesson. Paypal was sued and lost! I know they sent me information on putting in a claim!
            I have not seen any other lawsuits concerning Ebay through Google except for this one so far.

          • I AM currently involved in a Lawsuit against Ebay for wrongful suspension of my Ebay selling privileges. I AM suing for lost of income and violation of consumer rights. If you are interested in discussing this further contact me directly on my email ([email protected])
            Chris

          • Attention eBay member worldwide- Beware of eBays bully tactics…
            eBay Australia is not acting in fairness and in violation of the common law of Australia. After almost 5 years as a member-we did nothing wrong- (ebay Australia was only founded 5 years ago) I received this email claiming to be from eBay….Your account has come to our attention in an internal audit of the eBay site. We will need you to fax the following information to us before the end of 1 business day so that we can confirm your identity and review current business practices.
            Please fax us a copy of a current full Australian Driving Licence and any document listed in Group One, Group Two AND Group Three. Remember to write your user ID on the fax so we may identify your account.
            Group One – Evidence of Name –
            – Copy of a current Proof of Age Card
            – Copy of a current Medicare Card
            – Copy of a current signed passport including photograph
            – Copy of a current Defense Force Identification
            – Copy of Notice of Assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office
            Group Two – Evidence of Address
            – Recent copy of a Utility bill or a certificate from a supplier of utilities confirming the arrangement to pay for services on pre-payments terms. Mobile phone bills are not acceptable.
            – Copy of Local Council rates bill (valid for the current year)
            – The most recent copy of a mortgage statement from a recognised lender
            -A copy of a recent credit card statement clearly showing the first and last 4 digits of the card number and your billing address as proof of your registration information.
            Group Three – Proof of Inventory
            -A sample of invoices or any other documentation showing purchase or possession of items listed for sale on your account. This includes purchase records and related documentation from suppliers and/or other third parties.
            The personal information on a billing statement or ID must be valid and legible. You must also include a valid telephone number with these details.
            Please note that any documents (a copy of your ID, utility bill, phone bill, etc.) provided to eBay will be destroyed after your registration information has been verified.
            For security reasons we cannot open attachments sent to us. Therefore, please fax this information to us.
            You can fax this information to eBay at 61 (02) 9475 1488 – Attn: Bianca.
            If you are uncomfortable with the current eBay policy requirement that all members provide and keep current your contact information, you may want to provide a valid voice mail phone number or work number in place of your home telephone number. Both options are acceptable as contact information.
            Reviewing this information may take as many as 2 business days, after which you will be contacted by email. Contacting us during the review period to inquire about the status of your account will result in delays.
            Regards,
            Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
            eBay Inc
            —- 2 hours latter I received a threatening telephone call from a very rude female who refused to give her name. claiming to be from eBay, but finally admitted she was from UTAH, when I refused her request for the personal information (credit card, passport, bank account etc) she immediately supended my membership of 5 years without merit. The police Commissioner of New South Wales made an announcement on television warning not to give into these identity theft tactcs. Since then eBay has not responded and it is impossible to obtain a telephone number for them. Are their other Australian’s out there who wish to join a class action suit in Australia?

          • Any class action lawsuit going on against ebay? I want in on it. They suspended me with out warning and gave me 4 reasons, all "different" for the suspension. 5 years and 100% positive feedbacks. they have no morals.

          • I AM interested in filing a suit against eBay for the way that they have conducted themselves regarding my account suspension. Originally, the reason that eBay gave me for my account suspension was "Seller non-performance". When I emailed to ask exactly what seller non perfomance they were talking about they gave the user names of three buyers with whom I had transactions with and who had had left negative feedback. I have found several paces in the user agreement as well as help pages that state that eBay does not investigate negative feedback for accuracy nor do they take any action regarding it… however my eBay sellers account was "indefinetly suspended" and when I contacted eBay about it (and the seller non-perfomance), the reason that they gave me were three "disputes" that were unresolved. In truth – the "disputes" that they claim – were never filed as disputes against me – only buyers whol left bad feedback after a considerable length of time it took me to ship the item. The feedback perhaps, was deserved, however the suspension of my account was not!!
            I have questioned eBay on this numerous times, on how I AM supposed to settle/close a dispute that has never been filed – with the same circle-jerk response from them directing me to a useless help page. Then, when I finallly stopped questioning them and instead requested a copy of the notification that I received when the disputes were supposedly originally filed – so that I could have them for my records and continue to settle them, I received an email response from them accusing me of FRAUD and BREECH of the user agreement. The reason for my suspension went from Seller non-perfomance to Fraud. This email also came with this very rude statement:
            "The previous emails have listed the complaints that you need to resolve
            should you wish to be reinstated. Those complaints are from your feedback profile if you need to see what they are. It simply comes down to the fact that this is our policy on the matter, and you already agreed to our terms of service when you created your account. I AM sorry that you do not feel like the rules apply to you in this case. We are not asking you to do anything that is unreasonable, or thatwe would not ask our other users to do in the same situation."
            I only asked for copies of the notification that I should have recieved when the complaints were filed. I AM under the impression that whe a complaint is filed against you there is some other form of notifying you other than a bad feedback! And when I request such notification, or copies of, suddenly I AM "feeling as though the rules don’t apply to me" !
            Is there something that I can do about this – and does this fit in with the current lawsuit? Please let me know.
            Thank You
            Sarah Seifried

          • Hi,we all know about how unfair and unlawful are the agreements constantly changed by eBay and forces its users to agree to.eBay extorts the users to acept the changes since it does not allow the transfer of hard earned feedback to other sites.I AM Pro Per suing big eBay two lawsuits going currently one in State Court and one in Federal Court, I will bring more actions agaist them in the future.The use and abuse of its members and the release or suspensions after for any reason not even given.Also the numerous stolen, illegal,fakes and dangerous products sold at eBay everyday which eBay allows knowingly.I was thinking about making a website that will show how to properly fill out a complaint and a lawsuit in State and Federal Courts for a Pro Per.I will provide links to sites that will help how it can be done and followed.You will make them pay big if everyone sue eBay they will be forced to change the "business practices" or eBay will bankrupt.Courts show more liberality in cases filed by Prop Per than cases drafted by lawyers.They will have to reinstate accounts, settle or lose more money in litigations.Remember that the power of the people has overtrhown regimes, countries,and has caused wars. We all get together can defeat this Corporation that is nothing more than a website without any assets.I AM not seeking any monetary gains but FAIRNESS and EQUALITY.I will notifie all when the website would be open.DONT’T GET MAD GET EVEN!

          • FLEABAY,shut me down 2 weeks ago for selling sunscreen,which was not FDA approved.my point is,i live in Canada,pay my fees in Canada,was selling in Canada,where this product is totaly legal.FLEABAY,in an email told me i could sell it as long as i didn’t ship to AM erica,i complied and was shut down any way.FLEABAY allows allows sellers to sell items prohibited to Canada every day,like aleeve,trimspa, ect..this does not seem to matter to them. just the same,people continue to sell the same sunscreen i was selling with no reprocutions.can you help?i had a 170 perfect feedback.

          • i myself had made over 3500 sales on e bay,i returned home one day to find an e mail telling me i had been suspended and all the 400 items in my e bay store had been removed,my feedback was 100% and i was immensely proud of this, i was not doing repeat business with a select few clients i was in fact selling to new people virtually every sale,some of my sales had been where i had sold job lots of items sometimes as many as 100items in one sale and i was left only the one feedback ,i say this because i was quite a large seller on e bay,very proud of my reputation both here and in the uk ,when i contacted them through the on line help , i was treated disgracefully it took five days for them too reply, too this day i have no idea what i AM supposed too have done wrong ,all my buyers were happy, my e bay fees were paid on time ,i was considered an honest trader i never had any negatives or un happy buyers quite the reverse in fact,i was told not to keep e mailing e bay and they were very rude and uncaring ,the people in dublin i was dealing with were really rude,the irony of it is i have had legitimate e mails from e bay buyers since being banned asking if this or that item is for sale and i no longer AM on e bay ,how is this,also e bay continiued to steal money from my pay pal account even though i was no longer trading on there,
            they really are dreadful people and you have no way of contacting them to discuss anything in a civilised way as they are so rude and uncaring.

          • Ebay is riooing me off as a seller. They can not and will not explain the fees. They advertise free 30 day trials on certain things and then they email you and tell you the free 30 days is the second month. They have swindled all of the profits I have made. The customer service is terrible. Last month I paid my invoice thru paypal and they then deducted money from my checking account and gave me a $30 credit. We all have to get together as sellers and try to work this out with ebay or attorneys somewhere.

          • Did you ever do anything about ebay? I want to get a class action suit going & I’m wondering what you have found out?

          • Similar has happened to me yesterday- suspended for no known reason- and reading posts here and elsewhere I don’t hold any hope for me resolving this soon.
            I have eben trading on ebay for years, with my current and a previous login. Between them I have accumulated over 1800 positive ratings, and over 3000 successful transactions. i pride myself on good service.
            I was given NO warning, and the only reason given was to be linked to a previously suspended account, which I had never heard or never mind traded with or operated under.
            I was offered no evidence or elaboration on this, and had over 100 auctions ended immediately(costing me money and repuatation). already a few buyers are queriying why I AM no longer a member.
            I AM furious with ebay, and have followed their procedure, sending 4 emails so far, with no reply or even acknowledgement.
            The damage this will do to my reputation and cost financially is only to be guessed at.
            How can they have NO phone helpers?
            There may be a feeling of invincibility from ebay, but they have been taking my money for years, and I expect good service and RESPECT.
            I will wait to see how this unfolds, but I would join any effort to either expose their practise or take action.

          • I just had the same thing happen to me. I AM so furious with ebay’s treatment of me. My account was suspended for being involved in ‘possible shilling’. No warning at all. I went to log in on Thursday and discovered I was ‘no longer a registered user’. I emailed them and asked for specifics. It took 3 emails to finally get a response. They gave me some canned answer about how my account has been permanently suspended with no hope of resurrection. They refused to offer me details about how they came to this conclusion. I AM trying to see if I can join some kind of class action lawsuit as I feel I have been unjustly kicked off. I’ve never been late on paying their fees, I’ve never sold anything not allowed and I’ve always tried to be a fair seller. Being accused of an offense that does not allow me the opportunity to defend myself seem illegal and criminal. Ebay has ruined my reputation and all the hard work I invested to make my small business successful. How can a company treat someone like this? We are treated like criminals but have no way to defend ourselves against false accusations. I would really appreciate input from anyone who knows of any current lawsuits against ebay for suspending Seller accounts without provocation or any lawsuits lodged against ebay for not allowing suspended ebayers a legal right to defend themselve against false accusations. If such a lawsuit exists, I would like to join in.
            thanks

          • Thank you so much for this info. My situation is a little different from everyone else’s. I opened a store 3 months ago, and was listing like crazy because I didn’t fully understand the fee process. Although I wasn’t a huge seller, I averaged about $700 each month. I got an email that placed my account on hold for non-payment, because I paid my account a little at a time rather than the full AM ount. I couldn’t afford to pay the full bill. I contacted Ebay, and made payment arrangements. Three days after I received an email telling me that the hold had been removed (I assumed that my payment plan was accepted), and one week after I made a payment, they cancelled all of my auctions and shut down my website (with bids totaling nearly $500.00). No warning, nothing. I also have a 100% feedback rating. Now, I’m blocked from Ebay, and I can’t get into my account to contact the people that are awaiting shippment for auctions paid for or anything. What they have done is not right. Now, I feel much better because of the information you provided. Thanks again.

          • Nanabear5x the info you provided is greatly appreciated! It really is as if they are invincible in situations like this and not being able to get a hold of them only makes it so much more difficult and very frustrating. Thanks again!

          • I have been with ebay for over 5-years and they just suspended me without merit! They have not even responded to me emails as to why! My positive feedback was rated at 98.6 with over 230 transactions on ebay! In my opinion from previous emails from them is that they don’t have to comply with business laws and they do what they want! I have kept all my email communications with them in a special folder. I have enough evidence to maintain the horror story that I have been though with them recently! Please advise on how I can join these legal actions against them as well!
            Thank You,
            RW

          • God knows I AM interested. I would love to know more about our legal rights against ebay the giant

          • Hello well let me tell you! I have been on Ebay for over a year now. For the most part all has been okay except these last two weeks. i sold and item to someone over seas (Russia) it was to be sent to Germany I recieved the item back because of improper shipping address. I offered to send the item back. Buyer refuses to give proper shipping address claims I "forged" it. I then offered to give for refund for the $800.00 item. they claim they are not a credit dept. of the bank. I have been harrased by this buyer now for over a month total here is an e-mail I recieved EXTORTION all the way:Saint-Petersburg
            Russia
            the 26th of May 2005
            In connection with your yesterday’s declaration in the dispute started on 14.05.05 in eBay about your unilateral solution to close the matter and issue full refund (the value is not stated) of paid on 20.04.05 and undelivered item #4984383541 won in the auction please be informed as follows:
            The item was purchased for a certain purpose which was not achieved due to your actions and inactions (failure to ship the item) and due to presentation of incomplete, unsufficient, untrue and conterfeit information you mislead the buyer and forced him to clarify the information of sending the item on his own accord bearing material losses and moral damage.
            The buyer files a claim of material and moral character against you in this connection the buyer proposes to satisfy the claim in the AM ount of $15300 in out-of-court order within 3 days. In case you refuse to reimburse the losses in out-of-court order the buyer reserves the right to file the case to the court for reimbursement of material and moral damage in case full settlement within the frames of current eBay regulations is not possible.
            I have ommitted names for privacy purposes. Then i get this email through the Ebay mail system:Dear maxmarsjewels2,
            At present time I could take this item as redemption of full AM ount which is on the way to be claimed against you in the view of my claims of moral and material character. In case you agree please let me know as soon as possible and we will close the conflict matter. The proposal is valid until Monday 30.05.05.
            Ebay’s answer: they have no jurisdiction over this nor do they have jurisdiction over the phone calls I recieve from this buyer either because of privacy laws. Okay so it’s okay to give out contact information? Ebay has set a limit to the AM ount that I can sell now until I give them these things: front and back copy of my driver’s license, copies of my credit card statements with the first 4 and last 4 digits of the card number(I think not!) and invoices of all my previous auctions. I have 100%+ feedbacks (68 of them to be exact) and this is the way I get treated. It is obvious that Ebay condones extortion and intimidation. I have forwarded all my materials to the FBI divsion IFCC as well as the FTC. Furthermore i have contacted attys: Girard and Gibbs who were on board for the PayPal lawsuit. I saw the more the merrier. Ebay needs to stop and think about it for a while. We pay good money to trade and are supposed to feel safe? How can we feel safe when they won’t even stick for their customers and all we get is form letters. I no longer trade on Ebay because I refuse to give them my credit card statement that is just wrong. I have a certified bank check sitting here waiting for this $800 item that this buyer bought, I have found out that they are not even in the yahoo member directory interesting. Anyone who would like to get involved and put an end to this garbage on ebay feel free to e-mail me. If I was so incompetent in sending this buyer item, why would they want me to send something else in place of it? Perhaps because the Tanzanite is appraised at $18,000 would be my guess. MaxMarsJewels2

          • Hello I AM too looking to start up or join a petition against ebay I have some interesting tidbits I want to disclose on them as a Bully in the Auction Market. If they were not so well known throughout the world we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all its a real shame. i was doing everything by the book or so i thought. And I got a few too many spoof emails which i always sent in. the last one asked me to update my sellers profile and card on file for billing which i thought was odd. So i sent it to spoof@ebay as instructed. they immediately sent a reply saying it wasnt them and that the proper authorities were notified. Next thing i know I AM suspended for violiting a policy sec 9 or somethin. i looked at the rules and that states Pretending to be a rep of ebay. I did no such thing. I reported them that i got AM n email. i was on for 1 year and built up a positive 98.9% feedback of 75 and have about $2500 in auctions still owed that i payed and people who were buying my lots. I was charged a fee from ebay of $106 from the previous sales which i can no longer get money from But i had to cover my fees. I want to make an article about ebay and its shareholders and Print it and see if they have a response to Facts. only can be facts all else would stoop to their level. i AM game.
            Mr. M. in NYC, the media capitol of the world!

          • Good for you!! I have signed up on your site and I truly believe this case will soar and has a VERY solid foundation on which to stand. They are often destroying aperson’s livelihood on "alleged" violations.

          • Ebay sucks and just wait until some jealous seller competitor gets it in for you. Like displaying a mannequinn and her boobs are showing— they cancel you but yet they ALLOW mannequins to be displayed naked for auction. Go figure. You are suspended for no reason and when you try to figure it out you find all kinds of people breaking the very "RULE" that you were suspended for. They are so screwed up— they suspended me around 12 times and let me back in 12 times— just to keep suspendeding me over and over again— they just can not figure out their own system.Am i in or out— which is it? Today I AM out again. All this from one suspention— contacting a seller after an auction— so I think is why they suspended me. So never contact a seller after an auction to ask if they are going to list any more of it—- you can be suspended. Over 5 years and 100% positive— it speaks for nothing. I broke a rule– no warning— I AM a criminal in their eyes now. If Ebay were a live person and had kids and treated them this way — they would kill their own kids for breaking a rule— they are way too strick and not forgiving at all. They "think" they are invinsible but they are not. Enough will ban together over their treatment of us and sue and they will pay. You cannot do to one and not the others that have done the very same thing. Collect your evidence against them for one day of using it. Its driscrimination to do to one and not the others for the same exact rule broken. Start a web site and sell your stuff there and no fees to list, fees for pictures, fees for finale value sale and the almighty greedy paypal fees for them paying you and lets not forget the crossing the boarder fees if they live in another county, that was $1.72 for Iceland. If you want to ebay— just sign up under a friends name and start over but not from the same IP address — get a new server. One office worker gets suspended and because it came from his office computer IP address the whole office gets suspended=== now is that fair? What did the others do to warrent that kind of treatment? Nothing— one guy did it and they are all punished— Ebay will get theirs one day. Its a Flea Market === how can you get fired from a flea market? Prices are so down in there now— good place to buy but not sell anymore.

          • Maxmar…I was fascinated by this weirdo that you had to deal with..Yikes.
            I too AM in Washington State. So sorry you had to go through this.
            I was not sure how to contact you to chat.
            What did the FBI or any of the other organizations say about this??

          • I posted this in the other thread but this one seems a lot more active. Please some one help me..I think my case is the worst of all since I cannot imagine what I did to warrant a suspension. If I had sold something I could understand but I haven;t. That last time i bought something was the 20th, paid for all, received all and my account was suspended on the 28th.
            So here is my story BTW I called the number given to me through these forums. Calling that number does nothing b.c the reps tell you they cannot help for shit. They say suspension can only be handled through email and if I was given the instructions to send the personal info that that is what I should do. I was livid and yelling at the guy. Bullshit
            Here is what happened..
            I was on vacation. I have had a perfect record at ebay, 100% feedback, everything paid etc. I made some purchases on May 21st. I received one of those three items a couple of days later and then went on vacation May 25-31st. Upon my return I found the other two items in great condition. I signed on to post feedback when I had a message that my account had been suspended on May 28th without a reason.
            And here is the infamous email..sent may 28, while i was on vacation.
            We regret to inform you that your eBay account has been suspended due
            to concerns we have for the safety and integrity of the eBay community.
            Per Section 9 of the eBay User Agreement, we may immediately issue a
            warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your
            membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that
            your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our
            users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or
            authenticate any information you provide to us.
            Due to the suspension of this account, please be advised you are
            prohibited from using eBay in any way including registering a new account.
            Please note that any seller fees due to eBay will immediately become
            due and payable. eBay will charge any AM ounts you have not previously
            disputed to the billing method currently on file.
            Regards,
            Safeharbor Department
            eBay, Inc.
            OK..so I’m not sure what I did and I do not have any fees due, no bad emails, nothing wrong with feedback. I email ebay and ask what the problem is. They get back to me within 2 days quoting the fucking section yet again and telling me it was an error with Paypal. They didn’t tell what I did, or if I didn’t pay or someone filed a complaint etc. So I contact Paypal. They tell me my account is in perfect condition and ebay was able to fetch my information. I email ebay again June 2nd explaining just that. I wait and wait. One week later I email again..still nothing..I contact live support on the ebay page. They tell me my emails have been received but they do not have access to safety harbor information and all I can do is email again. They tell me that they have fwd the issue to their supervosr..great. I email yet again and few days later nothing..finally a week later i contact yet another live help. They tell me the same thing. I AM irritated and ask for a number. They don’t have phone support. SO finally I send another email threatening to go to the BBB and still nothing! SO here I AM 3 weeks later, no idea why my account was suspended, these idiots are not emailing me back and 5 emails later (4 of which have gone unanswered) and I have no idea what to do. I believe they made an error and i need to be compensated! This was June 22nd..
            So remember that first email where they claimed the issue was Paypal? Well I get an email June 23rd..after 3 fucking weeks and 5 unanswered emails. It is below. They say that they were not supposed to send that email telling me paypal b/c that was in error. This is so much BS. Is this even allowed? They are asking me for pretty much everything save my SSN and they are not even telling me WHY my account was suspended except to quote the section..that’s not right. I really need a lawyer who can lend some advice..this is crazy! There is no way I AM providing them with such info over a fax. I already wrote thema letter that they are in violation of HIPPA law and they need to tell me first and foremost WHY i was suspended, not what section was supposedly violated..
            Hello,
            Thank you for contacting eBay regarding the suspension of your account.
            I reviewed our records and found that the response you received to your
            last email communication was in error. Please read through this email
            in its entirety for information on your account suspension and
            instructions on how to appeal this suspension.
            Your account was suspended under Section 9 of the eBay User Agreement.
            The section is entitled "Breach" and states:
            "Without limiting other remedies, we may immediately remove your item
            listings, warn our community of your actions, issue a warning,
            temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership
            and refuse to provide our services to you if: (a) you breach this
            Agreement or the documents it incorporates by reference; (b) we are
            unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; or
            (c) we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal
            liability for you, our users or us."
            In order for your account to be considered for reinstatement, it is
            necessary that you complete all of the steps outlined below:
            1. Read eBay’s User Agreement. A link to the User Agreement can be
            found
            at the bottom of most eBay pages.
            2. Provide information by fax that confirms your identity, allows us to
            review your current business practices, and verifies that you have read
            and understood the eBay User Agreement.
            Please send all of the following:
            – A legible copy of the front and back of your driver’s license or
            other
            government issued ID.
            – A copy of a recent credit card statement clearly showing the first
            and
            last 4 digits of the card number and your billing address as proof of
            your registration information.
            – Copies of manufacturer invoices or any other documentation showing
            purchase or possession of items listed for sale prior to your account
            suspension. This includes purchase records and related documentation
            from suppliers and/or other third parties. If you have not listed any
            items for sale within 30 days of your account suspension, you may
            disregard the invoice requirement.
            – A signed statement acknowledging that you have read and that you
            understand the eBay User Agreement.
            Please be sure to include the User ID and email address of the
            suspended
            account you’re appealing. If your fax does not contain this
            information,
            it will not be processed.
            The last step is to reply to this email with a brief message stating
            that the information has been sent to eBay. Reviewing this information
            may take us as many as two business days, after which time you will be
            contacted by email. Contacting us during the review period to inquire
            about the status of your account will result in delays.
            Please fax the information requested above to:
            eBay, Attention: B001 Appeals
            Fax number: (801) 880-7018
            For your security, any documents submitted will be destroyed after your
            appeal has been reviewed.
            Thank you for your time and cooperation."
            Regards,
            Nicholas
            Investigations Team
            eBay Trust & Safety
            So that email was 2 days ago. I reply asking them to explain WHY i was suspended. They won’t even tell me why. Today I got another email from the same guy quoting the same fucking section, but that doesn’t tell me shit.
            Here is today’s email
            Hello,
            Thank you for writing eBay.
            Under Section 9 of the eBay User Agreement, we may temporarily suspend,
            indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide
            our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial
            loss or legal liability for you, our users or us.
            If you wish to appeal your account suspension, please refer to the
            instructions provided to you in my previous email. We will be unable
            to
            proceed with this appeals process until all requested documentation has
            been received.
            Thank you for your time.
            Regards,
            Nicholas
            Investigations Team
            eBay Trust & Safety
            How can they continue to quote the same section and not tell the member what they did? That basically says you did something wrong and you were suspended, but what? WHy can’t I get any answers as to what I did? 3 weeks later, 7 emails sent from me and i received 3 from them. I just sent another very angry one.
            SO I got mad and I called Bill Cobb at the corporate office, the president..no answer, but I will trykeep trying. We should all call and bombard his voice mail! I also emailed a steamy but respectful email to him yesterday..here is to hoping i get a response. I AM so pissed. At lest some of you got reasons why you were suspended. ALl these assholes do to me is quote the fucking section and tell me to turn in all that private info!!

          • Hi to everyone that has been thru the nightmare and unprofessionalism of ebay. I cannot believe what I have been reading. I cannot believe that this so called business has got away with ruining established hard working sellers businesses. I have only rejoined, after a brief one week with them almost two years ago, and in the two weeks that I re registered, updating all info, I have had nothing but a freakin nightmare. Tonight, I deceided to forget this shit. I AM sick to death of their holiler than thou attitude, the stupid canned emails they send, and suspending my account because the idiots will not let me update my account number. You see, I did the unthinkable, I transposed two numbers on my bank account routing number, caught the mistake, promtly emailed them to advise, but guess what, thier system will not let me update it. Thier explanation……. You must be very careful entering your information, so the idiots debit my account for seller fee they stated that I owed from the almost two years ago that I sold one item with me. I knew I had paid that charge because I set up for pay suck to debit my account to pay esuck. But, instead of going thru the hassle of driving 30 miles to see if my old bank could did up this info, I paid. Big mistake, realized my account routing number was incorrect and emailed them right away. There reponse, might has well been screw you. Instead, after I know total of 20 emails on my part, I get anwhere from, we are sorry, In error, ebay owes you 14.75 for overcharge and will credit your account, fine, bought two items, paid for them, mailed money order, get your account has been suspended email from dumbassess. Check account, they have now charged me the original 14.75 I know I paid, added not one, but two 15.00 recovery fee charges for insufficent funds. This would be because the bank account they used did not exist and they knew it, but who cares, right. Sure, I can afford it, Im going thru all this crap for a hobby, not hardly. Just trying to better myself and tired of working in this texas heat daily. At 43 climbing ladders, cleaning windows, dealing with the physical labor, carpel tunnel setting in, well you put your all into really trying to get some relief. I have never in my life encountered a business that is allowed to treat people in this manner. After my purchases and payment, the dumbassess send me email stating, your bid on item so and so has been cancelled. Cancelled, I had already received email from seller advising I won and mailed the freakin payment. To boot, they have me blocked from corresponding with sellers, to ask them any questions. Since first purchase was mailed on 7/1 priority mail, kinda instrested in knowing where my merchadise is.
            Cant get on discussion boards to ask for advise, because, yes, once again, blocked. Well, I have about come to the deceison that after stupidly paying the ebay fee today from exhuastion with them, I think Monday moring, I will just go block my account from them. Close the damn thing down. I just cant see paying close to $78.00 and have not listed one item, paid for two, unreceived items and been treated like I AM to serve them as they command has sickened me. Its 2.00 AM in the morning, I so damn mad I cant sleep and disappointed in myself I even let this go on for two weeks. Thier discussions sites are sometimes really too much. Totally unprofessional to slam another online, but I guess this is okay with ebay. Im sure there are those that do really well and feel quite cushiony in thier position, but they are not special to ebay. No one on that site is immuned to their treatment. What a waste of time. Really as sorry to those of you that have spent so much time and put all the hard work into your business that these idiots have ruined. I truly hope for those of you, they do have to pay. As for me, I’m just shutting my account down, saying, F*** um, and trying to come up with another way of income to prevent me from coming in from work feeling to exhausted to enjoy my family. Thanks for listening.

          • wow they sent me the exact same letter saying i was suspended but nothing else people need to find another auction and start there make ebay go out of business

          • Hi sorry I haven’t been on in a while. Ebay can do nothing about it I have an e-mailf rom them that says this guy did not violate any of their policies. Go figure. The fBI is investigating it and I AM currently seeking an attorney for both Ebay and PayPal as I faxed all my documentation over to them and they told me it was still not good enough to reinstate my selling status. I spent 21 dollars faxing over everything including my birth certificate to them and it still was not good enough after being on Ebay for over a year now? with 100% + feedback. I currently had a transaction in which a lady bought a ring from me and claimed it was not sized which inded it was but it did not fit her finger. Claims she had to wait 6 weeks etc. so I got neg. feedback from her and I can’t even respond to it because Ebay will not letme. I hate Ebay and I will never sell there again. It really killed my business that I worked hard to achieve. I AM so mad but I will survive becuase I know I AM honest seller and I AM not out to fraud anyone like many still Ebayers are allowed to do. Don’t get me wrong there a thousands of honest ones but it seems Ebay just keeps the ones that are frauders. Why I will never know. Thanks MaxMarsJewels

          • Please let me know if you get something going because I ready to fight! Ebay is CORRUPT& have cost me alot of money & time!!

          • Hello,
            If anyone is interested. Please submit your Ebay story to [email protected]. I AM trying to gather as many Ebay horror stories as possible to submit to the major news companies and newepapers around the country. Please make sure your information is accurate and correct and it is what you want used or printed. Please also sign your name at the bottom that they have your permission to use the information contained. Together we can make difference. Thanks Mary

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            Title: Re: What Makes EBay Invincible?
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            Your Comments:
            ebay is SUCH a bias dictatorship to say the least. i WISH i could find an attorney for a class action lawsuit, if anyone knows if any, let me know, ill join! my situation , im an artist selling my paintings on ebay, they are "tasteful nudes". im very aware of ebays terms and conditions on mature subject mater. in a nut-shell, when it comes to nude art, you cant show an graphical anime, sexual in nature, arrowsed genitalia, bondage, child porn, there example of what you CAN use, is the example of the famous David. ok, my paintings are of adult men, nude, again, tasteful, simple "posers". and im constantly, having ebay, take my paintings down , for what they say, is a violation against there terms and conditions. the response they give to me, is they only take action when a viewer reports your item to be offensive, ok, ill buy that ( no pun intended of course LOL ) but here is the deal that i dont quite understand and CANNOT get ebay to let me know. i sell my pastel paintings, usually between $35-65 being the high bids, not bad for pastel on paper. however, there are other artist on ebay, well known, who have ebay stores, BANNERS that ebay displays on pages for there stores, in which these artist sell there paintings for well into the hundreds of dollar AM ts that are WAY MORE RISQUE in sexual nature then that of mine, im talking male errections, love scenes, you name it, and I HAVE reported those artist MANY times and guess what, ther paintings are STILL on there, why? do the math, ebay gets a percentage of money from there sells, of course those artist being the high dollar sellers making them money and ebay money arent about to lose there earnings. thus iliminating the competition of the small dollar artist trying to make a living..and like an earlier post i read, something similar happend to me, one of my paintings was removed, i appealed it, and got a email of appology stating it was taken down in error and has been re-instated, only to have it taken down AGAIN a couple days later. that is bs, and i cannot get anyone to email me back on this mater, there is no phone number, no email address, just forms you can submit that go into cyber space..i understand the terms of service, and can appreciate that, however, when did sellers have to become baby sitters, shouldnt the parents? if your going to practice your terms and conditions , you should not use bad business practices, make it equal for everyone, not just the small dollar sellers. that is bias, discriminatory!i have prepaid legal, and contacted a few attorneys on this, and NO ONE wants to touch it even though they admit its wrong, why? because the attorneys will be the FIRST to tell you, "ebay is big and powerful, its going to be hard to find someone to take on such a big, huge conglamorent", that is bs. that is not the AM erican way people. any input, let me know

          • Please ready my posts as well. I AM gathering Ebay stories as well and AM submitting them to Newspapers and news stations all over the country. My story is on here as well as I have more information to add. My e-mail as well is on here. They are downright unlawful in what they do. Thanks MaxMarsJewels

          • I had over 10,000 positves gold level seller. I had problems a year ago with a bidder (left her a negative) she started a campaign against me. Ebay suspended my account saying three people in feedback claim i was "harassing them via phone" and boom all my account stuff closed. I just purchsed my first home and all my revenue came from ebay. I AM interested in any info you have to go after ebay.

          • Hello:
            I AM very interested in reading your story. I was just suspended and my store and account closed after Ebay had set up a payment plan with me. They cancelled auctions that I had bids on. This was money that would have helped me pay on my bill. I can tell you the whole story wen I heear back from you. Right now, I’m devastated. My email address is [email protected].

          • Hi all
            I read your comments with interest, it’s certainly a scary thought that a business could be shattered by snap judgments made by eBay staff.
            I’m going to be completely straight with you in the hope that you’ll give me a minute.
            I have recently started an auction website, which doesn’t hope to compete with eBay, and runs things slightly differently. The business format is more like that of a traditional auction house, and the auctions are actual auctions rather than tender sales, which is what eBay do.
            At Bidvision, every bid that an item receives increases the length of its auction time by one minute. This eliminates sniper bids, and also keeps the auction running until everyone has finished bidding. It’s fairier for both buyer and seller.
            Also, I act as an auctioneer, not just as a portal. Therefore Bidvision is the honest broker between buyer and seller. If anyone gets scammed, it’ll be me, not you.
            Items aren’t listed using an automated listing system. So if you try to list your kidneys on Bidvision, I’ll be able to say "no thanks". If it turns out that you meant "kidney dish", we can sort out the misunderstanding and get the item listed without any of the inconvenience and public embarrassment of being suspended or banned.
            As I say, I can’t hope or expect to stand up next to eBay. But consider that I charge nothing at all to list items on Bidvision. You only pay a small percentage commission to me if your item sells. Then I’ll take payment from the buyer and send your proceeds to you along with the buyer’s details so that you can arrange delivery.
            If anyone wants to do business with me, or even just ask me some questions, please drop me an email or a PM and we’ll talk. I’m in the UK, but have no problem with dealing overseas as long as you don’t! I’m also an experienced real-world auctioneer in the industrial machinery trade with some years standing, so the auction business and I are no strangers.
            Cheers
            Chris Wright
            Bidvision.

          • I’m checking into hiring an attorney as well to go after e-bay. I’m not sure what good it will do as we accept the terms of the User Agreement wherein it states that we hold them harmless from anything and everything. But I’m going to try. My husband had a store on e-bay with over 19 items for sale. We were doing really well when a competitor who is a Power Seller claimed an intellectual property rights infringement on us and BANG! all of our items were removed from the store. Three days later my son’s e-bay account was suspended due to association with a suspended e-bay member. When, in fact, our account was not suspended!!! But the real kicker is that the items we had listed in our e-bay store were all designed and copyrighted by my husband. But, this Power Seller claimed the rights to them without any proof or evidence of ownership rights and e-bay believes him and shuts us down!!! DISCRIMINATION AT ITS FINEST! I’ve tried e-mails, filing complaints with Consumer Affairs, Internet Crime Unit, etc. So far nothing’s being done. If you want to join me in a class action, let me know and I’ll check into it.

          • Hi,ive just read your article,
            i completely agree with you,
            i was suspended for supposely selling fake pimsleur learning cd`s,when infact they was as real as me,
            i got the same letter as you,
            so i thought to the hell with ebay,so i put them back on again,
            next day they took them off,
            so i phoned Ireland,they informed me that they dont look at the auctions,someone has to report you first,
            great that is i thought,some one in competition with you,grasses you up,and without knowing you are guilty,ebay takes you off,what happened to the saying innocent till proved guilty,
            so to cut a long story short,they now suspened me forever,
            i aint best pleased,but ya know if ebay want to use this heavy handed approach then,theres more auction sites than them

          • Please let me know how i can join a lawsuit against ebay for unlawful suspension, my husband and I received the suspension notice today and we don’t know why, ebay is also emailing everybody who has won my auctions and telling them not to pay, I have buyers in a panic, my husband has spent long hours posting items to have ebay cancel every one of them, the sad thing is we pay them their outragous fees, they sure don’t pay us, its like getting fired and i have never beed fired from a job in my life, I do want to add yahoo auctions is once again free to buyers and sellers, so lets put ebay in their place and spread the word about yahoo!!! Please email and give may any lawsuit information

          • Hi. You are saying that you wrote an appeals letter to Ebay, but i do not see it in your posting. Could you please let me look at your appeals letter. I need some help writing appeals letter. eBay suspended my account yesterday for no reason at all.
            "You can see my appeal letter"
            Thank you.

          • I had eBay account since 1999. I had 677 positive reviews and 3 bad reviews. Yesterday someone from eBay called me and told me that my account will have to be suspended for no apparent reason. Initially account was opened under my employee’s name and then i took it over in 6 months and maintained it for 8 years. Is this fair? What can I do about this ? Any help would be appreciated.

          • I AM in the process of suing ebay for suspending my account taking my auctions off and ruining my reputation. all stories welcome and appreciated. the more I look the more I AM not alone!!!!!!!!!!!! signed another victim

          • i would love to hear more. This is unbeleivable. I thought i was the only victim. I AM meeting my attorney this week to see about suing ebay for my suspension. I think he will flip when I show him all of this. What a way to conduct business. Thanks for making me feel better by knowing I AM not alone.

          • hello, I also have been removed after one year, first they said I bid on my own merchandise, then afer I faxed them notarized statements, of my tax ID, my license, my bank statements, etc. they inform me there is another reason, and they cannot have me, as the bad person on ebay. My Feedback after a year is impeccable, I never have sold anything off ebay, I AM distraught, I can not reach anyone who cares, I realize this may be a blessing in disguise, But, I AM out a year long enterprise I have worked so hard to get. Night and day at the computer, attending to spoof mails, which they just laugh at, and also attending to my customers every whim. Last of all, I ran an auction where they want to know where I purchase my jewelry from and receipts and I was hysterical. So I contacted them no later than an hour to have the police at my door. I want to join in with everyone and send them out the door, for what they have put me through. Today I AM eating bread, without the chesse, insted, due to eBay.

          • what is Bidvision’s website address? I AM an ex-ebayer (hate that name) as well. I would like to try your site. Or anyone who knows where to auction items aside from yahoo or google?

          • If you find out about a class action suit please let me know too. Ebay did the same thing to me. They pulled a listing due to VERO. The listing used the name Anthropologie but the item I was selling was Anthropologie & I even photographed the tag! There is no rhyme or reason to it. I had over 500 transactions & perfect feedback. I don’t even want to reinstate my account but I used the money I made to send my son to school. I would use another auction site but ebay has dominated the market and people don’t look on other sights for clothing. Yahoo is better for books & media but for clothing ebay has the market cornered and it’s a shame because they totally rip you off on fees & service. I feel sick & hypocritical using them but what else can I do? I’m open to any suggestions.

          • Did you find anything out about a class action suit sign up list? I’m presently a ebayer (i hate that f@#$! term) have paid 1300$ in under two months to ebay trying to boost sales by falling for all their gimickry "promotions" and featured everything when suddenly there was a purse removed from my listings…it’s a legitimate kate spade of new york purse…no freaking big deal right? Well apparently someone got their billfold up in a bunch within the ebay clan and it was removed without real explanation then suddenly all my page views for over 300+ listings came to a halt! These included the featured items as well (see item #6822509194 and #4418572238 which ceased to have bidders and pageviews the same day that the kate spade purse was removed…just those two items cost me a couple hundred dollars)…then I began wondering how I would manage to pay this balance I have with ebay and started mulling over the accounts and balances when in under three minutes I saw that I was double charged a feature fee (19.95) for the same listing!!! When I contacted ebay via phone (because i have a store…still over an hour on hold) they were prompt to remove the overage concerning that listing:
            Ask about selling or billing (for sellers only) > Billing and selling fees > Request a listing fee credit or refund
            Item number(s):
            5821433901
            Message: I AM requesting a refund of the following fees as we’ve hired a part-time accountant and found this as having been charged to us twice:
            Nov-19-05 11:41:04 PST Cable and Satellite Cable cut to order delivered w/FREE 5821433901 Featured Plus! Fee $19.95
            Nov-17-05 02:50:47 PST Cable and Satellite Cable cut to order delivered w/FREE 5821433901 Featured Plus! Fee $19.95
            Then I found another…same thing but this time they were different items with the exact same title so I sent them this message (no reply as of yet and I don’t expect but a canned response when it does come): Ask about selling or billing (for sellers only) > Billing and selling fees > Request a listing fee credit or refund
            Item number(s):
            4418532930
            4416697969
            Message: We featured this coffee only once but were charged twice and are not sure why. Simply because we have listed the item twice doesn’t mean that we should get charged a featured fee everytime we list it should it? (ESPECIALLY SINCE WE’VE ONLY SOLD ONE ITEM OF THIS STOCK : it seems to me that if we were charged to feature such an item that all the billions of users we hear about on hold while calling ebay that two or three could be sold of this item since WE ARE THE SOLE IMPORTERS OF THIS PRODUCT INTO THIS COUNTRY)
            Nov-13-05 10:07:15 PST SELLO ROJO COFFEE THAT YOU SIMPLY MUST TRY! SOLE IMPORT 4418532930 Featured Plus! Fee $19.95
            Nov-11-05 10:31:38 PST SELLO ROJO COFFEE THAT YOU SIMPLY MUST TRY! SOLE IMPORT 4416697969 Featured Plus! Fee $19.95
            I’m not an accountant but I know when I’m losing money and right now ebay is robbing me without a gun…don’t you wish they were like right next door so you could hit them people with a little something ?
            Plutocracy sucks.

          • Before you sue you may want to join a class action lawsuit The web site domain has just been reserved to collect a minimum 500,000 documented cases. The web site has not yet been hosted. The entire process will take at least 18 months before we can file suit in the State of CA. but the damages will be sought at $100,000 per respondant. The total class action against this Corporation will be minimum $50,000,000,000 US making it possibly the largest class action in the history of the USA if not the world.Be patient everyone and pass the word to everyone you hear has been burnt by these dictators. The web site to watch istheebayclassaction.com.This site is not operational YET – it’s coming. Keep watching in 2006 for progress as we get the show on the road. We will engage the largest most expensive class action experienced law firm in the United States. We are not organizing this for money for ourselves – but for the principle of fighting discrimination of individuals in a free society.With your support Ebay will lose and go down for the count.Finally pass the word: Ebay is not invincible.

          • Hi everyone! Just wanted to post my story to the ever-increasing wrongful suspensions. I hope this story helps someone in some way.
            I was suspended due to "authenticity concerns" for seven days. All eBay asked of me was that I fax over a signed sworn statement saying I would not sell replicas or counterfeits along with a copy of my driver’s license to prove my identity.
            Two weeks later, I get a phone call from the Trust and Safety Dept. (funny how I can’t get them to call me now and they have no phone # to call them) The rep tells me this is a "courtesy call" and is to inform me that my account is to be suspended. She seemed to have no knowledge that my account had already been suspended and reinstated. It was my understanding that the situation was resolved.
            She asked me then to fax over proof of authenticity. She didn’t have any specific auctions that were being questioned – she just mentioned a few brand names randomly as she saw them in my inventory. Most of my items come directly from wholesalers. So, she calls them demanding to know where they receive their goods and refuses to tell them who she is, what company she represents or why she is calling. In fact, she made herself out to be a single disgruntled customer of mine. As if I would tell an unhappy customer to call my wholesale source!? As if the wholesale source is going to freely disclose their sources to some anonymous caller!? So, naturally they write me back saying my wholesaler was "unwilling or unable" to prove authenticity of the items I AM offering on eBay. She implied that IF I was purchasing "directly from the manufacturer", this would give eBay 100% certainty of the authenticity. I’m sorry – but do you know of ANY ebay seller who has the buying power to go directly to the major manufacturers and buy their items at wholesale so they can resell them on eBay!? The manufacturers would have a good laugh over this one!!
            Furthermore, there were a few name brand items that I purchased from a discount retail store when they had their winter clearance. To this they responded, that a "Nordstrom Rack would have been more convincing" They removed the items that I bought from the retail store and caused the 2nd suspension on my account. This cost me precious time, potential customers, and at least $1,000.00 in pending bids, pending payments and listing fees. The actual monetary loss is indeterminable because I’m sure that potential customers have been turned away AND it’s like I’ve been given a 2-week vacation with no pay! Not to mention the week it would take me to get auctions posted and wait for them to end again. Now, you tell me WHERE in eBay’s rules & regulations it says you can not purchase items from a retail establishment for resale on eBay!!!
            In fact, many stay at home moms and other ebay sellers, scrounge garage sales and second hand stores for items to resell on eBay. Not that there is anything wrong with that as long as the items are in good condition – but IF eBay were to put a policy in effect that said, "Items purchased at discount stores, garage sales, or not directly from the manufacturer are not allowed on eBay", they know they would lose 99% of their listings. So instead, they target a percentage of their sellers offering brand names so they can take this info back to the companies like Tiffany & Co. that are already suing them and say, "We’re doing our part to fight fraud. See?"
            eBay is like a lazy police officer who sits at a corner, waits for a sports car to drive up and then says, "Hey Buddy – I need to revoke your license today. I don’t know if you were speeding or not… really can’t be 100% sure, really don’t care. But, you DO own a sports car that MAY go over the speed limit! And, besides, the boss is on my case for not doing my job so I gotta at least LOOK like I’m doing something. Here’s your suspension notice. Oh, and we’ll tow your car today too so you won’t be able to work or have any income over the next 7-14 days." Absolutely ridiculous!
            Here’s another really interesting article for those of you who were wrongfully suspended for POSSIBLY infringing on a trademark: "Just because an item happens to be listed, it doesn’t mean it’s fake because there have been similar items on the site that were," Durzy (EBay spokesman) said. "We can’t make that kind of assumption and maintain an open and free marketplace, and we won’t."
            msnbc.msn.com/id/6030048/
            They won’t make that assumption!? Pretty funny since they did exactly that to my account – they assumed it MAY have been a fake since it didn’t come directly from the manufacturer!
            eBay has an extremely unfair, inconsistent and discriminatory method of "patrolling" the community. "We value your membership in our community and your feedback is very important to us." PAH!! All they give us is canned responses and a very real impression of indifference. I plan to seek legal counsel on the matter. With all the wrongful suspensions cropping up, its obvious they won’t listen to us as individuals… maybe they’ll listen to our lawyers.
            One last note, eBay’s stock has fallen by about 50% since the end of last year. Do you think its any coincidence that they initiated an automatic listing removal system at the beginning of this year?! Sellers are getting fed up with how they are being treated. I paid over $5000.00 this year alone in fees – only to be suspended to incur even more loss just because I purchased items at a discount store and not directly from the manufacturer?! Other auction sites are available and becoming increasingly popular as eBay continues to shun their members who have made eBay who they are today and put an unGodly AM ount of money in their pockets. I think its time to move on and show eBay that they are NOTHING without its members!

          • I KNOW EVERYONE WANT LEGAL ACTION BUT I HAVE AN IDEA ALSO!!! I FOUND AN AUCTION SITE THAT IS REALLY COOL YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT ITS BIDMONKEY.COM ITS ALMOST THE SAME AS EBAY BUT BETTER IT DOESNT SUSPEND PEOPLE IT HAS ALL THE SAME CATAGORIES AS EBAY AND THEY ARE LOOKING TO ADD TO LETS PUT EBAY OUT OF BUSINESS AND START GETTING PEOPLE TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!

          • My wife and I too have been humiliated and burned by Ebay. We WILL join the class action suit. How do I go about it? You or anyone else may email me. I’m ready to see these nutballs crash and burn. They are thieves beyond anything I have ever witnessed.

          • I would appreciate knowing he attorney’s name who has filed the class action against eBay, or if he/she files individually. eBay retaliated unlawfully against me (their thick-headed, unprofessional night crew, I believe) for finally having no other option but to file formal complaints against them to the Better Business Bureau, and to the California Attorney Generals Office. After I finally did so, they closed my PowerSeller account based on a trumped up charge that does not apply to me. Also, my reason for concern in the first place is the fact that eBay does not protect its seller’s when buyers do not comply with auction terms and conditions clearly set forth in my auctions and when they don’t pay, I file a non-paying bidder notice, post negative feedback related to the transaction experience so others will know, and I move on. Well, the non-compliants unlawfully retaliate and one way they "get back" is they post defamatory and libelous comments most untrue in my feedback rating. When I report this to eBay, they ignore me, or they simply say the comments don’t qualify for removal. As a result I haven’t had any bids for several days because of the slander and I had items in excess of $1,500 up for bid. Now I AM disabled, and have lost this income from eBay. eBay is quick to move in when you post something negative about them in a response to unlawful feedback, so it is quite evident that they are very capable of going in and removing feedback….BUT—only when they want to—ONLY when it affects them negatively…otherwise they could give a damn about the sellers that keep them in business. Please contact me. I want to move forward with the lawsuit againt them. I have had it!! Kimberly…

          • I got suspended because I got consulting from a person who was supended by e-bay. The origin of the problem was this guy was suspended by PayPal and due to inability to send or receive monies, he had a lot of complaints sent by customers to e-bay. His issues was resolved with PayPal, they restored his account and e-bay kept him suspended.
            I believe it to be against the law of the United States of America to have you judged and sentenced before a due trial./ I AM jumping on a legal class approach….or myself against Golliah.
            I AM definetely jumping on this board.

          • voy4ger – so what has happened with you and your suspension? I too just received a suspension for listing the book Mein Kampf and was booted for the same reason as you – I can not understand how there can be 70+ other EXACT listings (and numerous completed auctions) for the EXACT book I listed but I AM the ONLY ONE to get suspended and all my auctions got cancelled! Please let me know what has happened with you and if you ever got back on or what other help you have found. thanks in advance.

          • Hi v0y4ger,
            I have the same problem . I AM considering legal action. We are you from USA ? I AM from Canada, its says on the user agreement that any disputes must be filed in California, can u afford to travel there? i AM devestated all my 100 items are gone cos ebay said i sold fake item , do reply if u wanna discuss this,
            tks ,
            overstocked2006

          • Hello there,
            Im Tom, i have been through the same situation as you before, not exactly the same but i have been suspended for some stupid reason too and tried to identify my self by putting my credit card but it didnt really work out. I have serached for many months for help and most sites as usual are just telling the same story but no help is made. I have tried bashar.ca and they helped me, im back on ebay with an anonymous account, they also set a credit card, they set the paypal, they fixed me everything and now im fully back in ebay for more than maybe a year, or a bit less. Try it out if you want, you got nothing to lose. It coasts like about 40 or 50$, but they send you a whole package. I even bought from them an account with 10+ feedback. thats cool. anyways good luck julie.
            Tom

          • i have been shafted by ebay as well. my problm is that i have never sold anything on ebay and it seems the only way to clear up the suspension is to pay the balance on my account. apparently they have linked somone elses account to mine. somone that i do not even know. is this legal? i think not. then you can’t get in contact with a real person. only e-mail. the "live chat" is a joke. they can’t tell you anything more than you already know and the reasoning behind this is that once you send the e-mail you have to just wait for a response. so what’s the point of the live chat. you get this notice that your account has been suspended and it tells you to e-mail the to resolve it. but then you don’t get any where with that. i did howver find the phone number. the only problem with that is that (if you press #2) is that they tell you to go to thelive chat for customer service and to speak with a live person. if you listen further and press #3, you do finally get a real person but then they transfer you to the safe harbor voice mail so you’re forced to leave a message. if you want to give it a try the number is 408-376-7425

          • I’m considering legal action, too. For defamation of character, libel, etc. eBay suspended me before I had even sold anything! I had a few 7 days auctions going for stuff around the house that I didn’t need anymore and I had some good bids on them. The auctions would have ended tomorrow. I decided to try to post some things to be drop-shipped to see how I would do and within a few hours I had these strange messages from buyers from Nigeria. I have never sold on eBay before and had not really done much with it at all, so when I got this message offering to buy something from me if I could ship it to Nigeria, I responded and said that I would look into it. Then I emailed eBay for help and support to let me know if this guy was legit and to see if what he was doing was legal. Then BOOM! Within one hour,eBay cancelled all my auctions and suspended my account!!! They didn’t offer much of an explanation at all. I was furious and couldn’t imagine what I could have done to deserve this!! Finally, I found out that they said that I was "abusing" eBay and was trying to sell outside of eBay!!! Unbelievable!! I didn’t contact this guy–the email message came THROUGH eBay!?!! What do you mean I was trying to sell outside of eBay? Well, after not getting any responses to my emails and getting the same old "we don’t know anything about account suspensions" from LiveChat, I wrote several (like 20)scathing emails threatening lawsuits and reporting to the media. I AM just trying to start some little business, so that when I retire, I can eat. I know I can’t rely on social security. eBay has destroyed any chance I had of building good "feedback" now by cancelling auctions that people were bidding on and ruining my UserID "name". They sent me a standard email that says that I have to provide my life’s history, bank account info, driver’s license info, utility bill info and pictures of me and the stuff I was selling together in one picture which has to include my UserID to prove that I AM who I say I AM and really have the goods. ALL BECAUSE SOME SCAMMER SENT ME FAKE MESSAGES AS A BUYER!!! I thought eBay was supposed to protect the eBay "community" from people like that–not punish us, the community, for those people.
            I think if stories like mine and yours were told, people would not use eBay if they know that eBay could cancel their auctions in mid-stream! That’s why I want to do something about it. Please let me know if anyone wants to join in with me.
            Sorry for ranting, but as you can see, I AM still livid…don’t know if I will ever be reinstated or if I even want to be…thanks for listening.

          • You have a very good point. Ebay is being taken over by a new type of seller and they have almost killed my business. Once doing $18-24,000 a month, now we are doing less then $10,000. What is being done is low price (like a penny or dollar) and high shipping ($35 to $300). Is it to avoid import fees? I do not think so. The Customs office would probably catch that eventually. No, it is done to keep down ebay fees. When you can pay 60 cents to list a violin that will go for $1.00 and has a $75 shipping fee, you save a lot of money. Our typical ebay fees for a $400 violin are over $10.00. If you complain to ebay they will kill that auction. However, they wait for you to complain. And who has time??? So the listings continue unabated. I don’t think ebay cares, because they do get the full cut from paypal payments. If ebay cared they would include shipping fee as part of the total. Since many of these seller are from China, ebay is hesitate to chase them off. They are trying to become No. 1 in China and they will let us USA sellers twist in the wind to get there. This is happening in most areas: cameras, computers, musical instruments, anything expensive. And I AM not happy about it.

          • I just got suspended Today for supposely Shill Bidding.. I didn’t even recognize one of the people in the ‘wrongful’ actions against us.. come to find out it was my sister-in-laws SN Who hasn’t signed into EBAY for nearly 3 years.. much less bid on my items.. Also my mother-in-law was suspended for bidding on a item she fully inteded to purchase.. We didn’t even know there was any wrong in it at all. We weren’t even warned we were just throw off.. Me losing the investment of the listings that I had present. I wrote them three time and the only response I got was that my Concerns WOULDN’T be reviewed. This is outrageous.. is there any fighting this? I along with a ton of people here hasn’t even done anything wrong.. It says that i can appeal after 7 days but by looking at this the outlook isn’t too promising.. If anyone has any suggestions.. please let me know.. Thanks Amanda

          • I got suspended too last wk. due to violating thier so called shill bidding policy. An employee of my company was bidding unknowingly. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? No warnings, no letters, nothing. JUST SHUT ME DOWN for "7 days" ya right-

          • Hi, I have also been suspended from ebay. Last night I had absolutely no idea and now after reading your post I’m starting to wonder. On Friday my friend was suspended from paypal. There was no just cause for her suspension either. My husband is an attorney, anyone that wants to jump on board with a class action suit please let me know. This is ridiculous especially when they suspend you for not doing anything and when you count on your ebay profits to help pay bills. Let me know. We need to stop this.

          • Thanks so much for this post! I just bought an account there as well. But it didn’t say anything about the feedback. I AM going to really need feedback now that I have to start COMPLETELY over! Can you provide any help or suggestions? Ali.

          • I WILL JUMP ON BOARD they wont tell me why i was suspended they just say i violated policy and that is it!!! i was just starting to sell to help get me off ssi and now i cant send anything people won because i cant get to my records!!!

          • Count me in. I just got surprised and suspended after 3 years with eBay for "Feedback Manipulation". I AM still not sure why. I sell mostly Information Products and my eBay store was the Advanced Information Center. Nothing changed, and I got suspended anyway. I read the policy on feedback Manipulation, and it did not fit my circumstances.

          • Hi everybody, i’m suffering what could be called a series of vicious attacks from ebay against my seller’s account. They have suspended Me without ever explaning why, cancelled my active auction (a vehicle) as well as sent an email to the buyer of another auction which had ended already a week prior to that, encouraging him by any means not to proceed with the transaction! That is for the item which had already been listed and sold a week ago, and for which i have paid all the fees in full, and which, as far as i was concerned, was already a done deal. Regardless of that, ebay had interfered into that sale as well, which altogether had cost me $14.900. Again, even after i had sent them all the documentation they have requested me to, and after they were basically forced to restore my account, absolutely no justification or proper explanation was given to me, as to why eBay had just robbed me of 15 thousand dollars as well destroyed my reputation in the eyes of the buyer, with which i was at the last stage of finishing the transaction (a stage to which ebay had no longer anything to do with)!
            These guys act like gods in flesh. They have no respect for your rights as a seller, their mere accusation is preseted by them in form of the evidence in itself, which in turn, justifies disrupting not only your current business, but also the one, in which their relation to, should by all legal means be a matter of history! (that is given the fact that they were already paid for the service which they had concequently disrupted!)
            Given the fact that eBay has already taken the position of the overwhelming monopoly in the field of online sales in US and gradually the world, their increasingly discriminating and demaging practices should become and object of investigation by the law enforcement department which is responsible to insure and enforce the fair trade and prevent the abuse of monopoly!
            I would like to join any possibly class action that is taking place against eBay’s policies toward their customers. Please let me know in which way can i become a party to any such class action!
            Thank you so much, Antuan.

          • Same thing out of nowhere Ebay suspends my account , I AM a Gold Level seller on Ebay and I should have listened to my wife and never given up my other business as Ebay has become my only source of income.
            Ebay Claims that I AM connected to 3 other accounts which I will not deny yes one account was set up and forgotten about but ebay in all it’s wisdom slammed it with 3 months worth of fees on an Ebay store that was supposed to be closed, The other account yes I know the people they use the same supplier, but AM I responsible for their $2000.00 debt because I know them?? As for the other person I AM connected to I have no clue the only thing I know about that account is that it was involved in robbing 2 ebayers.
            I paid the small AM ount past due on #1 as it was my old account (under $100 ) and that account was reinstated quickly.
            I AM also willing to pay the $2000.00 delinquent on the other account that is not mine as I spoke to the 3rd party and they agreed to pay me back.
            What I would like to know is that if I pay this and Ebay does not reinstate my account can I go down to my district attorneys office and file felony criminal extortion charges against Ebay. I doubt that any one has been willing to pay this AM ount before to ebay that they were not responsible for but if it would give me a decent shot at causing a news scandal and possibly placing some Ebay executives in jail where they belong I will.
            If anyone is familiar laws on extortion please let me know.
            Thank You

          • I AM fighting the same problem now, Please contact me, We need to all fight this, I AM tires of not getting responses., I had to fax them our entire business history, and I AM now concerend that they will not properly dispose of our business records. We have been jerked around for a month.. EVEN BILL COBB does not have the GUTS ENOUGH to answer the personalized, Priority mail letter I sent him. I think everyone needs to get off the ebay wagon and make them realize that the customer is what made them.,Please let me know how we can work on this. PLEASE

          • thanks so much for the new auction site? I won’t bore your with the gorrie details of how ebay screwed me royally actually I’m to worn out by trying to contact a human being there. 36 hours with no sleep! I exposed a major money laudering attempt by a bidder "godsecoo25" the whole fake money order bit. Out of country con job. Ebay thanked me, and the suspended my account!

          • Ebay works for you. You pay them. They provide a service. They restrict you? Then they are in breach of contract for not providing the service. Restrict payment. Withhold payment as satisfactory service is not being rendered. Simply withhold payment to ebay until they have, what YOU perceive to be, a better than 95% approval rating. I suggest everyone who is dissatisfied with ebay do this. Who ever heard of a world class company that refuses to give phone support to its general customers? Ebay is not paying you! You are paying them! Again, they work for you!

          • Ebay does not consistantly enforce its Seller/Buyer policy. It allowed an unknown user,
            not the registered seller to allow a strike on a sale.
            In there policy, they state that the seller must get formal permission from Ebay in order to have another person act as an agent for the user named seller. Think POA. I objected to the request for the an unauthorized person to call the strike in body of the buyers strike feedback. Ebay granted the strike. I have not heard from the General Counsel of my objection and subsequent injury due to Ebay actions. Ebay thinks it is not subject to contract law, yet that is what governs in a sale. Also, it ignores, and applies its own set of rules in disputes between buyer and seller.
            Many of the disputes are clearly covered by the Uniform Commercial Code and Consumer Law which is covered by Civil Code. Implied merchantabily of the goods sold applies unless the seller explicitly states "it is sold As Is" no warranty imlied or given.
            Yet Ebay does not as a policy adopt these laws. Laws that were created so you and I can be insured we know what the rules are. Ebay consistantly ignores the law and should be held accountable for rulings contrary to law. They are involved in contracts and effect the outcome of the contract.

          • Why not screw them like they screw you? If you are really frustrated, i have a free guide on my site to help anyone get back on ebay and paypal. Learn all the tips and tricks they use and get around all their traps. Also show you how to create a new anonymous ebay identity which is fully legal ivegot.info

          • Hey eBaySuspended (mike), the site you recommend for free information on how to get back on ebay was really just, as you put it on the site, a "teaser". I have bought most of the Ebay suspension books out there..I bought yours too Ebay Stealth; I can’t believe I only got 34 pages for my $37; and the best advice you gave was to Fake and make-up false information and do it often so when ebay catches you, you can just shuffle to another bogus account. Boo-hiss…that is not great advice. Robert Windsors book,"How to get back on ebay" was at least informative…just outdated…and now off-line too. "Auction Again" was only 26 pages but at least honest but not helpful. Your information is about equivelent to "Ebay Solution" which also suggested to just lie about everything (funny enough…it too made many references to Aspkin’s Forum…know anything about that?) I also snagged up "Ebay Replay"; this had 224 pages of honest up-to-date information that is constantly being updated. It cost less than yours and seems to be a real proffesional piece of work. If people need advice on how to get back on ebay after a suspension, rather than going to the site that "ebaySuspended" suggests…try ebayreplay.info or suspensionsucks.com. OH and you can get 42 pages free (5 chapters) from them…that is more than the entire "Ebay Stealth" book.

          • First off your guide is not free. You get everybody to thativegot.info site and give them the basic info everybody already knows, then you have then click over to your real site where you try to sell the the eBook you wrote of 35 pages for $37. Second, your approach to using fake name, fake address etc is not a legal approch to getting another eBay account after a suspension.
            Lets face it, all that you give in that ebay stealth book is freely found on your forum at aspkin.com. Your eBook has no tutorials, no "how to’s", no detailed step by step instructions. You just throw some info out there and leave it at that. Wow. So Folks if you want to read a couple of reviews on this eBook and others (so I don’t look like a bias grump here) go to
            ebayebookreview.wordpress.com/
            or
            hubpages.com/hub/Ebay-Suspension-EbooksThe-Sourcerers-Guide
            then make up your own mind. Cheers

          • E-BAY THE WORSE FRAUD SELLER/BUYER BEWARE!!

            In the broadest sense, a fraud is a deception made for personal gain (BY E-BAY CORP.) The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction.(e-bAY IS EXEMPT TO ANY LEGAL OR CIVIL RAMIFICATIONS BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN LAWS. IT IS QUITE SIMPLY "THE SAN JOSE,CALIFORNIA e-BAY LEGAL SYSTEM"bureau of fraud )Fraud is a crime, and is also a civil law violation. Many hoaxes(PERHAPS SHILL BIDDING ON MILLIONS OF ITEMS TO UP THEIR BOTTOM DOLLAR ANTE JUST TO NAME 1) are fraudulent, although those not made for personal gain(ALL ABOUT GREED AND PERSONAL GAIN E-BAY’S MANTRA) are not technically(JUST SNEAKY AND SUSPICIOUS) frauds. Defrauding people of money is presumably the most common type of fraud,(YET E-BAY CONTINUES TO REMAIN IN BUSINESS DESPITE RIPPING OFF MILLIONS OF SELLERS DAILY AND HIDING BEHIND THERE LITTLE DESKS IN A SHADED CORPORATE PARK WITH THE WELL KNOWN E-bAY LETTERS SITTING PROUDLY AS A LAWN DECORATION THAT ALL THE PROGRAMMABLE THIEVES AT E-BAY ARE GREETED BY EVERY MORNING)but there have also been many fraudulent "discoveries" in art, archaeology, and science.

            Definition

            In criminal law, fraud is the crime or offense of deliberately deceiving another in order to damage them EQ.E-BAY TAKING FOOD OUT OF CHILDRENS AND FAMILIES MOUTHS WITHOUT FORETHOUGHT OR CONSCIENCE)usually, to obtain property or services unjustly.(SELLER FEES,ETC. E-BAY CAN CANCEL LISTINGS,SUSPEND ACCTS.AND TAKE YOUR $$$ BUT YOU ARE SUSPENDED/REMOVED)BUT REMEMBER E-BAY WANTS TO MAKE IT A SAFE,ENJOYABLE,TRADING EXPERIENCE.WHAT A JOKE!!SAFE FOR WHO?THEM TO EXTORT MONEY? [1] Fraud can be accomplished through the aid of forged objects. In the criminal law of common law jurisdictions it may be called "theft by deception,"(E-BAY WILL DECEIVE YOU INTO BELIEVING THEY ARE YOUR CRACK OR HEROIN!!YOU ARE BRAINWASHED,LIED TO,AUTO-RESPONDED TO,AND TREATED LIKE A PRISONER BEING ARRAIGNED ON CAPITAL MURDER) "larceny by trick,(THEY ARE YOUR PIMP)" "larceny by fraud(I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON A WEB-PAGE AND PUTTING TOGETHER A FEW IDEAS I HAVE TO BURN E-BAY W/ THE HELP OF OTHER SCORNED MEMBERS) and deception" or something similar

          • I did a Google search and found two sites that give some really decent reviews on various "How to get back on eBay after a Suspension" eBooks. hubpages.com/hub/Ebay-Suspension-EbooksThe-Sourcerers-Guide
            or
            ebayebookreview.wordpress.com/
            They cover the EBAY REPLAY eBook and Ebay Stealth and a few others. It seems that the eBay Replay was reviewed with some high scores and the Ebay Stealth was not that good at all. They cover some other eBooks that are also well advertised. These sites are definitely worth a peek before you invest your money blindly.

          • I read on aspkin’s site itself that this "auction stealth" guide by aspkin is utter garbage. This is the same guide ivegotinfo (MIKE) sells. Supposedly from what some people on there say, Aspkin was booted off EBAY two years ago and has not managed to even get back on since. His ONLY EBAY account built up a whopping feedback score of 26.

            Also he does not sell ANYTHING on EBAY anymore according to what I read. What a fraud. How can someone who doesn’t even SELL on ebay try to teach people ABOUT EBAY? Like the blind leading the blind.

            Why buy a guide from someone who knows NOTHING about EBAY? Whatever he knows he lifts from his forum is what the guy said in his posts.

          • I tried every book out there – Stealth was 26 pages, all he did was try to sell you his Virtual Credit Cards/Bank Accounts and VPN service in the book…Poorly written, not worth a penny – Suspension Cure is even worse..Very disappointing..then I found Ebay Replay, Much Much Better – 240 pages – But full of affiliates also, you can spend a fortune just on their suggested affiliates – Also I got into a problem with Paypal using their methods, namely with the Credit Check they do with US citizens – They responded quickly, but they had no answers, they actually told me to set up an ebay account in Canada since it was close!! LOL. Then I found the new kid on the block – "Ebay Undercover" – They said they had a solution to the Credit Check problem – and I have to say, they came through. It was the best book I read yet – Highly Recommended – Anybody who needs to get back on go to google – type in Ebay Undercover in the search bar – and get this book. It worked for me, I’ve been back on now for 4 months and I’m a powerseller again…Great stuff and book…

          • I cannot believe how many people have had problems like mine. I wont bore you with the details but basically because I didnt offer postage discounts and the buyer wanted it my account ended up being closed i did not thing wrong but got bad feedback. Ebay after weeks of work removed the feedback but still refused to change the feedback sctore which meant my account was closed.

            BUT

            if you think of all the daft rules ebay had image if..

            100 people who complained on this forum about ebay went onto ebay with a working account, we all bought 3 to 5 items from big power sellers say 50 sellers. We all waited a few days, we all didnt pay, we waited for dispute, we all then left bad feedback for the sellers. Because of the number of bad feedbacks ebay would would automatically suspend the accounts under the Seller Non-Performance Policy..now these sellers are companies who operate full time on ebay, with staff and paying fortunes in ebay fees. It would take weeks and weeks for ebays stupid policys before the sellers even get a chance of being able to sell again but by this time they have gone bust.

            Imagine if more people did it all on the same day, 500 people? 1000 people? 10000 people? you could bring down ebays power sellers and all the biggest sellers just because ebays policys are wrong.

            maybe if enough people did it on the same day it would make ebay rethink!

          • Modeeworld is a joke! this guy dissapeared years ago. he can’t even keep his forum alive. Although it was decent when it was up, what’s going on with it now? It’s been down for over a year!

          • Actually pandanger has been dead for a long time and

            modeeworld.com/forums

            remains up and living.

            The latest techniques are posted and available at the forum. There is some talk lately about Ebay’s easing its standards, which may be true because the latest Ebay stock price is nothing to shout about and they may have finally become more desperate for sellers. Thanks.

  • you forgot to mention that ebay knowingly knowing that no one can compete with them raised all their pricing as well as paypal (which is the same company)

    they charge a lot of money for listings or to send $ thru paypal. so i think thats wrong. its wrong to bend the consumer over the table because they know youre options are limited

  • There is a forum I found on the internet that is free, and helps with Ebay, PayPal, business and the law. Just post any question, the experts will answer it if it has not already been answered!

    The forum has a lot of expert advice on it. modeeworld.com/forums I found advice there about how to avoid EBAY suspensions, get past PayPal limitations, also lots of detailed help on creating your own business, getting past trademark violations, VERO and lots more. Plus general advice on how best to sell on EBAY, what sells the best, how to get the best price for your product, really everything related to EBAY and internet business.

    Also advice about how EBAY really works and how PayPal really works. The inside scoop.

    Beautiful forum. I was made a moderator of the forum and I love it!

  • Ebay rules and regulations and how they catch people are a joke. Now a days its VERY hard for new legit sellers to sell on ebay without getting a hard time from ebay, which includes suspension. I’ve seen people banned for selling mousepads.. lol.. And paypal.. Well that is another story, but would like to mention "buyers and sellers are protected" and I mean that in the most sarcastic possible way. Thats why I started this site..

    ebaysuspension.net

  • Okay, this is classic Ebay. I had a perfume store that was suspended by Ebay for a supposed "trademark violation" although noone from Ebay could tell me what in particular was violating a trademark.
    Well, I went through their process to get reinstated. You have to fax a bunch of info to prove you are the account holder, blah, blah, blah. I waited a few days all the while trying to get a hold of someone there which you can’t to see if they got my fax. Needless to say, 10 days pass before I get an email saying they did not get all of my fax. Another 10 days pass. I spoke with an attorney who specializes in internet cases and had dealt with a perfume store in the same situation before. Basically unless you have 100s of thousands of dollars, you aren’t going to be able to sue Ebay. Now I could spend $3000 to retain the attorney and he possibly had a contact at Ebay that could help me determine exactly what my trademark violation was and how to fix it, but for what little money I stand to make it doesn’t make sense.
    So anyway, about a month passes before I finally hear back from Ebay saying I AM reinstated. Great, I thought. I revised all of my listings to make it absolutely clear that I bought these items from a liquidation lot, that they were pulled from shelves of department stores. All copy, photos, etc are mine. I changed the headings to read "Ralph Hot by Ralph Lauren" for example to make sure there was no confusion in who held the trademark. This was beginning of Jan 2008. For about a month I made several sales, I had 48 people leave feedback with a 100% rating.
    Just the other day, my first batch of listings ran out. I had several 100 listings in store format. I thought I had set my preferences so as not to have them auto-relisted but apparently not because Ebay auto-relisted all of those after they expired 30 days from the first list date. Well, wouldn’t you know….I get an email less than 24 hours later saying I AM suspended from doing business on Ebay again….once again for trademark violation. My suspicion is that the auto-relist triggered something, as Ebay has had 30 days to have a problem with my listings and has not until a mass listing event happened. I have found on the internet several people saying their security software seems to have all sorts of problems.
    What it all boils down to is this…Ebay is getting sued all over the world by trademark holders ( and even by a country!! France or Germany if I remember correctly ). Their people are not trained very well in what is and what isn’t a trademark violation, so when in doubt, they just shut you down. The fact that noone from Ebay can tell me what in my listing is violating a trademark is confirmation of that. What makes this whole thing criminal on their part is I was charged for all the listings that went on only to be suspended less than a day later, and they will not refund my money! In any other line of business that would be called "stealing."
    What I have learned in all my attempts to make an honest buck on the internet is this: If people are telling you they are making money or even making a living using one of many techniques on the internet, be highly sceptical!! The only people I can tell making money on Ebay are Ebay themselves with their high fees and business model that includes stealing money, and the cottage industry that has sprung up around Ebay directed at sellers on Ebay. Those would include all the supposed "wholesalers" who want to sell you product to offer on Ebay who are not wholesalers, but actually retailers who bought themselves at wholesale then mark it up and try to offer to you "wholesale". Beware these people, they are also called "internet middlemen". You will lose money using them. Also people selling these seminars and books and e-books on how great it is selling on Ebay. I’m sure there are people who do actually turn a profit on Ebay, but they must be few and far between. When you have people offering the same product, same exact item with price ranges running from $20-$55 and the wholesale cost is $25, there is just no way you are going to make money. Truthfully the only way I see to make money ( and you won’t be making a living ) on Ebay is if you make your own product and therefore have little cost, or you are selling junk around your house that has already been paid for and depreciated over several years.
    Anyway, that is my wonderful experience on Ebay. Needless to say, I AM through with them. It was a noble experiment, but I won’t allow my self to be suckered in by their sales pitches again about how great it is to open a store on Ebay. Not saying it couldn’t work for you, but lesson learned….stay away from any product that could cause trademark problems ( just about everything )…especially designer brand items. Thanks for reading, and stay safe out there…the internet is full of people trying to take our hard earned dollars with dreams of making a nice income sitting in front of the computer.

  • Like most people here i have been treated badly by ebay, i was suspended for selling counterfeit goods, i have never sold anything counterfeit in my life and appealed to ebay, even offering to send examples of the goods i sell for inspection so that they can verify that the goods i AM listing don’t breach their policies.
    Needless to say every email, letter and fax fell on deaf ears and i remain suspended despite doing absolutely nothing wrong.
    As a result i have decided not to ever sell on ebay again, although i still wholesale goods from my import company to other ebayers, i have put together a basic information website for people looking to find an alternative to ebay, my website contains a link to the leading ebay competitor and is well worth a look, you’ll also find some other useful links on there too, so join me in supporting a genuine potential, serious ebay competitor where we can run serious businesses without the threat of ebay shutting us down for no reason.
    the website is http://www.leaveebay.net join the revolution!!!

  • First to get to ebay you had better be United, send Complaints to BBB, your State Attorney General, to Attorney General of the United States, to Local Newspapers, to Wall Street Journal. Remember you have to hit them where it it will do the most good. If there are as many people Suspended by ebay as we think and we become United, it won;t be long before they will have to answer. This isn’t going to end in a day or a week but we can put pressure on them, they have never seen before. Remember letters to Meg Whitman, CEO, and to the President of ebay and Pierre, the guy that started ebay. When bags of mail is dropped into their laps, they must act or re-act.Unite and we cn make them change.frankr

  • here’s my fun response to the countless useless emails sent back and forth with ebay to get my account restored, a week later, still not restored…
    dear bill cobb, or probably the person who gets this instead, because, god forbid, he answered his own mail or washed his hands of his own wrongdoings due to greed, and instead passes it to you to handle, an naive ebay employee, who is about to give me the usual excuses you are taught in brain-washing school.
    well i’ve got news for you. you’re not getting away with ruining another account this time.
    the problem? your customer service just sends automated emails irrelevant to fixing my account suspended for no reason and will not solve issues and your glitchy software mistakenly caused it all.
    the phone goes to recordings that tell you to talk through emails that tell you to go to live chat that tell you to go to emails and so on. who do you think you are fooling? it’s the runaround plain as day.
    when you inquire as to reason of suspension and fight for your rights to rightfully defend your item, "it" just sends libelous emails that accuse you of different things you did not do. and if you defend your honor you get booted off for the fake accusations ebay makes.
    "violating the "spirit" of ebay" when you create a legitimate account and get suspended within a few hours, without any warnings or resolution or reason why. oh, come on! Really, what disgusting behavior you have to treat store owners with, and high positive feedback people, new doctors and lawyers signing up, people selling their trinkets for years, grandparents, and entrepenuers, for you to boot them without an ounce of dignity, without valid proof.
    i was sent this email by ebay after they finally admitted that vero DID NOT REPORT any violations whatsover and that it was an ebay employee whom suspended account without a chance of resolution first or sending any warning, or any valid reason. apparently, they do not have an education in auctions or law. perhaps they want to steal my identity and figure kicking me off is the way to go.
    I COMPLETED THE TUTORIAL AND SCORED 100%, SO, –WHERE IS MY RESTORED ACCOUNT??? ebay SAID:
    "eBay has restricted your ability to list new items as a result of a policy violation. We’d be happy to lift this restriction once you’ve completed a brief tutorial about this policy. The next time you sign in to your eBay account, click on ?Sell? and ?Sell Your Item.? You?ll then be asked to take the tutorial. Once you’ve completed it, you can begin selling again immediately."
    it’s been a week … THE SELL YOUR ITEM LINK DID NOT WORK! i did not violate ANY policies have been an honest seller over 5 years. your security software is seriously flawed and i want to ask you personally to restore my account.
    i have scrimped and saved for years on one meal a day to get to where i saved enough to buy higher priced items at outlets to sell. with the ebay listing, photo, and after auction fees i barely made 99 cents a sale and paid 75-100 to ebay a week. then the paypal fees took even more money out of sales. but i kept plugging away hoping some day my ship would come in, and now this. i was planning on using my wins to attend my own brother’s wedding and now you are ruining that because each day you are causing me to lose sales with your nonsense.
    ebay suspended my mom’s account the first day she registered for absolutely no reason and paypal has still not sent her the remaining $149 from paypal due to her, since the spring. i was embarrased to admit, i told her ebay would be fun. but she had to see the dark side of ebay instead. that was not any fun.
    we filled out the outrageous reinstatement process and got no response. your risky requirements are subject to that information being used by your cheap labor and selling in on the black market. i mean really, what the hell do you need a birth certificate for, unless you are trying to find your birth mother after being adopted?? Talk about shady. Totally violates the Privacy Act.
    what are you going to do to fix this? i refuse to be falsely accused of policy violation when i have abided by the First Use Doctrine law and all ebay rules for over 5 years. I refuse to have my good reputation slandered by an ill-formed retarded automated security software system, and incompetant 2-man customer non-service show, without recourse.
    if you like, i will happily share my problem with my microsoft affiliate friends and explain to them how you are ill-using their money. i’m sure your live seminars would love to hear it also…
    regards, rhn

  • Hi,
    Ebay have throw me out into the dark too. I’m currently suspended for a minimum of 14 days. Unlawful? Darn right it is. Its all over an old Magic Lantern and slides I was selling for the local Boys Brigade. They feature post ww2 pictures of Nazi houses and camps. But are basically just someone’s holiday snaps. Ebay initially ended the listing and suspended me for 1 day. After a painfully slow reply to my appeal emails they eventually apologised for ended the listing AND told me that I could relist the item. 2 days later, i’m suspended for 14 days. 3 days into the suspension now and have STILL not had a reply from them. What are they doing in there? It seems to me the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. I had over 60 items on, totally unrelated to ww2 and they have ended the lot. I’m losing money and time because of their sheer incompetence. If anyone does intend on taking legal action against them please do let me know. I’ll be more than happy to join you.
    Copy of Ebay’s First apology
    Hello,
    My name is Kierra and I will be happy to assist you further.
    We sincerely apologize for the action that was taken on your account,
    especially given the sensitive nature of the subject. I have reviewed
    the listing in question and have found that it was ended in error by
    eBay. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. I
    have gone ahead and reinstated this listing so that it is back on our
    site (you should receive a separate email confirming this).
    All bidders on this item have been notified of the mistake and I have
    removed this violation on your account. We do need you, however, to
    finalize the reinstatement process if you wish to relist this item.
    To reactivate a listing, just enter the item number into the search box
    on any eBay page. Once at the pages just scroll down to the line called
    "Relist item" which is 4 lines under your user name and click on "relist
    this item" which shows in blue lettering. This link will walk you
    through the reinstatement process for the listing.
    We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and
    thank you for writing to us.
    Kindest Regards,
    Kierra Jones
    eBay Community Watch Team

  • As I have mentioned elsewhere, eBay is far from invincible. In fact eBay is vulnerable on many fronts, as one can judge by dissatisfaction coming from its vocal distractors.
    One of near-monopolies weaknesses lies in its inability to change quickly to changes in fundamental marketplace structure. This was something we have used at Bidera Auctions to offer features which eBay couldn’t offer immediately. For example, we offered RSS feeds for auctions over a year before eBay.
    eBay was definitely threatened by Craigslist, enough so that it had to buy a stake in it. Yahoo auctions went through a rough time before deciding to go into a "free" model.
    Now comes Google Base, and make no mistake it will put some dent into eBay. As for Bidera, I think we’ll survive just fine with Google Base.

  • I need some advice and a little patience to read this story. i own a pretty large and successful mfg business in rural ga.-got cancer in late 2003-stayed at my coast house in s.c during treatments but became bored-looked for new ideas to start a business and watch it grow-of all people my attorney told me about some friends who had bought an ebay consignment store franchise for several towns-i decided to start my own-BPaid–opened in sept 04-on de 26 05 ebay sent us an email shutting us down for "bid schilling"-meaning we were running up bids on items-believe this-we never did any such things-2 employess bought other peoples items that totaled less than 50 total-we started calling ebay that very night-all you ever get is a person directing you to the email site you already know–after 300+ emails and being out of business-ebay calls me on a saturday asking me to pls quit sending emails-they were so many -it was considered spam-i explained we had never had 1 single answer in all those days to any of the emails-he agreed to put us back on line that moment if we would just stop the emails–what about our guilt or innocence of the charges? he had no answer-but our local business was destroyed-good people lost jobs and my total investment of over 100,000 was gone. we are going to sue ebay in federal court in the next 2 wks-by the way my attorney actually got a human on the phone -the mgr of the s.e. region?-they met at the atl airport and went over my problem -he was very nice and said he would get back in 2-3 wks at latest-we gave him 5 wks -started calling-never a return call–i have a large southern newspaper that wants to run this story showing the "other side of midnite of ebay"-if you have a TRUE and similar story, we would like to include it in the paper.pls get in touch.our feeling is ebay takes the arrogant view and rightly so tht most people cannot afford to legally do battle with them.in all humility-that is not the case with me–we hope we can reach the "punitive" threshold in this case-i hope to hesr from you-gary

  • We all must realize what Ebay and Paypal are all about. They are all about making money. They could careless about right or wrong. The people that makes them the most money is ALWAYS right, and those that don’t are ALWAYS wrong. They advertise fraud protection, but there isn’t any. How could they protect anyone without any sort of quality control? When you buy something off Ebay, cross your fingers and pray that you get what you paid for, or get anything at all for that matter. And when you use Paypal to "safely and quickly" pay for your stuff, good luck getting your money back from them after you hit the "Send" button. Customer service? Making money off their customers IS their ONLY service! Policies? If you didn’t get what you paid for, the policies basically say sucks to be you! Yet, Ebay is still growing by leaps and bounds year over year. In the end, we only got ourselves to blame. We support them by using their services. We grow them into the beast they are by subverting to their haphazard rules. While the title of this blurp is "Ebay SUCKS!", it is really about me looking into the mirror, slapping myself into the realization that even though I know what I was getting into, I did it anyway. That one bad experience with Ebay and Paypal finally happened to me, but I wonder if I would ever use their service again!

  • Have been selling and bidding on ebay for over five years now with a 98.6 overall feedback score. Have been having problems with their billing system and started receiving high decline fee’s for refusal on my automatic payment method (Billpoint). I notified them on several occations that I had cancelled that payment method. Notified customer service (Collections) that all my future seller fee’s would be made through Paypal. Decline fee’s continued until they finally notified me that my account was suspended one day after I paid them thier latest invoice for seller fee’s on time. Notified them I expected all decline fee’s to be credited back to me since I emailed them multiple times that I would pay my account with paypal method, they declined and stated they could not issue a refund. Have yet to receive a response from multiple emails I have submitted to them to why they suspended me and it has been a week now! Would like to get information on how to join lawsuit against ebay for improper business practices!

  • I’m all for uncluttered pages and streamlined design, and I think this has been effective for eBay when browsing auctions.

    Listing an auction, however, is a nightmare process. I mean, me and Al Gore invented the Internet, and I have had problems with this. What’s wrong with a wizard (stepped process)? I’ve filled out the whole (very long) listings page, submitted, and gotten an error. Then, horror of all horrors, clicking on _their_ link to go back to the page (or back button) brings you to a new listings page – all info gone.

    It’s just one example of how they could benefit from some quality usability design. [To all eBay lap puppies- please don’t flame me, it’s not personal.]

  • It is interesting how eBay is expanding to other areas besides auction. What is AM azing is that they are going relatively slow. Because they really do not have any competition, they can afford to do at this level.

    Auction is a pro sellers tool. Some experiments with pro buyer tools like reverse auction and group buying have not been as successful yet. But we all know BUYER is the KING. If eBay does not do something slowly to recognise this, there will still be opportunities for a competitor to come up.

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