eBay Unfairly Suspended Account (Breach of Policy?)

Sshanaz on 04/06/2019 - 08:24
Last edited 05/06/2019 - 10:18 by 1 other user

I sold digital vouchers on eBay and received multiple positive feedbacks from happy buyers. However 6 buyers opened item not received cases on eBay. I provided evidence how these vouchers were sent via Ebay message and also they have already been redeemed.

eBay not only decided in buyer's favour on a basis that I couldn't provide valid proof of delivery but also suspended my account.

When I asked them reason they are not providing any details apart from saying I breached their policy.

I rang them to explain my situation but they won't give any explanation. I also sent them eBay messages but not responding.

What should I do here as it will be significant blow financially? I have already cancelled eBay payment agreement on PayPal so they can't take any money.

Edit:
I was going through my chat history and noticed that I asked Ebay whether I can list coupons on Ebay. They confirmed in writing as per screenshots below that there won't be any issue here. They are all part of same chat.

https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69783/chat_1.jpg
https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69784/chat_2.jpg
https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69785/chat_3.jpg
https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69786/chat_4.jpg

Based on this confirmation, I don't agree that I have breached any policy.

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Comments

  • whooah1979 on 04/06/2019 - 08:42
    +19

    I sold digital digital vouchers
    I provided evidence how these vouchers were sent via Ebay message

    https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-…

    Can I sell electronically delivered gift cards?

    No. Electronically delivered gift cards are easy to replicate, and so create a risk of fraud. We only allow a small number of approved sellers to list electronically delivered gift cards on eBay, and they have to meet specific requirements.

    https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-…

    Is there a limit on how many vouchers I can sell?

    Yes, you can only sell up to $100 or 25 valid, unexpired, original vouchers per month.
    What kinds of vouchers are prohibited on eBay?

    You can't sell vouchers for free products and all vouchers have to be printed on paper, not sent electronically. Be careful not to include pictures or scans of vouchers in your listing that could be copied, printed, or redeemed.

  • JimmyF on 04/06/2019 - 09:14
    +7

    Ebay unfairly suspended account
    apart from saying I breached their policy

    So you think the rules don't apply to you? There was nothing unfair about your suspended account.

    You sold items you shouldn't have, its as simple as that. The vouchers/money is gone. Sorry.

  • Seraphin7 on 04/06/2019 - 09:26
    +1

    Damn it … hate it when people come up with hard facts to beat my feels.

  • CyberMurning on 04/06/2019 - 09:34
    +2

    Haha Busted

  • [Deactivated] on 04/06/2019 - 09:39
    -3

    Quite a risky item to sell and if you sell quite a few, the chances of getting burned are high. I don't quite understand how you could outperform the ~20% fee margin.

    • CyberMurning on 04/06/2019 - 09:42

      Just 13 i think. Total eBay plus PayPal

      • Quantumcat on 04/06/2019 - 09:59

        Yeah no tax on postage I guess

      • FireRunner on 04/06/2019 - 10:05

        eBay: 9.9% + 0.99% GST
        PayPal: 2.6% + $0.30
        Total: 13.5% + $0.30

        • JimmyF on 04/06/2019 - 10:55

          Total: 13.5% + $0.30

          You forgot to add in profit + refund/scammer cut and if you sell enough GST/taxes etc on the sales.

      • [Deactivated] on 04/06/2019 - 10:31
        -2

        I was mainly thinking that it's hard enough to bother with ebay if you have issues with 1 out of 10 items/shipments. I would guess digital vouchers would have more problems….so who is selling them wholesale that it's commercially viable with all the losses? I find ebay pretty lineball for a seller even for low risk items and no postage or buyer issues yet.

  • CyberMurning on 04/06/2019 - 09:40
    +5

    Please Changed title to Ebay fairly suspended account

  • FireRunner on 04/06/2019 - 10:02
    +1

    Sorry mate, as others have pointed out, it is against eBay policy.
    Scum buyers took advantage of knowing this and knew you had no grounds against a dispute.
    Looks like you've lost the value of those vouchers.

  • [Deactivated] on 04/06/2019 - 10:05

    RIP, m8

  • tranter on 04/06/2019 - 10:10

    Yeah I feel for you, you breached the eBay policy but you didn't do anything dishonest. You paid the price for the dishonesty of others.

    • JimmyF on 04/06/2019 - 11:06
      -1

      Nothing about being dishonest, its purely about breaching policy

      • tranter on 04/06/2019 - 11:57

        Exactly.

  • ibuy on 04/06/2019 - 10:22

    Disregarding the lost value of the vouchers, if you would like to get reinstated you can try some of the things mentioned here:

    https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-to-do-when-ebay-suspends-…

    And

    https://www.inkfrog.com/blog/eight-things-that-get-you-suspe…

    As the articles say, you may need to go further up the chain and possibly past a supervisor or even up to the trust and safety team.

    I would not recommend opening another account as eBay tracks IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, amongst other things so they will know it is you. Even if you sign up under another family member’s name you do risk them being banned as well.

    It will be a case of groveling and pleading ignorance and reassuring eBay that you won’t do it again. Work out some positive remedial steps that you will take and let eBay know. Ask them what else can you do to remedy the situation. Assuming you are new to eBay a recent/new seller is something that will be something they take into consideration. Explain you have gone in depth to ensure that you understand the rules and won’t fall foul of them again.

    If the above is not successful, you still have other options including selling on Amazon, gumtree, trading post and a few other websites. Just make sure you understand the rules of each of these sites fully.

  • grimace3 on 04/06/2019 - 10:50
    +3

    Hmm, OP is this you too? https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/94r504q9

  • Bid Sniper on 04/06/2019 - 11:40
    +1

    Try Silk Road

    • Sshanaz on 05/06/2019 - 09:52

      I was going through my chat history and actually noticed that I asked Ebay whether I can list coupons on Ebay. They confirmed in writing as per screenshots below that there won't be any issue here. They are all part of same chat.

      https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69783/chat_1.jpg
      https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69784/chat_2.jpg
      https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69785/chat_3.jpg
      https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69786/chat_4.jpg

      Based on this confirmation, I don't agree that I have breached any policy here.

      • GoldenDragon888 on 05/06/2019 - 11:49

        Okay here is where you probably breached it. https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-…

        Your vouchers we’re digital which is not allowed they need to be printed and sent.

        You may have sold more than 25 in total or over $100 worth. This part is confusing but I think the intention is $100 in total not each.

        In your OP you mentioned they were digital vouchers.

        Also you were overly confusing in your chat with the eBay support person. Not necessarily your fault they maybe should have questioned you more.

        • Sshanaz on 06/06/2019 - 05:12

          For couple of disputes on 9 May, I had a chat with Ebay customer service + Accounts Review and then I spoke with Ebay supervisor who decided cases in my favour. All of them reviewed my account/listing but nobody mentioned that I am in breach of any policy. If the vouchers needs to be printed and sent then why these cases were decided in my favour though I shared the details with buyers via Ebay message.

          I believe my account was suspended due to total no. of dispute opened by the buyers without regarding the fact that they were decided in my favour.

      • whooah1979 on 05/06/2019 - 13:20

        I don't agree that I have breached any policy here.

        You don't have agree that you violated a listing policy. You state the following in your OP.

        these vouchers were sent via Ebay message

        Ebay is clear on how vouchers must be shipped to the buyers.
        https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-…

        all vouchers have to be printed on paper, not sent electronically.

        • Sshanaz on 06/06/2019 - 05:13

          Ebay never flagged this point during my interaction with them
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/461191#comment-7355896

          • whooah1979 on 06/06/2019 - 05:46

            @Sshanaz: Perhaps they made a mistake by not providing all the information. This however doesn't take away the case that members agree to the policy when they sign up for an account.

            • Sshanaz on 06/06/2019 - 05:54

              @whooah1979: Well that's my point. I also made a mistake as I wasn't aware of policy either. I have given them offer to sign statuary declaration to confirm the same.

              They did a mistake as well by never pointing it out during our interaction so I should have been given warning instead.

              • ibuy on 06/06/2019 - 22:31

                @Sshanaz: Even though you may have received approval from the enquiries people you are still obligated to check the rules for listing items. Asking eBay doesn’t absolve you from reading the rules. It is very much the onus is on you. Much like when you drive a car overseas. The onus is on you to make sure you know all of that country’s driving rules.

                I had a violation listing new empty watch boxes about five years ago. I later found out you can’t sell empty packaging of this type because people can use it for repackaging fakes. I later discussed with them how to list them as many other sellers were listing empty watch boxes. The answer in my case was to put the word “vintage” in the heading as they were more than 20 years old and were for a very expensive watch brand. So I got pinged but it is still no excuse because I should have read all the rules thoroughly. It is up to you to ask eBay to point you in the right direction for the products you sell.

                I’m also surprised you managed to sell so many gift cards because eBay has a limit on the number you are able to sell when selling them for the first time.

                It’s no use arguing with them about the messages sent as the onus unfortunately is to do your homework which in this case is to read all the terms and conditions for selling goods on eBay carefully and making sure you understand them.

                You can complain till you are blue in the face but the reality is that it is eBay and it is their rules and they can do what they like to a certain extent. Sort of like it is my house and if you want to stay here, then these are the rules, even if we change or modify them. If you want to get them on your side you need to be able to talk to them in a positive way. Not an angry or irate way.

          • Never Pay RRP on 21/06/2019 - 15:41

            @Sshanaz: If the police don't arrest you the very first time they see you commit an offence, it doesn't mean that they can then never arrest you for subsequent occurrences of the offence.

  • GoldenDragon888 on 05/06/2019 - 18:25

    I wonder if the OP got all these Google Mini codes from some glitch on this deal..

  • GoldenDragon888 on 05/06/2019 - 23:04

    So OP after seeing other people sell codes post a forum question about whether it’s legal. Spackbace replies with a comment mentioning that

    someone sold 50 codes [for google minis] for US$50 or so, couldn't be bothered selling them individually.

    I think OP thought this was a good opportunity and got on it to. Not sure how much the OP paid for the codes or sold them for but if he only paid $50US for 50 then it would have been better to let a refund occur.

    In the whirlpool link from Grimace3 the OP mentions that after 5 out of 6 complaints were decided in his favour he reached out to eBay. It was then they asked him more questions, which resulted in his suspension, “I am risk to Ebay community”. If only he didn’t reach out. Because after he

    I am curious as to the evidence of purchase he gave to eBay after they requested it.

  • Sshanaz on 06/06/2019 - 04:59

    So OP after seeing other people sell codes post a forum question about whether it’s legal. Spackbace replies with a comment mentioning that someone sold 50 codes [for google minis] for US$50 or so, couldn't be bothered selling them individually.

    I was selling since April. I just wanted to confirm if I wasn't doing anything wrong and nobody said it was illegal.

    I think OP thought this was a good opportunity and got on it to. Not sure how much the OP paid for the codes or sold them for but if he only paid $50US for 50 then it would have been better to let a refund occur.

    I was only making minor profit. It was not possible to start accepting refunds where other party had already redeemed code as I was going to lose over $10 for every transaction. I reached out to Ebay on 5 May after 1st dispute was lodged however the account was suspended in June.

    All disputes were related to "Item Not Received" where the buyer claimed they didn't receive physical product. It was mentioned in both title and item description(see links below) that I am not selling any physical product and therefore these cases were decided in my favour.

    https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69829/sale.jpg
    https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/84336/69828/descriptio…

    • GoldenDragon888 on 06/06/2019 - 05:47

      So it seems your cost was $10 per item. What was the profit?

      When did eBay ask you to provide evidence of purchase? Also what evidence did you supply eBay as to how you purchased these codes?

      How long after providing this evidence, were you suspended?

      • Sshanaz on 06/06/2019 - 06:05

        So it seems your cost was $10 per item. What was the profit?
        Around $4.5 after deducting all fees.

        When did eBay ask you to provide evidence of purchase? Also what evidence did you supply eBay as to how you purchased these codes?
        Ebay asked me to provide evidence on 27 May. I provided them following:
        1) Multiples spotify screenshots which show "Your Google mini is ready to redeem." All of them had different receipt date and time depending on when they were sent. I was able to obtain these screenshots from my suppliers(not sure if supplier made these accounts or got it from somewhere else). Rest of them were purchased from Redditbay but I went silent on this part as I only had Paypal transaction details.
        2) For approx. 30% orders, I organised physical delivery to buyer's Paypal address by directly placing order. This is because either the buyer requested it or they had very low feedback(some had zero). For latter cases, I checked with them before placing an order myself. I shared screenshots of Google Store dispatch emails for these orders. Everything could also be confirmed by Ebay via Ebay messages where I sent these screenshots to the buyers and the tracking numbers.

        How long after providing this evidence, were you suspended?
        Within 3 hours :(

        • GoldenDragon888 on 06/06/2019 - 07:59

          As I started to suspect, it was probably your sourcing of these codes that they deemed an issue.

    • whooah1979 on 06/06/2019 - 05:55

      nobody said it was illegal.

      No one is suggesting that it is an offence to sell vouchers in this way. It is the how the items were shipped that landed the seller in hot water.

      • GoldenDragon888 on 06/06/2019 - 05:57

        Unless the seller got them in a dodgy way. I am curious as to how the OP got 50 codes.

        I am thinking it mite also come down to eBay not being happy with the evidence he provided as to how he purchased these codes.

        • ibuy on 06/06/2019 - 22:36
          +1

          That is also another issue. If you can’t verify that these were from a legitimate source or you have done something dodgy to obtain the item/codes/vouchers then the trust and safety team steps in. I sell lots of brand name items. But I have to keep every receipt from the places I buy in case I am asked to verify that the item is not a fake or sourced by black market/grey market channels. In Australia, grey market channels used to buy goods can end you up in hot water.

        • spackbace on 20/06/2019 - 20:35

          Only way was through Reddit. And those sources from there were questionable.

          Most sellers on there either sold directly or through Discord servers and were very strict on using the codes asap. Very specific rules to using them too (different ph number, credit card, email address per order)

          Using eBay to sell these was only going to end up badly.

          And yes, they're still digital codes sent as a direct link, something ebay doesn't like.

  • spackbace on 21/06/2019 - 01:55
    +2

    Apparently OP has taken this to NCAT

    Yep… Trying to on-sell google home mini codes which were bought through dodgy means, which then violated both the terms of that promotion and eBay's own policies on digital goods. All OP was doing was selling a link, no physical coupons (as the chat team obviously thought).

    Nice way to waste a day in court I suppose 😂 be funny if either of the companies involved looked into the OP

    • GoldenDragon888 on 21/06/2019 - 07:38

      It looks like he negged your comment, lol.

  • koakun on 21/06/2019 - 09:24

    I have a same experience before.
    Buyer opened dispute "not received" but the voucher was already redeemed.
    Paypal denied seller protection and I lost.

    The other case , I sent physical card by registered post and buyer receivedAnd with signature.
    Buyer open dispute as "unauthorized transaction"
    I have a proof at this time , paypal covered me as seller protection.
    Paypal said they lost against credit card provider later days.

  • profar on 21/06/2019 - 09:43

    @Sshanaz Ebay has there rules but still the laws of the country must be followed . These people have obtained financial advantage by deception. On that basis I would construct a well worded letter threatening what you can do being legal action and police involvement . If not resolved from that I would follow up starting with the police report .

    Keep all the evidence you can and try to do as much as you can ( help of family and friends ) without those legal vultures :)

    I would also send a similar letter to Ebay expressing your outrage of why they are supporting these people who have clearly broken the law .

    Everyone can make up rules BUT the laws of the country must be followed .

  • GoldenDragon888 on 26/06/2019 - 18:13
    +1

    Looks like OP is now banned from OzBargain. Where can he post about this “injustice”, whirlpool?

    • spackbace on 26/06/2019 - 19:07
      +1

      Looks like someone was trying to sell his stuff under a different account.

      As I said, I have no doubt that OP runs multiple accounts on eBay to sell between accounts and claim cashbacks etc they're not entitled to.

      I wonder if Shopback can trace them ;)

      • GoldenDragon888 on 27/06/2019 - 09:24

        How do you get around eBay fees? Wouldn’t they cancel out most of the revenue from this scam?

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