Most Common Reasons eBay Sellers Get Suspended

This article discusses the most common reason eBay sellers get suspended.  I’ve been associated with eBay for the passed 6+ years.  I started selling my own products and then branched out to assist other sellers, which I enjoy even more than working by myself.  I handle all of the online responsibilities so the seller can focus on the shipping, inventory and identifying new product sources.

eBay continues to raise the bar when it comes to selling.  It seems like every year they are getting more strict with the sellers and more intolerant of under performing sellers.  I recently watched a few YouTube videos of people ranting about 15,000 seller accounts being suspended since last summer.

I think they have figured out that some of the sellers were using “Stealth” accounts.  There were several videos on YouTube about how to setup a stealth account after you have been suspended.  I was really surprised that people were posting videos advertising it.  Obviously, they weren’t thinking about the possibility of eBay monitoring social media sites to see what people are talking about.

Top Rated Seller Status

Becoming a Top Rated Seller is a fairly easy status to reach if you are reliable and honest.  Receiving the 20% on the final value fees each month is sweet.  Then they changed the requirements and included 1 day handling for the shipping.  As a result, only the listings that offer a 1 day handling time qualify for the discount as long as the tracking number is uploaded into the system within 24 hours from the time of the sale, so many sellers lost out on one the best benefits.  eBay is clearly trying to complete with other sites like amazon and they should.

I’ve worked with a number of sellers over the years and they seem to experience common issues such as not communicating with their buyers, delayed shipping, over selling their inventory and basically poor customer service.  Too many occurrences of these issues will most certainly get a seller suspended or at the very least have selling limits placed on their account.  Regardless it is not a good situation for a seller to be in.

Another common problem sellers seem to have is listing violations.  eBay has so many policies, it can be challenging to keep up with them.  A listing violation can be anything from listing used software to not having the “blaze orange” cap on the end of a toy rifle or gun barrel image.  Some manufacturers will not allow their products to be sold on eBay at all.  If they see product listed, they report it and eBay will end the listing.

Another big problem is not making sure that an item is authentic.  The counterfeit industry is a multi billion dollar opportunity and a lot people are involved with it…high risk, high reward.  I personally don’t think it is worth it if you are wanting to sell on eBay long term.

Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is another problem I’ve seen sellers experience problems with.  If sellers are going to use drop shipping, they need to have a backup plan in place and many of them don’t.  The possibility of their supplier not having the item available doesn’t even cross some sellers’ minds until it is too late.

Getting suspended from eBay can be very frustrating and devastating if it is a seller’s only or primary source of income.  Knowing that and still being nonchalant about eBay’s policies or having poor customer service is puzzling to me.  Sellers need to control everything they can because they need to give themselves some lead way if they run into unreasonable buyers which will occur at some point.  Some buyers are dishonest and know how to play the game.  It’s important for sellers to be proactive and protect themselves as much as possible.

If a seller has employees, they need to make sure the employees understand what they are doing.  Lack of training or improper training is another area that can wreak havoc on a seller’s performance.  Using the excuse that the employee is new and wasn’t aware they were doing something wrong won’t fly with eBay.  They hold the seller responsible for everything related to their account and they will continue to raise the bar in order to stay competitive and keep buyers coming back.

eBay also reviews your business model.  For example, if you are selling high risk items like electronics and autographed photos, eBay can suspend your account if they suspect fraud or counterfeit items.  eBay requires you to input the item location.  If you are drop shipping an item from China, that is a red flag and eBay will be watching you.

There are alternatives to eBay and Amazon is one of them, but they are more strict than eBay.  I was once approached by a seller who asked me to open an Amazon account and sell his products for him and he would handle the inventory and shipping.  Once I saw his eBay performance I quickly turned his offer down.  He is banned from Amazon for life for over selling his products.

Some of the other alternatives like Amazon Associates, eBid.net, uBid.net or webstore.com.  It’s a good idea to consider additional selling platforms to start building a good reputation.

 

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If you receive the dreaded email from eBay that your account has been suspended, don’t give up.  You can file an appeal explaining your situation, and any corrective action you have taken to resolve the issue(s).  I recommend working with one representative until your account has been reinstated.  If you don’t, every time you call eBay, you will have to explain your situation over and over again.  It will feel like Groundhog Day.

Keep in mind suspension is avoidable.  Be proactive and have a good working knowledge of the eBay policies.

 

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