eBay

the_london_store · ‎19-02-2022

I've been trying for over 1 year to downgrade my account from Business to Personal.

I've contacted ebay multiple times, but they say this is not possible.

Sometimes I dont even sell 1 item a month, so there is no reason for me to have a business account.

If you make it so easy to upgrade to business account, then you should give users the option to go back. This is so DISAPPOINTING and DECEIVING.

I've been on ebay for 10 years. I don't want to create a new account.

Can we get some help from ebay please?

Is it possible to vote for this feature, so action is taken?

4_bathrooms · ‎29-05-2024

@shamglobal wrote:

If ebay was so strict about your point, they should only allow business accounts to be created as a new entity.

I agree; an account should be created as a business or a private account without there being an "upgrade" option. I believe the option to upgrade is only there so eBay can forcibily convert an account to a business one or so that "side hustle" sellers can be nudged towards operating the correct type of account.

If you think about it any previous feedback you received as a private seller was never going to be relevant to the company; the company should have had it's own zero-feedback eBay account from the outset. But one thing eBay make abundantly clear is that once an eBay account has been opened as or "upgraded" to a business account there is no going back. Also, with the introduction of the "know your customer" element of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and the separate Platform Operators (Due Diligence and Reporting Requirements) Regulations they likely couldn't do so legally anyway.

Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

shamglobal · ‎29-05-2024

@4_bathrooms wrote:
@shamglobal wrote:

If ebay was so strict about your point, they should only allow business accounts to be created as a new entity.
I agree; an account should be created as a business or a private account without there being an "upgrade" option. I believe the option to upgrade is only there so eBay can forcibily convert an account to a business one or so that "side hustle" sellers can be nudged towards operating the correct type of account.

If you think about it any previous feedback you received as a private seller was never going to be relevant to the company; the company should have had it's own zero-feedback eBay account from the outset. But one thing eBay make abundantly clear is that once an eBay account has been opened as or "upgraded" to a business account there is no going back. Also, with the introduction of the "know your customer" element of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and the separate Platform Operators (Due Diligence and Reporting Requirements) Regulations they likely couldn't do so legally anyway.

But conveniently, it's perfectly fine to leave a disolved business on an ebay account with the whole history of purchases being private. It's unfair to the seller and eBay know it. They just prefer the end of year accounts to reflect higher business accounts for their board room, even if inflated.

jonnyd_963 · ‎31-10-2024

Quite agree. I understand all the issues with sellers downgrading to avoid fees, the need to monitor business selling for taxation purposes etc. etc.; but none of this explains why I can't have two accounts (account types) which use the same email address...

I've not sold as a sole-trader on Ebay for a decade, but didn't bother opening a new personal account when that side-hustle wound-up, for the same reasons as everybody else - basically continuity/ease. It's pretty infuriating to need to open an entirely new email account with someone just to sell a few personal items without fees.

To my mind, if ebay aren't going to (or can't) allow 2-way account switching, it should either have a much stricter upgrade process - especially not allowing a personal email account to be linked to business selling, or to allow a personal email account to be linked to both account types simultaneously.

Yes, I know I could close the account - but I've been using it as a personal account for 20 years, and it is occasionally useful to have the purchase history on the site, and honestly, the historic reputation when you happen to be selling something of value.

Pain in the ass to lose the history, and to have to start again building a reputation so's buyers will trust you. Doesn't feel like you are looking after your customers here, ebay.

myriad*seller · ‎31-10-2024

You CAN have two accounts

Just not with the same email address

It is simple to set up a second email address so you can have a second account

eBay does not limit the number of accounts anyone can have (unless they have been suspended on another account).

shamglobal · ‎31-10-2024

Your post is an understatement.

The point is to be able to switch back from a business account to a personal account, if your company is no longer trading.

Why? Because the account you originally created (personal) is seasoned and long standing with good feed back. But you now have to start fresh because eBay don't allow you to go back from business to personal.

papso22 · ‎31-10-2024

But wasn't the original account a business one?

myriad*seller · ‎31-10-2024

The feedback would not be a true representation of the account though

It would include feedback from a business, on the page of a personal account

Imagine if you sold lots of fine jewellery as a business for instance, then decided to sell your enormous collection of toy elephants when you retired. The feedback is for business sales, which do not reflect the type of personal sales you would be making, so are irrelevant to the personal account.

Just because YOU might be a one man band so essentially the person, that wouldn't apply to all businesses or accounts, and the rules have to be the same for everyone.

shamglobal · ‎31-10-2024

My account was personal. I had it for many years. Then I turned THAT account into a business one, sold hardly anything, then the business folded. So the feedback is for all my personal items. Now I want my account to be personal again, for reasons of age of account and feedback. So first of, my feedback was all personal anyway.

@myriad*seller wrote:
The feedback would not be a true representation of the account though

It would include feedback from a business, on the page of a personal account

Imagine if you sold lots of fine jewellery as a business for instance, then decided to sell your enormous collection of toy elephants when you retired. The feedback is for business sales, which do not reflect the type of personal sales you would be making, so are irrelevant to the personal account.

Just because YOU might be a one man band so essentially the person, that wouldn't apply to all businesses or accounts, and the rules have to be the same for everyone.

The buyers and browsers are not interested if the feedback is "business" or "personal". Since you already pointed out you can be a one man band, and be either one. So your point here is irrelevant. The difference in the account type is only for eBay knowing you're a business entity mainly for tax and different seller rates. So going back to a personal account makes absolutely no difference. Feedback for personal vs business is no difference at all. Nobody cares. Ebay are making a distinction in error, not on purpose.

papso22 · ‎31-10-2024

Ebay are making the decision that they are making, end of.

rebelchicken · ‎01-11-2024

I Will make this point again.

Ebay Forced a lot of people to upgrade from personal accounts to business accounts (early 2000s for me), because they deemed that we had exceeded an arbitrary sales figure.

For me this was selling off some of my old comics over a decade ago.

I have NEVER run a business on EBAY.

They forced me to upgrade.

This wasn't much of a problem whilst business and personal sellers were both charged.

Now it is.

Get it?

peps8260 · ‎03-11-2024

They did this to my account I had no idea sell the odd bit here and there found out the hard way sold a Tiffany ring they took £22 disgusting

myriad*seller · ‎03-11-2024

Your account is registered as a private seller

So unless you add chargeable extras to your listings there are not selling fees

Read the terms of the free listings if you want to avoid listing fees

Is is really worth you selling those items for 50p even without fees?

santlache_sales · ‎03-11-2024

Of course it is not possible to downgrade, especially now.

As a Buisness ebay will charge you, as a Private seller they won't. So they are hardly going to let you change.

Just close your account and open a new one as a Private buyer, maybe it'll also help eBay stats and make them realise they are driving businsses away with this crazy unsustainable policy.