My other account Suspended for refusing to change to a business seller

[**foxytori**]

So, it has begun. Despite me not trading, not selling anything new, not selling anything in multiple, and only selling personal items (currently I am selling my collection of Radio Times which I built up over many years when I was younger - most of which have now sold anyway so any future sales would be minimal) my other account has been suspended for selling. I am told this is because of volume of sales (despite ebay's own help pages stating that someone can sell tens of thousands of pounds worth of a collection and not be liable to tax or be classed as a business).

As I am in no way a business, and it possibly may be against the law to masquerade as a business when I am not a business, I'm really not sure what my options are. 

Customer service are useless (I have just received a message in very poor English to say that I have lost any appeal and the only way to lift the suspension is to "upgrade" (sic) to become a business seller.

[moldosgifts]

To be honest i had a look at this account and my first opinion was a car boot trader.

Was your ither account similar?

So despite being second hand you have allot of it and good sales figures that will give ebay all the ammo they need.

Good luck with your appeal

[allsortsallsorts1]

moldosgifts and others, thanks for your replies, yes basically I am an online car boot sale if you like just selling old tat and collections of stuff rather than chuck it or give it away. I appreciate that to an automated ebay the volume of items over decades etc doesn't look good, but that doesn't mean I've broken any policies or am trading as a business.

I'll let you all know what the appeal comes up with 🙂

[*vyolla*]

It is most ironic that we've been looking at business sellers with numerous accounts listing thousands and thousands of items who are, without a doubt, trading as a business, who are still carrying on their merry way but you get called out.

[allsortsallsorts1]

I agree. I suspect they are working through everyone alphabetically, as I start with "a".

[kempseykate]

This is the thing about ebay that really annoys me. It's as if they aren't bothered about losing the fees from a low value seller, but don't want to upset the unreg busness sellers bringing in quite a bit in fees.

[dch2112011]

ebay's policy for private sellers includes a statement that 'large quantity sellers' need to register as a business - no mention of the number of sold items or over what period of time a seller is categorised as selling a large quantity nor does it qualify that large quantity sellers have to be registered as a business merely that they should operate from a business account - no consistancy is my thought 

[theelench]

After a very quick look at both accounts and an equally quick calculation I ask myself if ebay is serious?

On one account 6.8K items sold in 16 years  = about 250 items p.a.

Other account 4.2K items sold in 8 years  = 220 p.a.

Quite possibly, as a private seller, the OP's sales could well have followed the same trajectory as mine  --  down - down- and down.  (I made almost half of my total sales on ebay in the first 2 years  - 2012 & 13)  So quite possibly, although the totals and averages look quite high they are not as rosie as they look at first glance.

Even if they are as good as they look, is ebay hitting the least worst 'offenders' first?

There are several business sellers who say they keep an eye on their (unfair) competition.   "Private" sellers with thousands of listings and tens of thousands of sales over decades.  I've seen exactly 1 report of any of them having re-registered as a business and several where they are still trading exactly as always.

Does this thread give me any confidence in the Appeal Procedure ebay has set-up ?  No.

Or in the assurances that were given here that genuine private sellers had nothing to fear?   No.

If ebay is sending out re-registration instructions for private sellers with such low thresholds, there are going to be thousands of private sellers involved.

[dch2112011]

Honestly, I have just about given up trying to work out the reasoning or the direction this is going in - I admit it ebay have won the war of attrition !

[moldosgifts]

I'm Opening and private account calling it Zypher, then adding all my business listings.

Once they get to me should have bumper month.

😁

[1956glyn]

Years ago i was told by CS in Ireland that if a private seller sells less than 100 items a year then they class you as a very very small time seller

[dch2112011]

That makes sense  and is true but what makes a large quantity seller ?

[allsortsallsorts1]

My appeal via a phone chat with eBay IRE rep this morning would appear to be unsuccessful. I have received the following unsigned response. This means no more ebay for this account then, as I am simply not a business and do not wish to masquerade as one. If they don't want people trading then it would be simple, just stop someone selling new items or more than one of the same item. Hey ho:

Dear allsortsallsorts1

Thanks for contacting us about the upgrade of your eBay account from a private to a business account..

We carefully reviewed your account, and your selling activity suggests you are operating as a business on eBay. You must register as a business on eBay if, for example, you sell items you have bought to resell, you make items to sell them, or if you buy items for your business.

For this reason, we encourage you to upgrade to a business account to avoid selling restrictions, and to access all the benefits and tools designed to help you grow and succeed on eBay.

We understand you might have been hoping for a different outcome, but we’re glad we’ve had the opportunity to clarify the situation.

If you have any further questions or need assistance with upgrading your account, please feel free to get in touch.

We look forward to continuing a successful relationship with you on eBay.

Regards,

eBay

[rare_treat]

I haven’t been on this forum long, but from what I can tell the private vs business seller is much debated.

So a collector who wants to recoup some of their spent money and so lists / sells 20 items (a few hundred pounds worth) a month isn’t going raise any concerns. But if that collector suddenly decides to sell 20 years worth of their items – hundreds of items, and thousands of pounds worth – they will face some issues. Ultimately, it’s the same person, selling the same items, with just the timespan being different. But in the second example people will come along and say they’re a business. That doesn’t make it true. Now, whether HMRC see them as “selling unwanted items” or “trading” is a different question, and they would have the final say there.

My point is, people often can’t say for sure whether an eBay account is a business or not. The government can, and once they make a decision you probably can’t change that, as it’s their country, they’re in charge, so it’s their rules. Same goes for eBay. You can argue all you want with them about you being a private seller or business, but it’s their platform, they’re in charge, so it’s their rules. C'est la vie.

[messier44000]

That looks very ai generated, and the same everyone will get.

I doubt very much a human did the reviewing.

Maybe try getting another chat with custard support and insist the rep gives you 

the exact reason behind their decision.

[notstopbuying]

So does that mean, your account is still active? With the option to upgrade to a business account and that you are no longer banned, just not able to list etc, unless you go to a business account? 

[allsortsallsorts1]

notstopbuying:  my account is inactive for listing and selling unless I "upgrade" (sic) to a business account (which I will not be doing, as I am not a business nor operating as one).

[1956glyn]

Ebay will probably still allow you to purchase.    If oine account is restricted from selling then all your accounts will be.    If you have family members who live with you and have an Ebay account then theirs will too.

[dougbat20]

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@allsortsallsorts1 wrote:

My appeal via a phone chat with eBay IRE rep this morning would appear to be unsuccessful. I have received the following unsigned response. This means no more ebay for this account then, as I am simply not a business and do not wish to masquerade as one. If they don't want people trading then it would be simple, just stop someone selling new items or more than one of the same item. Hey ho:

Dear allsortsallsorts1

Thanks for contacting us about the upgrade of your eBay account from a private to a business account..

We carefully reviewed your account, and your selling activity suggests you are operating as a business on eBay. You must register as a business on eBay if, for example, you sell items you have bought to resell, you make items to sell them, or if you buy items for your business.

For this reason, we encourage you to upgrade to a business account to avoid selling restrictions, and to access all the benefits and tools designed to help you grow and succeed on eBay.

We understand you might have been hoping for a different outcome, but we’re glad we’ve had the opportunity to clarify the situation.

If you have any further questions or need assistance with upgrading your account, please feel free to get in touch.

We look forward to continuing a successful relationship with you on eBay.

Regards,

eBay

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@allsortsallsorts1 wrote:

My appeal via a phone chat with eBay IRE rep this morning would appear to be unsuccessful. I have received the following unsigned response. This means no more ebay for this account then, as I am simply not a business and do not wish to masquerade as one. If they don't want people trading then it would be simple, just stop someone selling new items or more than one of the same item. Hey ho:

Dear allsortsallsorts1

Thanks for contacting us about the upgrade of your eBay account from a private to a business account..

We carefully reviewed your account, and your selling activity suggests you are operating as a business on eBay. You must register as a business on eBay if, for example, you sell items you have bought to resell, you make items to sell them, or if you buy items for your business.

For this reason, we encourage you to upgrade to a business account to avoid selling restrictions, and to access all the benefits and tools designed to help you grow and succeed on eBay.

We understand you might have been hoping for a different outcome, but we’re glad we’ve had the opportunity to clarify the situation.

If you have any further questions or need assistance with upgrading your account, please feel free to get in touch.

We look forward to continuing a successful relationship with you on eBay.

Regards,

eBay

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That's an interesting response...

You're perfectly entitled to have multiple eBay accounts, such as a buyers account and a sellers account, or a private account and a business account, etc. Some people have accounts specifically just for posting on these forums, so they do not have a link to their sales etc.

Personally if it was me I would make the allsorts account a business one for in case you do decide to buy for resale purposes, then your other account you posted on (or a brand new one) can be set up for any private sales. That would then also lift the suspension on the allsortsallsorts1 account.

Genuine private sellers shouldn't be punished for having a private account...

[pg_kicks]

It wouldnt take long for the private account to be linked funds on hold and the same message being sent. Its what eBay do, once accounts have the same IP and/or physical addresses they are linked so you'd not just be able to get around it by using another or opening another. Like you say you can have multiple accounts but if they believe you have multiple accounts to get around their policy eBay wont like it, and I'm not saying OP would be doing that but as eBay just need to suspect something for them to take action thats exactly what they will suspect.

[moldosgifts]

All this points me to think , eBay needs to have just one account for all none of this privat or bussiness.

All details available for all to see .

It will stop all this if you want shop fine no free offers to anyone all on the same playing field.

Back to how it was when it started.