Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

I am asking this because I have seen a number of new buyers who's ids are like this:

 

"something looks like they created"-"about 7 characters of gibberish"

 

so something like  (this is a totally ficticious ebay name by the way)

 

"myebayid-g8Ky31Z"

 

I've seen the likes in the past for foreign non-English users but it seems almost every id that is a zero or has newly been created has the "-gibberish" part on the end.....

 

Doesn't really matter, it is certainly odd looking.....

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

Many ID are derived in a way that the person can remember it easily

 

ID = IIWDWTD

 

From Shakespeare -----

 

 

If It Were Done When Tis Done ------then twere well it were done quickly

 

At first the ID looks crazy  but to the person with that ID it makes sense...

 

 

The ID has to be something that is easily remembered  by the person with that ID.

 

Unfortunately... others might find it confusing.

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

Some people would look at ... ricarmic.... and say  .... What?

 

But then also cumos55......Uh Huh!

 

We each remember our ID our own special way.....

 

 

and ... When I do a spell check  my ID is "not" spelled wrong.....OK, what next?   How did that happen?

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?


@ricarmic wrote:

I am asking this because I have seen a number of new buyers who's ids are like this:

 

"myebayid-g8Ky31Z"

 

I've seen the likes in the past for foreign non-English users but it seems almost every id that is a zero or has newly been created has the "-gibberish" part on the end.....

 


I haven't noticed this, but then I haven't really been looking for it either.  However, I would think that strings of mixed upper and lower-case letters and numbers like the one you've mentioned are likely not somebody's personal choice. 

 

One thought -- maybe eBay has so many current users and has used up so many IDs (which I assume can't be re-issued to new users, at least for some time) that it now has to add computer-generated "suffixes" to distinguish one from the other.

 

So perhaps if someone tries to enter "rose-dee" as a user ID, if this is already taken, eBay's computer's will tack on a series of randomly-generated letters and numbers to make it a distinctive ID.  You hit the OK button and voilà! -- you've got your weird-looking ID. 

 

This makes sense to me because the "gibberish" you noted above looks very much like the randomly-generated security characters used to ensure eBay emails are being sent by real people, and not machines. 

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

My best guess.

 

The buyer may not have an eBay id and is purchasing with a temp id generated by the eBay system. The buyer may have found the item using Google search??? The buyer is not registered on eBay fully. It could be a real new eBayer or a scammer trying to minimize traceability.

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

These are good ideas. The last section certainly looks to be non person generated. Maybe the Kalvins can advise.... Watch the new or low feedback buyers you have and see if you see similar things.... I have been treating them with more caution so far.
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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

Oh no -- look at this post, and see if you think this could be a simple coincidence.  Are we being invaded (again)??

 

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Suspicious-Buyer-with-Zero-Feedback-and-other-red-flags/m...

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

I think that ebay is generating new user id's. I am sure that I read that somewhere but of course I can't find it now.

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?

Yes eBay creates a username when you sign up, but gives you the option to immediately change it

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Re: Is eBay automagically generating eBay ids for new users?


@theundercutter wrote:

Yes eBay creates a username when you sign up, but gives you the option to immediately change it


No, I don't think this isn't the usual eBay automated ID generator.  As an experiment, I opened a new ID just now (I've been meaning to do this for a while anyway).  The automated ID I was given consisted of the first 5 letters of my last name, plus "ca2014", which makes some logical sense when you look at it. 

 

A further list of automated alternatives came up once I tried to change that ID, but again, they were all relatively short, fairly logical and somewhat related to the choice I keyed in. 

 

The fact that 'ricarmic'  suddenly noticed these very different IDs with a whole string of unrelated mixed digits and letters may be meaningful. 

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