Ebay Wrongfully Temporary Restricted My Account Without Notice. What a JOKE.

[moviemerchmania]

I got a message from eBay restricting my account for 30 days from listing. I have the same PC computer game listed both are different conditions. One is Brand new one has a cracked case. Obviously a person with common sense would list these as two different items. Wrong....

According to the CS rep I spoke too I should have put both of them in the same listing... So basically according to her if I have two of the same item one is broken and one is brand new than according to what I am told by eBays customer service they belong in the same listing.........

And on top of this because the majority of the items I sell are in the DVD category, if have multiple duplicate listings since one DVD may be "Brand new" and another may be classified as "Very Good". And once again according to the eBay staff member these should be in the same listing...

So now my account is restricted for 30 days due to multiple duplicate listing violations...

[moviemerchmania]

Thanks Toby and everyone who replied. I really hope eBay staff could read over there own policies before trying to enforce them. Also the advice given to me by more then 1 ebay employee is not accepted. At least I know better than to follow the advice I was given by them. This issue still is not resolved, i have read over eBays policy I have not violated it. I am within there guidelines for listing in the category I was listed in. Thousands of sellers list games and movies the exact same way I do. If was wrong in the first place eBays automation system should have flagged it prior to the listing becoming active like it just in almost every other category. In the end I still think I will walk away with a strict violation on my account and the ban will continue. After speaking with the eBay staff it really makes you think when they cannot locate their own policy and reccomend I do something that is against their own policy.

[rose-dee]

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@moviemerchmania wrote:

Thousands of sellers list games and movies the exact same way I do. If was wrong in the first place eBays automation system should have flagged it prior to the listing becoming active like it just in almost every other category.

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You're right to say that eBay's system should really flag these issues before the item listing goes up -- I know in my categories they do, and I frequently deal with "almost but not quite identical" items.

But you're wrong to assume that because thousands of other sellers do the same thing as you that means you shouldn't change your listing practices. 

Please consider the advice you've been given here -- there's no point in leaving yourself open for another onslaught by eBay.  The next time they could make the punishment worse. 

It doesn't take much time to add a few numbers or an extra word at the end of a title if there is a slight difference between two otherwise identical items.  Or make up your own codes to represent "best condition", "good", and "passable" and put them on the end of each title.  For example, with code A1, A2 and A3 representing the 3 levels of condition, three copies of the same DVD but in different condition, listed separately could be:

- DVD XYZ Game (A1)

- DVD XYZ Game (A2)

- DVD XYZ Game (A3)

The point is, that what you were doing -- separating identical items that had different conditions -- was completely correct, but because the titles also didn't reflect the differences, eBay didn't look beyond the obvious (as is often the case). 

The whole point of the anti-duplicate policy was to prevent flooding of categories with absolutely identical items listed separately (and usually, but not always, with the same titles).  We've all seen this kind of thing -- it's irritating and unfair to buyers and other sellers alike. 

Just changing the title isn't the whole point if the items are otherwise completely identical.  However, if there is a difference between items, they can be listed separately, but then the titles must also be different -- in any way you can think of. 

At least eBay doesn't tell us how the titles must be different, so as I said, make up your own simple system.  Yes, it does mean a couple of extra seconds of manual input per listing, but it will keep you out of eBay's line of fire.

[moviemerchmania]

I still honestly believe there is a mix up here. This may seem kinda out there but I honestly believe they may have me mixed up with someone else. After all it is ebay customer service.... so anything is possible. 

With almost 2000 transactions over the last 12 months and over 99% positive feedback, a day 30 ban seems WAYYYY over excessive. Something else has to be going on behind the scenes here that I am not being told about. 

[pjcdn2005]

"Separate listings for items made to fit specific products, models, or brands—such as connector cables, phone chargers, or auto parts. You can have up to 5 fixed price listings per item for these types of products."

That's interesting....I totally missed that. It does make sense for certain products such as what Mr E sells.

[moviemerchmania]

Well as expected I did not get my hope up.

The manager I dealt with from the Trust and Safety department was supposed to get back to me within 24 hours with hopes of this wrongful restriction being removed.

It has been over 24 hours with no phone call. 

These guys are so scripted with no authority. They really need someone who has a mind of their own and apply common sense to the concerns they are dealing with.

This leaves me with no one else to contact and I have recourse. They have already agreed this does not violate the policy and that it should not be a 30 day restriction.

Any suggestion on what to do is greatly appreciated. 

(please don't suggest calling eBay Support as I would be better off asking my neighbours cat to fix this problem over eBay Support)

[mr.elmwood]

Movie, ya know who you remind me of? Me. Don Quixote, the Knight Errant. Eloquent, informed, fighting for what we believe. Sadly, we do not win "real" battles.

It is sucky, but, the choice falls to doing it their way.

I "think" you got jiggered by simply accepting the pre-filled title. Yes, each item of yours was different, but, the title of the listing was not different.

Check my D805 listings. All the same part, same applications, I change each listing title. Each widget is a little different, so, I change each listing a little bit. Happy bots, happy life.

You could try asking the black groundhog, Gordon, that lives under my neighbour's shed.

[pjcdn2005]

Movie, ya know who you remind me of? Me. Don Quixote, the Knight Errant. Eloquent, informed, fighting for what we believe. Sadly, we do not win "real" battles.

It is sucky, but, the choice falls to doing it their way.

I don't think that the OP is saying that he refuses to do it a specific way. But he can't do it in any way for a month unless the problem gets sorted out sooner. 

[pjcdn2005]

Any suggestion on what to do is greatly appreciated.

My only suggestion is in the last paragraph in post 31 of this thread.

I do think that trying to fix something like this might work better during the week rather than on the weekend.

[moviemerchmania]

Listing in the movies and games section it is actually not against the rules the way I listed it. That is why I have an issue. This is why thousands of other sellers in my category sell the exact same way. Yes I know I can change the title next time. The point is the system flagged my account. And I have been banned for a rule I did not violate. 

I have gone over the policy with eBay Managers and yes I have NOT violated the duplicate policy rule but yet my account is still restricted from listing on ebay. 

[pjcdn2005]

Are you saying that once you get reinstated, you will list things the same way or that you will change the titles to reflect the difference regardless what the rules say?

btw, I don't think that anyone is saying that it is against the rules but that making a change would be the best thing to do so that the same problem doesn't happen in the future.

[ricarmic]

PJ is correct the goal is to avoid the "bots".......

[moviemerchmania]

Yes I will be for sure making the change to avoid this does not happen again. 

All I want is my account reinstated and this removed from my account history.

Obviously I am not going to get an apology from eBay... But it just makes me think...eBays own customer service has suggested I list in a way that would deceive buyers, is Against their own policy, would ruin my own reputation and land me in hot water. Luckily I am not an idiot.. 

Not to mention the false lies of "Sir, we are working on addressing this situation" 'We will call you back within 24 hours".... This is from a manager from the Trust (LOL!) and safety team. 

As soon as he hung up the phone with me it was probably as if we never even spoke. I will most likely never hear back from him.

[moviemerchmania]

As far as "bots" are concerned, I think it is a GREAT way to flag items that may violate policies and I am all for it.

The issue I have is they need someone with a functional brain or at least half functional with some type of authority to review certain circumstances and address issues as their flagging system is not perfect. 

[pierrelebel]

"someone with a functional brain"

at eBay???

[moviemerchmania]

Yes I know it is alot to ask but maybe someday..

[mdf_jersey]

I don't get it. Why the 30 day suspension. Is it on all activity? I have numerously listed by error mind you exact listing and all I would get is a light slap on the wrist. Do you have a low DSR rating. There has to be something more to this.

On the flip side, Ebay at times is so generic lately with the way issues are handled. Hard for them to ( at times ) think out side the box.

Good luck.

[moviemerchmania]

Nope my lowest DSR is 4.9/5.

The system flagged my item as duplicate and removed me. It was then looked at by someone at eBay who figured this violation was severe enough and awarded a 30 day ban from all selling activities. 

[moviemerchmania]

As an Update, a second manager from eBay customer support who is not tied to the first manager I spoke with (who never called me back after saying he would) just called me.

I should of grabbed her name but she ALSO said this should not have happened and is working on appealing it and having it cleared from my account.

Unfortunately she said it can take up to 72 hours. 

Once again I am not getting my hopes up as after all it is eBay customer support..............

[amethyst1415]

You say that most of your listings are in the DVD category. What about all the half naked women? Kind of offensive. Wish I could search through all of your stuff without seeing that as I was interested in what you are selling (the ALF show) but I can't stand looking at the rest of it.

It's too bad there isn't a search parameter in which I could view everything else but that. Also, if you are blocked then how do people purchase your stuff?

[moviemerchmania]

I am only restricted from listing new items and revising current active listings. As for the "half naked women" they are officially licensed product of photographs of various swimsuit models from Maxim and Sports illustrated. They are not intended to be offensive so I apologize if you were offended.