The Most Ridiculous Banning Ever. Ebay does not have sellers backs.

[ri-32795]

Okay, let me first off say that I have screenshots of everything that happend.

This is how it goes. I was a seller on ebay for 6 years with no issues. I loved using ebay. I had an Iphone 13 Pro Max listed for roughly 1500$. A buyer, WHO JUST MADE A NEW ACCOUNT THAT DAY, NO NEED FEEDBACK FROM COLUMBIA, bought the iPhone just like that, no messages to confirm anything or any questions.

So here I am thinking, red flag here, red flag there. Im gonna get on customer support with ebay and tell them about this buyer and how I feel like its a scam.  Ebay tells me, "as long as you ship to that confirmed address, we have your back"

So I shipped the item to Colombia. A week or so later, I get a message from the buyer saying that the iPhone is at post office, but its too far away for him to pick it up. Im thinking, hows that my problem? So I tell him to ship back the iphone for a refund. He refused to pick up the phone and a few more days pass. I get a message ebay saying im on  hold for 1500$ because the item is not as described. Im thinking, he hasnt picked up the item to verify anything, this is ridiculous.

So again, I get on customer support with ebay and explain my situation. Ebay sides with me in the dispute because of how ridiuclous this is. Ebay tells me, if he doesnt pick up the item, itll get sent back to me and buyer wont get his funds back. Im thinking great. Great customer support as always ebay.

Another few days passes buy and I get an email from ebay saying that I owe them the funds from the iPhone because the buyer did a chargeback of "item not as described" to his bank, so they refunded him. Now ebay, who initially sided with me, who has its own fraud department with probably hundreds of lawyers, were coming after me for this.

Ive dealt with so many customer service represenatives since then to get this sorted out with ebay not even being reasonable. They (ebay) wouldnt take the time to call the buyers bank and explain to them that its impossible for an item not as decribed, if the buyer never picked up the item. They wouldnt give me the name of his bank or a number to call and explain my case.

I refused to pay ebay the money they say that I owe them outta principe. I didnt want to shop to Columbia, I told them how it was a new account made that day and all the red flags, but ebay insisted, "you ship to that confirmed address and we got your back".

So my account is permantly resitricted because of this incident. And I was a heavy seller. The month previous to my account being restricted I had  2900$ in ebay fees that month alone.

"ebay seller guarentee" is a joke. I did everything by the book and was a great seller, now ebay has put my name into collections and says i owe them 1500$ and suspended my account.

*PS. im only allowed to upload one screenshot so Im posting the links to screenshots*

https://ibb.co/Jjgx0hds
https://ibb.co/dwJJG1pH
https://ibb.co/FLV9Pvs9
https://ibb.co/DHkT759P
https://ibb.co/TM2Yz4SK
https://ibb.co/wxxLY7F
https://ibb.co/F4ssSf7c
https://ibb.co/bgbVZxcX
https://ibb.co/VYSdy1Pg
https://ibb.co/tpBFjrSy

[john_koenig99]

Wow, what a mess. Not surprised about eBay's response, sadly. 

Two things come to mind: First, blocking buyers from certain countries is there for a reason. Second,  I would have never accepted the buy of such an expensive item from a buyer with zero history. Like you say, red flags were there, very visible.

[msau4301]

This is very unfortunate. Selling high ticket items is always a risk and to ship outside of Canada and the US is even riskier. It's too bad you didn't go with your initial hunch, "I didnt want to ship to Columbia, I told them how it was a new account made that day and all the red flags". This was a hard lesson to learn.

I'm not sure what shipping service you used, if item was undeliverable it could maybe have been returned. (I once got an undeliverable item I'd sent to Germany returned to me after three months!) But the fact that yours was an iPhone, makes that far less likely.

[mrdutch1001]

Sorry but I did not look at the screenshots  as there are always 3 sides to every eBay story.(the seller,the buyer, eBay)....

"I didnt want to shop to Columbia" ...so why did you?...

every seller has the right to refuse to sell to anyone and has the right to cancel a sale. If you as the seller did not have a good feeling about this transaction from the get-go, then you should have cancelled the sale, instead of jumping at the chance to get a $1500 sale from someone in Columbia with new account 0 feedback. Sorry but you have learned a hard lesson here.

[brettjet38]

@ri-32795 This is how it goes. I was a seller on ebay for 6 years with no issues.

So why have you not learned or read on how to set up your listings and the countries you want to ship to, or not ship to?

@ri-32795 So here I am thinking, red flag here, red flag there.

So why did you still ship the item? You could have cancelled the transaction? 

@ri-32795 I didnt want to shop to Columbia

Your listing said otherwise; did you offer to ship to that location?

Red flags, no kidding, I have never shipped to South America, nor would I ever even consider shipping an expensive item listed in a high-risk, scam, and fraud-riddled category.

You are not getting that money back, and I suggest you sort out your issue directly with eBay, this is your fault; you did not do your own "due diligence" in regards to your obligations as the Seller listing the item.

All the tools are there for the Seller to use and weed out these kinds of Buyers.

You have been on here for 6 years - YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER if you sell so much?

due dil·i·gence

noun

LAW

reasonable steps taken by a person in order to satisfy a legal requirement, especially in buying or selling something.

[reallynicestamps]

Did you use a tracked service?

Does the tracking show that the item was Delivered or Undeliverable (refusal to pick up because of customs)?

EBay does not require any refunds on Undeliverable items.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

Did you put the tracking number in the Dispute?

Not the phone call to a minimum wage subcontracted clerk in Utah or the Philippines but in the Dispute.

Did you state in the Dispute that you would refund on return to Canada?

Did eBay offer you any assistance in sending Return Shipping to Colombia?

But if all your reactions were a nice conversation with that bored clerk, who mostly wanted to get you off the phone so she could have a smoke break, you were ignoring the system that is in place in favour of having your ego stroked.

And again, when eBay informed you of the chargeback (which ended the eBay Dispute by the way), did you supply the tracking number that showed the item was not picked up and/or that it was delivered to the address you were given by eBay.

EBay doesn't want to lose high value sales either and if the seller cooperates will fight the chargeback for you.

[ricarmic]

I think the lesson for others (because I don't remember anyone coming back from being permanently banned) is this part:

"I refused to pay ebay the money they say that I owe them outta principe." 

This changed the outcome from:

a $1500 loss and continuing to sell here

To:

probably an eventual $1500 loss and not being able to sell on eBay anymore.

The math makes the answer seem easy but it's the emotional respose to these exceptionally frustrating situations that often costs us the most, at least in the long term.

[mrdutch1001]

yes sometmes it's mind over matter, emotion over logic, emotion vs" I stand on my principles, and eff You eBay!"

Over the course of my selling years here on eBay, I have taken my frustrations out on eBay by refusing to list anything for a length of time until I get my mindset back on track, but I have not and will not jeopardize my seller status over it. I will exit eBay on My terms when that time comes, but I will exit holding my head high for all the years of selling experience that eBay has given me and there will be no drama when I leave...I shall quietly exit stage left and disappear from the scene.

[hockey-kong]

Wow, for someone who has been on ebay so long I'm surprised you were so naive.

Sorry for your loss and all the stress that goes with it but as someone who has sold on ebay since 2001 and have literally made thousands of dollars for ebay, I can tell you with the utmost sincerity, ebay does not and will not ever have your back  if it costs them money. Anyone who states otherwise is either an ebay employee or just hasn't been around long enough.

I too have screenshots and printouts, not too mention a dozen recoded conversations with the liars they call customer service reps hoping that someday someone with deep pockets takes this company to court. In the meantime I keep a file alongside that hope.

I have a rep blatatly lie to me on the phone and play the recording for another rep later on and they just deflect or ignore.

Ebay will never side with you if it costs them money.

Keep that in mind when you sell on here and you will be just fine. New accounts & high $ items is just a recipe for disaster, sorry it cost you your acct to find out. 

[john_koenig99]

---

@hockey-kong wrote:

Ebay will never side with you if it costs them money.

---

Truest truth. I should print this in large print, frame it and hang it on one of my little home office walls

[ae_purveyors]

OP the screenshots you posted say the case was opened and closed in July 2022 because of a payment dispute with the Buyer's financial institution. 

When exactly did eBay ban you? Recently, as in April 2025?

[brettjet38]

If collections are coming after the OP then this is an old case, and it would make sense if it dates from 2022...

This is a rant against eBay, as the Seller does not seem to be aware of their own "Due Diligence" or their fault in the issue.

Read the policies, use the tools at hand, but never think eBay has your back!

[dinomitesales]

Based on your screenshots this all happened nearly three years ago.

Did you not receive the phone back? I'm actually surprised the phone made it to Colombia considering you shipped it by Canada Post and they don't even allow cell phones (or anything with lithium batteries) to be shipped outside Canada and the U.S.

I understand your frustration, especially since a chargeback was issued against you for a fraudulent reason, but you would have received the phone back, could have resold it, and recouped most of the money you were out. Yes you ultimately would have been out some money (cost of doing business and all that), but you would at least still have your eBay account and would have been able to continue operating your business (which I assume was fairly lucrative considering you paid $2900 in eBay fees in a single month - that's easily 20K+ in gross sales, or 240K+ annually).