Need Advice: Need Help and Don't Know Where to Start

Transient · December 7, 2020

As everybody knows, the Xbox Series X and PS5 are the hot items right now. If you want one you either need to get lucky at GameStop, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc. Due to my wife's work hours, and I'm at home with the kids, I can't do that. So, I did what every other person would do -- go to Ebay. My wife and I discussed the maximum amount we would spend on an Xbox Series X. After losing dozens of auctions because the amount went too high, I was lucky enough to win. Unfortunately, I bid on 2 that expired at the same time. I ended up winning both at about $750 each. At this point, that's a really good deal since today I saw them going for $850+. I only wanted 1, but Ebay says that if you bid you're agreeing to buy. So I sucked it up, told my wife what happened, then contacted my brother and he agreed to pay me the amount I paid for 1 of those auctions if I gave him one. He was looking for one also. Deal! Everything is good to go, or so I thought.

Less than 2 hours later I was able to sneak away from the kids and pay for both auctions I won. I log into my account and start looking to make sure my shipping address is correct since I noticed the default billing address was incorrect. I thought I'd taken care of this a few days ago when I listed my exhaust cutouts from my 2020 Trail Boss, but wanted to make sure. While doing this I came upon one of those "Uh oh! Something went wrong" webpages. I then find out my account is suspended. I've never been in trouble with eBay before, and wondered wtf! So, I begin the process of chatting with eBay customer support. Turns out if your account is suspended they won't tell you why. And, my account is suspended permanently. There is no appeal process. I don't have the skills or knowledge for using hacks, robots, etc. All the auctions I lost and won on eBay were done on my cell phone using my thumb. No cheating at all.

I think some of you can understand that I'm a bit angry, and now concerned about not being able to get the 1 "It" item for my kids this Christmas. Furthermore, what ebay is doing isn't fair to the sellers who were expecting to get paid an agreed price for the items I was going to buy. Attached are some pics I took of my chat with an ebay rep. What I want to know is, is this something that should be dealt with in court? If so, what kind of lawyer do I need to be searching for?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

davester · December 7, 2020

Have you considered reading the TOS for ebay, to see if you can sue them over this? Course, even if you could sue them, it would likely cost you a wack of money, and take months and months to resolve, and even if you "win", you might not get the device because the seller had already relisted it and sold it to someone else (and maybe doesn't have another one to sell).

You're out ZERO dollars now, I would suggest just making a new account and bidding on other ones.

Transient · December 7, 2020

That brings up an interesting question. Why wouldn't they point to the Terms of Service when I asked for clarity?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

davester · December 7, 2020

same thing happens to small sellers on Amazon. Something triggers an algorithm (may be something they've done that is shady, may be something something someone else has done to them that is shady), and then they get suspended indefinitely, get the exact same "we can't tell you why, or how to get unsuspended". There are companies now specifically selling the "service" of helping other companies get their amazon account unsuspended...

gat0r · December 7, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/help/account/account-holds-restrictions-suspensions/account-holds-restrictions-suspensions?id=4190

funny there site says otherwise....

Top Takeaway
If your account is on hold, restricted, or suspended, we’ll send an email to your registered email address and to your eBay messages explaining why. We’ll also let you know what you need to do before it can be reinstated.

their email to you didnt say why?

since you were changing address, maybe they thought someone compromised your account

could also be due to price gouging. although they should be hitting the seller vs the buyer

they could even think you are a shill account aiding in the price gouging

OnTheReel · December 7, 2020

I’ve found eBay’s restrictions are automated and seemingly arbitrary. If I had to guess, the system saw you place bids on several listings, eventually winning two, and it assumed you were a bot or a hacked account. As gat0r said, the change of address may also have something to do with that. I’m sure they have to keep a close eye on these console listings, it’s open season for scams...both buyer and seller initiated.

Keep an open browser window reloaded with the newest listings, wait for one to come up that is B.I.N. at a “reasonable” price from a reputable seller, and checkout as a guest.

I wouldn’t bother creating a new account and attempting to bid on a whole bunch more. You don’t need to get flagged again. And time is not on your side. As desperation goes up, so do the prices. Shipping carriers are also starting to bog down quite a bit. Getting one in transit to you by the end of this week is probably a good idea.

Source: I’m a full time eBay power seller of over 13 years.

Transient · December 8, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/help/account/account-holds-restrictions-suspensions/account-holds-restrictions-suspensions?id=4190

funny there site says otherwise....

Top Takeaway
If your account is on hold, restricted, or suspended, we’ll send an email to your registered email address and to your eBay messages explaining why. We’ll also let you know what you need to do before it can be reinstated.

their email to you didnt say why?
since you were changing address, maybe they thought someone compromised your account

could also be due to price gouging. although they should be hitting the seller vs the buyer
they could even think you are a shill account aiding in the price gouging

You mean this email with zero information on it?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

txab · December 8, 2020

You sure you're not being spoofed and someone has gained control of your account? Why was your default billing address wrong. You've been buying and selling in the past, why the change? Could someone else gained control and changed it

Or, maybe there is more to the story that you haven't revealed. The email shows you had an item for sale. Have you had any issues with your previous sales? Someone doing shill bidding etc...

Edited December 8, 2020 by txab

Transient · December 8, 2020

You sure you're not being spoofed and someone has gained control of your account? Why was your default billing address wrong. You've been buying and selling in the past, why the change? Could someone else gained control and changed it

Or, maybe there is more to the story that you haven't revealed. The email shows you had an item for sale. Have you had any issues with your previous sales? Someone doing shill bidding etc...

It's definitely not a spoof. I contacted ebay directly via online chat through their website.

Addresses were incorrect because I recently moved from Virginia to California. I don't do much on ebay, and hadn't updated anything until recently. Nobody else had control of my account.

With this account, based on reviews, I had only bought 1 thing in the past. Iirc, that was a few years ago. As I said in my original post, I was trying to buy a Xbox Series X for my kids. My wife and I agreed this would be the big family present for the year. We set a threshold of money to spend. I lost dozens of auctions before I finally won. I'm unable to make it to the stores when the console are in stock, so I knew I was going to pay the inflated market price. There was absolutely no shill bidding going on. As I said, I actually won 2 auctions that ended within seconds of each other. I want happy about it, but that's the risk I took. I was actually trying to pay for both when my account became suspended.

The item I was selling has since been posted to this forum. It was not an item I listed for auction, but for a set price. Check it out and tell me if you think there's something unusual or wrong with it. Only difference is that my ebay price was cheaper because ebay would add in the cost of shipping for the buyer, and my ebay listing had more pictures.

I have been 100% transparent in what happened. If you'd like, I can provide the transcripts from the 2 agents I spoke with. It'll be very clear that they stonewalled me.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

txab · December 8, 2020

Just seems strange based on the info provided. I'd still pursue trying to get re-instated. I don't understand why bidding on Xboxes might raise flags. Surely someone has bought 2 of them at the same time before. Again I'd try chatting with someone else, they ought to give you some idea what the issue was

Transient · December 9, 2020

Just seems strange based on the info provided. I'd still pursue trying to get re-instated. I don't understand why bidding on Xboxes might raise flags. Surely someone has bought 2 of them at the same time before. Again I'd try chatting with someone else, they ought to give you some idea what the issue was

I agree it seems strange. It's been very frustrating for me. Here's the 2 chats. As you can see, trying to talk to somebody about this is useless.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

txab · December 9, 2020

Wonder if it's got anything to do with your IP address?

I still can't believe they can't give you a little hint of what the issue is. even I know they're tracking buying, selling, bidding habits, as well as following certain items/products etc.... I still wonder if they think you were shill bidding in those other auctions, since you were bidding on "dozens"

gat0r · December 10, 2020

i bet is was flagged by algorithm

however you'd think they'd flag everyone buying & selling the consoles @ cray cray prices.

Transient · December 10, 2020

Wonder if it's got anything to do with your IP address?

I still can't believe they can't give you a little hint of what the issue is. even I know they're tracking buying, selling, bidding habits, as well as following certain items/products etc.... I still wonder if they think you were shill bidding in those other auctions, since you were bidding on "dozens"

That's what I wonder. However, my account was in perfect standing. There are people shill bidding that have reviews pointing out they don't pay, yet Ebay has kept their accounts active. Every time an auction passed my maximum dollar amount I had to bow out. I was happy that I actually won one auction, and pretty much had an "oh s***!" moment when I realized I won 2. As I said in my original post, I was going through the process of paying for both, and was confirming my address info was correct due to moving recently to ensure they would be shipped to the correct address. Oh, well. It is what it is.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk