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Whether you sell items on eBay as a side hustle or running an entire business, getting your account suspended can be shocking. Don’t lose hope because we are going to help you with this problem. Why throw away a good income stream when you can easily get your account back?
Are you an eBay seller? You must know the terms and policies as well as learn how to sell without getting a suspension email. Here are the basic steps that may help you get your eBay account back so you can start making money again.
Looking for a way to get your suspended eBay account back? You are not alone. In this article, you will learn:
- How to Sell Items on eBay the Right Way in Australia
- Step-by-Step Guide on Getting Your Suspended eBay Account Back
- Why Did eBay Suspend My Account for No Reason?
- Bonus Tips to Avoid Getting Suspended Again
How to Sell Items on eBay the Right Way
To avoid getting a suspension on eBay, you must know the terms and policies as well as the ground rules for new sellers. Take things slowly at the start when you are selling items for the first time and then try to sell more expensive items. The following are some proven tips that you can follow on your own to become a seasoned eBay seller.
1. Find Easy Products to Sell
Let’s brainstorm the best-selling eBay items here! How many items do you regularly use in your home? The answer is a lot! This means you have plenty of items to sell on eBay to millions of people in the United States. From jewelry, batteries, pots, to printer cartridges, there are many items to sell. If you are a new seller on eBay, list items that are less than $50 and gain trust with your customers over time.
2. Learn Seller Rules
This may sound a bit harsh and discouraging, but eBay’s policies are strict for every new seller. This is why we suggest building trust because eBay moderators want you to create a good selling history. If you are new on eBay then you may encounter strict limitations on choosing a category, selling expensive items, and maintaining accounts. Once you have sold a good number of items on eBay, request to list different items and categories.
3. Buy Some Supplies
To become a reliable seller on eBay, you have to compete with others who are selling for years. This means you need high-quality pictures, clear product descriptions, and authenticity. You can buy a good camera and use free editing apps to make your item appear of higher quality. Plus, you need shipping supplies such as packing tape, mailing envelopes, and cardboard boxes.
4. Learn How to Pack Items
New sellers might be sloppy when it comes to packing items. But you can easily learn this skill by watching a few YouTube videos. There are a bunch of tutorials online on how to pack items before shipping them in the correct way. Also, here are a few guidelines from eBay on the materials to use for packaging items.
5. Set a Profitable Price
Don’t list your item for a higher than usual price. First, you must survey on eBay and check the price of certain items. You are making a mistake by selling items for their retail prices. You can sell items on eBay and earn profits as well if you are setting the right price. The best way to do it is to check the sales data by looking at active or completed eBay listings and then list your product.
6. Enhance Your Review Score
The better your review or feedback score on eBay, the more customers will trust you. Getting positive feedback will help you build trust with regular buyers on eBay. You might find it hard to frequently sell items if your feedback score is low. The best trick is to actually buy eBay items so sellers can rate you. In this way, you can ask the seller for feedback and increase your score.
7. Sell Low-Risk Items
With an online selling website like eBay, you can expect many people who will try to scam sellers. That’s why you must be wary of selling high-risk items which include iPhones, tablets, Android phones, concert tickets, or designer outfits. You have to build trust with your customers first. Then you can jump on selling these items for a higher profit.
8. Use the Correct Product Listing
You can either set a fixed price or sell the item in an auction on eBay. Both types of listing may help you earn a profit if you are accurately managing things. We suggest setting the price as fixed because auctioning products is an ongoing process and takes time. The downside of setting a fixed price is the items may take weeks to sell but can give you a good return.
9. Have a Suitable Policy for Refunds
Whether you like it or not, you have to offer customers a return policy. Why do you ask? If a customer finds the product is not accurate as per the description then he or she can get a quick refund. And, you must not ignore this because a reliable return policy can help you become a top eBay seller and beat your competitors.
Even if you say you do not accept returns, buyers can submit an “item not as described” (INAD) complaint and force you to take back the product. So it is best to come up with a suitable policy for everyone.
10. Use a Dedicated IP Address
Running a legitimate business and realizing that you have received a suspension on eBay can be heartbreaking. You might be working for months to receive good feedback from customers or selling expensive items, and a suspension can really mess things up. Some sellers who are smart enough to dodge suspensions are now using eBay stealth accounts.
After receiving an account suspension, eBay stores your information, name, address, account number, and IP address. By getting a new and unique IP address, you can create a stealth account where you have to use a new username, eBay account number, and account.
An IP address is your Internet address. Just like your house has a permanent address, your device has a unique Internet address that identifies you to websites and services, providing details like your ISP and the country you are located in. You can check your IP address by typing “IP Address” on Google search.
You should know: some items are priced differently on eBay because of different geographical locations. So on top of recognizing your unique IP address, you should look into using a VPN. By using a VPN connection, you can access the right version of eBay and check exact product prices. Using a VPN solely for a dedicated IP address can be great for new and experienced sellers on eBay.
The Easiest Way to Use a Dedicated IP Address for eBay
If your eBay account is suspended, then you can’t create a new account with the same IP address. But when you connect your device to a VPN with a different IP address, you can hide your previously suspended IP address on eBay. Also, you must be careful when using a stealth account because if you are caught using it then eBay will suspend you. This is the reason why using a reliable VPN for eBay matters a lot.
Here’s how to use a dedicated IP address on eBay:
Step 1: Get PureVPN’s Dedicated IP and select your desired location e.g USA.
Step 2: Connect your Dedicated IP on your phone or laptop
Step 3: Now your device is connected to a dedicated IP address that belongs to the United States.
What to Do When Your eBay Account Is Suspended
First things first, stop panicking. We know the account suspension news can be hard for you to digest, but it happens to sellers all the time. There is no need to call your friends and request them for a job because you may think your business is down the drain. Relax and find out the reason why eBay has suspended your account.
If you are selling on eBay for the first time, chances are you might have violated eBay’s rules and policies, which happens a lot. You might be using irrelevant pictures or descriptions for your product that may be the cause of your suspension. As soon as you receive an email notifying that your eBay account is suspended, read the entire message and the reasons behind it.
Once you are done reading the email, follow all the steps mentioned in the guide below.
Step-by-Step Guide on Getting Your Suspended eBay Account Back
Summary: Sometimes eBay sends the instructions to your email as well to help you get your account back. You might be asked to remove the product listing as it does not follow the policies or asked to use real product pictures. In case you don’t find the instructions on your email, you have to call the support representatives and ask them the status of your seller’s account.
Before calling, the best thing to do is to open the email on your laptop, write your eBay user ID somewhere on a piece of paper, and remember the date of the email. If there are no steps mentioned in your account suspension email, do this:
Step 1: Open your eBay account suspension email.
Step 2: Call the support representatives at 1-866-540-3229.
Step 3: Discuss the reason why they have suspended your eBay account.
Step 4: Request to talk to their supervisor about the issue if the support representatives can’t solve it.
Step 5: Follow the instructions and you are done.
Why Did eBay Suspend My Account for No Reason?
eBay has the right to hold or suspend your account anytime no matter how authentic you are. Please note that eBay moderators are tracking the activities round-the-clock and they can suspend the account if you are caught doing anything illegal or against their policies. Here are four major reasons why your eBay account has been suspended.
1. Late Shipping
This is a major problem because if you are late to deliver an order then you can lose customers. This means eBay buyers will start providing negative seller feedback about you and you will eventually lose market share. Or worse, customers can complain to eBay about a delay in delivery, and sadly you will receive a suspension.
Best Tip
When a customer orders a product, he or she will check the estimated delivery time and set the arrival time. That’s why you must make sure to deliver all products at the right time or face a backlash from customers. In short, that means you’ll get a suspension.
2. Fake Product Images
This is a rule of thumb for online sellers: High-quality product images can positively influence customers and they are more likely to buy your products. When you are selling online, all you can see is the product image. But if you are using fake, stolen, or blurry pictures of your product, your eBay account can be suspended by the moderators. Sadly, this is way too common on eBay.
Best Tip
It is your responsibility to share high-quality and visible product images so buyers can decide whether to make a purchase or not. Use your phone to take a product image if you don’t have a camera at your disposal.
3. Listing Restricted Products
This is self-explanatory to everyone that if you are selling counterfeit or restricted products on eBay then your account will be permanently suspended. Most people don’t realize this but eBay moderators will quickly suspend your account if you are selling restricted items such as steroids, vaporizers, model rockets, weapons, ivory, or any type of knockoffs.
Best Tip
Whether or not you know the product is real or a knockoff, a buyer can tag you and the eBay account will be suspended. The reason why you must always check the seller’s policy and include only those items on sale that are allowed on eBay.
4. Similar Product Description
Your eBay account can also be suspended if you are using the same content as other sellers on the website. For instance, if you are selling a rubber swimming pool then avoid sharing a product description that is similar to the top sellers. In this way, eBay moderators might think that you are trying to fool customers and selling products at the wrong price.
Best Tip
Create new and unique product descriptions for your items before listing them on eBay. Plus, you can hire an expert who can provide product descriptions if you don’t know how to write them on your own.
eBay’s Terms and Policies You Must Know About
No matter if you are new to buying and flipping items on eBay as a hobby or already a seasoned seller, you must follow the basic terms and policies. The seller rules might change over time on eBay and that’s why you must be wary of the dos and don’ts. The easiest way to do this is to read regular email updates or announcements from eBay.
Your Account Is on Hold
This happens when you have forgotten to make your payment on eBay and the expiry date has passed. The eBay system will put your account on hold until you make the payment. After that, your eBay account will be quickly reinstated after you have made the payment.
Your Account Is Restricted
This can be annoying for many new sellers. The eBay moderators will put some strict restrictions on your account if you fail to keep up with the terms and policies. This does not mean your account is suspended or you are no longer able to sell, there are some restrictions that can keep you from becoming a top seller. eBay might push your product ranking down as a way to put heavy restrictions.
Your Account Is Suspended
When you are caught violating the terms and policies on eBay then chances are you will receive a temporary or permanent ban. As soon as your eBay account is suspended, you can’t make a bid, sell items, or buy items anymore. The good news is your account suspension can be reinstated after you call the support representatives.
Bonus Tips to Avoid Getting Suspended Again:
We hope now you can get your eBay account back without any trouble. However, there are a few tips that you can follow to dodge the suspension on eBay.
Tip #1
Always read the email updates and announcements from eBay. If you are selling items on eBay for a while now then you will regularly receive emails as a notification about the new terms and policies. Most eBay sellers miss out on these email updates and end up getting a suspension or account restriction.
Tip #2
Find other marketplaces to sell your items for the time being. In this way, you can keep the cash flow coming until your eBay account is back. Check for a suitable online marketplace according to your unique needs. You can easily sell items on Walmart, OfferUp, Letgo, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or Amazon.
Tip #3
Don’t create a new account right after eBay has suspended you. eBay is a website but consider it as a real human being. You have to develop trust to grow a good business partnership. That’s why you must find the root of the problem and make amends to start selling on eBay again.
Key Takeaway
Relax! eBay will always send you an email after suspending, restricting, or holding your seller’s account. All you have to do is follow the steps mentioned in the email and get your account back. We hope this detailed guide can help you become a better seller on eBay and avoid getting a suspension in the future.
PureVPN
June 20, 2023
10 months ago