Is Ebay one of the most arrogant organizations in the world?( Update)

mrearlygold · August 7, 2006 4:56AM

My Wife started selling on ebay a couple weeks ago. She's shown a great interest in my coin business and coins in general and we decided to try giving Ebay a shot in the hopes of developing a little business of her own. Took a total of $11,700. and change in orders in that 2 week period. Pretty darn cool if you ask me. All positives except for one guy who left a neutral over 2 Isle of Man Cat coins which did not have a certificate of authenticity ( none was mentioned in the ad ). She had approx 6,000 in sales going into friday night and then got multiple orders which brought the total sales to the figure I mentioned.

When she went to relist the items she got a message in red letters as follows:

________________________________________Listing of Item Denied

Attention Sellers:
________________________________________
We regret to inform you that your eBay account is prohibited from listing additional items at this time. In order to maintain a safe trading environment, selling limits are occasionally placed on accounts. This selling limit is in no way meant to question your record with eBay or standing within the eBay community. To resolve this situation, please contact eBay's SafeHarbor Department using the Webform on the following help page.

We sincerely value you as a member of our trading community and look forward to a continued successful relationship. We appreciate your cooperation in resolving this matter as quickly as possible. """""""""""

After going to "the webform" she was left with sending an email to them. That was friday night. There have been no replies, no response, no explanation, nothing. No way to relist or list items.

I can certainly understand keeping someone on a short leash on credit until someone proves themself. I do that with people on occassion. But to deny someone access like this with no explanation, no way to contact them and speak with someone to find out what the specific issue is and how to resolve it is an incredible example of arrogance.

Her account is not fully suspended. She can of course buy things and there's no denial of accessing paypal.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Tom

coinguy1 · August 7, 2006 5:05AM

<<Anyone have any suggestions?>>

Yes, patience.

<< But to deny someone access like this with no explanation...>>

It seems that you might have already guessed the explanation, Tom. In your words <>

Give it time and things will probably work out just fine.

robertpr · August 7, 2006 5:08AM

New accounts or even established accounts with sudden spikes in activity are often signs of fraud, it seems she has tripped an automatic flag. Banks do it too. Just do what needs to be done to clear the flag and then move on.

hootchiegirl · August 7, 2006 5:08AM

this is done to prevent scammers..some one new who comes in.hammers it and never ships hold your horses and you will do well...just watch out for them fees..they really add up

mrearlygold · August 7, 2006 5:15AM

Of course and I can understand that totally. As I mentioned. I do that with people too!

But there's no advance warning, no mention of it anywhere and we're left to guess.

I guess another question is what happens to the orders she took just before that cut off? We have not received a "payment sent" notification and for all we know it's not a real order.

Again, while I understand it and if that's what it is, agree with it, I think there should be some communication from Ebay at least advising us what the scoop is so that she can do whatever it is they want her to do to rectify whatever it is that needs rectifying.

tradedollarnut · August 7, 2006 5:19AM

ebay sucks. They limit bonafide sellers while letting scam artists from China sell thousands of fakes.

Longacre · August 7, 2006 5:22AM

Probably some kid fresh out of college making $5/hr banging away at the keyboard....

I agree with what the others have said. It is frustrating, but give it time. If Ebay were a government, think of it almost as governmental oversight. Doesn't the government always take care to watch out for its citizens?

ziggy29 · August 7, 2006 5:22AM

<< I agree with what the others have said. It is frustrating, but give it time. If Ebay were a government, think of it almost as governmental oversight. Doesn't the government always take care to watch out for its citizens? >>

"I'm from eBay. I'm here to help."

greghansen · August 7, 2006 5:25AM

I think there should be some communication from Ebay at least advising us what the scoop is so that she can do whatever it is they want her to do to rectify whatever it is that needs rectifying.

Of course there should. Your right to be steamed at their lack of professionalism. She should have gotten a response within 24 hours after responding with the webform. I'm guessing it will all work out eventually, but it doesn't give you much faith in the auction venue.

Russ · August 7, 2006 5:34AM

Would you prefer the opposite situation where they simply ignore large sales volume from a brand new seller? This happened on a Friday night. The decision makers likely do not work weekends. It was not yet Noon when you posted this thread, which means they've been in for three whole hours.

Russ, NCNE

hootchiegirl · August 7, 2006 5:36AM

i emailed ebay about something seven months ago and I am a gold powerseller on two accounts, I could of called or used live chat but I didn't want to. still no reply

KentuckyJ · August 7, 2006 5:43AM

Ebay - not a pretty picture!

Barry · August 7, 2006 5:46AM

Thir arrogance is not suprising. What do they have in common with the phone company, power co., government, etc? They're all monopolies and can pretty much do whatever they want.

RickMilauskas · August 7, 2006 6:11AM

Would you prefer the opposite situation where they simply ignore large sales volume from a brand new seller? This happened on a Friday night. The decision makers likely do not work weekends. It was not yet Noon when you posted this thread, which means they've been in for three whole hours.

C'mon..eBay is not a saint but listen to what Russ said above. I'm sure she was flagged by an automatic security measure.

I bet things are cleared up soon.

Dave99B · August 7, 2006 6:18AM

As Mark said....."patience".

Also, calling them "the most arrogant organization in the world" seems a bit over the top.

Dave

ziggy29 · August 7, 2006 6:20AM

I would agree that it's a good thing that eBay is at least looking at selling patterns and trends to try to detect fraud.

However, rather than post a "sorry, you're frozen out for now" message which they will respond to only God knows when, they should be able to resolve it and clear the account with a phone call.

When I put a large charge on my credit card while out of town, the card issuer may call as soon as they see suspicious activity, and they call the cardholder and clear the account as soon as the cardholder verifies the charge as theirs. I suppose eBay's excuse would be that this would be expensive (but hey, they can always raise fees; they always have), and I guess it would be, but I think it would be the kind of model they could strive for. They could even develop this as a web application to some degree, I think -- an automated "account restriction removal" web form, perhaps.

It's not that they do this sort of thing, IMO; it's more than they just say "sorry, no can do" while giving no warning or indication about how long it will take to "resolve." That's the kind of behavior and customer-disservice mentality you expect from monopolies.

relayer · August 7, 2006 6:21AM

That's what happens when an organization operates in a vacuum of having a monopoly.

lloydmincy · August 7, 2006 6:25AM

Don't you think it's because they know it's you behind the scenes, Tom???

<<They limit bonafide sellers while letting scam artists from China sell thousands of fakes.>>

I heard all 1885's are fakes, Bruce. That true???

291fifth · August 7, 2006 6:28AM

This is actually a good thing. It means that they are policing their new sellers. I got stung by a new seller out of Canada who started selling US Modern Commem Gold. The seller completed about 20 sales (always being paid with USPS International Money Orders) but never delivered any merchandise. The seller then disappeared.

Your wife should probably have started out more slowly. There is no question in my mind that her sudden and substiantial sales tripped a red flag in eBay's new account monitoring system.

mrearlygold · August 7, 2006 6:50AM

<< As Mark said....."patience".

Also, calling them "the most arrogant organization in the world" seems a bit over the top.

Dave >>

Hi Dave, I agree but it would be nice to know don't you think?

And I said "one" of the most arrogant

Russ · August 7, 2006 7:09AM

<< There is no question in my mind that her sudden and substiantial sales tripped a red flag in eBay's new account monitoring system. >>

Back in May I tripped a red flag with PayPal when one of my withdrawals was over $10K. They restricted my account until I provided additional info, and I've been doing significant volume for some time now.

I'm glad they're paying more attention.

Rus, NCNE

ABC123 · August 7, 2006 7:49AM

Ebay--It's not the only Game in Town, Try TT, if you want additional Aggravation !

dorancoins · August 7, 2006 8:00AM

<< My Wife started selling on ebay a couple weeks ago. She's shown a great interest in my coin business and coins in general and we decided to try giving Ebay a shot in the hopes of developing a little business of her own. Took a total of $11,700. and change in orders in that 2 week period. Pretty darn cool if you ask me. All positives except for one guy who left a neutral over 2 Isle of Man Cat coins which did not have a certificate of authenticity ( none was mentioned in the ad ). She had approx 6,000 in sales going into friday night and then got multiple orders which brought the total sales to the figure I mentioned.

When she went to relist the items she got a message in red letters as follows:

________________________________________Listing of Item Denied

Attention Sellers:
________________________________________
We regret to inform you that your eBay account is prohibited from listing additional items at this time. In order to maintain a safe trading environment, selling limits are occasionally placed on accounts. This selling limit is in no way meant to question your record with eBay or standing within the eBay community. To resolve this situation, please contact eBay's SafeHarbor Department using the Webform on the following help page.

We sincerely value you as a member of our trading community and look forward to a continued successful relationship. We appreciate your cooperation in resolving this matter as quickly as possible. """""""""""

After going to "the webform" she was left with sending an email to them. That was friday night. There have been no replies, no response, no explanation, nothing. No way to relist or list items.

I can certainly understand keeping someone on a short leash on credit until someone proves themself. I do that with people on occassion. But to deny someone access like this with no explanation, no way to contact them and speak with someone to find out what the specific issue is and how to resolve it is an incredible example of arrogance.

Her account is not fully suspended. She can of course buy things and there's no denial of accessing paypal.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Tom

>>

Stop selling on eBay and sell your items on your own website - a lot cheaper and don't have to put with with Flea-Bay's stupid little rules or the idiotic reasons behind them. I'm totally done with them - the whole auction site is nothing more than an overglorified flea market and like a real flea market, has lots of schisters!

mrearlygold · August 7, 2006 8:36AM

Stop selling on eBay and sell your items on your own website - a lot cheaper and don't have to put with with Flea-Bay's stupid little rules or the idiotic reasons behind them. I'm totally done with them - the whole auction site is nothing more than an overglorified flea market and like a real flea market, has lots of schisters! >>

Thanks but it's not my business it's my Wifes and frankly I think it's cool as heck that she's just started and apparently broke the bank inside of 2 weeks!

And if you noticed that I was running ads for buying a wide variety of stuff from circs to jewelry, that's for her business too.

I'm having fun with it as well as while some think I've become quite snooty over the years, ( I guess I did

) I've now started redirecting some of my attentions toward helping Hanh start this new business of hers and it's like a return to my own roots in this business and man that part is fun!

But its now ( least it did ) including ebay and we are definitely newbies there.

Dave99B · August 7, 2006 8:38AM

Stop selling on eBay and sell your items on your own website - a lot cheaper and don't have to put with with Flea-Bay's stupid little rules or the idiotic reasons behind them

Sell them on your own website, eh? OK, I'll bite. ..

So I went to your site : Doran Coins

Doh! No coins!!!

Yet you seem to be selling on eBay? eBay

What am I missing here?

Dave

Whizzard · August 7, 2006 8:57AM

<< Stop selling on eBay and sell your items on your own website - a lot cheaper and don't have to put with with Flea-Bay's stupid little rules or the idiotic reasons behind them. I'm totally done with them - the whole auction site is nothing more than an overglorified flea market and like a real flea market, has lots of schisters! >>

Nice website, but no coins, no coins on your eBay link thread either. All sold out of coins?

dorancoins · August 7, 2006 1:28PM

What I said in my previous post was if "FleaBay" doesn't work for you then try your own site - much cheaper than paying those insertions fees, final value fees, and all those little add-ons that when added up can get very expensive. At least with your own website you don't have to put up with all those stupid rules and such.

Regarding my website, I have it up as I was selling coins, but I have runned dry, and I am in the process of getting some newps. And yes, I sold some items on "Flea-Bay" (mostly "darkside" or foreign coins) but with a couple of exceptions, the bids were far below what I expected and had to eat the expense. At that point, I have decided to cease any activities with "Flea-Bay"!

dorancoins · August 7, 2006 1:29PM

<< Stop selling on eBay and sell your items on your own website - a lot cheaper and don't have to put with with Flea-Bay's stupid little rules or the idiotic reasons behind them

Sell them on your own website, eh? OK, I'll bite. ..

So I went to your site : Doran Coins

Doh! No coins!!!

Yet you seem to be selling on eBay? eBay

What am I missing here?

Dave >>

You mean....was!

ccex · August 7, 2006 1:35PM

<< 

<< I agree with what the others have said. It is frustrating, but give it time. If Ebay were a government, think of it almost as governmental oversight. Doesn't the government always take care to watch out for its citizens? >>

"I'm from eBay. I'm here to help."

>>

You almost quoted a regular customer of mine, who represented the U.S. Postal Service. He ordered high-end computer systems from my shop, and the USPS always paid their purchase orders late. My favorite bureaucrat was fond of saying "I'm from the federal government and I'm here to help you. Could you bend over, please?"

Such is interaction with the biggest game in town. If you don't want to bend over, start your own game.

johnsim03 · August 7, 2006 1:46PM

I agree with the others who said this was an automatic cautionary thing. If you are patient,
and, if requested, provide any additional information, it will get cleared soon.

Despite the (often, IMHO) delusional anti-eBay rants, and conspiracy theories, it remains a powerful
venue, with lots of potential customers. If you want to use the venue, you have to play by the rules.
The tired old "set up a web site" line is nonsense - you have to draw traffic to your site - and that
is the rub - not easy to do at all. There will be plenty of time later for a web presence, once you have
got established eBay customers!

Patience is definitely the right approach with this.

p.s. It sounds like your wife is doing tremendously - congratulations.

John

mrearlygold · August 7, 2006 3:22PM

Patience is definitely the right approach with this.

p.s. It sounds like your wife is doing tremendously - congratulations.

John >>

Thanks John! Yeah man, I'm really happy for her! I am about to relaunch my own website which currently has nearly 300 pages of info on it. My Wife also does web work and has been working with the programmer guy for almost 2 months completely redoing my website which will also have a fancy email program for me to finally start sending newsletters and offerings more consistently. That should launch within the next week or so and then she's going to build a little coin and collectibles site of her own. I'll give her a place for her banner of course

Far as what the other fellow said about the people who buy and sell on ebay and the costs involved. Yes it costs money to advertise coins for sale on ebay. And yes there are some less than forthright people on ebay ( just like everywhere else). However in my case with the little amounts of business I've done on ebay, I have met some pretty outstanding people and collectors . And the good has thus far BY FAR outweighed the bad . By far. Thanks for your input though

mrearlygold · August 7, 2006 3:24PM

I was pissed off when I started this thread by the way and am now more positive than ever. Thank you all for the input both on the thread and in the PM's.

Is this a great place or what?

johnsim03 · August 7, 2006 3:49PM

<< Patience is definitely the right approach with this.

p.s. It sounds like your wife is doing tremendously - congratulations.

John >>

Thanks John! Yeah man, I'm really happy for her! I am about to relaunch my own website which currently has nearly 300 pages of info on it. My Wife also does web work and has been working with the programmer guy for almost 2 months completely redoing my website which will also have a fancy email program for me to finally start sending newsletters and offerings more consistently. That should launch within the next week or so and then she's going to build a little coin and collectibles site of her own. I'll give her a place for her banner of course

Far as what the other fellow said about the people who buy and sell on ebay and the costs involved. Yes it costs money to advertise coins for sale on ebay. And yes there are some less than forthright people on ebay ( just like everywhere else). However in my case with the little amounts of business I've done on ebay, I have met some pretty outstanding people and collectors . And the good has thus far BY FAR outweighed the bad . By far. Thanks for your input though

>>

Hi Tom:

It sounds to me that both of you have got everything under control, and the future looks very bright for you!

I agree with you 100% about eBay. I have had no significant problems, whatsoever, with buyers, sellers,
and eBay. That includes having a store (I shut it down when I sold what I wanted to sell) and having
primarily auctions. The biggest problem I have with the venue is that it is an ultra-flea-market-type atmosphere,
i.e., there is just so much junk, garbage and dreck listed there that many buyers try to low-ball everything,
even choice items. However, after awhile (as with anything else), if you have good policies, good listings,
good images, and good customer relations, the kind of customers that you are looking for will be drawn
to you. And, it simply cannot be beat as far as the number of potential customers go.

I think you guys are well on your way to a happy eBay journey, and I wish you all the best with it.

John

mrearlygold · August 11, 2006 2:54AM

Ok, the Wife got an email from ebay today and here's what it said:

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to the problem you are facing in
relisting the item.

I understand that you are upset because you were not able to relist the
item. I want to inform you that we'd like to help you solve this
problem
so that you can successfully submit your listing on eBay. In order to
do
this, we need some more information about the situation. Please reply
to
this message and answer as many questions below as you can. We'll get
back to you with some suggestions.

1. What steps did you use to list or relist your item? If you can't
list
any steps, can you tell us which category you selected? What selling
format did you chose -- for example, Online Auction, Fixed Price, or
Store Inventory? Did you add any listing upgrades such as Home Page
Feature or Gallery Featured?

2. If you are attempting to relist the item or revise the item
description, what is the item number?

3. What error message did you receive, if any? If possible, copy and
paste this message into your email.

4. What operating system are you running? (i.e. Windows XP, Windows
2000, Macintosh, etc.)

5. What type of browser and version are you using? (i.e. Internet
Explorer 6.0, Netscape 7.0, etc.) To find the version name, click
"Help"
in the browser toolbar and then select "About."

6. How do you connect to the Internet? (i.e. satellite, cable modem,
DSL, dialup, etc.)

7. Were you trying to load any images? If so, did you use eBay Pictures
Services or another picture hosting service? Please include information
about any programs you used while listing your items or saving your
images.

8. Are you using personal firewall or virus protection software? If so,
what kind(s) are you using?

9. Are you using a PayPal logo or link in your description?

We thank you in advance for your cooperation, and wish you luck with
your future eBay transactions.

Sincerely,

eBay Customer Support
_____________________________________________

Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Message: Hello, I am XXXXX, Hanh , email address:

I was prevented from relisting items for sale on friday
night 8/4/06. No reason was given so I sent a communication to ebay.
That communication has not been responded to. It is not monday and
goods
that I bought for sale are being very much affected by this and I'd
like to know why I am not being permitted to relist items for sale.I
would
also appreciate being advised how to get this straightened out. Prior
to that I had several orders that I assume are unaffected. Are they or
are they not affected? Please advise.
Hanh

Perhaps I should change the arrogant word?

Would you even reply to that email?

Hanh went on and listed some new items. Has tried every day to do that since last friday night and was not able to do so. Got the above email this morning, went to relist and had no problems at all. In the meantime she's sold one on "overstock" of all places.

So happy that gold is down since last friday night.

Tom

Is Ebay one of the most arrogant organizations in the world?( Update)

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