My Suspension Story

[mikeur86]

First, I want everyone to know right off the bat that this isn

[stephen_rockefeller]

Crazy story man, I hope you get some closure from eBay for a couple of reasons, the main reason being I'm sure you need your mind to be put at ease and also so speculation and conspiracy theories won't run rampant in this thread ;)

[BrickLegacy]

Wow. This sounds familiar. Sorry to hear that eBay screwed you over too.

Brickclassifieds is coming soon so wait a few more months and the Mack brothers will hook you up!

[mikeur86]

I'll admit, at first I was confused. Then I went through the angry spell. Then I was depressed. But now...I'm content. In the eyes of eBay I was so small, I wasn't even peanuts. If someone in their eyes is a risk, for them its better to just say No. I can respect that much but I do miss the old eBay days where it felt more like a huge garage sale online versus big boxed companies selling on there. I read your story too BrickLegacy, I felt your pain reading it.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Its sad that this is whats important to Ebay despite all of the other crap that happens on there.

 

I have worried about the same thing - someone just pulling the plug all of a sudden for some reason.

[zskid00]

Yeah, it's really sad that they suspend accounts like yours but let Chinese counterfeit sellers run rampant.

[justafrog]

Velocity rate beyond "the norm" in algorithms does trigger at least a review. Beyond that, what exactly they look and and what they do with that info is a bigger mystery. No doubt that some good sellers get swept up in the big net, and eBay doesn't care, nor do they need to care - plenty more seller fish in the sea.

 

Re: where to sell - this site in time once Brick Classifieds launches, Bricklink, Brick Owl, and by all means give Amazon a try but realize that they, too, have their algorithms that can trip you up, so make sure you understand the rules in every direction.

 

Between your velocity and a pretty low feedback rating - 99.2% isn't good with 4000+ feedback - you probably had a lot of star dings and possibly a number of cases opened, etc.

 

eBay (and Amazon) are not forgiving environments. You need to protect your selling account very carefully, and that means under-promising and over-delivering to customers, it means accepting the occasional scammer as a cost of doing business instead of trying to die on every hill, it means not being late in shipping pretty much no matter what (have emergency plans in place), etc.

 

Good luck in the future - eBay's not the only place to sell, take the lessons from there and go succeed somewhere else - it's the best revenge.

[jbacunn]

Did you have buyer opened cases decided against you by ebay? I understand this is a major no no.

[Locutus001]

What a pleasant business partner we all have in ebay.

If you experience any trouble they are there to help you anytime...

I still would be interested if they violate any laws by their policy as I assume there is a contract between a seller and ebay which in some way just has to work both ways.

 

No lawyers here? ^.^

[minicoopers11]

Did you have non Lego mixed in your lots and cases opened against you because of that? If you couldn't be bothered to sort the bulk, this seems rather likely...

[KShine]

 

Between your velocity and a pretty low feedback rating - 99.2% isn't good with 4000+ feedback - you probably had a lot of star dings and possibly a number of cases opened, etc.

 

 

Correct, 99.2 with such volume is a lot of negatives.

 

Bulk selling by the pound (without verifying) could include a lot of junk (which is looking for trouble). If the poster wouldn't mind mentioning their ebay link - we can look to see what complaints existed (which might help to explain why this would have happened).

[legone]

My blood boils when I hear stories about Ebay's and Paypal's practice like this..

They have been the monopoly for too long. We need more auction and payment choices.

 

99.2% positive is high to me. Buyer can complain for all kinds of reasons, including buyer's remorse.

[marcandre]

My blood boils when I hear stories about Ebay's and Paypal's practice like this..

They have been the monopoly for too long. We need more auction and payment choices.

 

99.2% positive is high to me. Buyer can complain for all kinds of reasons, including buyer's remorse.

 

For 3000 feedback its not great. That would be 28 negatives. 

[Guest TabbyBoy]

@Mikeur86...  I feel for you and this is typical of eBay's shortsightedness and diminishing regard for sellers.  Even though 99.2% feedback looks good at first glance, it's a little low for a high volume seller which may have set off alarm bells initially.  Sorry to be smug but, in my heyday, I've made over

[exciter1]

@Mikeur86...  I feel for you and this is typical of eBay's shortsightedness and diminishing regard for sellers.  Even though 99.2% feedback looks good at first glance, it's a little low for a high volume seller which may have set off alarm bells initially.  Sorry to be smug but, in my heyday, I've made over

[Guest TabbyBoy]

If he lived where I live, folks don't buy LEGO.  The only thing I could flip here by word of mouth is ammo and truck parts.

 

I'm lucky that I live near a couple of schools and have got to know kids and their parents by being a member of our local resident's association.  I also still sell to former eBay customers who I've remained in contact with.  You just have to build up trust, offer a good deal and the customers will come.

[mikeur86]

To answer some of the questions:

 

 

Did you have buyer opened cases decided against you by ebay? I understand this is a major no no.

 

I never had a case decided against me. My auctions were pretty low dollar when most were 100 piece lots. If a case was opened, I figured out what was wrong with the order, refunded and usually sent another 100 piece off with a business card. That alone gave me repeat business.

 

 

Did you have non Lego mixed in your lots and cases opened against you because of that? If you couldn't be bothered to sort the bulk, this seems rather likely...

 

When I purchased large lots they mainly came from eBay and the first day(or 2-3) I would sort out all of the non-LEGO pieces and would compile my 100 piece, 1/4lb etc lots in bags to sell. Of course I'm sure a few people had non-lego bricks sent through but I always over compensated and explained this in my auction description as well. I don't think I ever had anyone leave me a negative feedback for that.

 

For 3000 feedback its not great. That would be 28 negatives. 

 

My biggest negative marks came from the following:

 

-"I thought I was receiving everything in the picture." My pictures showed a large lot of LEGO product, usually 25lbs. In the description in HUGE font I would notate that the pieces sent out would be a random assortment from this lot. I didn't just put this one time either I did it multiple times. Everytime I received a negative feedback like this I tried to change up my description to help out. Usually the people leaving this negative feedback never bothered to contact me, they just left it without me having a chance to correct anything. I was able to get some reversed but most of the time the people wouldn't respond back.

 

-"My lot was very small." - This one came when people purchased my 1/4 pound, 1/2 pound, 3/4 pound or 1 pound lots. The weight that I sent was always a little more, I balanced the pieces out so that I wouldn't just send someone large pieces. My lots always included tiny,small,medium,large pieces.

 

I never looked at the negative feedback and just thought "Well thats a bummer." I always reached out to correct the issue. I ate a lot of product doing just that but in the end sometimes you just can't please people. I had people complain that they never received their item but tracking showed delivery. Those I just refunded because at that point is it worth 5 bucks to receive a negative feedback? No.

 

There were a few times where I legitimately earned the negative feedback by a mistake of my own. For example, sending out a 1/4 pound lot to someone who purchased 500 pieces or something. Those negative feedbacks I tried to correct and even after sending the correct ones sometimes people wouldn't change it. Ultimately though I did have negative feedback but when you look at some of the other people on ebay doing exactly what I was doing it was less, some have 97% feedback. When I reached out to eBay I asked them about my feedback and no one ever said it was because of that. Who knows though, maybe that's it? Its hard to please a lot of people. When I sold complete sealed sets I never received negative feedback because the people buying my sets were like me - LEGO enthusiasts and they appreciated my shipping and packaging methods. 

 

I could probably go on all day defending myself lol. I think I'm going to try Amazon after the holidays when I can set myself up properly without having to reach the required limits by next week.

[Brickshopper]

To answer some of the questions:

 

 

 

I never had a case decided against me. My auctions were pretty low dollar when most were 100 piece lots. If a case was opened, I figured out what was wrong with the order, refunded and usually sent another 100 piece off with a business card. That alone gave me repeat business.

 

 

 

When I purchased large lots they mainly came from eBay and the first day(or 2-3) I would sort out all of the non-LEGO pieces and would compile my 100 piece, 1/4lb etc lots in bags to sell. Of course I'm sure a few people had non-lego bricks sent through but I always over compensated and explained this in my auction description as well. I don't think I ever had anyone leave me a negative feedback for that.

 

 

My biggest negative marks came from the following:

 

-"I thought I was receiving everything in the picture." My pictures showed a large lot of LEGO product, usually 25lbs. In the description in HUGE font I would notate that the pieces sent out would be a random assortment from this lot. I didn't just put this one time either I did it multiple times. Everytime I received a negative feedback like this I tried to change up my description to help out. Usually the people leaving this negative feedback never bothered to contact me, they just left it without me having a chance to correct anything. I was able to get some reversed but most of the time the people wouldn't respond back.

 

-"My lot was very small." - This one came when people purchased my 1/4 pound, 1/2 pound, 3/4 pound or 1 pound lots. The weight that I sent was always a little more, I balanced the pieces out so that I wouldn't just send someone large pieces. My lots always included tiny,small,medium,large pieces.

 

I never looked at the negative feedback and just thought "Well thats a bummer." I always reached out to correct the issue. I ate a lot of product doing just that but in the end sometimes you just can't please people. I had people complain that they never received their item but tracking showed delivery. Those I just refunded because at that point is it worth 5 bucks to receive a negative feedback? No.

 

There were a few times where I legitimately earned the negative feedback by a mistake of my own. For example, sending out a 1/4 pound lot to someone who purchased 500 pieces or something. Those negative feedbacks I tried to correct and even after sending the correct ones sometimes people wouldn't change it. Ultimately though I did have negative feedback but when you look at some of the other people on ebay doing exactly what I was doing it was less, some have 97% feedback. When I reached out to eBay I asked them about my feedback and no one ever said it was because of that. Who knows though, maybe that's it? Its hard to please a lot of people. When I sold complete sealed sets I never received negative feedback because the people buying my sets were like me - LEGO enthusiasts and they appreciated my shipping and packaging methods. 

 

I could probably go on all day defending myself lol. I think I'm going to try Amazon after the holidays when I can set myself up properly without having to reach the required limits by next week.

Sounds like your biggest problem is the difference between the pictures you show and the product the buyer receives. Buyers are not all smart they do not all read the description they do not all know what 1/4 pound or 100 piece lots look like. The type of item you are selling and showing the picture of huge lots of lego is probably why you had complaints and these complaints are probably your number one reason for being suspended. Some buyers may have contacted ebay and showed them how the ad was misleading...Did you ever consider taking pictures of the actual lots to be sold so the buyer could see what he/she would actually be receiving...

[asharerin]

On ebay pay attention to your "trending" data. If it is trending in the wrong direction for 2 consectuive months your account will be enrolled into ebay's  internal "guardrail" program. If the trend continues south you will be suspended. Not many make it out of guardrail so for all intents and purposes you are suspended if you have 2 months of negative trending data, you just don't know it yet.

 

To see your trending data go to your seller dashboard and then click on "view trending data". The trend is your friend (or enemy). Best to jettison an account if you are trending south and move on to a new seller account. OP can still use ebay he will just have to go stealth (google is your friend).

[tonysbricks]

I think the problem is something different. Why would ebay require receipts if they didn't think the product was stolen. You probably had someone who sold to you recognize their stuff and file a complaint from ebay that you stole it. Or, you riled up your competition and they did the same. I can't reconcile the need for receipts with anything except they got reports it was stolen.

[jal4u2c]

Ebay only cares about filling their pockets. The feedback system is pointless. So they give the unsatisfied customer a refund. Then they remove any negative feedback that was left for the seller. Their philosophy is no wrong, no foul, everybody's happy. That way, the seller keeps on selling and the buyers keep on buying regardless of whether the negative feedback was warranted or not. Just as long as Ebay is getting your money. And don't get me started on fees, especially fees on shipping. Plus, the Post Office just keeps charging more and more to ship! Unless you are selling a high dollar item, there really is no point anymore. The only one making a profit on the low stuff is ebay by the time you calculate fees, postage, and time. So basically, you are doing all the work while Ebay sits back and reaps the benefit. I do sell a few things here and there but i have cut waaayyyy back for these reasons. Eventually this kind of business is going to come back and bite them in the rear. Also, don't forget the change made to the seller dashboard. Your score is only affected by negatives in the last 12 months, not the entire past history. So you could have had 0 negatives in the past 10 years and have 3000 feedbacks. But it can all be ruined in the current year where you may have had three people leave negatives. Some of which may have been unwarranted. So feedback is not a trustworthy way to gauge dependability anyways.

[Darth_Raichu]

-"I thought I was receiving everything in the picture." My pictures showed a large lot of LEGO product, usually 25lbs. In the description in HUGE font I would notate that the pieces sent out would be a random assortment from this lot. I didn't just put this one time either I did it multiple times. Everytime I received a negative feedback like this I tried to change up my description to help out. Usually the people leaving this negative feedback never bothered to contact me, they just left it without me having a chance to correct anything. I was able to get some reversed but most of the time the people wouldn't respond back.

This is not meant to be a criticism toward OP, but just as information to anyone reading this thread. There are only so many times you can ask eBay to reverse feedbacks before they put your account under a microscope. So choose your battle wisely. Edited September 19, 2014 by Darth_Raichu

[ravenb99]

The best is how ebay had to change the new system to drop the minimum feedback percentage to sell on ebay from the new requirements list.  This was done for mainly 1 company (TOYSRUS).  Although lots of the box stores struggle to hit it.  The one that has been below the threshold for the last 2 months at 97.8 and now 97.9% would not be allowed to sell anymore and it would be public information as thats the one score everyone can see.  Before they got away with it as technically no one knew if they were hitting there DSR scores as thats private information.  Convenient how that score has been dropped as one of the requirements to sell now.

 

The OP had a 99.2 which more than likely was not hitting required standard DSR's to sell as you need to be about 99.6 99.7 just to have a shot at TRS.  So 99.2 would be cutting it very close to hitting the minimum standard scores.

[Spanky]

My pictures showed a large lot of LEGO product, usually 25lbs. In the description in HUGE font I would notate that the pieces sent out would be a random assortment from this lot. I didn't just put this one time either I did it multiple times. Everytime I received a negative feedback like this I tried to change up my description to help out. Usually the people leaving this negative feedback never bothered to contact me, they just left it without me having a chance to correct anything. I was able to get some reversed but most of the time the people wouldn't respond back.

 

I almost always use eBay on my PC, so I format my sales postings to look like what would be appealing to me on a PC screen.  It was enlightening to me to try using eBay using their app for the iPad, iPod, and Android.

 

On Android, for example, when you look at a posting it prominently features the title and the pictures. The description is not shown by default. You have to go out of your way to read it. I would assume that many eBay buyers never even look at the description. The photo should exactly represent what is being sold. Any disclaimers need to be in the title - not in the description. Sometimes I even draw red circles or arrows highlighting any flaws in the photos.

 

Sucks what happened to you. eBay can be a brick wall when your account has problems; they don't explain anything they are doing and their decisions are just about irreversible.

 

In your case, part of the problem unfortunately might have been inherent to the product. If you are selling "grab bags" of used random Lego parts, it is going to be really hard to avoid having some buyer complaints.

 

Personally I have only ever had two eBay accounts. Both are over 10 years old and both have perfect 100% feedback. I bend over backwards to keep buyers happy and have done very generous things to salvage transactions that went sidewise.  This isn't just about selling Lego, eBay is a part of my life for supporting all my hobbies and efficiently selling high value things that I no longer need. Typically I only sell about 150 items per year, I'm not a high volume user, but losing that outlet for easily selling things would really be a pain in the behind.

[jal4u2c]

I only sell around 50-100 items a year as well. Had two accounts for a total of 15 years. Would still be on the first one but it got hacked into and they made me make a new one. I've had a couple negatives over the years but all were fraudulent. My rating is 100% currently. I show exactly what i am selling. If it has flaws i show pics of the flaw and make note in the description. I've never offered refunds either. If ebay wants to cover it with their protection, that's their call. My stuff is as you see it. But yeah, i sell out of my personal collection.