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ebay suspension - time to reinvent myself

by Getchahadgets
21 replies
I got the email from ebay this morning, they fired me; account suspended. I called in and the rep said it is indefinite, there is suspicious activity they couldn't tell me about, there is no appeal process, sorry, good luck and goodbye. In some ways I'm surprised as I'm a top rated seller. In other ways I'm not surprised as they've been randomly limiting my accounts for the last 6 months and they seem to be determined to cull all of their medium-sized sellers. I still have another account that I can sell on but I imagine it is just a matter of time.

I don't think I want to appeal or create a new account under a different name. I don't want the unneeded paranoia, or the hoops to jump through, or those terrible customers that ebay either attracts or creates. Leaving won't be easy but in the long run it will be better. Now if I can just make a plan...
I buy liquidations from big retailers and sell them online. My primary channels from last year are Amazon - FBA ($1.1M), ebay ($50K), and craigslist ($30K). It's a bummer I'm having trouble posting on craigslist too.

In hindsite I should have been building an email list this entire time, I am now though.

Now I have all this ebay inventory plus more that will come in, that I need to do something with. I probably have about 4,000 items that will take up 2 full tractor trailers. Various ideas are to liquidate it and enjoy the additional space, hold a local fire sale, open a brick and mortar store, or launch an e-commerce site to sell it. All have their own challenges.

I'd be lying if I said this wasn't stressful but it also comes as a relief in some way. I've always been good at reinventing myself.

I'm mostly thinking out loud here but I'm open to input.
#ebay #reinvent #suspension #time
  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Lenney
    Wow, so sorry to hear about ebay - but what happened? They don't just don't ban power sellers out of the blue, you must have done something to be banned.....

    Also, what about amazon? Just sell the inventory on there and CL like you've been doing...ebay seems like a smaller player in your overall business
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    Sorry that this has happened to you. It seems to me now that you have to move on and do something else.

    That is why it is always good to have multiple streams of income. Once one source dries up, you have other places that still make you money and keep your business going.
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  • Profile picture of the author Getchahadgets
    What happened? Short answer is I don't know and they won't tell me. Long answer is I've have multiple accounts, they were shut down 6 months ago for one that had been delinquent for years, but I paid that off and spent the last 6 months jumping thru hoops to make them happy. I just got everything perfect. I got up to Top Rated and the I'm pretty sure the evaluation for my discount triggered this, kinda ironic. It definitely had nothing to do with customer satisfaction or authentic products, of that I am sure.

    But they do shut down powersellers for very little reason all the time. Stories of it are all over the place. I'm not claiming that I'm impeccable, but I do think I'm forgivable.

    The only stuff I sold on ebay was stuff I couldn't sell on Amazon. There are some categories I'm not approved to sell in (clothing, luggage, watches, ect). Then there are other categories that you can only list new product (baby, health and beauty, business/industrial). I also listed all my irregular, broken (with full disclosure), or incomplete (again, with disclosure) on ebay as that doesn't fly on Amazon.

    Ebay is a small player but I don't currently have a good substitute method to move those types of products.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeannie Crabtree
    Can you contact some of the other sellers on ebay who seemed to be selling what you were and offer them a good deal on pallets or 6 - 12 or more of item for your closeouts?

    If it is just onesies and twosies, check into people who do flea markets and continual yard sales. Again, good deals, below wholesale price and you should be able to move some stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author RobinInTexas
      Originally Posted by Jeannie Crabtree View Post

      Can you contact some of the other sellers on ebay who seemed to be selling what you were and offer them a good deal on pallets or 6 - 12 or more of item for your closeouts?

      If it is just onesies and twosies, check into people who do flea markets and continual yard sales. Again, good deals, below wholesale price and you should be able to move some stuff.
      Jeannie beat me to the keyboard with a suggestion I had in mind when her's scrolled into view.

      You could also list what you have on CL, backPage and perhaps other free spots, and offer to drop ship.
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      ...Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just set there.
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  • Profile picture of the author BradVert2013
    That stinks! Sorry it happened to you.

    I see a lot of sellers "insulating" themselves against this sort of thing by creating a separate ecommerce website, selling the same items. When they make an eBay sale, they advertise their own site in the packaging, usually offering a discount (prices are generally lower too because they don't have to worry about Ebay's fees).

    Maybe start building your own ecommerce website so you're not 100% dependent on a third party like Amazon. Worth a shot!
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  • Profile picture of the author HelpingYouBeAnExpert
    Yes, it sucks more and more big businesses are like ebay and it's horrible. I hope they all go down the drain. I hate big corporations and would see small friendly mom and pop businesses take over.
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    • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
      Here are a few suggestions to move the incoming products. I would see if you can get any help in the e-commerce section or else where in the forum to help you get rid of the inventory.

      Take an out in the local classifieds to try moving the product. Any storage area's where you live. to keep the incoming products till you figure a way to move it ? Can you export any of these products overseas ?

      Sucks e-bay has put your account on hold but take your time to figure out your next steps. It maybe time to build a e-commerce site of your own so you are not dependent on a third party platform. Good Luck !
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  • Profile picture of the author Gambino
    If it were me, I'd build my own ecommerce site and have full control of it without fear of being banned. You know the products will sell, so focus on driving traffic to your site.
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    • Profile picture of the author heavysm
      Take this as a time of self reflection and renewal. A positive time to recalculate your business to see what direction you want to take it.

      I know it may feel like crap right now but once you pull back together.

      Leverage that email list and build it up. Find other auction sites and slap those items up there, get some momentum going for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Getchahadgets
    Thanks all for your ideas and well wishes.

    I actually feel surprisingly good right now. Just last week I was talking about how ebay was the most (only?) unpleasant about my business and that we spent much more time per item on ebay stuff than other stuff.

    The stuff I get is very random, I'll get a truck in with a thousand items and each one will be different. It works if you sell it on a big marketplace but an E-commerce site with baby stuff, auto parts, small appliances, and lab equipment seems like it will bomb. Not to say I won't explore this further, but there are challenges involved.

    Here's where I'm at with it right now. The stuff I sell on Amazon is the cream and I still have that going for me. The ebay stuff is B grade stuff to me. I have all this pallet racking full of ebay merch. I'm gonna make each pallet spot something specific (aquarium stuff, handbags, kitchen stuff, toys). Then once I have 1-4 pallets of one item I'll liquidate it out. Specific loads get better yields than vague ones. I have some people that have bought liquidation pallets from me before that I can reach out to. As I sell more I'll build that network. I was planning on expanding my wholesale angle anyways.

    This is my plan so far. I'll adapt as necessary but I do believe I can do alright this way. I think I'll actually do better as I we can knock out more truckloads of high earning stuff and not get bogged down and held back trying to get the dogs listed on ebay.

    S
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeannie Crabtree
      Smart Idea to put it together by the category. Contact the people that have purchased liquidation from you first before looking for new buyers, And by all means, start your lists, including asking those former customers to get on your list!


      Originally Posted by Getchahadgets View Post

      The stuff I get is very random, I'll get a truck in with a thousand items and each one will be different. It works if you sell it on a big marketplace but an E-commerce site with baby stuff, auto parts, small appliances, and lab equipment seems like it will bomb. Not to say I won't explore this further, but there are challenges involved.

      Here's where I'm at with it right now. The stuff I sell on Amazon is the cream and I still have that going for me. The ebay stuff is B grade stuff to me. I have all this pallet racking full of ebay merch. I'm gonna make each pallet spot something specific (aquarium stuff, handbags, kitchen stuff, toys). Then once I have 1-4 pallets of one item I'll liquidate it out. Specific loads get better yields than vague ones. I have some people that have bought liquidation pallets from me before that I can reach out to. As I sell more I'll build that network. I was planning on expanding my wholesale angle anyways.

      This is my plan so far. I'll adapt as necessary but I do believe I can do alright this way. I think I'll actually do better as I we can knock out more truckloads of high earning stuff and not get bogged down and held back trying to get the dogs listed on ebay.

      S
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    • Profile picture of the author Zaflow
      you can always find auction houses that will sell your products on consignment,
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  • Profile picture of the author bettybakebake
    I have a pallet of returned Juicy I've been holding for two years since I sold my Ebay store. There is no place like ebay for selling broken juicy umbrellas, lol Good luck on selling your stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author CASHsystems
      Have you tried ebid.net? It is similar to Ebay, but obviously not as big and well known. I have used them to sell on in the past and have been pleased.
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  • Profile picture of the author tiana with ecomdash
    Hey There,
    So sorry to hear about your troubles. I can understand your concerns about opening an ecommerce site…when your inventory spans so many categories, it can be hard to have a cohesive space. I recently found a list on Ecommerce Bytes of the top 16 marketplaces to sell on. It was voted on by 12,000 sellers, so it seems like a reliable list. Maybe there’s one on the list that you’d consider moving some inventory to? Here’s the link: http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abu/y214/m02/abu0352/s02
    Good luck!
    Tiana with ecomdash
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  • Profile picture of the author SandraLarkin
    Banned
    As already stated:

    Create an ecommerce site and try to bulk sell the site and the inventory on a space like flippa with a sales plan for geting rid of the items on Amazon, Ebay, and Craigslist.


    Show payment proof, and explain real auctions and ads to get rid of the inventory.
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  • Profile picture of the author Clyde Dennis
    Multiple streams and full ownership of your income streams is the ONLY way to go anymore.
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  • Profile picture of the author alvinhy
    You can open up an e-commerce website to get rid of your inventory.
    Or redirect your sales using Amazon instead.
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  • Profile picture of the author w13
    I'm sorry to hear for what happened to you. I also have same experience with you not in ebay but in flippa. Since that happened to me, i decided to make my own marketplace so i will not rely on third party ever. Just use third party for getting traffic to your own website.
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