Follow eBay’s Rules (And How to Report Those That Don’t)
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Everyone lives their life having to follow rules each and everyday. Selling on eBay is no different: There are rules that eBay has instituted if you want to buy and sell on their website. It is in your best interest to abide by these rules if you want a successful career selling on eBay.
If you choose not to follow eBay’s rules and regulations, you run the risk of having your account suspended and, therefore, your company effectively shut down. Unless your violation is flagrant, it is our understanding eBay will give you a warning and let you correct your mistake before they shut you down.
It is a very good idea to understand what you can, and cannot, do so you are not brought into the eBay Principal’s Office and told how bad of a person (or at least eBay seller) you are.
eBay has a comprehensive help system that explains each and every rule and regulation eBay has in place. Of course, you need to know what to look for in order to see if you are in violation of an eBay rule. If you do not take the time to explore the eBay Help System, you might not know that what you are doing is the wrong thing. This is not necessarily a case of “ignorance is bliss”. If you go through your life thinking it is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, now is a great time to rethink your strategy.
Probably the best place to start researching how you sell on eBay without getting in trouble with the eBay bosses is eBay’s Seller Central. As long as you do research before you start listing and check eBay’s Help System whenever you have any questions, you should be OK. Just use your common sense.
If you run across a seller that isn’t playing by the rules, and you will run across these types of sellers, it is very easy to bring them to the attention of eBay. Now you might consider this snitching on your fellow eBayers, but to the contrary. It is your duty to point out a seller’s transgressions to eBay. eBay is a large community that must police itself and this is how we all can sell on an even playing field. If we must follow the rules, then so must all of the other sellers. Otherwise, they will have an unfair advantage.
Some of the most common reasons that you will report a listing are as follows:
- Keyword spamming – a seller uses a trade name in their item title so that their listing shows up in a search for a popular item.
- Within the listing, they link to an external website where they are selling the item off of eBay.
When you do come across a seller that is breaking a rule, it is very easy to report them to eBay. Just click on the “Report this item” link near the bottom of the offending listing. From here, you have to go through a 3-step process choosing, to the best of your ability, the reason that you are reporting the item/seller. eBay will then review this and take the appropriate action, albeit it may take some time.
It has been our experience that you might have to report the same item/seller several times before eBay does something. A possible reason for the delay may be due to the fact that they are so backed up with reported items. Whatever the case, don’t feel bad if you have to send in multiple reports for the same item.
Rules and regulations are a fact of life when selling on eBay. It is in your best interest to accept this and understand that it is eBay’s world that you are doing business in. Do not stir the giant that is eBay and you will have a healthy selling career. Learn what you can, and cannot, do and all will be good, and right, in your eBay world.
Tags: eBay, ebay rules, ebay seller central, how to make money on ebay, how to sell on ebay, report ebay violators
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I believe it’s eBay playground and if we want to play, we need to obey by their rules. Rules make it safer for everyone, and set expectations.
Having said that, eBay’s rules are hardly black and white. Almost every single year, we have had multiple listings ended for “violations.”
The most recent was eBay ending 35 auctions of 95 listed. All 95 had the exact same violation - but they only ended 35.
Here is what I found offensive about how it was handled:
1. It was inconsistent. If we were in violation, why end only 35 of the 95.
2. The verbiage we were using that led to the violation had been approved a year earlier by our PowerSeller Account Manager. No policy had changed - just one eBay employee had interpreted the rule incorrctly.
3. Why not email us and request we change the verbiage within 24 hours or risk our auctions being ended?
It was handled so poorly.
Here is what our auction said:
“We can often accomodate up to 20 fans for a game. We obviously don’t list a group of 20 seats in one auction because most people do not need 20 seats. If you need a different size group, please email us for details. We will gladly set up an auction for you.”
That was what it said, and it was ended. We need to add the sentence “We will not sell outside of eBay.”
They also said we couldn’t have our ticket website on our listings (even though you can’t buy a ticket on our site, nor does it have listings.) They said that because my website makes people aware that there are other places to buy tickets - it was a violation. I could place it in my “About Me” but I decided not to risk them changing their mind tomorrow.
All in all - I feel like I am treated like a criminal even though I have never broken a rule.
More reasons why eBay is experiencing their first year of declining member growth and active users (according to Fast Company issue a month or so ago.)
WOW! That really stinks about how eBay handled your most recent “violation”. Especially since you have had it approved by your PowerSeller Account Manager. Too bad your Account Manager isn’t the only person who can take your auctions down!
It is eBay’s world. We just try to survive in it. What else can you do when eBay is just about the only game in town. You have to play by their rules or you have to pack up your bags and go home.
Let’s hope that eBay doesn’t continue to treat their valued buyers like this. We aren’t holding our breath as eBay is shifting towards favoring buyers as they attempt to reverse the decline that you mentioned…
I know in the real business world you have to adjust, and grow, and change to survive, but eBay really magnifies those skills.
My husband and I were talking today about expaning into other products and felt that most things we can buy and sell, you could buy and sell. Add paypal fees, ebay fees, etc and there are many items we can’t even break even on. I know you discussed picking the right product in one of your other posts, but it seems that the increasing fees combines with the number of sellers of a specific product - there are so many items with little or no margin!
Agan, I can’t complain about eBay. It’s just not Utopia. And having our entire business built around it may be no safer than working for someone who could let you go anytime.
Best of luck! Keep up the great articles and if you have too much eggnog this season and want to share what and how you sell it - you know my email!
We enjoy your comments! You definitely “get” eBay. We think a lot of sellers don’t, which is a shame.
You are correct in saying that most items you could sell, we could sell. That is what makes selling on eBay so hard. The entry to start selling is very, very low, which brings on huge amounts of competition.
As you made mention of, one of our other posts talks about finding the right product to sell. That is really the key to it all. Of course, it is incredibly difficult to find the right products to sell. Sigh, if it was easy, we would all be eBay millionaires right now…
How did you know we liked eggnog? The trouble is finding the good stuff! Not being satisfied with most eggnog keeps the quantity we consume to a minimum.
We look forward to reading your future comments!