Getting your eBay account suspended or restricted is nothing new. In fact, eBay suspension is one of the many efforts to protect and retain its community. No matter who you are, new or experienced, you might get an eBay account suspension for no reason (or so you believe).
If you are wondering, “why eBay suspended my account?” or “How to get my account back?”, you’ve landed in the right place! In the following sections, I will walk you through these key points regarding the topic. Here are some key takeaways:
- What you must know about eBay account suspension: eBay suspension has 3 major types (account on hold, account restriction, and eBay full account suspension).
- Why eBay suspends your account: Delayed payments, unresolved customers’ complaints, misleading content, matters related to prohibited items, and more.
- How to get unsuspend from eBay and avoid eBay suspension: Find out why your eBay account got suspended, follow eBay’s instructions, and contact the in-house team.
Without further delay, let’s kick it off!
Why Wait Till Your Account Suspension Ends When You Can Sell More?
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eBay Account Suspended: Basic Knowledge
Getting an email from eBay saying that your account has been suspended might be the worst nightmare for every merchant. Moreover, there might be a chance that your eBay account suspended for no reason. But it’s not the end of the world! If you know enough about eBay and its suspension policies, finding out how to unsuspend your eBay account will get easier.
Types of eBay restriction and suspension
In general, eCommerce merchants may encounter three types of eBay account restriction and suspension:
- Account on hold
- eBay account restriction
- Full eBay suspension
Each of them has different limitations and solutions to get away with. Here is a more detailed scope of them.
#1. Account on hold
On the very first level of account restrictions, eBay will put your account on hold if you forget to execute a payment or your identifications cannot be verified.
Luckily, you can resolve these minor issues in the blink of an eye. In case your eBay account suspended for no reason or is on hold for nonpayment of eBay fees, you just have to pay it forward. Then, your account will be back to work normally almost instantly.
On the other hand, should you have verification issues, ensure that you have all the compulsory information and submit them to eBay. That’s how you can resolve “eBay account on hold” situations when selling on eBay.
#2. eBay account restriction
Things will be a bit complicated when eBay implements restrictions on your account. Most of the time, eBay will restrict your account if you cannot live up to Standard performance metrics on listing and selling specific items.
In other words, when getting bad reviews or receiving a high transaction defect rate (higher than 2% of transactions), your items may get lower positions on search results or be removed from eBay’s Best Match position.
Further on eBay account restriction, these precautions apply to reduce the risks of late shipment or canceled orders and might last longer until you improve your business performance. If not, you might have to deal with the worst scenario: getting your eBay account suspended.
#3. Full eBay suspension
According to eBay rules and policies, you will suffer seven, ten, or thirty-day suspensions if you consistently underperform or violate selling regulations. Depending on the seriousness of the violation, you can face permanent banning from eBay and even lose your listing fee in some cases. It also means that you’ve lost all privileges to sell on eBay.
It’s worth noting that eBay’s suspension may affect accounts, especially if they are related to the suspended one. Hence, if you get a suspension warning from eBay, you’d better play your card right.
To fully understand eBay restrictions and bans on an account, I highly recommend you check our detailed comparison of the eBay business account vs personal. It’s already available on LitCommerce Retail Blog!
What happens if eBay restricts or suspends your account?
Getting your eBay account restricted may limit you to certain selling and bidding activities. Moreover, a restricted eBay account means there is a high chance of the house putting your payments on hold. That would last until you have resolved the restriction.
As previously stated, if you constantly violate eBay seller rules, eBay will suspend your account periodically or permanently. Speaking more of it, some eBay suspensions are worse than others, and there won’t be a ‘’one-size-fits-all” answer for this inquiry.
Should you have an eBay seller account suspended, adding new listings or editing your current products is impossible. You cannot contact your bidders via eBay messages, and they can retract any bid they’ve made if they want. What’s worse, your payouts can also be on hold until eBay suspension ends (similar to eBay restriction).
Depending on the type of suspension you got (hold, restriction, or full suspension), eBay might reinstate your account in a short period of time or apply a permanent punishment.
So, how should you get your eBay account status back to normal? We will find out the answer in the following paragraphs.
Do you know that you can have multiple accounts on eBay? Go and check our detailed instructions on how to manage multiple accounts on eBay and continue selling on this dynamic marketplace!
Why is My eBay Account Suspended?
Why eBay suspended my account for no reason at all?
In fact, eBay will not randomly restrict or suspend your account. Conversely, there could be hundreds of reasons leading to the suspension of your eBay account, ranging from unpunctual payments to severe breaches of eBay policies.
Therefore, whether you accept it or not, eBay is just attempting to protect its buyers from untrustworthy sellers while also ensuring safe transactions in this marketplace. If you are not one of the “bad guys”, let’s get to the bottom of eBay suspension and get your account back.
Below are some of the top reasons eBay may suspend your account:
- Behind on payments
- Delay in shipping
- Fail to resolve customers’ complaints
- List prohibited items on eBay
- Sell off eBay
- Use the wrong content
- Get accessed by a third party
1. Behind on payments
You might get your eBay account suspended temporarily if you encounter one of the following issues:
- Late payment on your eBay seller fees or eBay shipping fees;
- Overdue on reimbursement to buyer’s refund;
- Invalid payment details.
So how to handle payment disputes? Just resolve every payment issue on your account. Make sure to pay the seller fees on time, reimburse eBay right away after your customers get the refunds, and keep your payment information up to date. Should there be any outstanding payments, settle them as soon as possible to keep your account working normally.
2. Delay in shipping
As many buyers take the estimated delivery date as a decisive element when buying a product, late shipping can be a severe problem on eBay. If you say you will deliver your items within seven working days, you’d better complete it by then. Or else, it will affect your seller metrics, leading to eBay account restriction or suspension.
In terms of shipping, your eBay account may be suspended if you fail to upload shipment tracking during the required time. Therefore, learn how to ship on eBay and try to pack and ship the items as soon as you get the buyer’s payment or within the delivery date.
3. Fail to resolve customers’ complaints
You might wonder yourself, ‘Why is my eBay account suspended? Is there anything wrong if they suspended my account for no reason?’ That is because your buyer is unsatisfied with your service and turns to the eBay Resolution Center. If that’s the case, you’d better answer it as quickly and politely as possible. Although they might seem unreasonable sometimes, try to resolve the issue before the buyer refers it to eBay.
If that is the case, and there is any chance that eBay believes you are to blame, your seller metrics will decrease. And, at a certain point, you are much more likely to get your eBay account suspended permanently, and none of us wants it.
Make sure there is nothing unclear on your site as well as in your product description, and don’t forget to improve customer service. “The well-satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts”.
4. List prohibited items
Strange as it might seem, some sellers do not realize that eBay prohibits several of their items. Once listing a product that belongs to the eBay selling restrictions, you might get temporarily banned on eBay right away. In particular, here are some examples of what you can’t sell on eBay:
- Live animals
- Credit cards
- Government items
- Human body parts
- Firearms and accessories
- Personal information
To avoid this situation, look through the eBay listing legal requirements before choosing a product to sell on your site. Instead of selling prohibited items and then having your eBay account suspended, why not concentrate on what sells best on eBay and implement suitable marketing strategies for them?
There is more about selling prohibited items on eBay: You must not sell counterfeit or infringing items on this marketplace. By selling such items, you are likely face eBay account restrictions. In the worse scenarios, you will get your eBay account suspended permanently.
5. Sell off eBay
From this point, when eBay suspended my account for no reason? You need to check if you violated the selling policies of selling outside eBay. Since its launch in 1995, eBay has grown into a massive marketplace for buyers and sellers and makes money through transaction fees. Therefore, never try to sell your products off eBay (i.e., on eBay alternatives or other sales channels). It goes against eBay’s rules and can result in a full eBay account suspension.
Besides, eBay only allows sellers to communicate with buyers through its messaging service so they can look back if there is anything going wrong later on. Sharing your contact information via eBay messages can be an act of selling through other platforms. With that, your account may face restriction on eBay or a full banning if the situation happens again.
6. Use the wrong content
eBay does not allow offensive content or hate speech on its platform, and it’s a big no-no to all stock photos or copyright materials. It’s impossible to profit from others’ ideas on this platform, and selling fake products can get you an eBay permanent suspension.
When selling on eBay, try to sell high-quality items with your brand’s imprints and never mislead your buyers. These techniques not only prevent you from having an eBay account suspended, but they also aid in developing your unique selling points and ensure a booming number of sales.
7. Get accessed by a third party
If your eBay account gets suspended, but you haven’t violated any selling regulation, it could be a third party’s interference. This means someone has hacked you, and eBay is putting effort into keeping your account safe.
If eBay requested user is suspended, whenever there is an indication of false access to your eBay account (for example, login from a new device or incorrect passwords entered after a few attempts), eBay can temporarily suspend the account for protection.
This also applies if there are changes to your contact information or address details. If you think someone is trying to take over your account or getting a suspension email, I highly recommend getting help from eBay and acquiring a detailed guideline.
However, considering this case, you must stay cautious about false eBay notifications (phishing phone calls and emails). Spammers can imitate eBay contacts and warnings in the hope of recipients providing them with personal information. Don’t click any link or reply to received text messages, emails, or phone calls unless you have assured that they are legitimate eBay notifications
Specifically, below are some typical traits of phishing emails, or you can click on this eBay guide for full information:
- Written in an urgent or threatening manner that requires you to act quickly
- Ask for your confidential information
- Suspicious attachments
- A typo or extra letter website address that tries to copy eBay (for example, https://www.ebay.com/signin/@10.19.32.4 instead of https://www.ebay.com/signin/)
Have this section answered your question of “Why eBay suspended my account”?
Given the 7 reasons for eBay account restrictions and suspensions, it’s time to learn how to reinstate your seller account and return to the game. Keep scrolling through and find out the detailed process in our next part!
Notes: Your eBay account may be suspended temporarily because eBay cannot verify your information. Stay alert to this and make sure you’ve updated your information to their in-house team and let them verify it.
What To Do If My eBay Account is Suspended?
We’ve finally arrived at the most important part when you start to have your eBay account reinstated. Since there could be hundreds of reasons for getting your eBay account suspended, there could also be hundreds of ways to regain access to a restricted eBay account. However, the same procedure applies to every case.
- Stage 1: eBay will send you an email informing you of the suspension.
- Stage 2: You must follow the instructions to resolve the problem within the permitted time.
- Stage 3: Return to eBay; they will provide you with the final response after carefully reviewing your case.
After completing this procedure, we’ll know if you can get your eBay restricted account back or not.
In the following sections, you will find the detailed process on how to get an eBay suspended account back:
#1. Find out why your eBay account was suspended
To properly resolve your suspended eBay account situation, you must understand the root causes. This is where our big question pops up – Why was my eBay account suspended?
I’ve already stated that eBay never suspends your account for no reason. Furthermore, they always send an email with a thorough explanation for the suspension and sometimes full instructions to get your account back.
As aforementioned, be aware of spoof emails on account restriction or suspension. Make sure the email you’ve got has been sent from eBay by checking your eBay Messages. If there isn’t any copy of the suspension email, it definitely comes for fraudulent purposes.
Once you know for sure that eBay sends you that email, read it through to find out the reason for the applied suspension. If you find anything wrong with the decision, reply to the notice and provide sufficient evidence of the errors. Otherwise, let’s move on to the next step.
#2. Follow eBay instructions
Continuing how to get your eBay account suspended back to normal, it’s time to look at the detailed instructions attached and the steps to reinstate it.
Detailed instructions in eBay suspension email
Although definite suspensions may get some vague terms such as “serious security concerns”, other eBay suspension emails come in details, regarding the sellers’ needs. Also, eBay will explain why they put a suspension on your account, the duration of the suspension, and step-by-step instructions on resolving the issue and reinstating their accounts.
All you have to do now is follow the guidelines in the email and fix the issues as quickly as possible. If eBay blocks you for using stock images or copyright photos in your listings, you can either delist the items or simply remove the copyright photos from your site.
Things would be simpler if you had your eBay account suspended for late payment on seller’s charges.
Follow these steps to have your account reinstated in a blink of an eye.
- Firstly, go to My eBay at the top right corner and click on the Account.
- After that, choose Seller Account to see the outstanding fee.
- From here, click on one-time payment using PayPal to execute the outstanding fees, or opt for other payment methods. Once you finish, eBay will lift the suspension right away. You can continue listing, trading, and replying to the buyers within a matter of minutes.
Should you have your eBay account suspended permanently for a verified rights owner (VeRO) problem, you should contact the rights owner with the information provided by eBay.
Notably, VeRO is an eBay program that allows intellectual property owners to report eBay listings that infringe on their rights. Provided that you reach an agreement with the owner, you can submit to eBay the details and continue selling the items once your account is back to normal. Otherwise, remove the listings and move on to the last step.
#3. Get in touch with eBay
If you think there’s something wrong with eBay’s decision, or you don’t receive enough instructions in resolving your eBay account suspension, I suggest you contact eBay and let them know what you think. If you are an Anchor or Enterprise eBay user, you can send them an email or call them for instant support.
No matter which customer support methods you choose to go with, gather all the information you need to provide the customer support representative. It includes your user ID, the email address associated with your eBay account, and the reference number in the suspension email you received.
While contacting eBay, make sure to ask any questions to fully understand why you have your eBay account suspended. If you think your eBay suspension is a wrong decision, do not forget to provide them with full evidence.
Otherwise, showcase the steps you’ve taken to resolve the issue. Remember to be as polite as possible. An angry call or email leads nowhere. In contrast, they could even worsen the situation, and eBay permanently suspended my account for no reason. Besides, bear in mind to emphasize you are concentrating on your buyers and have complied with eBay policies regarding all the changes.
You may have to wait until your suspended eBay account is over. However, you’ve shown yourself as an honest seller who is willing to change and improve. On that ground, the marketplace will lift your account restrictions or suspensions in a short while.
You should not contact eBay immediately if you’ve got an indefinite suspension. eBay will not change its mind after a hassle call or email. In such contexts, it may be wise to wait for a year or longer, and during that time, you can switch to other marketplaces to continue your online business.
How to Avoid Being Suspended From eBay?
Besides learning how to unsuspend eBay accounts, you should also read up on how to avoid restrictions and suspension from eBay. Keep in mind that “Prevention is better than cure”, and it is also true in this case. Here are 4 ways you can avoid eBay account suspension:
I will now explain these ways in detail.
1. Follow eBay rules
When you are selling on eBay, it’s obvious to obey eBay selling rules. This is not only to prevent you from having your eBay account suspended. Over and above, it keeps your listings safe, remains in your Best Match position, and improves your seller’s rating. Why risk your chance?
Any sign of violating eBay rules and regulations will get you a warning right away in your eBay Messages. Don’t neglect these cautions and or keep thinking of getting banned from eBay for no reason. If so, you will surely have your eBay account restricted in no time.
2. Always keep a solid record
Many sellers have followed eBay’s best practices but still end up having their eBay accounts suspended. They claim that eBay suspended accounts for no reason, or so they think. However, eBay suspensions take effort due to numerous reasons. Although most are subjective, you can possibly have your eBay account suspended because of someone else. Fraudulent sellers may try to scam you and then blame you for the incident.
With that in mind, always keep a solid record of every action you take on eBay. Use eBay messages to stay in touch with your buyers so that eBay can look back later if there are any issues. Besides, remember to take proofs for shipping out items, a waybill, for example.
3. Pay on time
As eBay might put your account on hold for not paying seller fees or reimbursing buyer refunds, remember to settle all payments on time. To do this, you can opt for a one-time payment with PayPal. Otherwise, pick out other payment methods, such as credit card, Google Pay or Apple Pay.
4. Expand to other sales channels
When receiving an email suspension from eBay, you can get a short-term restriction or long-term suspension. Although you’ve fixed the issues and contacted eBay, you may have to wait a long time until eBay reinstates your account. During the wait, you can learn about other eBay alternatives to continue selling and keep your business alive.
There are many eCommerce platforms and marketplaces to sell your products and services with different pros and cons. At this point, do your research carefully and choose what best suits your product niche and business goals.
Sell on eBay and Other Platforms with LitCommerce
LitCommerce supports you in easily connecting various sales channels and managing them in one dashboard. In case your eBay account is suspended, you can choose to sell on other selling channels instead. Don’t worry! All your order and inventory data are synced just like eBay.
Top marketplaces to expand your business
Here are some top-notch options for you to consider expanding your business in case you get your eBay account suspended:
#1. Amazon
Known as the powerhouse in the field, Amazon is one of the world’s largest Internet-based companies. To begin with, the marketplace has incredibly massive monthly traffic, with about 2.3 billion potential customers worldwide.
Additionally, when selling on Amazon, you will benefit from its full eCommerce feature package. Amazon’s A9 algorithm, Amazon FBA, Amazon shipping, Amazon Brand Registry, and order fulfillment service are all available, waiting for you to boost your sales volume.
Notes: It is worth noting that you may confuse Amazon and Amazon Marketplace because they are closely integrated. Check out LitCommerce’s detailed comparison for a general outlook on these two now!
#2. Etsy
Well-known for selling original and one-of-a-kind items, Etsy is a good place to streamline cash for artists, creators, and collectors. More than 410.5 million internet users visit Etsy each month, making it the 4th biggest e-marketplace in the United States.
So if one wonders, “Is selling on Etsy worth it?”, it’s a firm YES! Selling on Etsy is super straightforward. After registering your Etsy account, you are able to start your online business right away.
#3. Walmart
Walmart Marketplace has long been one of the best online marketplaces, with 392.5 million monthly visitors, facilitating 150,000+ e-merchants worldwide. In 2021, Walmart launched the Omnichannel shopping benefits with Walmart+, which gives out a super convenient shopping experience.
When selling on Walmart Marketplace, you can access the most cutting-edge eCommerce technologies. There are notable features such as advanced listing quality tools, promotion alternatives, and expedited shipping programs.
Also, if you want to expand to Walmart, consider using LitCommerce’s solution. We are proud to announce that in 2023, we are an official Full Solution Provider of Walmart. As a Walmart partner, we aim to support all e-sellers going live on this marketplace and ensure their selling experience will go as smoothly as possible.
#4. Facebook Marketplace
While waiting for the eBay suspension run to end, you can choose Facebook Marketplace, powered by Meta, as your alternative selling channel. To start with, Facebook Marketplace currently receives about 250 million visits monthly, which is much higher than some selling channels out there.
Moving on, Facebook Marketplace will make an ideal platform for you if you are targeting local and fast transactions. Also, this online sales platform is highly compatible with physical item trading. Like any other platform, you can benefit from Meta business and advertising tools to skyrocket your sales revenue.
However, remember that selling on Facebook Marketplace will suit individual sellers better than medium-sized businesses. More information about the Facebook Marketplace review has already been available on our Retail Blog. Come and check it out!
What should you do when going for multichannel selling?
Multichannel selling is an excellent way to keep up with the global competition and boost your sales volume, not just when you face eBay account suspension. However, it comes with undeniable challenges: channel management, inventory management, pricing your products, or marketing on multiple platforms.
That’s why integrating a proper management system helps you run your stores smoothly and ensures real-time synchronization across your channels. Regarding this aspect, LitCommerce is an affordable and easy-to-use multi-channel solution that helps you grow your business to its full potential.
With over 10+ years of experience working with multiple eCommerce platforms, we provide an effortless and efficient multichannel selling experience. Contact us if you need further assistance, or try our service for free to know how we can help you sell on multiple platforms with ease.
eBay Account Suspended: Commonly Asked Questions
When you have your eBay account suspended, eBay will send out an email informing the duration of the suspension. Depending on the seriousness of your issues, the eBay suspension can last for seven days, ten days, thirty days, or permanent (with a total loss of privileges). In the suspension email, eBay might also suggest what actions to take and inform you of the terms of your suspension. If you find something wrong with their decision, reach out to them and provide them with sufficient evidentiary information. Otherwise, do what you must and wait for the suspension to end. During the eBay suspension period, you won’t be allowed to take any action on your account. To get your suspended eBay account back, here is the general procedure: From the previously provided list of actions that might lead to account suspension on eBay, it’s easy to tell that most eBay suspensions are due to poor account management or poor performance. eBay manages the exact details of your actions on the platform, both good and bad behaviors. If there is any sign of policy violation or underperforming action, they will inform you via eBay messages as the first warning. Do not underestimate these messages, as eBay takes each of them seriously. Most sellers are unaware of that until the suspension email arrives. And it is always worth noting that you can get your eBay account suspended permanently when violating selling rules Hence, check every message you’ve got, and improve your seller metrics or fix any issue as per the warnings. A “stealth” or “ghost” account is one obtained from a third-party provider or from friends/family that are not related or associated with the primary eBay account. Many people resort to using a stealth eBay account when having their eBay account suspended for a clean state to continue trading (or so they think). From a practical angle, using a stealth eBay account is like sweeping your problems under the rug rather than confronting them head-on. And if you are caught using a stealth account to circumvent a suspension, there is no excuse to give eBay. Sellers will then be trapped in a never-ending cycle of new stealth accounts and new suspensions. That being the case, confronting your problems is the only way out. Follow eBay guidelines, improve your performance, and wait for your account to be reinstated. Many have this inquiry in mind as PayPal and eBay have a close relationship, despite having been separated since 2015. Some eBay sellers even blamed PayPal for having their eBay accounts suspended. Actually, Paypal may prevent bad eBay sellers from using their services because they do not want these sellers to tarnish their reputation in the same way that these sellers have done to eBay. In the technological world, these kinds of connections are apparent. You may be added to an Internet blacklist soon after being banned or suspended from one platform, preventing you from transacting on eCommerce sites. Yes, you can open a new eBay account if your old one is suspended. However, you will need to have another email, contacts, and other relevant information. Make sure you are not violating any seller rule again to avoid eBay suspension. Your IP is closely connected to your account, so if you got your eBay account suspended, eBay technically has banned your IP. In any case you want to create a new eBay account, you need to stay alert about your IP and email address.
eBay Account Suspended: Final Words
Will your eBay account be suspended for no reason? Certainly NO. Having your eBay account suspended is hard to accept, but it may motivate you to improve your performance. Remember to remain calm and conscious throughout the process. As long as you stay honest and show eBay how willing you are to confront and resolve the issues, you can reinstate your eBay account shortly.
In the worst-case scenario that you have your eBay account suspended for an extended period (or even indefinitely), you can still switch to other eCommerce platforms or marketplaces to make ends meet.
In that case, LitCommerce is happy to simplify your multichannel selling process and make it a total breeze. It’s straightforward to monitor everything from one place, and that’s how you can easily grow your business to its full potential. Drop us a line if you have any questions about our services.
Lastly, don’t forget to join our active community and follow our Retailer Blog to stay updated with the latest trends and tips in the eCommerce industry!
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