How to Recover a Suspended eBay Account
Getting your seller account suspended from an online marketplace like eBay having 180 million active buyers can be a devastating blow. Especially, if you rely on the income from eBay. Fortunately, you don’t have to fret anymore. This write up can educate you on why seller accounts get suspended and what you can do to reinstate a suspended eBay account. Let’s get started.
Types of eBay Seller Account Suspension
Not all account suspensions from eBay are concerning. Some accounts are suspended for minor issues like late payments or expired payment, while others are suspended due to serious offenses.
Hold — Your eBay seller account is put on hold when you haven’t released a payment or your payment information expires. Once you make the payment, your account will be reinstated. Usually, a hold is placed by eBay on seller accounts to safeguard themselves from losing out money.
Restriction — This is more severe than hold. When sellers are unable to meet the minimum performance standards, eBay puts some restrictions that discourage them from selling specific items or lower their product positioning in search results.
Suspension — This penalty is the harshest among all other account suspensions. eBay account suspension penalty is levied when sellers are engaged in serious violations, like selling illegal merchandise. In case of account suspension, sellers can’t bid, sell products, message bidders or drop feedback. Account suspensions due to fallacy can be reinstated. However, if the suspension is not lifted, your eBay account will be permanently suspended.
4 Reasons Why eBay Suspends Sellers Account and Their Product Listings
#1 Misleading buyers with inauthentic product images: According to HubSpot report, 67% of shoppers admitted that the quality of images influence their buying decision. In eCommerce, buyers rely on images before purchasing a product. Using deceptive images for products that are refurbished or stealing images from other sellers’ product listings may lead to account suspension. As a seller, it’s your duty to use high-resolution pictures in your eBay listings that clearly represent the products you are selling.
#2 Duplicate content: Another key reason for eBay seller account suspension is using the same content provided by the manufacturer or copying other sellers’ content. eBay always recommends sellers to create unique, fresh, and engaging content as it plays a vital role in improving the product search rankings. If you don’t know how to write creative content that conforms to eBay standard guidelines, you may seek help from experts that provide product description writing services.
#3 Delay in shipping: Delay in shipping products is another key concern. Before placing an order, customers always check the estimated delivery time and set the product arrival expectation accordingly. If a seller fails to deliver the product on time, customers become anxious and start complaining or leave negative feedback. When a seller frequently fails to deliver the merchandise on time, eBay takes complaints against that seller into consideration and suspend the account of that seller.
#4 Selling restricted, prohibited or duplicate items: If you list or sell prohibited, restricted or counterfeit products, there are chances that eBay will suspend your seller account. There are some restricted items that you can sell with eBay permission in particular regions, while there are many other products that are completely banned from listing. As a seller, it’s wise to check the list of prohibited and restricted items on eBay before listing products.
How to Recover Your Suspended eBay Account
Even after taking the precautions that we have discussed above, if your eBay seller account gets suspended, you don’t need to fret anymore. Fortunately, you can reinstate your account by being transparent and honest about your business practices. Listed below are the things that you can do to lift the suspension:
#1 Be calm and understand why eBay suspended your account: In order to reinstate your seller account, you have to stay calm and try to figure out the reasons that lead to account suspension. eBay always sends a suspension email stating the reasons for account suspension. Read that email carefully to understand where things went wrong. At times, eBay also sends an email having a vague language like your account has been suspended due to “security concerns.” In that case, it’s wise calling eBay.
#2 Call them to know the cause of account suspension: When you call eBay executives, they will explain to you the primary reason that lead to account suspension and what you can do to recover your listings or account back. Before you call them, we suggest you keep the following things ready:
- eBay user ID
- The email address associated with the seller account
- Suspension email copy
- Case reference number
If your eBay seller account is put on restriction or suspension due to poor account governance, you have to do your homework well and prepare your arguments. Read eBay’s policies to support your claims. Always make sure that you speak in a calm and professional tone. This will increase the chances of your account restoration. However, if you end up with a bad reputation with an eBay executive, you can hang up and call after some time to speak with a new customer support executive.
If you were engaged in unethical selling practices, you have to admit that first and bring the customer care executive in your confidence that you will never do it again. This may work in your favor and your eBay seller account suspension could be lifted by eBay executive.
#3 Follow instructions and wait until suspension period passes: Once you have fixed all the issues that eBay executives informed you over the call, you need to wait until the suspension period gets completed. This waiting duration could vary from a couple of days to 2–3 weeks or a month. After that, your account will be reinstated.
Wrapping Up
If you wish to become a star seller on eBay, you have to religiously follow their guidelines and selling terms. Always stay up-to-date with eBay policies follow ethical selling practices. That’s the only key to success. In case your seller account gets suspended and you struggle in restoring, you may seek help from dedicated experts by dropping an email to mail@quiktekinfo.com.
