This post is by Mordechai Epelbaum, an independent consultant, and Tuvyah Schleifer, of CRSeller.
When there is a breach of eBay’s policy, sellers can have their accounts suspended. An eBay suspension means business interruption, and often a cascade of problems with serious implications for the seller.
Why does eBay suspend seller accounts? It’s their business to protect the community from bad buyers and sellers. They want to make sure that no one gets hurt. Not the brand, not the buyer, and not the seller.
Perhaps most importantly, policy violations hurt eBay’s reputation and, in the final analysis, that is why eBay cares about them.
In this post, we’ll explain why eBay accounts are suspended, how the process works, and how to avoid it happening again.
Why does eBay suspend seller accounts?
There are many reasons why eBay might suspend a seller’s account. Here are a few examples of common issues that can show up in performance metrics:
- Late shipping of orders (including via dropshipping)
- Late tracking number upload or validation
- A high transaction defect rate
- Failing to resolve cases raised by buyers in the Resolution Center
Let’s look at those in turn.
1. Late shipping of orders
Late shipping is a big issue. After all, most eBay customers check the estimated shipping time of the merchandise they buy. So, before placing an order the customer has already set their delivery expectations.
For instance, if the product description states delivery in three days, it better be delivered in three days. But it goes further than that. In actuality, it’s a problem if it takes over a day for the seller to dispatch the item – for it to leave their premises. Late dispatch makes buyers nervous, and they’ll be quick to complain or leave negative feedback, if anything that comes after that falls below their expectations.
Once the customer has made their payment, shipping the item out really shouldn’t take more than two hours.
2. Late tracking number upload or validation
Online shoppers always want to know the status of their order. Or they at least want to know that they can find out the status any time they want, and fast. So, sharing tracking numbers quickly is essential.
eBay validates the tracking number, and shares it with the buyer, and this is critical. Failure to submit tracking information quickly raises one of two flags. Either poor seller workflow, or a failure to ship by a tracked service. Both are unacceptable, and compromise the trust with the buyer. Convincing eBay otherwise can be an uphill battle.
3. A high transaction defect rate
Next, violating the defect rate metric is a fast track to suspension land. Sellers must address buyer communications and complaints really quickly, and with skill.
To begin with, avoiding errors of perception is critical. If you can, it’s always better to undersell your product. If it’s used, or “seller refurbished”, highlight the blemishes. Don’t over promise on quality. It’s just not worth it.
In your templates, store page, Facebook page and website, describe yourself well. Explain your commitment to the buyer. Show that you are a trustworthy and caring seller. Build enough confidence in your customer, that they trust working with you if they do have an issue.
4. Failing to resolve cases in the Resolution Center
You must address your customers’ issues head-on. We’ll say it again. You must work with your customers, no matter how unreasonable or demanding they are being.
You must also design your listings, and listing templates, with this in mind. Don’t fill your listings with small print to use against buyers when they complain. eBay customers expect a consistent experience whoever they buy from, and are increasingly unlikely to read or take seriously your own unique terms of business.
Think of how few negatives it takes to unseat hundreds of positives. Design your listings to help avoid future problems, even if it means fewer sales.
Does eBay ever suspend sellers with good metrics?
Metrics are a blunt tool. They help provide an overall picture of how a seller is doing, but they don’t provide the reasons behind the numbers.
A seller can work hard on their performance and have great metrics, but eBay sees the whole communication with buyers and can take action based on a single case, if it is warranted. Metrics are there to help business owners manage key performance indicators, not to keep track of policy violations.
