My account suspended by eBay for using Auction Sniper!!

I understand that ebay Germany can do that. Was the seller in Germany and/or did you have InstaMail turned on?

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posted Sep 22, 12:26 PM
Hi, My ebay account has been suspended with the following message -

"You have been suspended from eBay because our records indicate your account was involved in activities that violate our policies."

On further questioning, they have stated that it was due to bids being placed by suspected automated bidding software of a country of origin inconsistant with my IP address.

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Are you US based or where? I find nothing in the policies US or Germany that say you cannot snipe.Perhaps I have missed something. I believe I emailed Ebay some time ago and was told sniping was acceptable. This was posted here. Are you sure you are suspended and it was not spoof mail?

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
I find nothing in the policies US or Germany that say you cannot snipe.Perhaps I have missed something.

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Here’s something quick off Internet:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y02/m12/i02/s01
There are other articles that come up in searching Internet.

There are 5 Click Here on the following click here:
>>> Click here <<<

I'm not sure this has actually been answered, or that we've just debated the heck out of it.

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Originally posted by Rick:
I understand that ebay Germany can do that. Was the seller in Germany and/or did you have InstaMail turned on?

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I have bought quite a lot of items on eBay Germany I must admit. Instamail was not turned on.

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
Are you sure you are suspended and it was not spoof mail?

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senator30e is a NARU.

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:

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posted Sep 22, 12:26 PM
Hi, My ebay account has been suspended with the following message -

"You have been suspended from eBay because our records indicate your account was involved in activities that violate our policies."

On further questioning, they have stated that it was due to bids being placed by suspected automated bidding software of a country of origin inconsistant with my IP address.

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Are you US based or where? I find nothing in the policies US or Germany that say you cannot snipe.Perhaps I have missed something. I believe I emailed Ebay some time ago and was told sniping was acceptable. This was posted here. Are you sure you are suspended and it was not spoof mail?

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I am UK based and yes, I am sure. The initial message came up when I tried to log in to the 'My eBay' page. If you try to view my feedback it now says 'Not a registered user'

I think I would ask for the exact policy. Otherwise, they TOSed you because you live in England and AS if from the US?

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senator30e is a NARU.

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??

As far as a link from your auction to AS, it has been forbidden for a long time, of course. I still am not able to find a policy in German Ebay against sniping. It may of course be there, but I cannot find it.

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
I think I would ask for the exact policy. Otherwise, they TOSed you because you live in England and AS if from the US?

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Why do you say that?

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
??

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Still confused?

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
As far as a link from your auction to AS, it has been forbidden for a long time, of course.

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Does that mean as the seller including a link on the auction for AS?

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Originally posted by Rick:

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
As far as a link from your auction to AS, it has been forbidden for a long time, of course.

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Does that mean as the seller including a link on the auction for AS?

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I am not a seller - never have been.
I have never put an Auction Sniper link anywhere.

Wow, I haven't heard of this happening before.

They just lost themselves out of a great bidder.

I don't understand this. Their security bots are supposed to be built to detect fraudulent activity and eliminate it, correct? Yet they found a great eBay buyer from what I can tell and boot you instead? Then when you inform them of their mistake they won't resind your banning.

That's harsh.

Of course with a free Hotmail account you can just register and start bidding again, so I don't really understand what keeps bidders off that they kick off anyways, aren't they only training the bad guys how to get better at beating the system each time they kick them off, and nailing some of the good guys along the way too like our friend here?

I am a UK-based buyer and have (successfully) sniped an item in Germany using AS

Maybe a German seller or another bidder reported their suspicions?

... Don't snipe eBay.de (even manually) while visiting a friend in another country?

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Originally posted by senator30e:

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Originally posted by Rick:

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
As far as a link from your auction to AS, it has been forbidden for a long time, of course.

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Does that mean as the seller including a link on the auction for AS?

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I am not a seller - never have been.
I have never put an Auction Sniper link anywhere.

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Didn't think that was the case (due to your feedback). Wanted to try clear up M's question.

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Originally posted by Puppy Raiser:
Maybe a German seller or another bidder reported their suspicions?

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My understanding is that they have to prove it was from a sniping service, and not a manual snipe. Don't know how they could, but InstaMail would definitely be a clue. And, I thought it was up to the seller. Hard to think ebay wouldn't give someone a warning first, especially considering what they do with bid retractors.

From original post.

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suspected automated bidding

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I'm also surprised they didn't give a warning first.

Now I'm confused... Has the senator been reinstated?

Maybe it was only a temporary suspension.

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Originally posted by Puppy Raiser:
Now I'm confused... Has the senator been reinstated?

Maybe it was only a temporary suspension.

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Good catch.

He was definitely NARU'd yesterday.

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Originally posted by Rick:

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Originally posted by Puppy Raiser:
Now I'm confused... Has the senator been reinstated?

Maybe it was only a temporary suspension.

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Good catch.

He was definitely NARU'd yesterday.

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Yes - my account has been re-instated after a lot of pleading with eBay. I took the chance to put the snipers point accross - it is not the last bidder that wins an auction, it's the highest!. This they seemed to take on board and have let me use the account again with a warning. What can I say - I am now a commited Auction Sniper user and will continue to do so!!. Thanks for everyones help and comments - senator30e.

Result!

Maybe, just maybe, AS will see the light and turn off instamail for everyone so that this cannot happen again.
[method - turn it off and email all those with it ON to tell them what, and why, you've done it. And set default to off or get rid for ever!]

R2

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
As far as a link from your auction to AS, it has been forbidden for a long time, of course.
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Does that mean as the seller including a link on the auction for AS?
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I am not a seller - never have been.
I have never put an Auction Sniper link anywhere.
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Didn't think that was the case (due to your feedback). Wanted to try clear up M's question.

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Glad it is over , but Rick, your first example was linking from an auction to AS and that was why I said the above, of course!!

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
I think I would ask for the exact policy. Otherwise, they TOSed you because you live in England and AS if from the US?
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Rick said:
Why do you say that?

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Because Senator said:

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On further questioning, they have stated that it was due to bids being placed by suspected automated bidding software of a country of origin inconsistant with my IP address

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
... but Rick, your first example was linking from an auction to AS and that was why I said the above, of course!!

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"From an auction"? I don't see it. And "your auction to AS" doesn't compute. I don't see any link to an auction by me.

From an auction"? I don't see it. And "your auction to AS" doesn't compute. I don't see any link to an auction by me.

Rick, look at the headline of the first link you suppied!

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eBay Bans Auctions Containing Links to Sniping Service

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
Rick, look at the headline of the first link you suppied!

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Try reading more than the headlines. If nothing else, look for "Germany" and the comment about sniping services.

I personally don't think ebay has any right to regulate how a person places a bid. It could be a legal issue if it were pursued. If they can say you can't use snipes, then what about the speed of your connection or your computer in general. There is no way to make all bidders "even". Heh, are they going to say you can't stay up after midnight to place a last minute snipe because that's not fair to the guy across the country who's at work or sleeping? And like someone said earlier, they are getting their cut, so basically they should just shut up about how or when the bid is placed. Ebay sometimes reminds me of the TY company when I had my gift shop and was selling beanie babies. The started telling us what we could buy,how many of each and how much we HAD to buy to get any at all. They would make us buy the ones we didn't want to get the ones we did. And then they actually came into the store and told us we had to put them in the first 10 feet of the door or we couldn't sell them at all!! As you can imagine, alot of shop owners told them were they could put their beanies! (maybe that's where all the brown dogs came from! LOL ) I know from my sales experience over the summer that ebay and paypal (still ebay of course) took a good 25% of my sales by the time I added up all the fees. That's too much. Ebay needs a good competitor to make them back off the "too big for thier britches - greedies". They don't always refund the listing fee if it sells the second time either. But when you have hundreds and hundreds of listings who's really got the time to sit and sort out all the fees/ refunds and argue with ebay about it.They don't answer half the time anyway.
I'm glad you got back on senator30e, good for you for sticking up for yourself!

I've been very happy with ebay. They must be doing something right to have all those transactions. Of course, we wouldn't be on this forum if it wasn't for ebay.

MG, your points were well taken. I have seen many changes in Ebay over the period of time I have used them. Some good, some not, but overall, I am pleased with my end results. Of course competion is good for any business...on the consumer end.

I know that I have sold several large items that brought much more than I could have realized elsewhere, so I suppose I did'nt mind their cut. However, MG, you are right. It is hefty!

BTW, glad to see you posting, MG!

True, I do know that I sold much more than I could have without ebay. I just think they get carried away with the fees for set-up and the little "extras".
I managed to sell enough to be a "power seller", so I guess that means I paid them too much! However since my sales are seasonal I think I'll be loosing it soon.
Thanks for the welcome Mrs. M !

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
I know that I have sold several large items that brought much more than I could have realized elsewhere, so I suppose I did'nt mind their cut. However, MG, you are right. It is hefty!

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Even if ebay’s cut is hefty, as long as the seller’s profit is heftier then any alternative – then ebay is providing a valuable service.

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Originally posted by Mrs.M:
BTW, glad to see you posting, MG!

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Did I miss something?

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Originally posted by MG intern:
True, I do know that I sold much more than I could have without ebay.

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That sounds like a positive experience.

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Originally posted by MG intern:
so I guess that means I paid them too much!

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Why do you feel you paid them too much?

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Originally posted by MG intern:
However since my sales are seasonal I think I'll be loosing it soon.

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Do you mean you’ll be losing the “power seller” status? Not being a seller, do you think that’s good or bad?

Because you only get "power seller" when you make ebay a bunch of $$$ by selling a minimum amount monthly. A large amount!
Yea, the power seller logo. You have to continue to sell alot each month to have it. It really makes no difference to me. My feedback is good and that's what really counts.

MG - You must have missed these questions:

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Originally posted by Rick:
Why do you feel you paid them too much?

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Originally posted by Rick:
Not being a seller, do you think that’s (losing power seller) good or bad?

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Thanks in advance.

MG said:

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I managed to sell enough to be a "power seller", so I guess that means I paid them too much! However since my sales are seasonal I think I'll be loosing it soon.

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Well, I am a power seller, MG, also. Do I care one way or another? NO, I do not!! It does nothing for me! So, if I don't reach the magic goal, so be it. I have never found anything in the power seller services that meant ditz to me!

Rick said:

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Did I miss something?

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Do you suppose?

Rick, two sentances...two answers to your questions.

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Originally posted by MG intern:
Rick, two sentances...two answers to your questions.

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Doesn't look like there's any answer. Guess I'll *forget it*.