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eBay Suspension
Any updates are posted at the bottom of this note...
I have found that I am only one of a huge number of sellers who have been suspended from eBay for either frivilous or invalid reasons.
This page is dedicated to those who wish to post the reasons they were suspended. It is not for those who offer ways to get back on eBay using false id's, etc.
In my particular case, I have gotten several short-term suspensions and finally a permanent suspension. Only one of these, I feel, was marginally reasonable.
My permanent suspension resulted from posting a display that included a small piece of the mineral, Trinitite. Trinitite was formed in a small area of Alamorgodo, New Mexico during the first Atomic Bomb test. It has zero radioactivity. eBay ended my auction as being hazardous and dangerous and gave me an indifinite suspension for posting it. Many other sellers and I have been posting Trinitite on eBay for about a decade. If you take a giger counter to Trinitite you get a zero reading. If you take a giger counter reading of the dials of some of the luminous clocks and watches eBay allows, you will find a trace of radioactivity.
I also posted an Apache Tear - a round piece of volcanic glass that 19th century Native Americans considered a charm. My description was taken directly from the gift card that came with each I bought from my fossil/mineral wholesaler, plus an expansion on the history I got from the encyclopedia. eBay ended the item as being grossly misdiscribed.
A third "violation" was a hand-signed photo of a WWII German Ace who, after the war, was instrumental in forming the new German Airforce and retired as a General and Chief of NATO. eBay ended that saying it was hateful and discriminatory.
I am not one who wants to try and pull the wool over eBay's eyes and attempt to start selling under a new name.
What I have done is to find a legal firm that is willing to fight eBay. Over a period of more than 10 years I had built up a nice business on eBay. The $2,500 to $3,000 per month I made amounted to about 75% of my income. I have found a Houston law firm that is anxious to take my case, but they would much rather take this as a class action suit. If you feel you have been wronged by eBay, and you would like to be a part of this class action suit, please email me at cy@hotlinecy.com
My request for reinstatement can be found by clicking here and the letter I wrote to my attorney friend can be found by clicking here.
By clicking here, you can read a very lengthy, but best researched description of eBay's unethical tactics I have ever seen.
I will forward your eMail address to the law firm and they will contact you with the information they require.
The law suite has more than just the possibility of getting back some of the losses you have incurred by being suspended. In addition to actual losses, there are damages, which even after the law firm gets their 30% could be huge. Also, the suit might require eBay make some major changes that would be beneficial to sellers. Examples are:
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Requiring that Trust & Safety becomes more transparent and must respond to each inquiry with a message that addresses the seller's question rather than being simply a boilerplate response. |
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Requiring that Trust & Safety notify you of an auction they feel has a problem, giving you time to delete the auction with no reprocussions. |
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Requiring that eBay set up a totally separate Appeal Department that has no contact with Trust & Safety and that this department has the final say before any suspensions are made. |
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Possibly not possible, but in the first deposition, require eBay provide a list and contact info on all sellers who have been suspended during the last 12 months. It is known that eBay keeps these records for at least 12 months - possibly longer. These sellers are likely participants in the class action suit. |
Updates
March 26, 2009 - My attorney friend heard back from one of the Houston law firms he sent my information to. While the attorney loved the case he declined because there were no partners in their firm who had expertise in cases involving the Internet. He did suggest several possibilities
July 15, 2009 - I got some disappointing news from two different attorneys - one in Houston and one in California. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 has made class action suits less attractive to lawyers and claimants for several reasons. They must be filed in Federal rather than State Courts and awards are substantially. I am still looking for an interested firm to handle the case, but both attorneys said an individual suit had much better possibilities. The problem in filing an individual case is the high cost in legal fees for the claimant. Finding an attorney to take the case is no problem if you can afford the large potential fees, but finding an attorney to take it on a contingency basis is much more difficult. The area of internet related suits is relatively new and finding an attorney who has enough experience in this area to gamble on taking a case on contingency is much more difficult. I am working on this and will post an update early each month on my progress.