Woman greenscreen over message from ebay 'Hello, We understand this may be inconvienient, but we've identified a discrepancy on your account. Based on the risk involved in your eBay business, this suspension is permeant. Your account will remain restricted indefinitely and you will be unable to buy/sell items or encourage member to member communication. Unfortunately, there will not be an opportunity to appeal this decision as the safety of our community is top priority for us. Thank you for your cooperation. Thanks, eBay' (l) eBay logo on white background (r)

esthermm/Shutterstock @theaudreypeters/TikTok (Licensed)

‘There is no help hotline that I can call’: eBay seller says she was randomly suspended and can’t withdraw the ‘thousands’ she’s made. Other sellers say the same thing happened (updated)

'I think it's funny how they ban genuine people but allow people that scam to carry on.'

 

Victoria Gagliardo-Silver

IRL

Posted on Apr 22, 2022   Updated on Apr 25, 2022, 11:49 am CDT

A woman took to TikTok to complain after being banned on eBay, and may have accidentally discovered a troubling trend. 

Audrey Peters, an NYC-based TikTok influencer known for her designer fashion purchases and unboxings, was recently banned from eBay reportedly due to a discrepancy on her account. 

In the TikTok video, posted on April 21, Aubrey shows the email she received from eBay alerting her to her account suspension.

The email says, “Based on the risk involved with your eBay business, this suspension is permanent. Your account will remain restricted indefinitely and you will be unable to buy/sell items, or engage in member-to-member communication. Unfortunately, there will not be an opportunity to appeal this decision as the safety of our community is a top priority for us.”

She opens the video, “If you follow me, you know I love buying and selling second-hand. I have been a user on eBay for over 8 years. Since high school, I loved selling the things I wasn’t into anymore on eBay.”

“I wake up to this lovely email this morning saying that my account is suspended. Recently, they did ask me for tons of documents, they recently asked me for a credit card statement, a passport, along with a few other things I gladly gave them.”

“I guess, upon review, they decided I’m sus. Meanwhile, I was just paid thousands of dollars for a few things that I sold that I can no longer withdraw. There is no help hotline that I can call, I have some chat with someone saying that I’m gonna get paid out in 60 to 72 days. Meanwhile, I’m obviously complaining on my Instagram and I’ve had hundreds of people message me saying that the exact same thing happened to them and they never got their money back.”

She finishes the video, “As a loyal eBay seller, this is just so unacceptable and makes me so sad. So, eBay, this isn’t right and I want my money and account back.”

Commenters were quick to offer suggestions and solutions. 

One commenter said, “At this rate you may as well file a class action law suit against them.” Another agreed that they should take the legal route, saying, “Have a lawyer draft a letter with intent to sue if they don’t give you your funds.”

Many commenters said their accounts were also suspended by the platform.

One said, “It happened to me as well!!! Keep us updated on how it goes please.” Another said, “They banned my eBay account and I had over 18k reviews. No explanation and that was back when you could call someone.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to both Audrey Peters and eBay via their media contact emails.

Update 9:55 am CT, April 24: An eBay spokesperson spoke to the Daily Dot about Peter’s video, saying “eBay thoroughly investigated this situation and was pleased to be able to reverse the account suspension, quickly release the customer’s funds, and is working with the customer to correct the underlying issue with the account.”


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*First Published: Apr 22, 2022, 1:57 pm CDT