eBay "Customer Service" - Is eBay Trying to Lose Customers? 1 1

[Wall-Crawler]

I don't start threads here too often, but I have decided to share my tale of woe with the community here in case anyone else is experiencing the same issue I am with eBay.

Long story short, since about mid-January 2022, I have been locked in a vicious cycle with eBay of trying to get them to resolve a "system glitch" that keeps restricting and suspending my account. 

Basically, for whatever reason, I have been told that their billing system has been restricting my selling privileges and even suspending my account for non-payment. However (and this has been confirmed by eBay), I have always been up to date on my payments. For some reason this "glitch" keeps "flagging" that I "owe" just under $230, however, this was paid in September 2021 (and confirmed by eBay). According to a recent chat with an eBay agent this is a "known site issue that some members have reported".  Apparently my account has been added to the ticket so "they" know my account is being affected by it". 

The problem is, this vicious cycle of restriction, suspension, then reinstatement keeps happening, as recently as yesterday. Every time my account is restricted and/or suspended I have to call eBay (and getting an agent on the phone is not as easy these days). Then, once my account is reinstated, eBay has to do something on their end to allow me to relist the items that were canned when my account was incorrectly suspended. I have wasted hours on the phone with them and online. I have lost watchers and likely sales and my account is yo-yoing between active and non-active, which will impact my seller performance. Today, my account was suspended for I think the third or fourth time in just under three months. I had to chat with an agent this evening to hopefully get my listings back up. This particular agent referred me to an email address that is no longer valid (resolve@ebay.com) and literally had no clue what they were doing and said I would have to try to speak to a live person tomorrow and ended the chat. 

I have been a member since 2006 and a Top Rated Seller for several years now. There have been some seemingly decent agents but it blows my mind they can't actually fix this problem after nearly three months. The "work around" for me to keep calling every time I'm restricted/suspended is brutal. To me, it seems eBay has gone out of their way to create a system to limit members ability to "elevate" their concerns to a supervisor or complaints department or whatever to get an actual resolution if it does not involve the basics of buying or selling. I have also found the competency levels between agents can vary drastically and I have reached out to eBay on their site and Facebook (I don't use Twitter). It is just all so incredibly frustrating. 

I know many of you will say "screw eBay" (and believe me I have thought about it) and sell here, send graded books to auctions houses, etc., and I get that there are other options, especially for graded books, but I have spent years on eBay cultivating a customer base and no disrespect to any other venues, but I think I would be hard pressed to find a better venue than eBay at the moment where I could sell myself and actually move raw books, sets and especially raw non-key books. And I don't feel like starting over there either.

Anyway, thanks for listening/reading but if anyone else is experiencing or has experienced a similar issue and had it resolved or a super secret complaints number, I would appreciate any information or insight on how to deal with eBay's "customer service" and actually get to a manager/supervisor or proper complaints department (should they have one) to get this thing resolved.

[Tnexus]

It doesn't sound like a customer service issue though, it sounds like a bug that they have no power over fixing. If it's a known issue, I don't think there's any more you can really do.

[Wall-Crawler]

On 3/10/2022 at 12:27 AM, Tnexus said:

It doesn't sound like a customer service issue though, it sounds like a bug that they have no power over fixing. If it's a known issue, I don't think there's any more you can really do.

The fact that it took multiple attempts to get some kind of answer what is going on and when I call or chat, depending on the competency of the agent, I have to go over my story again and again and have been told they cant do anything. They can. They can at least reinstate my account.

The fact I can't seem to get through to someone of "authority" kind of makes it also an overall customer service issue.

But you are right, there is likely not much more I can do 😡.

[Arkham]

On 3/10/2022 at 3:27 PM, Tnexus said:

It doesn't sound like a customer service issue though, it sounds like a bug that they have no power over fixing.

Definitely a bug and it does sound like one that would be beyond typical support tooling - leaving them no option than to escalate to level 3 or level 4 engineering for resolution.

But there is definitely a customer service issue. From what Wall-Crawler has written above, this sounds like an embarrassing display of service management for a company of eBay’s resources and size. It says a LOT about what they value and how their teams are being managed.

Instead of each instance of account suspension being treated as an individual incident and closed when the account is manually re-enabled, these should be being grouped as a problem (it’s obviously not resolved). There should be a singular point of contact where Wall-Crawler can communicate back and forth with the customer service team and be provided updates to the problem resolution. Ideally, this will be managed by an agent or a small team of agents - not requiring their customer to re-explain the issue at each point of contact. Their team should be assisting in restoring the store and all listings or providing tips and work-arounds for a quicker restoration when this happens for the fifth time… (Which I think is a safe bet at this point, sorry to say. It’s some kind of dunning process being triggered periodically by an incorrect debt recorded against the account. Manually re-enabling the account is not removing the dodgy record that is triggering the dunning process). 

It’s obvious that, while individuals in the team might care - the internal structure and supporting processes don’t support them in providing customer care. I understand - many products/services/service providers make it difficult to log a ticket, because managing tickets is complicated and expensive. It is far cheaper to have someone engage in self-help. You don’t have to handle as many tickets, so you don’t have to hire, train, retain, and insure so many customer care representatives. 

But even if that is (in my opinion) a (barely) OK approach, it doesn’t make up for poor service management practices from a company that reported more than US$2.1B in revenue in the second quarter of 2021. 

I would be freaking furious if I were you, Wall-Crawler. I think you’re 100% justified in being peeved by this and the difficulty in escalating this issue. Losing your account four times in three months and what that represents in lost sales and loss of time in re-listing items and chasing support to end-up not feeling supported. It’s just not cool at all. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

eBay sucks.

[telerites]

Not the same issue but I hadn't sold on Ebay since they made their change to requiring a linked bank account.  I kept getting emails saying my account was restricted because I hadn't updated the information (only the selling was restricted).  So I thought I might start listing some items and went through the process.  It took my information but kept saying I was restricted.  I have been on Ebay since 1999 and have the concierge service so I called and I have to admit, their response was friendly and they noted it was a bug in their system that impacted some people.  It took two days for them to resolve but they did.  

 

[Wall-Crawler]

On 3/10/2022 at 1:10 PM, telerites said:

Not the same issue but I hadn't sold on Ebay since they made their change to requiring a linked bank account.  I kept getting emails saying my account was restricted because I hadn't updated the information (only the selling was restricted).  So I thought I might start listing some items and went through the process.  It took my information but kept saying I was restricted.  I have been on Ebay since 1999 and have the concierge service so I called and I have to admit, their response was friendly and they noted it was a bug in their system that impacted some people.  It took two days for them to resolve but they did.  

 

concierge service?

2 days I could deal with. 

I just had my account reinstated (for how long) but now the customer service agent I had on the phone can't figure out how to restore my listings due to the suspension so I can actually relist them (another agent did it before in like 10 minutes) and now I am on hold...

Sigh.

Anyway, I will not continue to post (rant) here anymore - I don't think - but may update if I actually get this thing sorted out.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Wall-Crawler

[telerites]

On 3/10/2022 at 1:27 PM, Wall-Crawler said:

concierge service?

Yeah, I don't know if it because I have been a member since 1999 and/or have 100% rating or something else.  It has been quite a while since I had it.  I captured and image of what it shows when I go to contact customer service - 

Here are the benefits when I click explore your benefits

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by telerites

[Wall-Crawler]

On 3/10/2022 at 2:39 PM, telerites said:

Yeah, I don't know if it because I have been a member since 1999 and/or have 100% rating or something else.  It has been quite a while since I had it.  I captured and image of what it shows when I go to contact customer service - 

 

I just looked it up. Maybe I call and demand the Concierge treatment???

I have been with eBay since 2006, have 1,135 feedback but I am at 100% rating but clearly I am not meeting their volume and other standards. Nice to know they have a two tiered help system...The have and have nots!

eBay Concierge is a personalized, premium service to help members with their buying and selling needs. Currently, the program is open only to select customers.

Buyers and sellers with the highest value and volume of eBay transactions are invited to join the program.

eBay Concierge is a free service, but if you’d rather stay with our standard customer service, you can opt out of Concierge at any time.

 

How eBay Concierge works

You’ll receive a welcome email when you’re invited to join Concierge, with information on how to access the service.

When you need a representative, you can get in touch by phone, email, or requesting a callback.

Your representative will take care of your issue immediately and handle it from start to finish.

Benefits of eBay Concierge

eBay Concierge gives members access to dedicated, specialized experts within our customer service organization, with minimal wait times.

Benefits of eBay Concierge for buyers:

• We take care of return shipping for the first five items you return per quarter. Just let us know when you need a return label credit
• If you need help ensuring you get your purchase on time, we do whatever we can to facilitate

Benefits of eBay Concierge for sellers:

• Personalized service covering everything from resolving issues with a buyer to evaluating your sales data to help your business grow
• Having 48 hours to respond to any changes we need you to make to a listing, so your listings aren’t ever removed
• Getting support to keep your sales status above standard
• Not being subject to selling limits
• Help managing negative feedback

 

[Tnexus]

On 3/10/2022 at 11:27 AM, Wall-Crawler said:

concierge service?

2 days I could deal with. 

I just had my account reinstated (for how long) but now the customer service agent I had on the phone can't figure out how to restore my listings due to the suspension so I can actually relist them (another agent did it before in like 10 minutes) and now I am on hold...

Sigh.

Anyway, I will not continue to post (rant) here anymore - I don't think - but may update if I actually get this thing sorted out.

Can you not just go into your ended listings, select the one you want and click "Relist?"

[Wall-Crawler]

On 3/10/2022 at 5:29 PM, Tnexus said:

Can you not just go into your ended listings, select the one you want and click "Relist?"

Nope.

If only it were that easy.

There is something on their end they have to do when an account is suspended to relist. If I try to simply relist I get the message below.

[Timmay]

Time to open a new account.

[Wall-Crawler]

On 3/10/2022 at 9:01 PM, Timmay said:

Time to open a new account.

This is what I am trying to avoid and if the glitch keeps saying I owe fees, would I even be able to? 

I have a fair number of followers and feedback (by my standards) and would hate to have to "start over" but if it comes to it...I may just have to.

[Timmay]

On 3/11/2022 at 6:34 AM, Wall-Crawler said:

This is what I am trying to avoid and if the glitch keeps saying I owe fees, would I even be able to? 

I have a fair number of followers and feedback (by my standards) and would hate to have to "start over" but if it comes to it...I may just have to.

New email address new account new fees.

You can always reference your other account in your listings.

I would try to get added to concierge.

They are usually very helpful.

[Wall-Crawler]

On 3/11/2022 at 10:50 AM, Timmay said:

New email address new account new fees.

You can always reference your other account in your listings.

I would try to get added to concierge.

They are usually very helpful.

Thanks for that. If I have to, I will but would prefer to get it fixed...Or get hooked up with Concierge as maybe they could fix the problem...Good work around though if it comes to that...

[Wall-Crawler]

Now they are telling me it will be 48 to 72 hours before my "ended" listings can be relisted. Apparently I will get a message through ebay when I am good to relist. Sigh.

[Wall-Crawler]

On 3/11/2022 at 10:50 AM, Timmay said:

New email address new account new fees.

You can always reference your other account in your listings.

I would try to get added to concierge.

They are usually very helpful.

Any idea how I could get added to concierge? My account was reinstated and just suspended again after a few days🤬

[Timmay]

No clue.

[GACollectibles]

On 3/11/2022 at 10:50 AM, Timmay said:

New email address new account new fees.

You can always reference your other account in your listings.

 

May need to attach to a different bank account as well.

[Timmay]

On 3/15/2022 at 4:22 PM, GACollectibles said:

May need to attach to a different bank account as well.

nope