I feel like I’m now a magnet for bank/retailer/whathaveyou bans. Maybe people are Googling “Kohl’s bans me for being a reseller,” which by the way, yours truly is on the first page of that search result. Or maybe people found my site through FM’s weekly roundup or DoC’s daily roundup (thanks gentlemen.) Anyway, I LOVE being in this role. This helps me gather data points on what the limits seem to be and help you readers not to cross those limits, so you too aren’t banned. Also, when you let me know of your situation, I always explicitly ask if I can publish the details of your ban (but would never identify you personally.)
Barclays shutdown
Another week, another Barclays shutdown (I think I’m averaging 1 report per week.) This is coming from a reader who has had his A+ for 3 years w/o every paying an AF. He never made an anonymous payment. What did him in was his 2X-5X cycling of this $20K CL. Could be that or the cancel travel trick. I’d lean more towards the heavy CL cycling. I know I was guilty of all 3, so who knows. Best to not cycle or make anonymous payments with Barclays.
Ebay warnings
Got this email from a reader:
I have been hitting ebay deals quite hard using multiple ebay accounts (different names) and paid with the same paypal and shipped to the same address. Two days ago I bought 2000$ worth of ebay items from the deals section.A Yesterday I got two warning emails in the time span of an hour saying not to use multiple accounts to circumvent the ebay daily deals limit. An hour after I got a third email saying I was banned for 14 days and my orders will be canceled. Luckily haven’t got any email since then.
I’ve been banned from eBay already and posted about it here. I was never given a warning and only the main eBay account was axed. I think it’s due to the 10 years worth of infractions against me that caused the lack of a warning. These days, I do hear that they will warn you before you get the axe (like the reader.) If you rely on eBay for reselling, I suggest you stop multi-accounting to maximize daily deals. If there is a deal, I suggest you reach out to close friends or coworkers and have them buy for you; else get a mailbox, new name, email, phone, Paypal, etc. Ebay has one of the most sophisticated detection systems for multi accounts and they don’t tolerate gaming them.
Kohl’s Bans
I’ve been hearing more and more Kohl’s cancelled orders and bans of late. What usually happens is you’ll get random cancellation orders. Some will go through and some won’t. Eventually none will go through. You can still order in store, but that’s a hassle. To play it safe, I advise you to order in the mornings, wait for the KC email, then bang again the next day. If you go harder, you risk shutdown. If you have 2 pending orders out there, it raises the chances of eyes on your account.
A reader shared with me this Kohl’s ban letter. Not really a ban yet, but it’s around the corner. When you call, they’ll grill you about gift cards; possibly ask if you’re a reseller. You can try ordering more, but orders will still get cancelled.
I got shut down via Paypal last week. There was little/no warning. At first I got an email saying due to unusual activity, I was being restricted from purchasing, but after I submitted my life history (statements, ID, explanation of purchases), I was granted access again. 4 days later, without me doing any purchases in that time, I received another email saying I was being restricted. This time, I submitted even more info, but was denied via email. I called in again, was denied over the phone and was told it is a lifetime ban. I escalated to a manager and evidently he upheld it because though I asked him to call when he finished, all I got was an email saying I was permanently restricted.
I’m guessing it was due to using ebay gift cards to purchase 3rd party gift cards on ebay in volume. The week it happened, I had gone through GYFT to buy 1900 in ebay, followed by spending that and about 500 more on ebay, so in a 5 hour window, I moved almost $4500 through my paypal account. That is the only thing I know of that could have caused the issue.
The other issue I have, is my Chase Ink was linked to my personal account so no more gyft 5X UR points 🙁
Now I have to source my ebay cards in a different way.
I have a few more details, but am weary to post too much being linked to my name.
That’s very odd. I haven’t bought 3rd party gift cards on eBay in a while, but I thought that was fine. I know buying eBay using eBay GC is a big no-no though.
And it’s definitely not volume because I can tell you I buy about $50K of goods on eBay per month, almost all on GC’s. Where else were you using your Paypal? Gyft purchases have been fine as well. Have you done chargebacks or any other kind of activity on your account?
I thought it was odd too. I have a very few shipping charges associated with my Paypal. That is the only thing in addition to Ebay and Gyft.
I have had 0 chargebacks or any other kind of activity and it was ramp up, but not a massive one either. I probably have spent on average 2500/month on that personal account and then boosted it to about 10K once ebay 5k/180 days was lifted.
The only odd thing I have encountered was I got a temporary buying restriction from Ebay about a week before I got the original paypal shutdown. I called Ebay, asked what was up, they asked a few questions, and cleared the temporary buying restriction (volume issues they said).
My wife’s account has been getting those same buying restrictions after 2-5 gift card purchases in a 15 minute window, but no phone calls to ebay just in case that is what somehow triggered the review.
Any other thoughts, because I’m totally at a loss?
Well, it’s probably from your multi-accounts then. That’s the only thing I can think of.
maybe so. I am within allowable as I have a personal and business and she does as well, but maybe that was the red flag. who knows! I hate Painpal!
just an update: After a few transactions over the last two weeks, they have now identified my business account with my personal account, so I am now officially shut down on paypal. Ughh! I wasn’t even doing anything, but I’m done with trying with PainPal!
Jason, sorry to hear. Odd that Paypal would shut u down for daily deals multi accounting; it’s usually Ebay that shuts people down for that. You didn’t load MyCash or anything right?
Nope, I have never done the MyCash thing (on either of us). That is what is so odd, is for all I can tell and have heard, I have been a good customer
Have people run into as much trouble with Ebay with a husband and wife account but with different paypal accounts, bank accounts and everything but same address?
Yes, if you try to go over the daily deals. Some ppl can go over, but over time, they’ll catch you.
My wife and I have both been purchasing daily deals for about 8 months now this way. We even use different computers and most of the time, I purchase on my laptop while at work, with her purchases occurring on the home desktop. No problem with Ebay so far
Same household I take it? How long have you been doing this? I know a guy who’s been doing this for over a year and have no problem while this reader got a warning, so I’m not sure what’s triggering their response.
yes, same household and no issues so far.