eBay sucks — use Bitcoin

I have been banned from eBay. Why? No one will tell me. When I asked for an explanation, I was told there would be no explanation for the banning, to “protect our Policies from being circumvented and manipulated.” It is a permanent lifetime ban, with no chance to appeal. Ever. I may not be a top dog, heck, I’ve never done anything on eBay before I made this account. But for someone who just wanted to list a couple of books on your website to sell, you didn’t treat me well.

A few weeks ago I created an account and placed for sale some old books on eBay. These books were from my parent’s attic, college yearbooks from the ’40s to the ‘90s, a Texaco history book from 1952, an art book form the late ‘50s. It was my first time selling on eBay, but it seemed straight forward. I took pictures of the items, and created a short description. They are niche items, really meant for people looking specifically for them. Some were in Very Good condition, some in mediocre condition. I had a slight problem verifying my account for payments (because eBay doesn’t accept Bitcoin, I’ll rant about that later), but it was fixed quickly.

The listings were put up, and I was ready to wait. This was on a Friday. On Sunday I even received an email that a bid had come through on one of them. I was going to check it on Monday I wake up Monday morning to the email I posted above. Your account has been indefinitely suspended.

Confusion was my first reaction. I looked into eBay subReddit, because I couldn’t gain access to eBay’s actual forums. eBay’s phone line was down. I finally found a way to get in touch through their chat system. The customer rep was helpful but said he could do nothing, he’d have to escalate it. Fine.

A few hours later, I receive another email:

No information about why, just repeating the same thing I received in my first email. But at least they responded to me. I’ve got an entrance. I begged them, quite literally, to tell me why I’d been banned.

And again the response:

I didn’t bother responding. I still have no idea what could honestly be the reason. I have no earthly idea how I could be a major threat to trust on eBay.

Why am I telling this tale? Well for one, I’m pissed. Apparently eBay thinks it has the power to tell people to buzz off when they’ve done nothing wrong. Second, I’m telling you to stop using eBay. eBay has a strong lock on the market, but its not absolute. But as consumers, we have to show that we will not stand for consumer unfriendly practices. Too many big internet companies, like eBay, PayPal, Amazon and others, think they can throw their weight around and rule their waves.

We have to show them they can’t. That’s where things like Bitcoin comes in. Bitcoin has given birth to a whole ecosystem of groups and companies that bypass those institutions. Instead of using eBay, use OpenBazaar. Instead of using PayPal, use Bitcoin Payment Processors. Instead of using Amazon, shop local, or through small ecommerce shops. All these things show these giants we are not to be messed with.

Yes, this is a rant, but it is a rant to try to get action done. eBay treated me like shit, and I still don’t know why. If anyone has any insight, please let me know! eBay, if you’re reading this, tell me what dastardly thing I did. But in the meantime, I’m going to stick with using Bitcoin. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.