[snr_sword]

When my auctions were derailed by an aggrieved ebay seller leonmad (see leonmad feedback), given I had strong evidence if not definitive proof leonmad was using a number of faux ebay ID's (papirus321 and mozilo1961) to afflict me, I asked eBay Customer Services;
1) To suspend accounts papirus321 and mozilo1961 for non-payment (if you check you will see they are "sleeper" accounts and have no feedback at all),
2) To remove the malicious and unfounded negative feedback left by these user ID's,
3) To provide me with the evidence I needed to sue leonmad (I knew his details because I had bought from him), in particular what is called the IP address and cookie information of leonmad, papirus321 and mozilo1961. This information would allow me (as it allows eBay) to determine whether they were the same person as the PayPal data indicated.
4) To terminate leonmad's account for a number of policy violations.

eBay never suspended papirus321 and mozilo1961; these PayPal confirmed accounts which still have zero feedback are just waiting there, plus leonmad is still trading. I am sure leonmad has other PayPal verified sleeper eBay accounts; it is so easy. You just create a gmail email address, add that address to your PayPal account, open an eBay account and use the PayPal added gmail address to verify it; voila, you have a security vetted eBay account you can now afflict others with! leonmad was not so clever in that he did not cancel one of the gmail addresses on his PayPal account, so I was able to verify it was him that way. But if you remove the gmail account immediately from your PayPal account; voila, you have a security verified ebay account to afflict others with no connection to your PayPal account (and legally ebay can not request details from PayPal).

After several letters ebay did remove the negative feedback left by leonmad aka papirus321 and mozilo1961 against me. Bear in mind I had 100% positive feedback until leonmad carried out his threats.

However, crucially, eBay refused to provide me with the IP / cookie information on leonmad aka papirus321 and mozilo1961 that I could use in a court to sue this person for damages (and file a criminal complaint of fraud against). eBay said they would not do this because such disclosure would violate the Data Protection Act (a law which protects a person's identity from being abused). However I contacted the relevant authorities in the UK and EU (it is a European Union regulation) and they agreed eBay divulging the IP / cookie information to me was not a violation of the Data Protection Act as it would only indicate whether the three eBay ID's (leonmad, papirus321 and mozilo1961) were controlled by the same person; they would not identify the person(s), their address(es) or their details. eBay still refuses to release the data so I can not sue leonmad.

It seems clear to me eBay favor certain users. leonmad had sold and was selling many items, he is an ebay.com customer, plus he is a US based customer. I had not sold / was not selling so much, am (or rather was) an ebay.co.uk customer and am located outside the USA . In addition, I sold edged weapons (antique and collector's swords, bayonets, etc.) which eBay were / are in the process of prohibiting for all but, you got it, US account holders in the USA, selling US located items to US (only) located buyers (see ebay.com's prohibited list and my ebay racial discrimination complaint).

However, when I helped a friend expose an illegal seller, majabali, selling antiquities without export permits on eBay, eBay deemed it appropriate to threaten me with account termination. Did my friend use my PC to do this to indicate it was actually me? No. Did she use my home LAN WiFi connection (so have the same IP address as me) using her laptop? Yes. What annoys me is it is clear eBay confirmed my IP information directly or indirectly to majabali; an American who has an ebay.com Power Seller account.

I was not so worried about my account being terminated because eBay was clearly going to prevent me from selling swords in the future anyway. In fact, because of other ebay issues and the new ebay.com prohibition statement on non-US sword sales, I stopped selling on eBay anyway. But because eBay refused to protect me as a seller and because they refused to give me the data I needed and was legally entitled to so I could sue leonmad, I refused to pay eBay their fees on the basis they owe me more money (as they are protecting leonmad and therefore are liable for the money he owes me).

So there you have it. How to get past eBay's PayPal verified seller security (as if people did not know anyway) and with it how unsafe it is to sell on eBay as aggrieved preferred eBay users can afflict you until the point it is not possible to trade on eBay any more. I have no doubt in my mind eBay are greedy and over-nationalistic; that they support American Power Sellers over and above anyone else; that their rules and actions are not providing a level playing field for all.

[snr_sword]

Sent to eBay

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Austin"
To: "eBay United Kingdom Customer Support" <ukcswebhelp@ebay.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 3:30 PM
Subject: KMM35079134V73998L0KM


Hi
I have published the facts regarding your discrimination against me and
unlawful support of eBay user leonmad (plus refusal to terminate his
duplicate ebay accounts) here;
http://www.vbay.me/i...ailed-security/
You have a legal duty to stop acting unlawfully, plus the right to reply.
Mark Austin

[johnmo67]

i agree with you 100% on the fact that there is no security on ebay as far as selling or buying.i bought a tamiya rc parts lot from evcotradingpost and got stuck for $116.14.his ad wasnt accurately described like ebay requires in any way.over half the parts i bought had to be thrown out because the stuff was simply not re-useable for me or re-sellable to anyone so i could make extra money.Not only do they not have any protection for the people who sell,but there is absolutely no protection for people who buy on ebay and get stuck like i did.they dont even enforce any of their policies properly and every time you call them you get stuck on the phone arguing about the problem for an hour at a time.their phone service is the worst thst i have ever dealt with.since this happened,i have been selling privately to other ebay members and locally around my neighborhood.this issue still hasnt been resolved because they dont help anyone like they claim that they do.their protection policies are a joke and dont protect anyone is what im getting at.thanks and have a great day.

[evcotradingpost]

This is evcotradingpost and i pride myself on my ebay business and I am always giving returns. This guy was a scammer from the get go. He bought from me had it for a whole month then wanted to return it and why would I want something back after it has been used. Who does this person think he is and I should sue him for the slander but this guy is a waste of time. For him also saying ebay removes negatives he is crazy it is almost impossible to have a negative removed from your feedback. They acutally have to use profane language to get it removed so this guy is way wrong.