Are eBay Brand Restrictions on the rise?
In perusing the eBay discussion boards of late, it seems that more and more sellers are running into brand restrictions. Brand restrictions occur when eBay sets a limit on how many of the same brand you can list. I spent quite a bit of time today on eBay looking for brand restriction information and could find nothing. So if any helpful reader has a link on eBay where there are details, please share!
Brand restrictions stop you from listing or launching certain brand name items (i.e. Disney, Tiffany, Gap, J. Crew, Gucci, etc.). A seller may be restricted from listing these items or have a cap placed on how many they can list. Typically, they are restricted for 30, 60 or 90 days.
I’m going to guess - from the rising number of complaints I’m seeing - that eBay may have automated this system entirely. Some sellers (with high feedback) are having good luck in emailing Trust & Safety to have their brand restrictions lifted or increased. However, it seems the majority are having to wait the 90 days to list their items.
I’m quoting from an eBay email regarding a brand restrictions..
“Unfortunately, there is no timeline for when the limits will be removed
from your account. While we are unable to remove the limits right now,
you may want to appeal them some time in the future. At that time, we
will review your account again and determine whether or not we can lift
the restrictions.
In addition, we are unable to be more specific regarding how many items
of what type can be listed at any given time. These limits are variable
by nature and will be different in a wide variety of situations. In
order to maximize the effectiveness of these limits, they are constantly
evolving to help eBay maintain positive buyer experience on the site”
Normally, I like to help sellers with some recommendation, but there seems to be very little that can be done. I’m not sure if this is the right time to be buying truckloads or pallets of brand merchandise for resale on eBay unless you already have high limits. There seems to be a definite barrier to entry for brand name merchandise.
I do not fault eBay for trying to limit counterfeits on their site or complying with DMCA through VERO. I also think they have a huge number of listings and they should automate the process. On the converse side, there should be a method or process for sellers to list their legitimate items and I’m not convinced that a “limit on how many” is the best way to accomplish that goal.
