Policy and EFS OffencesRisk-Safe Harbour

April 3 2013

To apply consequence packages for these policies we normally use the AD Mac Note Tool:

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EFS AbuseFee Avoidance

Spam and SpoofTransaction interference

eBay´s Email Forwarding

System (EFS) Policies

Threats

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What is EFS Abuse? TOPIC1609

Any email sent from one eBay member to another member via eBay's Email Forwarding System which is:

• Not transaction related • Has no intent of facilitating a transaction• Includes profanity or inappropriate comments

(racist comments, insults, etc)

Consequence Guidelines:• Offenses 1-4 Informational alert• Offense 5 – 14 day suspension• Offense 6 – Indefinite suspension

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What is Transaction Interference? TOPIC1579

Sending an email that disrupts the normal course of an auction. This includes but is not limited to:

• Members may not contact a seller and offer to purchase a listed item outside of eBay.• Members are not permitted to email buyers in an open or completed transaction to warn them away from a seller or item (even if they claim to have good intentions) If they want to report a seller, they must contact us.

Don’t bid on user123s item, it’s fake

• 1st Offense – Informational Alert• 2nd Offense – 30 day suspension• 3rd Offense – Indefinite suspension

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What is User to User Threat? TOPIC1580

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eBay will take action in cases when the threat is explicit and to physically hurt another member

• Example in violation “I know where you live and I am going to kill you”• Example not in violation “I know where you live, see you soon”

eBay policy prohibits member-to-member threats of physical harm via any method including, phone, email and on our public message boards. We will suspend the member (indefinite) if the threat can be confirmed in written M2Ms messages, public boards or feedback profiles.

Member should report all forms of harassment to the proper law enforcement authorities, as well as the member's local phone company if the threat was made by phone

1st Offence: Indefinite suspension

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What is Fee Avoidance? TOPIC1590

• Cancel a listing to sell item outside of eBay (Investigated by SH)

• Offer to sell listed item outside of eBay (Investigated by SH)

• Offering free postage in P&P but asking members to add postage to the final cost (Investigated by SH)

• Listing an item for example 99cent as a BIN and asking members to pay 10Euro in the description of the item (Investigated by CW - Listing Practices)

Fee Avoidance is circumventing eBay fees through email (M2M). Sellers may not use systems or techniques to circumvent or avoid eBay fees

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Fee Avoidance Consequence Guideline

Power Seller Non Power Seller

1st offence Informational Alert Informational Alert

2nd offence Informational Alert 30 days suspension

3rd offence 30 days suspension Indefinite suspension

4th offence Indefinite suspension -

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What is Spoof? TOPIC1041

It is a fake email pretending to be from eBay/PayPal. Usually, other members do this to gain contact and credit card information.

• We never ask for personal information such as passwords or credit cards, etc.

• We always address member´s by their name or username, never with generic headers like “Dear eBay member” or “Dear user”

• When we send an email notification, it is always sent to both member´s email address and eBay My Messages inbox folder

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Spoof Sites

We have a DL to handle cases of fake sites that appear to be legitimate eBay sites and are normally used to either steal personal data from genuine eBay members or to advertise items that are actually non-existent (member will pay but no item will be sent).

We can report those sites to an inhouse team that will collect all info and will take the fake site down if possible. Please escalate those cases to your supervisor, who will use the following DL:

DL-eBay-CS-team-SpoofHandler

They deal with anything eBay related, including fake sites pretending to be mobile.de, Marktplaats, DBA.dk, Gumtree, Kijiji, etc

Spoof emails can still be referred to spoof@ebay.co.uk as usual. This email address can be shared with members as an educational measure, however for fake sites, we will follow the internal escalation process mentioned above.

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What is Spam? TOPIC1178 (Offensive or Commercial Emails)

A member receives an unsolicited commercial email, not necessarily through EFS, but from a registered eBay:

• Unsolicited advertisements for auctions • Solicitations for private sales, web sites, services, etc., of any kind • Offers to buy or sell an item outside the eBay format • Sending email through the EFS for buying or selling within the eBay format.

• 1st Offense – Warning• 2nd Offense – POI Suspension• 3rd Offense – Indefinite suspension

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BuyingOffences

• Invalid Bid Retraction• Unwelcome Buyer (Blocked buyer)• Unwelcome buyer (Failure to meet seller terms)• Unwelcome buyer (Intent to disrupt)• Custom Fraud

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Invalid Bid Retraction TOPIC1575

• Misuse of the bid retraction option is not permitted. This includes any manipulation of the bidding process to discover the maximum bid of the current high bidder or to uncover the reserve price

• You are only permitted to retract your bid under the following special circumstances:

1. You entered the wrong amount. You should place a bid for the correct amount shortly after you retract your bid

2. The seller changed the item description3. You cannot contact the seller

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Invalid Bid Retraction Flows

Buyer retracts from several

auctions

System applies tracking issue

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Buyer retracts from another

auction

System applies blocking issue

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Member is restricted to

use BIN for 30 days

Automatic system flow:

Manual flow:

After investigating a report you find clear

evidence of an invalid bid retraction

Apply consequences using MAC Note Tool

1st offense: warning2nd offense: 14 days suspension3rd offense: indefinite suspension

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Unwelcome Buyer (blocked buyer policy) TOPIC1576

Buyers are not permitted to use a secondary account to bid on an auction after their primary account was placed on a seller's Blocked Bidder list.

• The Primary Account is defined as the account that was originally blocked by the seller.

• The Secondary Account is defined as the related account that bid on the seller's auction after the primary account was blocked.

Action must be taken against both the primary account

and the secondary account for

Unwelcome Buyer - Blocked Buyer violations.

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Unwelcome Buyer (blocked buyer policy)Consequence Guidelines

1st offense Informational Alert

2nd offence Indefinite suspension

1st offense Informational Alert

2nd offense Indefinite suspension

Primary Account

Secondary Account

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Unwelcome Buyer (Failure to meet sellers terms) TOPIC1577

Consequence Guidelines1st Offense – Informational alert2nd Offense – 14 day restriction

3rd Offense – Indefinite suspension

Buyers who do not meet the seller’s terms as outlined in the item listing are not permitted to bid on or buy the item. Sellers are permitted to exclude bidders at any time prior to the listing close and are free to cancel unwelcome bids.

ScenarioThe seller states item will only be shipped domestically. The buyer is registered outside the specified shipping area.The seller states that buyers with negative Feedback comments are not permitted to bid. The buyer has negative Feedback.

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Unwelcome Buyer (Intent to Disrupt) TOPIC1577

•Buyers are not permitted to purchase items or place bids with the Primary intent of disrupting a listing.

•Buyers are also prohibited from bidding on or purchasing an item to leave non-positive feedback or detailed seller ratings for the seller, with no intention of completing the transaction.

•The following evidence is required to take action for Intent to Disrupt:

- 2 or more items from List A or- 3 or more items from List B or

- 1 item from List A + 2 items from List B

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Unwelcome Buyer (Intent to Disrupt) Consequence Guideline

Action 1st Offence 2nd Offence

Primary Account 72 hours suspension* Indefinite suspension

Secondary account 72 hours suspension* Indefinite suspension

Feedback Remove Negative Feedback Remove Negative Feedback

*The only thing the Member needs to be reinstated is to appeal it, once the 72 hours has passed we can reinstate the account

Customs Fraud 20

Customs Fraud TOPIC 3114

• eBay prohibits buyers from requesting or encouraging sellers to break any applicable laws.

• Buyer requests, or seller offers, to falsify customs declarations or have an item marked as "Gift" in order to evade Customs fees is illegal. 

• Basing Feedback ratings upon another member’s decision not to engage in illegal activity may be considered Feedback Extortion (refer to feedback removal policies)

1st offense: Warning2nd offense: 14 days restriction3rd offense: 30 day suspension4th offense: Indefinite suspension

PRESENTATION TITLE GOES HERE 21

Selling Offences

• NSS non selling seller• Location Misrepresentation• Reserve Price Fee Avoidance

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When a seller refuses to sell an item and doesn’t fulfill the end of a sale

What is Non Selling Seller? TOPIC1591

• Sellers cannot refuse to accept a buyers PP payment if the seller included the PP logo in their listing.

• Sellers cannot refuse to sell the item if they say they are out of stock

• It is considered as NSS if the seller is claiming that the item has been damaged but didn’t cancel the listing before it ended with a winning bidder

• Refuse to accept payment for an item at the end of a successful sale

Examples

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Location Misrepresentation TOPIC2739

• If the item location states that the item is in the UK that could lead a buyer to purchase the item.

• When the item is delivered and the buyer sees that the item came from another destination for example China this is item location misrepresentation.

• A copy of the email where the seller admits the location of the item was misrepresented (M2M) or picture evidence of the envelope.

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Location Misrep / Non Selling Seller Consequence Guidelines

NSS with M2M evidence• 1st – 4th offense – warning• 5th offense – indefinite suspension

(inform supervisor or support specialist)

NSS with no M2M evidence• 1st – 4th offense – Leave a MAC note• 5th offense - warning

(inform supervisor or support specialist)

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Reserved Fee Avoidance TOPIC1597

• Repeatedly cancelling listings early and relisting items in order to obtain an acceptable final bid amount

• Sellers should list items using a Reserve price rather than cancelling and then relisting items.

1st - 3rd Offense – Informational Alert

4th Offense – Indefinite suspension

Scenario: Seller decides he wants £20 for an item

but doesn't include a reserve price. Bidding reaches £15 with a short time to

go. Seller cancels all bids for fear the final bid

amount won't meet the price he wants for the item

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IdentityOffences

• Publishing Contact Information• Inappropriate User ID• False/missing contact information• ID Misrepresentation• Underage user

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Publishing Contact Information TOPIC1589

Publishing contact information of another eBay member in ANY

online public area is not permitted. Online public areas include:

Web Pages

Online Forums

Newsgroups

"About Me" Pages

Board Posts

Feedback Comments

Information we consider private includes your:

Name

Address

Phone Number

Email address

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Publishing Contact Information - Exceptions

• If a member reports another member for publishing contact information and the infraction is in a listing, a Review or Guide, a Wiki, a Blog etc., List Practices will take appropriate action according to their consequence guidelines.

• If a member reports another member for publishing contact information and the infraction is in a Feedback Comment, the Feedback team should investigate and Feedback Removal will take appropriate action according to their consequence guidelines.

• Publishing eBay User IDs is not a violation of this policy, as eBay User IDs are considered to be public information.

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Publishing Contact Information Consequence Guideline

1st Offence Educational email and 24 hours to remove the published information, If the information is not removed in 24 hours proceed with indefinite suspension

2nd Offence Indefinite suspension

How to Remove Contact information from About Me Page

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Click on the ME to the right of the members User ID& feedback score

Click on Create or edit my About Me pagePiggyback to a members account from the eBay site

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How to Remove Contact information from About Me Page

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Inappropriate User ID TOPIC1592User IDs can't:• Be profane or obscene, contain racist, vulgar, or adult language • Use implied meanings or use abbreviations or special characters to mask violations

of eBay's guidelines • Be, or represent an email address or Web address (URL) • Use an underscore, hyphen or period at the beginning of the user ID • Include the word eBay (only eBay employees can use this word in their User IDs) • Use the letter 'e' followed by numbers • Be a term that is similar to, or might be confused with, a third-party's trademark,

brand, law enforcement agency or other regulatory authority (for example, nike_com orTradingStandardsUK)

1st Offense – Education and 24 hours to change their user ID, if the member has not changed their user id in 48 hours it has to be administratively changed by the CSR.

2nd Offense – 30 day suspension

3rd Offense – indefinite suspension

Important:This policy also includes eBay Store

names

How to Change a User ID

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* When administratively changing a User ID change to: user + random# over 10000 e.g. user96889

False/Missing Contact info

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Why does eBay have this policy?

False contact information impedes communication between members and increases the likelihood of:• Unpaid Items• INR/SNAD Cases• Negative Feedback• Other transaction related problems.

Falsifying or omitting contact information such as a member’s name, address, and/or telephone number when registering on eBay is not permitted. It is also not permitted to use fax or disconnected numbers as a telephone number.

As stated in the User Agreement, a member may not:

“Post false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, or libellous content (including personal information)”

Invalid email (TOPIC1581)Invalid address and name (TOPIC1583)Invalid phone number (TOPIC1582)Patently False (TOPIC1584)

False/Missing Contact info

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Invalid Phone Number:Disconnected, connected to a fax machine or is a wrong number for the member.

Invalid Name: Name that does not explicitly identify the account holder. e.g. business name or initials

Invalid Physical address: Address that does not apply to the member's current location.

Invalid Email Address: not able to accept messages from eBay or eBay members.

Patently False: Obviously false contact informationName: Mickey Mouse Address: 123 Disneyland St.

False/Missing Contact info Consequence Guidelines

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Patently false details POI Suspension

Invalid address 48 hours to update if not updated – POI Suspension

Invalid name 48 hours to update if not updated – POI Suspension

Invalid email Issue 2 placed onto the account (restricts account until the email address is verified)

Invalid phone Issue 3 placed onto the account (restricts account until the number is verified)

Identity Misrepresentation TOPIC 1586

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Representing oneself as another eBay member, or as an eBay employee or using the personal contact information of another person to start an eBay account is strictly prohibited.

Consequence Guidelines:1st Offense – Indefinite suspension

Possible Scenarios:

Person reports that they are receiving:- Items or payments from other eBay members - Emails or phone calls from other eBay members

about a transaction - Collection notices for Non Payment or a letter from

eBay to pay their outstanding bill

Reports from other members that their contact information has been used/stolen by another person to register an account on eBay

Underage User TOPIC 1608

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• To become a member of eBay, individuals must be 18 years of age or older. We require this because, when eBay members agree to buy or sell items, they are entering into contracts with each other. A person also enters into a contract with eBay Inc. during registration of an account.

• Throughout most of the world, individuals under the age of 18 are not allowed to enter such contracts. For that reason, eBay does not allow individuals to register as members until they reach the age of 18.

1st Offense – POI suspension

Account Closure TOPIC 1127

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Can be closed:• Member death• Account closure per members

request

Cannot be closed:• Suspended account– unless the member

is deceased.• Account with active listings/Won items that

are awaiting payment/ balance on their account or have any feedback that has to be left.

If you close your account, you won't be able to reopen it with your current user ID or email address. However, you can return to eBay at any time by registering with a new user ID and email address.An account could take up to 180 days to be fully closed.

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Questions?