eBay is one of the undisputed leaders of e-commerce. While the platform is no doubt a boon for online sales, it’s not without dangers. Besides having to deal with counterfeit products and unreliable shipping companies, if you are a seller, there’s also the risk of getting your account banned.
Thankfully, eBay stealth accounts exist as a way for online sellers to stay in the game. Think of them as a backup plan that allows you to continue your business operations with anonymity. Interested in learning more about these accounts to protect your business? Keep reading, then!
How eBay Stealth Accounts Save Online Businesses
Although they may sound hi-tech and advanced, that’s in name only. Stealth accounts are simply alternative accounts that eBay cannot track back to you. While the platform generally enforces a policy of one account per user or business, nothing really stops people from creating more as they see fit.
Let’s face it. There’s no true foolproof way to avoid getting banned from eBay. Sometimes, you can still be rule-abiding while trying to make a living on the platform, only for you to awake one day to find all your listings suspended because of the most asinine of reasons. To avoid having your primary source of revenue affected, stealth accounts constitute an excellent option. Should your main account end up shot down, you can bounce back right in with another one on the spot to continue doing business.
These alternative identities give individuals peace of mind in knowing that, even if their online operations get interrupted, they can hop back in and resume their transactions in no time. They also help boost your anonymity online. The key to effectively making these accounts stealthy is to administer each one separately to avoid IP referencing and device fingerprinting. The more accounts you set up, the safer it’ll be for you.
What Do You Need to Create an eBay Stealth Account?
The process is rather straightforward. It’s the same as creating a regular account, albeit you just need to be aware of a few key extra things. Let’s go over what you’ll need then.
- Name: Evidently, you only have one name. However, you can ask people you trust, such as a friend or a family member, to lend you their identity for the account creation process.
- Email: Create a new email address that differs from the one in your main eBay account. A Gmail address is highly recommended for this purpose.
- Phone Number: When creating your new account, eBay will perform a verification by sending a message to a mobile phone number. You can use a new number either from a different SIM card or even use services like TextFree Web or Hushed to see the content of your verification message.
- Address: The platform doesn’t link accounts based on address. Nevertheless, to be extra careful, it’s better if you use one that’s different from your primary account. Ask a friend to lend you one or you can also go ahead and use a P.O. box instead.
- PayPal: This step is crucial. Make sure the PayPal account you link to your new eBay stealth account is different. You may have to set up PayPal stealth accounts or summon a friend or a family member to aid you with this step.
- IP Address and Device: Finally, the most important stage. Your stealth account will require a new online identity. For this purpose, make sure to complete the sign-up process on a completely different device under an IP address that’s not your regular one. Proxies are mighty useful for this task since they allow you to route your online requests through intermediary servers, bestowing a new IP address upon you in the process.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Stealth accounts can be a nice backup strategy for online sellers, but they present unique challenges as well. Here are some common pitfalls that users may face, along with tips on how to troubleshoot them:
- IP Address Detection
Being a giant of online commerce, you can expect eBay to have top-of-the-line systems in place to spot suspicious activity. Accessing your multiple accounts from the same IP address only spells trouble.
Therefore, to avoid giving eBay an excuse to deploy the banhammer on you, using proxies is paramount. They not only increase the security of your stealth accounts but also create an extra layer of anonymity for your online business.
- Device Fingerprinting
E-commerce platforms are able to track a number of variables on you. For example, they can tell the make and model of the device you’re using to access them, as well as details on the OS and browser employed. Some even go as far as to keep an eye on screen resolution and fonts used for identification purposes. If you always use the same device to access all your eBay accounts, it will inevitably raise suspicions.
To avoid this from happening, you can either use different devices with different operative systems and apps or employ antidetect browsers. This smart approach makes it harder for e-commerce platforms to link your stealth accounts together.
Takeaway
Nothing sucks more for an online business than having their eBay access revoked. For those looking to safeguard their operations while boosting their online anonymity, eBay stealth accounts are a must. Correctly creating and managing them takes time and some smarts. Nevertheless, the payoff is worth it in the event your business is hit with a setback.
