ebay registration process

[vhelp]

Hi. Many years ago (maybe 2004) i signed up with ebay, and made a few purchases. Last i recall, i used a netspend card for my purchases though i don't remember how i made the purchases. At the time, i was on dialup internet. Anyway.

Its been a long time and i couldn't remember my ebay username, so i gave up on it and moved on to amazon due to the better security. I purchase a gift card and plug that in when i'm ready to purchase. I searched around but did not see ebay having that same feature. You have to give your social security number now. And I don't want to do that! Additional searching around and it seems that credit cards (the ones you can purchase at grocery stores, etc) require a SSN. Again, i don't want to give that out.

More searching around, and i see you can purchase Ebay cards and Ebay refills. Still confused about the process.

What is the best way I can re-sign up with ebay without giving my SSN and any other personal information if at all ?

Thank you.

[DB83]

Are you on the right page ?

I checked fleabay.co.uk and fleabay.com and see only entry for email addr, pwd etc.. I suspect (since I do not rememeber) that the email addr has to be valid and you need to confirm that from the email you get.

Most fleabay purchases are paid for by PayPal (a fleabay company) so you would need a PayPal acc as well which is in turn linked to either a credit or bank debit card.

Of course there may be other registration requirements for traders.

[vhelp]

ok. I registered and was not requested a SSN at that time.

I guess, for a test, I will look for something really cheap to buy, for a couple of dollars and click on the Buy Now button and see what it tells me it wants, or, maybe there is a test page i call go to that simulates shopping. We have that at our company, for new employees. I will look later.

[redwudz]

On Ebay, I just buy from sellers with a record of lots of transactions that have been around for a while and have good feedback.
There are likely a few shady sellers there, but they don't last long. If it sounds too good...then avoid it.

[vhelp]

if a product is not listed or is rediculous'ly high-priced on amazon, then ebay might be a fallback. for instance, i saw something listed for well over $1700 dollars, i checked ebay and many were listed for under $200. i do realize there are lots of scams on both sites. as always, buyer beware

to date, i've a hand full of purchases on ebay, and so far, never had bad itemor scam based....knock-on-wood...

[vhelp]

So, I just came back from a grocery store. I checked again on the back of the ebay card, and it says for paypal, for identity purposes, the following will be required:

name, address, and SSN.

I guess I won't be doing any ebay shopping!

what a ******* waste. i gave them my new private email. now they have me on file and will be spamming me for life (just like amazon, but at least i make regular purchases with them).

[DB83]

Still do not understand this.

What is this Ebay Card ? Some sort of debit/Bank card.

I certainly did not require to give out overtly personal details when I set up my PayPal Acc. The two important links there is your email addr AND some form of payment ie credit card/bank acc >> I can even send you money if I knew your PayPal email addr (do not need any other info)

And I have NEVER received any spam from Ebay. Lots of 'linked' stuff from Amazon tho.

[TreeTops]

The only email I ever get from Ebay is once a year to verify my account.

[vhelp]

1. on ebay, when I try to add money to my account, I get a message that says "we couldn't confirm your identity".

2. when i click on the link to resolve, (I sign in to PayPal) i'm brought to a page that lists what I am
able to do with my "limited account" and at the bottom is a short list of Steps to provide the necessary information:

Date limited   Required response          Status                     Action 
sep 8, 2016    photo id                   waiting for your response  [resolve]
sep 8, 2016    proof of address           waiting for your response  [resolve]
sep 8, 2016    provide proof of SSN       waiting for your response  [resolve]

for the photo id, it says "To help confirm your identity, please send us a copy of your photo ID that shows your name and address."

for the proff of address, it says "To confirm your address, please send us a copy of a bill that shows your name and address. Helpful documents include a utility bill, a cell phone bill, an insurance bill, or a tuition bill."

for SSN, it says "Provide documentation that shows your Social Security number. Helpful documents include a copy of your Social Security card, a pay stub, or a government-issued document."

What is this Ebay Card ? Some sort of debit/Bank card.

It is a gift card. like the amazon gift cards, where both have a secret code you enter to fill your account with money. I believe with ebay gift card, that money gets put into your paypal account. That is what the card says, and that a Name, Address, and SSN is required each time I want to add the card to my account.

[vhelp]

I clicked on the "why" link and it says the following:

PayPal is constantly working to ensure security by regularly screening the accounts in our system. We recently reviewed your account, and we need more information to help us provide you with secure service. We would like to return your account to regular standing as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

What is the problem?

Sep 8, 2016: Before we can offer you certain products and services, federal regulations require that we collect specific information to verify your identity. This information includes your name, address, date of birth, and National Tax ID or Social Security Number. We haven't been able to verify your identity using the information you provided, so we need some additional documentation from you.

Until this issue is resolved, you'll be able to log in to your PayPal account but you might not be able to add money to it or use some of your account features.

(Your case ID for this reason is xx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.)

How can I return my account to regular standing?
It's usually pretty easy to take care of things like this. Most of the time, we just need a little more information about your account or latest transactions.

To help us resolve this issue, please go to the Resolution Center.

We'll review the information you provide and email you if we need more details.

Once you complete all of the checklist items, your case will be reviewed by one of our Account Specialists. We will send you an email with the outcome of the review.

[DB83]

All this seems draconian and, dare I say it, rather suspect. Almost phishing-like.

Before today, I never heard of an ebay gift card and, yes, if it is a genuine thing would have to be linked to PayPal.

But why go to the bother ?. I just logged in to PayPal - have not done so for several months - no problem whatsoever. I do NOT have a single cent in my account but can still pay for anything I wish to use the account for. Why ? Because the account is directly linked, as I have said in this topic more than once, to my credit card. PayPal collects what is due from the CC co and then pays the vendor for the goods. Now I know that there are many who do not use credit cards - they can cause financial issues - so maybe that gift card is a self-regulatory method around that. But you still will have to add funds to your account so why not just do that by standard banking methods which PayPal also supports.

[vhelp]

Then, this must be a new feature added for new registers.

I will try your suggestion, but I will not use my personal bank account. Instead, I will get one of those netspend cards from a check-cashing place (we have those here in the states) where I can fill it with any amount prior to making a purchase anywhere. I will try and link it to my paypal account. But I'm pretty sure that I will get that same screen requiring my SSN. If that turns out to be true, then I will close the ebay account and continue with amazon. Thank you for your suggestions.

[DB83]

Just for a giggle, I part-completed a new registration for PayPal at PapPal.com both as a US citizen and one, like me, on the other side of the pond.

The registration sceens are quite similar both requiring the minimum of personal info Name, Postal Addr, Zip/Post Code and mobile (optional). No where on these screen was I asked for additional identity ie SSN or as we call it National Insurance Number. If that request is after clicking the 'Create Account' button on the bottom of the input screen then I will go back in my cave.

There may something about these gift cards which requires the holder to confirm that he/she is of adult age since I guess you have to be so to make use of the site. The simple check is the ownership of a Credit Card but the SSN could be preferred method. I have not seen these gift cards for sale over here - the Amazon variant is quite common - so again this might be specific for the US.

[vhelp]

thank for trying that idea. I am about to pick up a debt card. i found one that doesn't have monthly charges, other than a 90-day of non-activity $3.95 charge. I hope its linkable to paypal w/out the SSN requirement. I have screen shots of the initial ebay registration and paypal process. i do that for most everything i sign on to initially. i use the m$ office picture manager for that and create folders. anyway. i will be back shortly to report the results.

[vhelp]

I picked up a MyVanilla debit card.

The website (to register and/or sign in) that is posted on the card (on the package the card came in) does not work. It leads to a blank screen, and the TAB description says "::WhiteLable::"

I googled for anything MyVanilla but could not find anything. That is, any of the links that I clicked on brought me to the same blank webpage with the same description on the TAB of the web browser. So, what I did was, in google's search results page, I selected the "Cached" webpage, and I was able to get in and register and activate the card successfully.

Unfortunately, as a Federal requirement, you now have to supply your SSN. Its related to reducing terrorist activities, etc., etc.. Ok. So on that note, I agreed and signed up. But as far as the Ebay requirement for the SSN for a gift card, each time I want to load money into my paypal account, I don't agree and won't give them the ssn.

Next, I will attempt to link the card to my paypal account.

[vhelp]

[resolved] .. possibly.

I was successful at linking the new debt card to my ebay->paypal account. No ssn request, so far. Now, to make some purchases. Ok, not now.. just browsing around. I will report back on my first ebay purchase, if I ever make one.

[TreeTops]

It is my understanding that you should never have to give your SSN to anyone except those mentioned below. I just tell the requester that I have had identity theft problems and they say OK. That has worked for me.

For US citizens here are the rules:
Mandatory request: Doctor & Dental forms, Credit applications, Doctor and dentist intake forms, Cash transactions over $10,000, When applying for certain federal benefits, Military paperwork, The Department of Motor Vehicles.