Limited PayPal Account: Oh Noes!

PayPal tends to limit accounts based on risk. If your sales suddenly increase one day, it’s a red flag, if you withdraw more than usually in a day, it’s a red flag. The categories you list on eBay, it’s all programmed into PayPal’s system to weigh your risk. And it makes sense, statistically high risk items cost PayPal more money in fraud than lower risk items. Really just having a linked eBay and PayPal account makes it two to three times more likely that your PayPal account will be limited within the first 30 days of selling.

So what now? When your PayPal account is limited, you are usually required to provide invoices, proof of delivery, proof of address, a photo ID and or supplier contact information among other things. Most people instantly freak out and either sends their entire life’s info or just say screw it and forever lose that Paypal account. What most people don’t know is that Paypal has no way in hell of differentiating between a real utility bill, merchant account statement or driver license and one that’s made up.