Last Updated on April 25, 2023 by theadmin

What Exactly are eBay Proxies > Why You May Need one in 2023

eBay is a website that allows users to buy and sell goods. The site is of course incredibly popular with both buyers and sellers. However there are some disadvantages with using the site especially for some people. For example, you might want to keep your personal information private when buying things online. This can be difficult with eBay because the seller will know who you are and where you live if they have your shipping information in their records. You can’t hide this information completely, putting in false addresses isn’t going to help when you want your purchases delivered.

However you can use alternate shipping addresses and sellers can use business or third party premises. There is one piece of information that can be used to track you automatically, your digital location recorded by your IP address.

You can use proxies to avoid this problem! Proxies work by sending an IP address from one computer (the proxy) to another computer (the receiver). We’ve included some information below on proxies and why people use them with eBay including simply making sure your transactions are safe and sound!

What Is an eBay Proxy ?

First, we need to talk about what an eBay proxy is. Either you know about proxies or you do not, but using a proxy with eBay is definitely useful. Indeed for many sellers in particular it’s absolutely vital for them to stay in business. The focus is on your IP address the network address which act as a gateway between you and the internet. It helps find your device on websites that you visit. Every device has a IP address that identifies it which can be used online for devices like computers and smartphones.

But this only goes so far and there are limitations for your device with its IP address. This address can be used to track, monitor and control your access and your account. An eBay proxy will solve this problem by acting as an additional bridge between your device and internet sites where you go on a computer or smartphone like eBay. It hides your real address and can be used to remove any limitations from it when you visit on eBay.

Using eBay proxies you can do things like run multiple accounts, hide your location and shield your identity. As both buyer or sellers, an eBay proxy is the only viable way to remove the many restrictions the site makes on different people. However if you just run, a single account and never get blocked or filtered then you probably don’t need one.

Keep Your IPs in Line

Your IP address can be used to identify you online because it is machine-specific. Your computer’s IP address is unique and every time you go online from a different location/access point, your IP address changes. With the use of proxies, a different IP address is sent from the proxy to the website so no one would know where you are.

For many people this is not a concern, but for others it causes huge issues particularly if you do any work or business online. Sometimes it’s a problem with your physical location, most of the big sites don’t treat people equally especially when they’re sellers. Selling across to different eBay markets can cause issues too – even when the item is digital and location is not important.

If you’re trying to run a few accounts it gets even more complicated. Although running multiple eBay accounts can be a smart move if your business depends on them – it can also cause issues. If you start accessing multiple accounts and making lots of transactions on the same IP address your account will be flagged pretty soon. It might even get blocked or banned if you’re unlucky. Most experts recommend using only one or two accounts per IP address (preferably one to one).

You need an eBay proxy to do this however.

Use a Proxy on eBay to Avoid Bans

The word proxy is used in two different ways with regards to eBay. The concept of proxy bidding is an important part of eBay and refers to the automatic ‘proxy’ bidding function that anyone can use in auctions. Don’t get this confused with using a proxy to hide your IP addresses, they’re two different things.

An eBay proxy is specifically designed to be used with the platform to hide your IP address. So if you’re running multiple accounts, trying to max out your volume or trying to sell across markets then it’s something you’ll probably need. Also if you need to scrape data, prices and products from the site then multiple IPs are again crucial. Think of the IP address as your digital identity online, it’s out of your control unless you use a proxy.

Why You Need Proxies To Create A Stealth eBay Account?

Unfortunately many people start looking at creating a stealth eBay account a little too late. They have had their account banned or deleted and need to reinstate their business. You’re not going to get far trying to create a new eBay account from a blacklisted IP address though – let alone several accounts. Most people get their accounts banned usually because they’re pushed the terms a little far although of course there are plenty of outright fraudsters too.

To recover from this situation you definitely need to remove yourself from the IP address you used, it’s going to be tarnished for some time. If you try and simply reproduce your account on it, you’ll simply be in the same situation.

A proxy server allows you to create new accounts tied to different IP addresses. A handful of new IP addresses, should allow you to create a few stealth eBay accounts to get back in business.

Buy the Best Proxies for eBay

There are several type of proxies that you can buy for use with your eBay activities. The main difference is the type and number of IP addresses that they support. Which one you choose is largely dependent on what you’re doing.

Scraping Data and Prices from eBay

In this scenario, anonymity is definitely the key. If you need to pull down lots of data from the eBay sites then you’ve got to spread the requests around. Scraping from a single IP (or even a few) is going to get that IP address blacklisted very quickly indeed. In this scenario look at rotating proxies like the ones from these guys – Rotating Proxies. Basically you get a single gateway address but the proxy will rotate to a different IP every few minutes. The beauty of these proxies is you can get access to a lot of IP addresses, very cheaply.

You could get loads of dedicated proxies with reserved IPs and achieve the same thing but it would be much more expensive. Scraping across most platforms doesn’t need high quality addresses but it does need volume. If you’re using any sort of scraping software or code which make lots of requests then you need a large pool of IP addresses to spread these request across.

Keeping your Anonymity when Selling

If you’re not using multiple accounts and just want some privacy when you use your account there’s plenty of options. The main focus here is to hide your IP address when accessing the site so that your location and identity is kept private. The simplest and cheapest option is definitely to use one of the mainstream VPN subscriptions. A VPN is a secure private channel – which encrypts your connection and hides your real IP address by design – a great way to keep your location and identity private, so this is the best “single account” option.

Here’s the biggest supplier and they have some great deals – NordVPN.  Remember although there’s lots of IP addresses available under these low cost VPN subscriptions, you’re sharing them with thousands of people.  They will protect your identity but you have no control over what other people on the same addresses are doing.  Don’t use heavily shared IP addresses on valuable accounts such as social media or payment platforms though as you may get blocked.

Using Stealth eBay accounts

So here’s where it gets a little sneakier. On the plus side, it’s also a good sign that if you’re using these you are making a lot of money online. Basically a stealth eBay account is one where it’s user details don’t really match the owner’s real details. Now of course this implies an element of deception plus it could also suggest it’s being used fraudulently !

Although this is certainly true in some cases, the majority of people using these stealth eBay accounts are simply making money by pushing the barriers of the platform. They are not ripping people off, simply because there are so many ways to be caught when people act like criminals online. Most stealth accounts holders have had their accounts banned or restricted for selling too much, or targeting different markets or marketing too aggressively. In fact all sorts of reasons can get people’s eBay accounts banned – for instance it’s much more likely to happen if you live somewhere which is less trusted like China, Nigeria etc.

Proxies here help people operate the accounts, and crucially create new accounts too.

For creating accounts you have to be extra careful – use dedicated residential or mobile proxies if possible. Try these providers – bigger budget but super safe – Bright Data (formerly Luminati), alternatively try IPBurger and use their speciality eBay proxy account

There’s a bit more to creating an eBay stealth account especially if you’ve already had an account deleted so please do your research. We’ll put a new post detailing all the steps very soon, but it needs to checked as the process changes often!

Final thoughts Proxies and Internet Marketing

Proxies are used in internet marketing to hide the identity of a given user or website.

A proxy server is basically an intermediate computer that routes data between two points, usually when it’s done for security reasons so users can maintain their anonymity. A VPN is just one type of proxy and they’re typically used by companies so employees can access certain websites without being identified as working for the company. Proxies can come from residential computers or mobile phones but you need enough bandwidth and speed to make them useful which limits most home proxies to opening web pages.

There’s has always been a certain amount of stigma about proxies, usually related to computer hacking or crime. Although there are still some who use proxies for this purpose in reality there are far more who use for more legitimate reasons. More and more of us are making our living online. You only have to do this for a little while to see how useful proxies are. Sure you can play by all the thousands of blocks, filters and restrictions put in place by all sorts of organisations online or you can use proxies.

Using a proxy server not only protects your privacy online, it’s an increasingly valuable business tool. It lets the entrepreneur in Nigeria sell to the US market online without being banned because of his location. It allows a business man from India to advertise on places like Craigslist or European bulletin boards. We can all operate in different markets using different identities just like the bigger companies.  If you want the extra privacy protection that the encryption on a VPN offers you can combine them.  IPburger offer a VPN client with all their addresses so you can use as a traditional proxy or through a VPN client – I use a UK residential VPN for both business and to watch the BBC when abroad too.

Whatever you’re doing online, whether it’s buying and selling on eBay or operating on some other platform – proxies are incredibly useful. Don’t feel bad about using them, it’s business tool which many successful entrepreneurs use everyday!

Additional Information

Here’s some quick updates and extra information from questions received on this page by email and through the comments.

Why Use eBay proxies ?

There are lots of reasons, eBay proxies allow you to run multiple accounts. They also let you run eBay accounts in any country irrespective of your location. An eBay proxy can also let you bypass blocks countries may have implemented on accessing eBay.

Which are the Most Popular eBay Proxies ?

People use all sorts of eBay proxies but the most popular are probably proxies with fresh IP addresses from places like the USA, UK and Europe. This is because these locations have the most potential for online sales and are attractive to retailers who live outside these areas.