Why did PayPal close my account for selling perfume decants?

[Bramm]

After 2 years of using PayPal as a payment method on our store, I got an e-mail claiming the closure of our PayPal account.

"We have evaluated your account activity and found that you have violated PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy, specifically by selling items that infringe upon or violate copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy, or any other proprietary rights under the laws of any jurisdiction."

We sell perfume decants, have been doing so since 2021 and never was there an issue with PayPal. I obviously contacted PayPal before posting here but the advisor didn't really want to clarify what happened. 

There are hundreds, if not thousands of stores selling decants and they all use PayPal as one of the payment methods. Is this an automated proces by PayPal itself or are there actually people checking accounts. Is it possible that a competitor went to PayPal and reported us? I could protest this but first I just want to know what exactly happened.  If anyone has been in a similar incident and managed to solve it, feel free to share 🙂 

Thank you and sorry in case this is posted in the wrong forum.

[Moira]

Hey @Bramm,

It's possible that PayPal's review of your account was triggered by an automated process. However, it's also possible that a manual review of your account was conducted by a PayPal employee who determined that your business violated PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy.

In any case, it's important to understand that PayPal has the right to close accounts that violate its policies, and it's up to you to make sure that your business practices comply with those policies. If you believe that the closure of your account was in error, you can try to appeal the decision by contacting PayPal's customer support team and providing evidence to support your case. It may also be helpful to review PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy and make sure that your business practices are fully compliant.

Ultimately, it's up to PayPal to decide whether to reinstate your account, and it may take some time and effort to resolve the issue. In the meantime, you may need to explore alternative payment methods for your store.