I agree it's not a big deal, but only IF (and it's a BIG if) you know what you're doing. There are quite a few pitfalls, some that most people would have no idea of. I noticed you said "it's all about being super careful that you don't get linked" Well, yes, if you know what to look for so you can be careful of it. But if someone doesn't understand exactly how eBay links you, how can they be careful of something they don't even see or know that it's there? See what I mean? WHAT exactly should they be watching out for?
And how does a person who is not a techie know if he is doing the "proper research"? Where does he look? And HOW LONG is that going to take them? Time is money, especially when every day that goes by you are losing sales.
I know you mean well, Name Changed, I just wanted to add that to some people it will be more helpful to point them to something specific.
I tried to do it on my own for MONTHS and kept getting linked until I said I said to myself "the heck with it" and bought one of those manuals for $30. Guess what? I got right back on eBay the next day. It cost me a lot more money to try to do research than to just buy the darn thing and get it over with.
I want to make it clear that I'm not selling this stuff and I don't get anything out of it. I just know it works and the money it cost me was NOTHING, NOTHING compared to the sales I lost because I was afraid of buying it and getting ripped off.
That's my honest opinion, and for all you guys that are going crazy because you got suspended, don't mess around trying to figure it out yourselves, really, it's going to cost you a lot more in time and lost sales and STILL you're not going to be sure you're doing everything right.
Just buy a manual - any manual - it doesn't have to be from the same people I got it from, as long as they know what they're doing, and just follow the directions. It will be cheaper, safer and faster.
That was my experience and I am just passing it on to help anybody who is in that spot right now.