|
From
TNPC issue #3.21...
eBay Aftermath
by T.J. Lee
October 12, 2000
Back in TNPC #3.18 I asked for anyone with an online auction
fraud or horror story to drop me a line and share his or her
experience with me. I got quite a few comments and several folks
noted that they'd had problems with uBid, or other business-to-
public auction sites but not one complaint was about eBay. In
fact I got a lot of email praising eBay.
eBay is one of the most recognizable names on the Internet and as
September was eBay's fifth birthday I wrote in the last issue of
TNPC about that fact and wished eBay a happy birthday. While I
didn't get a lot of reader feedback on that article, the feedback
I did get was extremely vocal and in some cases sprinkled with
words containing no more than four letters. It's not often I
evoke such emotions in even a small portion of the TNPC
readership.
The calmer and cooler heads simply noted that you can run into
shills who bid up a price on behalf of a seller; these readers
prefer making their purchases at more traditional brick and
mortar establishments. There also was a consensus that "shipping
and handling" fees were excessive for some items and that some
eBay sellers looked on S&H as the true profit center. Others had
more specific complaints.
For example, TNPCer Dr. Steve had a bad experience with an eBay
auction and tried to avail himself of eBay's free insurance. He
had to fill out insurance claim forms that he says were
ultimately "lost in the system." He wound up out of luck and out
the cash on the deal. Tim T. says eBay management is unresponsive
to account problems. Another reader pointed out that he was
prevented from becoming an eBay seller because he does not have a
credit card and intimated that eBay is discriminating against the
poor.
One fellow was especially put out with my article. He had a bad
auction experience on Amazon and his bad luck continued at eBay
where he's been a buyer for the last 18 months. Apparently he
purchased wall clocks that he never received and a used car that
he could not get registered after he paid for it. His complaints
to eBay, he said, fell on deaf ears. He wrote, "I KNOW that I
have wasted my time writing to you. As far as I am concerned, you
are a disgrace to humanity and that goes for eBay also!
(including The Naked PC)!" At least he didn't blame me for the
Chicago fire or Jar-Jar Binks.
I also heard from more fans of online auctions in general and
eBay in particular. TNPCer Reid W. said, "There is no other
auction site on the web that comes close to matching eBay's
quality, service and security." TNPCer Marnie H. said, "As a
devoted eBay-er I am not surprised at the low incidence of fraud
[on eBay]." Marnie also pointed out a most interesting Web site
that lists links to the most weird and unusual things put up for
auction on eBay:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/321/tr.cgi?ebay1
Charlie B., whose son is a frequent buyer on eBay, offered some
good advice for auction buyers. "Generally, [my son's] purchases
are of expected quality and condition as was advertised on the
site. [But always] verify the sellers credentials, if a deal
sounds 'Too good to be true' usually, it is!"
So is there fraud on eBay? You bet. There's fraud in all walks of
life and in every economic endeavor you can name. I never said
eBay was entirely free of fraud or problems, only that when I
asked TNPCers for horror stories I didn't get any. Considering
the small handful of complaints I received after wishing eBay a
happy birthday I'm still of the opinion that eBay must be doing a
better than average job of running their shop.
But you certainly should protect yourself to the extent possible.
Verify sellers' credentials. Check the feedback on sellers (and
yes, it's possible that they've shilled that as well). Do your
homework on the items you're bidding on so you have an idea of
its real worth. Does this mean you won't ever get stuck? No. As
with so many things in life there are few guarantees. But there
are things you can do to protect yourself, especially when
dealing with expensive items, and you should take advantage of
them. Most notably are escrow services like I-Escrow that hold
the buyer's money until the buyer has approved the seller's
merchandise. For lower-priced items eBay (automatically and for
free) insures transactions up to $200, with a $25 deductible,
with Lloyd's of London. (I think this process was Dr. Steve's
complaint.)
Online auctioning is not for everyone, just as online commerce is
not for everyone, just as mail order can be a huge pain in the,
oh you get the idea. If you buy used cars over the Internet you
had better know what you're doing. Buying a used car is a
terrifying experience under the best of circumstances.
Given all that, if you do decide to buy or sell on eBay know that
you have to register first. If you click the link here and
register with eBay (even if you never bid on, or sell, a single
Pez dispenser) know that eBay will give TNPC a small
remuneration. Ka-ching! Just scroll to the bottom of the page
and click on the Register text link.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/321/tr.cgi?ebay2
You can reach T.J. Lee at:
mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com
Copyright © 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved.
The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422
You may reprint an article from TNPC as long as you show the
entire article and include the authors byline, excerpt and
subscription information as shown:
eBay Aftermath
by T.J. Lee
(This article originally appeared in The Naked PC
newsletter #3.21, subscribe at http://www.TheNakedPC.com)
|
Return to Top