I have a question about bidsafe, This is what it states (copied and pasted)
The Annual Enrollment Fee of $19.95 for the Bid$afe™ Service to both buyers and sellers
is non-refundable.

At the time of auction closing, Auction Universe will charge the Sales Administration Fee
of 2.5% based on the final selling price of the item to the Seller's account. In addition,
upon completion of the transaction using the Bid$afe™ Service, the amount of the
Bid$afe™ Service Fee of 3.5% based on the total value of the transaction, including the
purchase price of the item and shipping and handling costs, will be deducted from the
Seller's payment for the item.

Is this even if the the seller is not a bidsafe member?

I am a bidsafe member and would also like to know about this message I received while trying to list my first auction. First off this is a very low dollar item, opening bid of 1.00 and so I listed it as a non bidsafe auction but on the confirmation page I get this message (copied and pasted)

If a Bid$afe buyer wins this auction, your seller's account will be charged the
standard 2.5% Auction Universe commission for the sale of the merchandise. If a
Bid$afe buyer wins this auction and accepts the merchandise, Auction Universe
will send a payment to you for the value of the merchandise, less the 3.5%
Bid$afe charge, plus the shipping cost you specified to send the item to the
Seller.

I am not sure I am following this correctly, I have to pay for the buyers insurance thru bidsafe?

I have cancelled the listing of this auction until I receive confirmation of this and I guess I will be out 19.95 if this is the way it works because I will not be paying an extra amount everytime a bidsafe buyer wins one of my non-bidsafe auctions, I feel that is their coverage not mine and it should therefore come out of their pocket.

Please let me know if I am way off on this, as I really thought I had understood the way it worked until getting this message.

The information on bidsafe is so long I am guessing I must have missed something, so somebody, anybody, help a girl out and tell me what I missed.

Hellon
 

I can tell you are confused. I sense that the item you listed may have been inadvertently listed as a bidsafe item.

There is a little check box on the first listing page that denotes whether the item is bidsafe or not. You choose whether to list the item as bidsafe or not.

Your instincts are right regarding sales to non-bidsafe members. You do not pay the additional 3.5 percent because we do not act as escrow agent in those circumstances.

You may charge the individual a fee for insurance but, when you ship your item sold on AU it is insured by bidsafe whether it is to a bidsafe buyer or not. Your bidsafe insurance covers items you ship period.

When the sale is to a bidsafe bidder, you confirm shipment and we have a section that allows you to adjust the shipping/handling/insurance fees to the seller. This lets you make adjustments, for instance, when a single bidsafe member-buyer, purchases multiple items.

You are at liberty, if the sale is to another bidsafe member, to change the shipping/handling/insurance fees actually charged including the ability to drop the insurance fee if you choose.

If sale is to a non-bidsafe member, the auction proceeds just like a regular auction.

In otherwords, only our 2.5 percent commission applies. Shipping, handling and other fees are those agreed upon by you and your buyer and are paid directly by the buyer.

We actually have thought this through and it works as it should. However, if you do run across something somewhere down the line that causes you pause, post it here or post [email protected] for a response.

Bidsafe is an important new product in this market and we are committed to making it make sense for everyone!

neomax.

I thank you for your reply, but I still am not getting the answers I need.

I made sure the check was removed, I even went back and double checked when I got that message.

Let me see if I can be a little bit clearer in my question, please feel free to tell me to email it to the address you gave, I don't have a problem with that.

If a seller is not a bidsafe member and the buyer is a bidsafe member does that seller have to pay the 3.5%?

If I run an auction which is not a bidsafe auction, but my buyer is a bidsafe member, do I have to pay the 3.5%?

Thanks,
Hellon
 

You asked:

If a seller is not a bidsafe member and the buyer is a bidsafe member does that seller have to pay the 3.5%?

No. The sale is a regular auction sale. There is not an escrow and AU is not involved at all. Yep, in this case, we're just a venue:-)

If I run an auction which is not a bidsafe auction, but my buyer is a bidsafe member, do I have to pay the 3.5%?

Again, no. You have chosen to use AU strictly as a venue.

Let me say this, though. Even on low cost items, I think it makes sense to use bidsafe because it makes the turnaround for buying items -- instant gratification is an incentive -- much quicker. When you compare just the commission cost -- 6 percent on AU for any item vs. 5% on eBay for any item under $25 -- the convenience is more than worth it. (Chances are you'll save on the listing fee's too:-)

neomax
 

Thank you for clearing that up for me.

When I go to list this auction and it gives me this message should I stop and email AU's support staff to find out what is up, or is it just a glitch and I should continue to list it anyway?

And this one is actually for my husband because he is strickly a buyer, what's in it for him if he becomes a bidsafe member but his membership is only good if he can find items he wants from other bidsafe members, it seems like it is the sellers calling the shots as far as being covered? (Maybe I should state that we never use the same account anymore, so it would be a seperate account and a seperate fee.)

Thanks for taking the time you do to answer questions here, it really does make a difference.

Hellon

had to fix that typo

[This message has been edited by hellon (edited 12-09-98).]
 

Sneaky: Right now, today, I think they write a check for each item but this is just while we get the automation going. Exactly how that will work then, I don't know the particulars. But expect this to be revealed very soon.

Hellon:

You husband benefits from bidsafe in two ways. First, when he buys, things are charged to his credit card and typically shipped in a day or two at the most. Easy, quick and secure. If the item isn't as described, he says so in the acceptance form and ships it (insured) back to the dealer.

BTW: The insurance seems to cause you a problem. It shouldn't. The insurance is an all risk policy that covers the things you send in compliance with the terms of the contract. Everything shipped to AU buyers (bidsafe or not) is covered. You don't buy the insurance 75 cents at a time it is there for a year and is worth every bit of the $19.95 you paid:-)

neomax
 

Thanks, I am not doing very well at putting what I need to know into words today, so I think I will let it drop for now and just write to the address you gave posted sometime.
Thank you so much for your time, it's been a pleasure.

Best Regards,
Hellon
 

[This message has been edited by henrihappy (edited 12-14-98).]
 

I take it you're either French or from the low countries or possibly even Luxembourg.

There are some obvious problems in dealing in International trade that frankly complicate even the most straightforward transaction. I recall the rigamarole I went through to sell a copy of a program and personally created documentation to a fellow in Rome three years ago.

Frankly, bidsafe has not been configured to handle those elements of a transaction and frankly couldn't under its current cost parameters.

There are other reasons, but do understand that Bidsafe is a very new product.

I would point you to our EC site which may help avoid some of the issues involved with international shipping as the UK is part of the EC. Right now, however, I noted that all auctions are denominated in British pound sterling.

I would expect that over time, they will convert to the Eurodollar currency and also offer products such as Bidsafe although I'm far from expert on that site.

neomax

All of Europe... hardly... I didn't mention Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy ... and only the Netherlands and Belgium by reference. (Of course I should have just read your profile:-)

For some reason I pegged you as French (no offense, please). Actually, the Dutch have been very active in all the boards/internet venues in which I've been involved.

I really don't know what issues remain as far as selling here. And frankly I don't know if an accomodation can be made.

If you post me your email address privately, I'll pass your name on to someone who might be able to suggest some solution.

I suspect the real problem with BidSafe and out-of US transactions has to do with the shipping insurance provisions. When the package was put together I'm sure their underwriting criteria was based on USPS shipments and or UPS within continental US. There may be a way to obtain or give a waiver on portions -- again I don't know.

Henri, I am of the school that when you don't know, you do ask...:-)

neomax
 

One more thing. In a previous post I suggested that there are problems encountered by sellers from outside the US.

Certainly, those problems can and are overcome everyday on AU as well as eBay. We have sellers from all over the world offering their goods on AU.

My specific reference, which could be construed to mean that friends from around the world aren't welcome was:

I really don't know what issues remain as far as selling here. And frankly I don't know if an accomodation can be made.

... should be limited only to extending Bidsafe coverage.

Still, several folks are involved researching if an accomodation can be made to extend the benefits of BidSafe to international sellers.

neomax

I know the person who heads our investigations department and I also know that we do review the neg's more than just every now and then.

In fact I can't imagine the review process begin anything less than once a week although I would be happier if it were twice or three times a week.

The point I would like to make is that when there is a tough decision to be made, we look at in terms of our "motto" -- "Auctions you can trust." You'd be surprised how easy it makes some decisions:-)

In addition, I know, just from the discussions that I've had surrounding your request that extention of BidSafe beyond the confines of North America is more a matter of when than if.

As I said earlier, this is a new product and frankly before we make it available to the world we want a little "experience" with it, as does the ultimate underwriter, The Hartford Insurance Group.

Specifically, in regard to those who fail to meet their obligations, AU is similar to eBay in that we will suspend with a negative 3 rating. The key thing about AU, in this respect, is that because our feedback is transactional, a single seller, who may have been burned on three or four auctions by a single buyer, can provide the needed negative ratings.

I should caution those who might attempt to abuse that system that we do not suspend without an attempt to hear both sides of the story.

neomax
 

[email protected] happened to stop by AW and was reading this thread. She promptly corrected me on the number of times that feedback is reviewed.

Shurlock wrote saying, "I review negative feedback 3 times a week and have for many months. Its not long before someone gets suspended, but generally all the bad deeds
are done by the time lots of bad feedback rolls in. But, we are much more aggressive than eBay."

So, I was wrong when I suggested we reviewed negative feedback once a week ... but now I'm happy.

I should also add that we look at feedback filed during the last several weeks as the smart cons typically do follow the rules for at least a period of time before they make their "sting." We are aware of that.

We also depend mightily on our members to report suspicious activity -- the auction that asks for cash only, for instance. If you just have a strong gut feeling something is wrong, post [email protected] to have it checked out.

neomax
 

I know the problem and I've sent more than one referral about not being able to view feedback directly. Why they don't fix this?

I suppose those that stick around a bit know how to get from here to there (hard for new comers, many of whom come and are not as determined as you.)

The trick to viewing feedback is to view a users auction. For instance, I was able to find [email protected] by just searching for "henri" and, last 30 days under closed auctions. I checked your listing for the nice deco ceiling lamp and noted that your counter showed it had 126 page views.

I think you'd have had a buyer if you had bidsafe or a high enough rating to give folks confidence. Nice pic too.

neomax

PS: I also noted you hyping your eBay auctions in the two nudes on marble clock. You know eBay'd suspend you for doing that to promote your auctions on AU. Just wanted to point out that is another big difference between us and eBay. For the "attitude," of course you can read Grapey's post here about high school. (PPS: I loved my high school too but I sure don't want to go back:-)

If you want to see for yourself..Hop to the Ebay site map and look under the User Agreement..(it might be in revised User agreement)..

Crystal
 

I read the text of their admonition very closely.

It says a user (f) shall not link directly to or include descriptions of goods or services that: (i) are identical to other items you have up for auction but are priced lower than your auction item's reserve or minimum bid amount; (ii) are concurrently listed for auction on a web site other than eBay.

If they prohibit the mentioning of another auction site in a persons' description such as "see my other auctions at Auction Universe," it would be a stretch to suspend someone for violation of this rule.

Of course we don't edit or attempt to prohibit ebay sellers from noting in their Au auctions they list on eBay (and are paying double the sales commissions on the items they do.)

Indeed just two days ago I did a search for ebay on AU and came up with over 560 auctions or about 2 percent.

I did a similar search on eBay (for AU) and came up with quite a few fewer -- 450 -- which was less than .05%.

None of the listings on eBay had links off the site to AU; they simply mentioned they the bidders should look for the sellers auctions on "Auction Universe" and oftentimes other auctions besides eBay.

I'm not trying to encourage this practice -- we know that eBay would arbitrarily make it against the rules if they saw it as a threat to their dominance -- but just state the current status of sellers being free to cross promote and sell their goods.

I know the seller organization being put together on the other side is not primed to ask for permission from the great Wizard of Om (much less demand) that they have the freedom to link to their auctions anywhere.

I suppose I should say that at this point I'm not concerned about the 2 percent of the auctions on AU that link to eBay. The reason is that I feel that if it helps sellers sell, then it is probably a good thing.

neomax

Happy and Healty new year!
 

quote:

---

Because feedback ratings are not designed for any purpose other than for facilitating trading between eBay users, we may terminate your account if you choose to market or promote your eBay feedback rating in any venue other than eBay.

---

John
 

The URL is http://www.auctionuniverse.co.uk.

Was just there and some blimey limey was asking 500 pounds for a commodore VIC 20.

However, the Britannia Bears were being listed for 80 pounds sterling which might make some of us Yanks drool (I think, although I've not checked the latest exchange rate.)

John:

Maybe that is what Crystal is speaking of but that rule chaps me as well. But then there really are so many, many problems with eBay's feedback system this prohibition is almost comical.

neomax
 

John
 

John
 

Anyone can state in alternate auction venues that the seller's references can be supplied on request.

In this way eBay's feedback scores are not being promoted in alternate venues. I would think it very difficult for eBay to police a link to eBay feedback done in private email.

Of course our main response to this was to set a higher standard, including verification of sellers through our BidSafe program. That program provides instant credibility. Couple that with AU's transactional feedback system and a seller's offer to provide additional trade references and professional sellers on AU should not suffer credibility problems at all.

neomax