Borillar
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posted on November 1, 2000 10:49:00 AM new
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/dotcon/
The Federal Trade Commission was in the news today (CNN, Etc.) with their new Consumer Protection web page (above). The media was quick to jump on an announcement by the FTC wherein they named online auction Sellers as the worst fraud on the Internet!
Now is the time that all of us have waited for to get our sales that we dieted over during the Summer, so the media is getting more and more hyped against us as Christmas approaches.
I think that it's because we're just taking away too much business from the multi-national chain stores.
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zian
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posted on November 1, 2000 11:01:31 AM new
Or perhaps it could be becuase <B>"online auction Sellers ARE the worst fraud on the Internet!"</B>
Oh how i wish for the old days of sales (even through the summer). I think those days are gone forever and we will just need to work/sell harder and better and smarter to make up for it.
But then again I do love a good Con-spirecy.
I scared consumer is a wise consumer.
<B>Bidders Be afraid be VERY AFRAID!!!
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mballai
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posted on November 1, 2000 11:13:08 AM new
Afraid of what? The overwhelming majority of sellers are honest.
This is our tax dollars at work trying to put us out of business. The media is just a government lackey.
Most of us know better. I hate to have to counteract such baloney.
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zian
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posted on November 1, 2000 11:46:14 AM new
I just wish all consumers would take more care and time with all thier purchases (on and offline).
If that was the case folks would not need to be so scared. And the media and there stories would have no need to exsist.
I know this is pie in the sky dreaming. Folks need/want a hand holder weather it's the government or the media. They don't want to hear or know they fell for a scam. I think they would rather check there brain at the door then scream for help later "why wasn't anybody protecting me?"
Gaurd your wallet with a clinched fist.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on November 1, 2000 11:48:24 AM new
Wow, I've had thousands of ebay transactions. I am a buyer and a seller and I've NEVER come across a deadbeat seller. Only deadbeat BIDDERS. Too bad you don't see articles mentioning THAT problem.
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zian
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posted on November 1, 2000 11:53:22 AM new
ExecutiveGirl.......Thats great.
It sounds like you are a smart cookie (no offence I hope) and you might do a little research before bidding.
If you care to respond......
is that the case?
do you often click on a sale and like the item but it seems like something is "bad" with the seller? FB? S&H? ????
Do/would you go ahead and bid?.
No need to respond but....just wondering.
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toke
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posted on November 1, 2000 11:53:31 AM new
I think our government is working hard to get public support for regulation of ecommerce and the internet. Not to mention taxation...
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on November 1, 2000 12:00:08 PM new
Zian:
When I see an item I'm interested in, I definitely do research before bidding. I check the feedbacks of the seller and if they have negs I check the responses they have left. You can tell a lot from a seller by the tone of their responses. I also check to see what their percentage of NEGS are.
I also read ALL of the sellers TOS very carefully. If they want an obnoxious shipping amount I will pass. I don't mind paying a small handling fee but it has to be reasonable.
Also, if their TOS is demanding and rude I'll pass on the auction. I don't mind sellers who are "strict" with their policies but there's no need to be rude about anything...
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zian
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posted on November 1, 2000 12:09:10 PM new
ExecutiveGirl.
You should give classes to all bidders new and old alike.
The truth will set you free
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on November 1, 2000 12:22:28 PM new
This story isn't any different than the rest of the stuff that gets printed. When was the last time you read a story with a headline that said "200,000 Airline Passengers on 1,500 Flights Today, and Nobody Was Hurt"?
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raygomez
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posted on November 1, 2000 12:29:54 PM new
As a buyer, I agree with the FTC.
I can't count the number of times I have been ripped-off on eBay.
Yes, some sellers are good, but there are FAR TOO MANY to outweigh the risks.
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on November 1, 2000 12:41:14 PM new
As a buyer, I disagree with the FTC.
I have never been ripped-off on eBay.
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comic123
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posted on November 1, 2000 12:47:47 PM new
ray, then why still buy from eBay. Yeah eBay might have one rare item that you need but if your perception of sellers are than the % of them are bad then why even bother.
If you know the bread is already stale why bother to cut it & put it in yer mouth & then go, 'Darn it this bread is stale'.
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jsamuel
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:13:06 PM new
ExecutiveGirl,
I am a seller who just got ripped off by another seller on one of the few purchases I have made recently.
The title of the auction said it was a Sony lens for a Sony Mavica digital camera. The description said it was a Sony lens for a Sony digital camera. When the lens arried, it was a third party lens and not a Sony lens. The sellet told me to send it back if I was not happy, which I did. That was 19 days ago and he has not yet refunded my money nor will he answer my e-mails.
There are ripoff artists among the sellers on eBay.
Jim
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toke
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:17:05 PM new
Never fear. If the bitching gets loud enough, our government will step in to take care of our problems. They're just itching to do it. We just need some government regulations to take care of us. Then all will be well.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:19:20 PM new
jsamuel:
I'm sorry to hear you were ripped off by a seller on ebay. I never stated there were NO bad sellers, I'm just saying in my experiences I've never dealt with a deadbeat seller - only deadbeat bidders.
As a buyer you have many options to get your money back. If you paid with CC you can do a charge-back on your credit card. If you paid by Paypal you may be able to get your money back through them. Or, you can file for ebay's insurance if the item was over $25 and get your money back up to $200.
I run into probably a dozen deadbeat BIDDERS on a weekly basis. There is nothing to help me recoup my fees other than my selling fees on ebay by filing for FVF. I'm out my listing fees, and the time & effort I put into that one auction. If that deadbeat had bid $50 on one of my auctions, I'm also out that $50. I have no way to get that back, except to relist and *hope* it goes that high. And sometimes it does, and many times it doesn't even come close.
There are just so many more advantages to being a buyer than a seller in my eyes.
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:27:27 PM new
toke-
Truer words were never spoken. If this isn't a classic case of "Be careful what you wish for!" then nothing is.
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yankee98champs
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:36:42 PM new
I heard this report driving home from work last night. Not to fan the flames, but the ABC News report (surely some hyperbole) said that you should never send cash, checks, or money orders to a stranger.
Geez, if we did that, that's the end of the economy, don't you think?
Wondering if that excuses me from my car payments.....
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Empires
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:40:04 PM new
Too bad they didn't do an investigation into the Bid Pay people for not being able to contact them. Answering machine only?
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toke
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:49:28 PM new
mrpotatoheadd...
I have yet to disagree with you, my friend.
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:51:55 PM new
toke-
Then you're the only one. Thanks.
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raygomez
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posted on November 1, 2000 02:57:47 PM new
Who says I buy on eBay?
I gave it up after being ripped off, as did tens of thousands of other buyers.
eBay is getting to be a bad joke.
Just like people joked about shoddy goods from Japan in the 1960's, folks of this decade joke about how stupid anyone is to buy on eBay.
Everytime I overhear someone complaining that they were ripped-off on eBay, other people laugh and say "It serves you right!"
Look at eBay's own figures.
They say that less than 1% of transactions "go bad".
At 5,000,000 items per week, that is 5,000 rip-offs every week. Even if it is only half of that, it is still 10,000 frauds each month.
The FTC has been flooded with complaints about eBay sellers.
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toke
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posted on November 1, 2000 03:02:43 PM new
No, I'm not. Just the only one to say so! 
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raygomez
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posted on November 1, 2000 03:12:26 PM new
I agree with toke.
I would expect some Government agency to step forward and control eSales.
I expect it will be in the form of a online auctioneers license.
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stampdog1
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posted on November 1, 2000 03:29:37 PM new
you know what i think is that a lot of the "bad reputation" of ebay auctioneers and other auction sites is being encourged behind the scenes by large traditional companies who are scared sh***ss at the amount of business we are taking away from them! ......Of course I am a little paranoid....when the guys at an NFL game go into the huddle I think they are talking about ME!
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toke
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posted on November 1, 2000 04:05:59 PM new
This may be disagreeable...tough. I have made a lot of money buying on eBay. One horrible purchase was compensated by many terrific buys. I am WAY ahead. You do have to know what the hell you're doing....
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on November 1, 2000 04:10:34 PM new
I have to wonder why so many buyers are getting "taken" by sellers. Are they not checking the seller's feedback history? Are they not reading the descriptions thoroughly? Are they not reading the seller's TOS? I just don't get it.
I know if I saw a seller with several negative feedbacks I would check it out and most likely not bid if the customers' complaints were that they were not getting their items or getting the WRONG items. As a buyer, isn't that the only 2 ways you can get taken by a seller?
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sharjams
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posted on November 1, 2000 08:31:38 PM new
I just finished reading all the complaints about eBay buyers being ripped off by eBay sellers. My unsolicited opinion, based on my 3-year experience as a seller on eBay, is this: MOST bidders DO NOT READ listing descriptions, eBay rules, or seller feedback. MOST eBay buyers do NOTHING except look at the photos. I have to continually repeat my listing descriptions to bidders and perspective bidders who email me with questions already answered in the listing description. I used to answer them patiently however, my patience has expired. Now I merely copy the listing description and email it to them. My point is this, the buyers who DO NOT READ listing descriptions or eBay rules are always the folks who SAY they have been ripped off. THERE ARE NO VICTIMS=ONLY VOLUNTEERS.
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zian
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posted on November 1, 2000 08:42:47 PM new
sharjams....I agree with you too.
Buyer No Read.......Buyer beware.
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reddeer
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posted on November 1, 2000 11:33:23 PM new
Tonight I had a friend email me a seller who has the following in his auctions.
ALL RETURNS SUBJECT TO A 25% RESTOCKING FEE.
Considering that the seller has (0) feedback, and some of these items are in the $1,000+ opening bid range, you wouldn't think people would be bidding, but surprise, they are.
Will I feel bad if one of those people gets stiffed, not hardly. Duh!
I know two power buyers on eBay who between them have spent approx $250,000.00 over the past 4 yrs on eBay involving 700-1,000 transactions & never once been ripped off.
I doubt you'll hear their stories in the news, it makes for dull reading.
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