I did. I _still_ don't see where BidSafe is any better than just using a credit card, period. It's got so much typical insurance company language in it, I don't think anything but lightning striking the delivery truck is covered. It excludes dishonesty explicitly, which sure excludes a LOT of disputed territory.

What is the point of BidSafe - when both parties are already covered by their credit card companies and credit cards are subsumed in the BidSafe agreement?
 

neomax
 

You wrote:
I don't think anything but lightning striking the delivery truck is covered. It excludes dishonesty explicitly, which sure excludes a LOT of disputed territory.

Yes, it excludes dishonesty. I'm sure the insurance wouldn't pay if you filed a claim and said, "I want my money because I never had the item in the first place and this is a scam."

Typically, though, insurance companies have to have a PROVEN reason to deny a claim. They can't, willy-nilly, refuse claims for no reason and expect to be in business very long. Too many insurance commissioners can, on their own authority, revoke their licenses for that pattern of behavior.

But you and I both know that someone pulling a scam, especially an insurance scam, is not going to admit to their crime on their claim.

They are going to lie about the circumstances and bet their dishonesty is not uncovered.

Fast forward to this situation. A bidder -- not a bid$afe member -- sends their money to seller and never receives the item he bought. The buyer requests a refund. The bid$afe seller (who never sent the item) claims the item is lost in the mail and files a claim, presumably so he can pay the seller back his money.

The seller keeps both the claim payment and the sellers money, being the cheat that s/he is.

The seller complains to AU. The insurance company has paid the claim. They now know that the seller scammed the buyer and figure there is a chance he scammed them too.

The buyer goes to authorities and is told that the $40 scam, a misdeamenor conversion of property, is not going to be prosecuted.(Sound familiar?)

The next day the insurance company goes to the authorities and says the seller committed insurance fraud, a felony.

This is not the first person the insurance company has had prosecuted for insurance fraud. Lots of people are nailed by insurance companies for fraud. They contribute to campaigns of legislators, congressmen, State Insurance Commissioners, etc. etc. just so that when they go to these folks with a problem, such as a scammer cheating them, they can get action.

They also have tons of lawyers -- networks of them that cover the entire country -- and they are not in the business of rewarding fraud.

They sue, they prosecute, they make it a losing proposition to commit insurance fraud and, if they are in a bad mood, they don't really care if it is big fraud or little fraud. They are almost always in a bad mood;-)

The brilliance of Bid$afe is it plugs into this network and makes them the injured party. (That is why they are almost always in a bad mood:-)

Heck, if they are called upon to pay a grossly inflated settlement of claim based on a shilled auction, I'd almost bet they'd make that part of their case too.

Your credit card does this... I think not.

neomax
 

Again some good questions.

You're right Sneaky, the little lock thing does say something about the seller. First that he's a serious seller. Second that all the items he sends are "insured" whether you, as a buyer pay for the insurance or not.

And finally, this is a new program. What we just now finding out though, is that items with the little locky thing sell more often than regular listings.

It is also much more likely to be used by people who are serious buyers and sellers. It is already viable and valuable because it does create low-risk trades including escrow services. Whether it works for you or you choose to use it is up to you. It is working:-)

The reality, though, is that Bid$afe on Nov 9, 1998 is not what Bid$afe will be on Jan 9, 1999 or June 9, 1999. Right now, it is a good tool. In three to six months, I suspect even you may say it is an indespensible tool.

Regarding the inclusion of HTML links to home pages. We are not at this time searching them for those who don't list their link in the place provided.

The candy bowl is on the check-out counter and says take one courtesy of AU. That is not a promise that we won't put the candy on the shelf and say it will cost you:-)

The only reason this is an issue is because eBay is now telling folks that they risk having their auction shut down if they promote with a link in their auctions, AuctionWatch, presumably because it is an off-topic link. Indeed, my reading of their rules is that they reserve to right to close any auction that has text promoting a home page or anything other than actual item being posted.

So Brian, you're welcome to post auctions on AU and include in your text a link to eBay411:-)

Of course, I suspect your auction would be stopped and you may face other sanctions if you were to create an AuctionUniverse 411 and place a link to it on eBay.

neomax
 

Sorry for the delay in getting back with you here.

Let me clarify. Bid$afe allows sellers to take credit cards from people who are Bid$afe members.

The belief is that when you're talking about higher-dollar art, art pottery and collectibles, both the buyer and seller will see the need for a greater level of service from the online people-to-people auction site.

Bid$afe is designed to meet that greater level of service.

Typically, escrow services charge at least 5 percent (I escrow charges 5 percent with a minimum of $5.00).

Online auctions (eBay) charge 5 percent of the first $25.00 on all sales (plus listing fees, etc.)

Credit card companies typically charge a fee of between 1.75 and 2.5 percent of the transaction.

Bid$afe combines them all (5%+5%+2.5%) into a single service, adds insurance (typically 75 cents a transaction) and delivers it all with a per-transaction cost of 6 percent -- with a 1 percent buyer rebate called bidbucks. More service for less than half the cost.

Bid$afe does have a cost -- a $19.95 up front fee -- but that cost is defrayed by 100 free listings (a $25.00 value) and the fact that a sellers items are covered by insurance up until the point the buyer accepts them, regardless of whether the item is sold as a bid$afe item or not. (If you plan to ship 27 items insured to AU members in the coming year, the cost of Bid$afe is recovered.) Of course the buyers' Bid$afe insurance covers his collectibles up to $3000 and also covers return shipping insurance on items that are not acceptable.

Essentially, Bid$afe creates a buyers and seller's union and agreement that even includes a way to resolve disputes.

It is more than just a way for a seller to take credit cards:-)

neomax
 

You're right. That is the reason that I got Bid$afe for myself and my wife's account(s)... that and the fact that I can buy from others who are Bid$afe members with my credit card:-)

And, you're right, it does lower the cost of entry for those interested in providing the best in service to their auction customers.

neomax

PS: Despite my standing in the company, our policy is that our dealings online are strictly our own business ... and I paid full price for my memberships.