posted on October 14, 2001 05:37:12 AM
Morning all, This isnt a big deal, just one that I cam across for the first time today.
I had a bidder up the price considerably on an item I have running and I didn't recognize thier userID.
I often do a bidder search on bidders who are new to my auctions especially if they bid more than the usual newbie bids. I like to see if they are just casual shoppers or if they are "heavy hitters" who may be serious collectors or possible buying for resale off of ebay etc. etc.
Well, I went to the bidders search page and put in thier userID and got the following message on the page that came up.
_____________________________________________
Not possible
German privacy laws do not allow us to pass on information involving bidders from Germany. If you want to find all auctions this user has bid on, please contact the user directly by email.
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I am not sure if this has any potential for becoming a big deal but under certain circumstances, this could be a big advantage for these buyers when they are bidding and dont allow a seller to accurately gauge thier transaction levels on ebay.
I just think that if there is a way that these users could benefit over others because thier bidding activity is sheilded and bidders from other countries are not that this could create some tension...I mean that I think that it should be a level playing field because whats next? Could another country....say Switzerland or somewhere pass a law that says it is illegal for online companies like eBay to disclose info on anyone, like sellers.
Also, I wonder if these privacy laws apply to contact info. I have not tried to pull the persons contact info as I have had no reason to. I am just curious if anyone else has noticed this. I have never seen this before today and wonder if this is a new thing.
