Note: BV charges every seller and sometimes buyers either a $5 per year or $2.50 for 3 months verification fee.
Couldn't they use this service and save members the fee or is BV a subscription based site?
Here's the info from the BV site help menu
Verifying members using a credit card requires Bidville to interact with credit card processing systems. These services not only make sure the credit card is valid, but also use sophisticated techniques to verify the name and address on the card. This is done to help prevent fraud and protect all members of Bidville. Unfortunately, these services are not provided to Bidville for free. Therefore, we must pass on some of these costs to our members. Also, placing a small verification charge on your credit card enhances the security of our community. This process verifies that the card you use is active in addition to being valid.
subject title should have said "interesting site and free service" )