From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Fri Dec 15 06:17:18 2006
Subject:Re: OT: I've been screwed on eBay/Nord88

Hi All,

>As for the bidder, some people are complete assholes. And the whole internet auction/secondhand commerce thing is predicated on the principle that people are inherently good. (Unfortunately, that's an assinine assumption in some cases.)

I've been reading this thread with interest, because I, too answered a VERY authentic-looking email about a year ago -- mine asked me to join the eBay Power Sellers -- and briefly lost my eBay ID to someone in the Netherlands who proceeded to list a non-existent $10K (USD) custom Harley motorcycle, using my good name and 100% feedback. Fortunately, I caught the problem in less then 24 hours -- silly me went back to look for my Power Seller icon and was locked out of my own account!

Although eBay dropped their ridiculous "people are good" TV campaign (for the equally silly "IT" campaign), Tony is correct -- the assumption is only applicable to about 98% of the world, and boy, the other 2% are real losers! Unfortunately, eBay's policies/procedures are stacked towards the assumption that the errant member is part of the 98%, making it difficult to deal with the bad few. Do you know what an eBay buyer who doesn't follow through, forcing the seller to file a non-paying bidder complaint, gets from eBay? A warning email. Second time? Another warning. Fourth time? Suspension for 30 days. It takes until the SIXTH time (IIRC) before eBay finally takes "real" action and boots the buyer off the system! Why? Because anything else would be bad for commerce. eBay needs marginal bidders, just like bar owners need overdue tab-holders -- and for the same reason; they generally buy a lot of product.

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions™ http://consult.ashbysolutions.com
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com

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