18 May
1999
18 May
'99
6:07 a.m.
You won't find eBay wanting to "get in the
middle" in that way. They get a
fee based on the high bid. They don't really care whether the transaction
is completed. Of course, the seller gets a credit for his fee in the case
where the sale isn't completed, but eBay still gets the money.
Here is the response I got from eBay this morning, and my question below
it. I considered this a lame side stepping answer and emailed back saying
so.
<some stuff edited>
Thank you for writing.
The best single way to size up eBay members is by judging there feedback
for yourself.
eBay has no control over private email and direct sales are not only not
sanctioned but are a violation of eBay rules and will draw sanctions
from eBay when proven. They are very dangerous.
Especially if the seller
is not an eBay member in good standing. In fact these are
not even "eBay
scams or frauds", they are not eBay at all!
eBay is not a party to the actual transactions that take place between
members. eBay acts as a link between the buyer and seller. We just
provide the automated bidding system. We do not authenticate users, we
do not verify items, we do not guarantee that you will receive payment
or the item. However, we are extremely concerned about our community and
your safety within our community. To that end, we work with third
parties to offer you services to authenticate users, insure and escrow
your transactions.
We hope this helps! :^)
Original message follows:
-------------------------
How do I check on eBay scams or frauds I hear about on newsgroups or
mailing lists? Recently someone reported on a mailing list I follow that
people are contacting second bidders and pretending to be the seller,
requesting payment be sent to a PO Box, then skipping with the money.
How do I find out if this is true or hoax?