Auction Sense

A bit of common sense on the part of buyers will suffice to protect most people from auction fraud.  As a ten-year veteran of buying on eBay auctions, with experience buying some big ticket items, such as expensive televisions, stereo equipment, ship models etc., and as a grizzled veteran of online shopping in general, buyers should follow these procedures when bidding:

1. Get an education about the item you want.  Do not bid on the first auction you see.  Instead, research sites such as www.pricegrabber.com, www.pricewatch.com and www.mysimon.com. You need to know how much the item costs when new, and how much the item is going for at auction.  This is important as some auctions get heated and you will end up paying more than what it is worth, which happens frequently on eBay.  There are bargains but you must have detailed knowledge of the thing you wish to buy.

2. Do not buy from an auction that will not permit you to pay by credit card. I cannot emphasize this enough. The credit card company is often your only line of defense between you and a fraudulent seller, especially on a higher-priced item. By using your credit card, if the seller sends you a DOA (dead on arrival item), or not as advertised, or simply fails to send the item, you have recourse. Avoid auctions that will accept only money orders or cashier’s checks. Once you drop that in the mail, you have no recourse. Using Paypal’s electronic payments funded by a credit card are often the only way I will pay for an auction.

3. Study the seller’s feedback ratings and listen to your natural instincts. Don’t just look at the raw number of feedbacks. Read the feedbacks and study them. A person with few feedbacks or excessive negative feedback is a seller you may wish to avoid. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t something you want to mess with.  Read the auction information very carefully.  Look for words like refurbished, like new, etc.  Ask questions before you bid.

4. Look at the photos hosted in the auction. If someone posts digital photos of an item they obviously own, in conjunction with the foregoing, you can probably be assured this is a reasonable transaction. If the photo is a “canned image” imported from the manufacturer’s website, you may want to think twice about the transaction.  Examine the auction text carefully.  Does the seller explain why they have this item and why they are selling it?  On big ticket items that are used, common sense would dictate that a seller explain why they are selling the item.  Fraud sellers usually won’t take the time to come up with an explanation, as they are generally lazy.

5. Be sure to note the shipping charges. Sometimes, sellers will sell products below cost but make up the difference on shipping and handling charges. Know what it costs to ship your item and factor that into the purchase price.

6. Make sure all items are sent insured. Do not trust ANYONE - spend the extra $2 or more to insure the item. Shipping companies lose shipments all the time, and they can be removed from your front doorstep if you are not home when it arrives. Insuring it provides an additional layer of protection in this regard.

7. Consider using an escrow service to provide some added security on higher-priced items. The seller ships the item to the buyer after the escrow service notifies the seller they have received the payment from the buyer. The buyer opens and inspects the item, and if it is satisfactory, then releases the payment to the seller. All parties are protected and the small fee charged by the escrow service is well worth it.

8.  The signs of a fraudulent seller:  They have very few feedbacks, have recently changed their username or are new, have very little information about the item they are selling with canned images or text from the manufacturer’s website, will only take money orders or cashier’s checks, and will not do escrow or any sort of credit card payments.  If you see an auction with most or all of these characteristics, run, do not walk away from that auction.

By following these steps, you can bid with authority and confidence. Remember, the vast majority of sellers on eBay are honest and simply want to sell something. It’s the minority you have to look out for. There are bargains…but you have to know what you are doing. Good hunting!

Contributed by Donald M. Burns
Phoenix School of Law, 3rd year Student
President, Justice for All
602.999.7601 - dakra@cox.net