Posts Tagged ‘Ebay’
More Fraud Protection Needed on eBay
More Fraud Protection Needed on eBay
(PRWEB) February 27, 2006
Strictly embargoed until Saturday 25 February 2006 at 00:01 hrs
Martin Chapman 020 7770 7373
eBay: buyer beware
eBay should be more proactive in the fight against fraud, says Computing Which?
eBay-related fraud is occurring at an alarming rate. About 130 crimes* citing eBay are reported in London every month to the Metropolitan Police. This level of crime is thought to be mirrored across the UK.
eBay does take measures to protect its customers. For example, all auction pages contain a Safety Centre link. But finding the tiny text link at the foot of the page is “like looking for a needle in a haystack”, according to one researcher.
Police welcome eBay’s anti-fraud measures, such as secure payment service PayPal.** But these measures can only go so far and educating people on the dangers of eBay is equally important. Winning an auction might feel like a victory, but the prize is a chance to buy unseen goods from a total stranger.
And the risk of fraud is increasing; according to the police, criminals are turning away from activities such as drugs and robbery in favour of high-volume, low-risk crime such as that found on eBay.
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Dark of the Met is working with eBay in the fight against fraud and encouraging them to be proactive, rather than just reacting to illegal or fraudulent transactions after the event.
Jessica Ross, editor, Computing Which?, says:
“Many people see eBay as a bit of fun, like Friends Reunited, and no one’s denying that it’s quick and easy to use. But there’s plenty of opportunity for criminals to cash in too.
“eBay needs to educate people about the dangers of using the site. This 21st century car boot sale attracts more than a few dodgy characters and gangs can ‘earn’ huge amounts defrauding everyday eBayers.”
Computing Which? calls on eBay to:
Be proactive in identifying illegal or counterfeit items for sale on its site
Warn customers about the dangers of fraud
Stop the unlicensed selling of medical products such as contact lenses
Make the Safety Centre prominent on auction pages
There is more information about this story at Which? News http://www.which.co.uk/news/computersandinternet/06/feb/ebay-fraudreport.html
Ends –
Notes to editors
*129 crimes specifically mentioning eBay were reported in London to the Metropolitan Police’s economic crime unit Sterling every month in the 18 months til October 2005.
**PayPal is much safer than money transfers. The service, owned by eBay, allows customers to send and receive money online without giving bank account or credit card details to strangers.
The full article contains advice on how to stay safe on eBay. For a copy of the article, contact Martin Chapman.
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5 Tricks to Boost Your Ebay Computer Sales
Article by David “Computer Guru” Jaeger
Believe it or not, making money selling custom computers on ebay is very easy. I’ve personally helped people make anywhere from a 35% – 50% profit per each computer, with an average computer sale of 00. (That over 0 net profit – on the low end!)
There is a simple reason most computer builders can’t sell their computers successfully. You see, there are two types of people; there are the “techies” and the “people persons”.
Techies enjoy understanding how things work. They will take things apart to put them back together just to learn how to put the item together. When a “techie” buys a car, they want to learn about how the engine works, and what are all the parts names. When they talk to someone, they enjoy talking about the differences in “specs”.
Then there are “people persons”. They are perfectly happy not knowing how things work – as long as they work. What they do enjoy is getting involved with people. They like to get in the middle of different social dynamics, typically care a lot about what their friends think etc.
This isn’t a psyche class though, this about learning 5 tricks to successfully selling your computers on ebay. So why am I mentioning the “techie” mindset?
As you can guess, most computer builders are techies. The 5 tricks aren’t really tricks at all. These 5 tricks allow you to get out of “spec” mode, and into selling successfully mode. Here goes:
1) Most eBay computer builders put 5 pages of specs. This turns most browsers off. Unlike “techies”, most people don’t really care about the detailed specs and don’t appreciate it, so don’t put them in, save yourself some grief, and gain valuable customers.
2) Use audio / video in your auction. This is very powerful, as you can express your personality in audio and video much better than you can in person
3) Add Personality to your auction. Essentially, you need to tell people why they should buy from you. You do this by being yourself, and telling people what got you into computers? What fascinates you about computers? What makes you so confident about your computer building capabilities?
4) Encourage people to contact you and ask questions. I do this prominently on my auctions. I tell people to contact me by either phone, email, or ebay’s contact member program.
5) Insert an Instant Messenging service (like meebo me) into your auction to make it easier for people to contact you.
If you apply these tricks to your ebay computer auctions you are well on your way to success.
About the Author
David Jaeger is Ebay’s Number One Computer Seller Consultant. Get FREE Insider Access to his opt-in list, private blog and members only forum to learn how to Build Your Own Computer and Sell it for Great Profit.
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