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Making Winning Bidder IDs Anonymous
storm888
Posts: 11,701 ✭✭✭
October 28, 2008
Making Winning Bidder IDs Anonymous
Early last year, we began to anonymize bidder IDs on listings. This change was designed to protect bidders from fake Second Chance Offers and other malicious emails. As I’ve shared before, this initiative has been very successful, resulting in a 90% reduction in this type of fraud.
Today, however, the winning bidder’s ID is currently visible to everyone after the listing ends, and this continues to lead to fake checkout offers and other spam. Consequently, it also leads to unpaid items, as winning bidders who fall victim to these fake emails often send payment to someone other than the seller.
Based on the positive results we’ve seen by anonymizing bidder User IDs, as well as our commitment to protecting all bidders from becoming targets for fraudsters, we’ve decided to extend anonymized User IDs to winning bidders, as well. This change will be implemented sometime this week.
As always, the following information will still be accessible:
Sellers will be able to view all bidder IDs on their listings.
All members can click on the bidder ID and view the bidder’s Bid History page, which will detail the categories in which they’ve bid over the past 30 days.
Feedback pages will show the same information as now – buyer and seller IDs, with comments visible to all.
Thanks for taking the time to read about these updates to improve safety on eBay, and we thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
John Canfield
Senior Director, eBay Trust & Safety
Making Winning Bidder IDs Anonymous
Early last year, we began to anonymize bidder IDs on listings. This change was designed to protect bidders from fake Second Chance Offers and other malicious emails. As I’ve shared before, this initiative has been very successful, resulting in a 90% reduction in this type of fraud.
Today, however, the winning bidder’s ID is currently visible to everyone after the listing ends, and this continues to lead to fake checkout offers and other spam. Consequently, it also leads to unpaid items, as winning bidders who fall victim to these fake emails often send payment to someone other than the seller.
Based on the positive results we’ve seen by anonymizing bidder User IDs, as well as our commitment to protecting all bidders from becoming targets for fraudsters, we’ve decided to extend anonymized User IDs to winning bidders, as well. This change will be implemented sometime this week.
As always, the following information will still be accessible:
Sellers will be able to view all bidder IDs on their listings.
All members can click on the bidder ID and view the bidder’s Bid History page, which will detail the categories in which they’ve bid over the past 30 days.
Feedback pages will show the same information as now – buyer and seller IDs, with comments visible to all.
Thanks for taking the time to read about these updates to improve safety on eBay, and we thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
John Canfield
Senior Director, eBay Trust & Safety
Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
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Comments
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
They really can't leave well enough alone...
<< <i>Its shilling time in eBay tonight >>
I agree! Shilling for all! wooo hooooo!!!!
<< <i>Its shilling time in eBay tonight >>
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I guess that's right.
Under the current scheme, we can at least catch the shill after he screws-up and wins.
With the change, we will never know.
I still love and hate eBay.
"Today, however, the winning bidder’s ID is currently visible to everyone after the listing ends, and this continues to lead to fake checkout offers and other spam. Consequently, it also leads to unpaid items, as winning bidders who fall victim to these fake emails often send payment to someone other than the seller."
<< <i>with this change VCP won't be able to list who the winning bidder was. >>
Who cares I don't need to know who won what on VCP , just what it sold for and the image of the item.
I mean really what is the purpose of knowing who won what and for how much? just curious?
<< <i>with this change VCP won't be able to list who the winning bidder was. >>
Until they roll out the special Platinum membership for $399/year.
Seriously, though, it's almost a bit depressing to think about how lame eBay has become. I used to love it - both the buying and the selling. But I'm at the point where I maybe have three total transactions per month. I'm sure I'd miss it if the site disappeared tomorrow, but had it done so a couple of years ago, I might still be in the fetal position.
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<< <i>with this change VCP won't be able to list who the winning bidder was. >>
Who cares I don't need to know who won what on VCP , just what it sold for and the image of the item.
I mean really what is the purpose of knowing who won what and for how much? just curious? >>
I usually don't care, but in some instances, knowing who the winning bidder was can help make sense of anomalies in prices realized. For instance, Dmitri Young buying up Jim Rice rookie cards caused the price for PSA 9s to soar for a couple weeks. Knowing that he was buying them lets us know that he is betting that Rice will make it to the Hall of Fame. The rest of us can look at the data and wait for prices to come back down to earth before we buy.
Also, knowing who won what helps us know what the bidding might be like next time a coveted card comes up for auction.