A couple of simple changes eBay could make to slow down coin scamming
Wolf359
Posts: 7,666 ✭✭✭
While I appreciate all those fancy Dan type changes to "My eBay" with new layouts, features, and fonts; when are the REAL changes
going to happen?
I'm talking about things like:
1) Tie feedback into the value of the items you sell.
- Zero feedback users cannot sell coins with a starting price & value more than $100. Auctions that go above are halted automatically.
There are many schemes here, but value could increase as feedback does until Feedback of +25 or so is achieved.
2) Remove private auctions entirely. These are mostly used by scammers.
3) People who sell $5 items suddenly selling $5000 coins. Issue an automatic alert. These auctions should be reviewed manually by
eBay in all cases. Not a resource drain, a responsibility.
4) Require new sellers to take PayPal ONLY, no exceptions until the Feedback level is achieved. This protects the Buyer.
5) Five negatives from five different people between eBay Monthly invoices and you are history. Maybe ten for super high volume sellers. Either way, this is a simple and effective change designed to keep the PowerScrewers under control.
None of the above are difficult changes to make or implement. I believe they will at least temporarily put a serious dent into scammers. A
safer eBay would bring more people and money IN, while denying the crooks. Isn't that what it's all about?
going to happen?
I'm talking about things like:
1) Tie feedback into the value of the items you sell.
- Zero feedback users cannot sell coins with a starting price & value more than $100. Auctions that go above are halted automatically.
There are many schemes here, but value could increase as feedback does until Feedback of +25 or so is achieved.
2) Remove private auctions entirely. These are mostly used by scammers.
3) People who sell $5 items suddenly selling $5000 coins. Issue an automatic alert. These auctions should be reviewed manually by
eBay in all cases. Not a resource drain, a responsibility.
4) Require new sellers to take PayPal ONLY, no exceptions until the Feedback level is achieved. This protects the Buyer.
5) Five negatives from five different people between eBay Monthly invoices and you are history. Maybe ten for super high volume sellers. Either way, this is a simple and effective change designed to keep the PowerScrewers under control.
None of the above are difficult changes to make or implement. I believe they will at least temporarily put a serious dent into scammers. A
safer eBay would bring more people and money IN, while denying the crooks. Isn't that what it's all about?
0
Comments
Some other thoughts
Mandatory escrow service for sellers below certain feedback level or cetain closing price?
Require a copy of death notice for all "Estate sales"?
Eliminate the " Each item placed in unmarked bag- dutch auction for one pull"?
Enforce rules already in place?
A witty saying proves nothing- Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor
does the truth become error because nobody will see it. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
Joe.
2) They have a purpose, albeit small. I wouldn't mind and I don't think the loss would be that large.
3) Don't kill the auction but put an ebay droid on it to look at? That would be fine as long as it didn't delay the auction (ie...it can be posted but within x hours, someone from ebay will have reviewed it and made a decision...and have that logged so if it turns out to be a scam, that person can "learn")
4) Ridiculous. Seriously. Sorry to say, but that should NOT happen. Do you own ebay stock? Forcing someone to use something they may not want/trust. Paypal is not free (for some it is but there are restrictions).
5) Yeah...I could see this. But, the scum who retaliate against people and have agendas can easily set it up and get someone, undeservingly, nuked. Not sure that would be the right thing to do to enable. Maybe have this prompt an ebay droid again. Investigate/probation contingent on next negative.
I agree with your desire to get rid of scamming...but, only so far as it actually impacts the scammers more than the honest people and doesn't restrict the honest people. Scammers will always cheat their way around the system. Honest people will be stopped by it.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
<< <i>Require new sellers to take PayPal ONLY, no exceptions until the Feedback level is achieved. >>
This would be the ONLY step eBay would take since it would generate revenue.
Remember, eBay is just a venue
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since 8/1/6
The couple of times I have tried -like a bloody fool--to help those that have been viciously scammed I have regretted it. No good deed goes unpunished.
They rely on about a 100 well meaning volunteer people in their roster of registereds to help. Sad situation. It really is an out of control mess. IMHO, coin prices have been driven up on ebay by newly registered buyers and I suspect that may be grinding down. Ebay sure helps small dealers/coincollectors to maintain their instant liquidity and that no doubt helps drive the market. If that liquidity is not there then anyone can figure out what happens next.
I'm talking about things like:
1) Tie feedback into the value of the items you sell.
2) Remove private auctions entirely. These are mostly used by scammers.
3) People who sell $5 items suddenly selling $5000 coins. Issue an automatic alert. These auctions should be reviewed manually by
eBay in all cases. Not a resource drain, a responsibility.
4) Require new sellers to take PayPal ONLY, no exceptions until the Feedback level is achieved. This protects the Buyer.
5) Five negatives from five different people between eBay Monthly invoices and you are history. Maybe ten for super high volume sellers. Either way, this is a simple and effective change designed to keep the PowerScrewers under control.
None of the above are difficult changes to make or implement. I believe they will at least temporarily put a serious dent into scammers. A
safer eBay would bring more people and money IN, while denying the crooks. Isn't that what it's all about? >>
Useful proposals.
1) I'm not sure of the benefit of this
2)Definitely- private auctions are unfortunately a screen behind which ebay sacmmers hide
5)I agree!- or at least have a good hard look at each negative...
In Feb, there was a raw double eagle on ebay I wanted to buy. Seller had never sold a coin on ebay. I suggested an escrow service, and said I'd pay extra cost if he'd agree- but he didn't (agreed to consider it, but never said yes). item sold for approx melt...
This one has some serious problems. Number one to eBay is that any limit on the value of items being sold cuts into their own profits and they will never do that. I would also be against it as a shareholder. As someone else has said, everybody has to start somewhere. Another problem is that average sales values vary widely between the many catagories on eBay.
2) Remove private auctions entirely. These are mostly used by scammers.
Private auctions have many legitimate uses such as sales in the adult catagories, sales of high-value items where the bidder does not want their identity revealed, sales of bulk lots to be re-ebayed piecemeal where the buyer/reseller does not want to reveal their source, etc.
3) People who sell $5 items suddenly selling $5000 coins. Issue an automatic alert. These auctions should be reviewed manually by
This would be a very easy and practical move for eBay. Sales patterns can be tracked automatically by software and sellers can be redflagged by the system if sudden changes to these patterns emerge. The problem with implementing something like this is that such a move would contradict their traditional legal claims of being "only a venue" and therefore something like this seems unlikely.
4) Require new sellers to take PayPal ONLY, no exceptions until the Feedback level is achieved. This protects the Buyer.
This would be flat-out illegal under federal and state antitrust laws. It falls under "bundling".
5) Five negatives from five different people between eBay Monthly invoices and you are history. Maybe ten for super high volume sellers. Either way, this is a simple and effective change designed to keep the PowerScrewers under control.
Too easy for abusive people to take advantage of a system like this to force a NARU on somebody. It's very easy and in fact not even against eBay's rules to set up multiple accounts.