I personally have had a Great experience buying on ebay.
FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES ON THE EBAY WEBSITE
eBay's future success will
depend largely upon sellers reliably delivering and accurately representing
their listed goods and buyers paying the agreed purchase price.
eBay has received in the
past, and anticipates that it will receive in the future, communications from
users who did not receive the purchase price or the goods that were to have
been exchanged.
In
some cases individuals have been arrested and convicted for fraudulent
activities using eBay's web site. While eBay can suspend the accounts of users
who fail to fulfill their delivery obligations to other users, eBay does not
have the ability to require users to make payments or deliver goods or
otherwise make users whole other than through its limited insurance
program.
Other than through this
program, eBay does not compensate users who believe they have been defrauded by
other users. eBay also periodically receives complaints from buyers as to the
quality of the goods purchased. Negative publicity generated as a result of
fraudulent or deceptive conduct by users of its service could damage our
reputation and diminish the value of our brand name. eBay expects to continue
to receive requests from users requesting reimbursement or threatening or
commencing legal action against us if no reimbursement is made.
This sort of litigation could
be costly for us, divert management attention, result in increased costs of
doing business, lead to adverse judgments or could otherwise harm its business.
See "Risk Factors -- Our business may be harmed by fraudulent
activities on our web site."
Fraud on the InterNet is rampant.
Fraud on eBay is the number one fraud committed on the Net.
I wrote Beware of
Fraud on eBay, to make other people who buy or sell on eBay aware of the
types of fraud being done everyday on eBay.
I also wrote this
book, because eBay did not handle properly the accounts of people that scammed
me, and that scammed many other people on their site.
In fact, eBay actually
eMailed me a letter complaining that I complained about fraud on their site!
They even erased my
warning message on the Feedback of someone I reported to local police
authorities for fraud.
I also reported eBay
to numerous states Attorney General Offices for the way they conduct business
on line.
In dealing with eBay
over fraud, I found out that eBay is trying to hide from the public. They make
it virtually impossible to contact them by the phone to file a complaint.
eBay is also using
deceptive business practices in promoting their so-called FRAUD PROTECTION. The
reality is that most of the transactions at eBay have no Fraud Protection from
eBay.
As a public company,
eBay must follow SEC rules in regards to dealing with the public, and not using
deceptive business practices. eBay disregards the rules, as I will explain in
this book!
I’ve tried to include
in this book, most of the scams I have seen on eBay and also on the Net.
I hope it saves you from being scammed.
PROTECTION heavily.
They state you
are covered up
to $200.00 for
FREE in Fraud
Protection.
Yet the small print makes it difficult to file a claim.
They also demand you
wait long periods of time before reporting someone for fraud, which gives a
scam artist a long time to defraud more people.
In one case, I knew
within hours of doing a transaction the person was absolutely a scam artist.
I was right and reported the person to his local police department.
They promptly closed him down.
eBay’s response, they
removed my Complaint in his Feedback and kept his account open to defraud more
people.
I’ll explain the details of that scam later.
Anyway, when you read
the small print of the eBay fraud protection, you find out there is a $25.00
deductible, and a limit of 200.00 in fraud protection for any transaction.
If you know the types
of auctions eBay holds, the majority auctions on eBay are well under $25.00.
And many of the
auctions at eBay over 25.00 are over $200.00 as well.
The parameters set by
eBay in their fraud protection, excludes on person most of the transactions at
eBay.
This is a very
deceptive advertising campaign, similar to a bait and switch.
EBay baits people into
thinking they have fraud protection, yet they switch them to the fact that most
will have no such protection in most deals on eBay.
Imagine
if Ford promoted a great bumper to bumper warranty. Yet when it came down to
making claims, Ford fixed almost nothing on the car. Do you think that is fair,
or is it a clever way to deceive the public? Of course it is not fair.
When I explained this
to the Attorney General Offices (AGO) in several states, they became very
interested in eBay. If you want to complain to your state’s AGO (Attorney
General Office) about eBay, all you have to do is go to your states web site
and look for a link to Attorney General Office.
Explain to your states
AGO office, that you are an eBay customer and you thought you had FRAUD
PROTECTION, yet eBay did nothing about your loss!
If several people in
your state complain about eBay’s deceptive business practices, THEY WILL
INVESTIGATE and PROSECUTE eBay for deceiving the public about fraud protection.
eBay was heavily
investigated for complicity in fraud by the New York State Attorney General
Office a short time ago over knowingly allowing counterfeit sports collectibles
on eBay.
That is why eBay now has this so-called fraud protection.
The bottom line is, very few people that have been ripped off at eBay
have ever been paid anything by eBay in regards to fraud protection.
Here is some of the
small print at eBay, that is buried deep in their site explaining their fraud
protection.
From eBay site:
Fraud Protection Program
Under the eBay Fraud Protection Program, most items on eBay are
covered for up to $200 (minus $25 of the item price). For example, if the item
price is $100, you are eligible to receive $75. Every eBay user is covered at
no charge under the terms of the program.
While the vast majority of eBay transactions are trouble-free, rest
assured that when fraud happens, our program can help. Here's how fraud is
defined on eBay:
Paying for an item and never receiving it or
Receiving an item that is less than what is described -- such as
winning a solid gold necklace but receiving a copper one instead.
If
you feel you need to take advantage of the Program, here are the steps to take:
First, try to communicate with your seller directly. Many problems are just
simple misunderstandings. To contact your trading partner, go to the Find
Members page and fill in the requested fields appropriately.
Buyers and sellers can also use dispute resolution through
SquareTrade, an independent service that provides a neutral place to work out
disputes online efficiently and effectively.
Review the Eligibility Checklist and Claim Process to understand how
you qualify for the eBay Fraud Protection Program.
If you still suspect fraud and have gone through Steps 1 and 3 (step 2
is optional,) file a Fraud Report. To allow for communication between trading
partners, you must wait 30 days from the end of the listing before filing a
Fraud Report.
Check out the Fraud Protection FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) if
you'd like more information.
If you still have a question please Contact Rules
and Safety.
Even further buried in
eBay is more small print, explaining you have to wait 30 days before you can
make a claim, then you only have 30 days to make a claim. They exclude more
deals and they list a ton of things you must do to try to make a claim.
From eBay site:
Fraud Protection Eligibility Checklist and Claims
Process
Most eBay transactions qualify for fraud protection, but it's always a
good idea to make sure. Review the eligibility checklist below to see if you
meet the requirements:
To allow for communication
between trading partners, you must wait 30 days from the end of the listing
before filing a Fraud Report.
Your item was listed
and purchased on eBay and not on another auction site or outside of eBay.
You are a winning bidder or
fixed price buyer and the purchase was completed via eBay
Both you and the
seller are in good standing at eBay (both parties have Net feedback rating of
zero or above at the end of the listing) and have not been suspended at the
time of the transaction. You must also be a member in good standing at the time
you file a claim.
You have filed a Fraud Report within 60 days of the item's close (more
on how to file below if you have not done so already).
Your item must be legal and
in accordance with eBay's User Agreement.
The value of your item
is over $25 ($200 is the maximum amount of Fraud Protection coverage per
listing minus $25 of the item price).
If you sent the money in good faith to the seller and never received
the item. Or, the item you received is significantly different from the
seller's description. If you are filing a claim for a misrepresented item you
may be asked by the Claims Administrator to provide third party authenticity.
You have not exceeded the three claims per six
months limit.
If
your item was paid for with a credit card please contact your credit card
issuer prior to filing a claim. If your credit card issuer denies your claim
you may be entitled to file a claim under the Fraud Protection Program. (You
will be required to show proof that your claim was denied by your credit card
issuer.)
What is not covered:
Any transaction that is paid
for using cash
Items damaged or lost in shipping. Please contact your shipping
carrier for information on its reimbursement policy.
Items that are picked up in person
Items that are not sold via
eBay, e.g., purchases in which you are not identified as the winning bidder or
fixed price buyer on the closed item
How to file a Fraud Report and Claim
If you meet all the eligibility requirements above, take these steps:
File a fraud report
File your complaint by using our Fraud Reporting Form within 60 days
of your listing's ending date.
eBay will inform your seller via eMail that you have filed a
complaint. Your seller will then have the opportunity to respond to your
complaint. This may help bring about a resolution.
Remember: Simple misunderstandings are often resolved through direct
communication. Please make every attempt to resolve your complaint by
contacting your seller by eMail or phone.
If you are unable to resolve your complaint after
filing a fraud report:
You will be provided
with a link to the claim form after submitting the Fraud Report. Print the
claim form and fill it out completely.
Gather all of the following
information:
a. The
completed claim form
b. A
printed copy of your eBay listing (item page)
c. Proof of payment, i.e., photocopy of the front and back of money
order, receipts, cashiers check, personal check, etc.
d.
Any other supporting
paperwork.
Note: All of the above
mentioned items are necessary in order for your claim to be processed.
Incomplete information will cause delays in processing your claims.
It is necessary that the above items (a-d) be received by the Claims
Administrator within 90 days of the end of the listing in order for your claim
to be processed. Claims received after 90 days of the end of the listing will
be denied.
Mailing instructions, including the current mailing address of the
Claims Administrator will be provided to you after you submit the Fraud Report.
The processing of your
claim will be completed by the Claims Administrator within 45 days of receipt.
In the interim, it is recommended that you not discard or resell any
merchandise related to your claim. The Claims Administrator will communicate
with you and your seller directly about the outcome.
If your complaint is resolved:
Please return to the Fraud
Reporting Form to update your complaint.
Are you confused by how elaborate the eBay fraud filing procedure is
after reading all their rules?
How about if eBay just
gets a nice simple ON LINE form that you can fill out as soon as you find out
the person you are dealing worth can’t or won’t deliver what you bought.
How about eBay making
it easy on buyers that loose money to file a claim for any amount up to say
$500.00 with no deductible since many sales at eBay are for small amounts.
How about eBay making the sellers prove they sent the item they got
paid for.
If you want to call
eBay, it is virtually impossible to get anyone on the phone. First, I have not
yet found any page on eBay where their phone number is located.
I actually had to
lookup eBay at a stock directory that lists all publicly traded companies and
their phone number that is on file with the SEC.
As a public company,
eBay is mandated by the SEC to keep a live phone where the public can reach
them.
After you call eBay, a
computerized answering system answers, as is typical today with most
businesses.
One of the selections allows you to reach an operator.
As is standard with
many businesses today, the operator REFUSES to give out what is public information
that the SEC says any public company must give out.
Such as who is the CEO.
With eBay, even the name of the operator is refused.
All they give you are
eMail addresses that have auto responders on them.
If you want to call
eBay and get the run around their main corporate number is 408-558-7400.
The founder of eBay is Pierre Omidyar.
His number is 408-558-7410 eMail is Pierre@eBay.com .
The Chief Legal
Counsel for eBay is Michael Jacobson. His eMail is MikeJ@eBay.com
Pierre Omidyar is the
founder of eBay. If you search for his eMail address Pierre@eBay.com at UseNet
search engines like the old www.Deja.com now run by www.Google.com, you find a
long history of SPAM.
Pierre when he was a
nobody, filled up many marketing UseNet groups with commercial listings or
SPAM.
Such behavior today usually results in an ISP removing you from their
Network.
Here are references to
some of the SPAM from the beginning of Pierre’s career on the Net, as archived
by Google.
ANNOUNCE: WebMail 1.2
... I will mail you the package.
Cheers, Pierre – Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
pierre@eBay.com http://www.eBay.com/disclaimers.html comp.os.magic-cap
– 19 Aug 1995 by Pierre Omidyar – View Thread (1 article)
AUCTIONWEB: Current Listings
... Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
Pierre@eBay.com
Free Web Auction: http://www.eBay.com/aw/
misc.forsale.non-computer – 02 Oct
1995 by Pierre Omidyar – View Thread (1 article)
AUCTIONWEB: Current Listings
... Auction
ends on: 10/03/95, 20:04:48 PDT – Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
pierre@eBay.com Free Web Auction: http://www.eBay.com/aw/
misc.forsale.computers.pc-specific.misc – 02 Oct 1995 by Pierre
Omidyar – View Thread (3 articles)
AUCTIONWEB: Current Listings
... Auction ends on: 10/03/95,
17:28:41 PDT – Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
pierre@eBay.com Free Web Auction: http://www.eBay.com/aw/
rec.antiques.marketplace – 02 Oct 1995 by Pierre Omidyar – View
Thread (1 article)
AuctionWeb: Interactive Web
Auction
... Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
Pierre@eBay.com
Free Web Auction: http://www.eBay.com/aw/
misc.forsale.non-computer – 24 Sep
1995 by Pierre Omidyar – View Thread (2 articles)
... Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
Pierre@eBay.com
Free Web Auction: http://www.eBay.com/aw/
misc.forsale.computers.pc-specific.misc – 13 Sep 1995 by Pierre Omidyar
– View Thread (1 article)
AUCTIONWEB:
Great Deals on Modems!
... Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
Pierre@eBay.com
Free
Web Auction: http://www.eBay.com/aw/
misc.forsale.computers.modems – 03 Dec
1995 by Pierre Omidyar – View Thread (1 article)
AUCTIONWEB:
Great Deals on Memory!
... Pierre Omidyar Home page: http://www.eBay.com/Pierre.shtml
Pierre@eBay.com
Free Web Auction: http://www.eBay.com/aw/
misc.forsale.computers.memory – 03 Dec
1995 by Pierre Omidyar – View Thread (1 article)
Here is some public
opinions of Pierre on of all things the value of stocks.
Re:
eBay claims YOUR FEEDBACK rating belongs to THEM!
Hello all, At the risk of sounding defensive about this issue, I
thought I would chime in. For those of you who don’t know me, I am the founder ...
rec.collecting.cards.non-sports – 04 Aug
1998 by Pierre@eBay.com – View Thread (27 articles)
From: pierre@eBay.com (pierre@eBay.com)
Subject: Re: eBay
claims YOUR FEEDBACK rating belongs to THEM!
Newsgroups: rec.collecting.cards.non-sports,
rec.collecting.cards.discuss
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Date:
1998/08/04
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View complete thread (27 articles)
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Hello all,
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At the risk
of sounding defensive about this issue, I thought I would chime in. For those
of you who don’t know me, I am the founder of eBay.
Personally,
I believe that all eBay members should be proud of the reputations they have
built on eBay. One of the reasons eBay continues to grow faster than any other
site is that we have an incredible community of good, honest people. People who
treat each other the way they want to be treated themselves. And people who
earn those feedback ratings. I don’t want to take any of that away from you,
because you did earn it.
But keep in
mind that eBay is in competition with hundreds of other services. All of
them are much smaller in terms of members and selection of items than eBay.
Many of them do not have the same quality standards in terms of customer care.
Why should eBay support their efforts to compete with us? I honestly believe
members’ experience will be better at eBay, for a variety of reasons. If the
experience is not better, I want to make it better by improving eBay. We’ve
always done that by listening to what our members have to say, and hopefully
(eventually) acting on that. I spend hours reading e-mail, reading the
newsgroups, reading the boards, trying to keep in touch with what the community
feels, and I hope that helps improve eBay for
everyone.
If you use
eBay to promote a competing service, we have the right to ask you to stop doing
that. If you were standing inside Macy’s, with space that they rented to you,
and you held up a sign that said “Go to Nordstrom,” or “Get the same stuff here
cheaper down the street,” I think Macy’s would ask you to leave. If they
didn’t, their customers would think they were stupid. eBay members complain to
our customer support folks that some members promote other services, and we
then have to take action. (We don’t monitor our listings ourselves – we
generally take action only when we are notified by an eBay member.)
I have
nothing against people promoting their eBay reputations on their own sites, as
long as it has to do with eBay business. If it has nothing to do with eBay
business, than the feedback comments are not relevant, since they were made
about eBay business. Does the car
18
salesman
care about your eBay rating when he sells you a car? Of course not: he needs a
full credit report. Do eBay members care about your credit report when you are
buying or selling on eBay? Of course not: they care about your eBay rating.
Practically,
if you decide to post an ad at a competing service, and you say, “Check out my
eBay rating of 52,” we probably would not do anything about it. As long as you
are honest in pointing out that the rating is related to eBay business, then
you aren’t misleading your potential customer, and I don’t have a problem with
that (subject to our lawyers’ protection of the eBay trademark, etc. – but you
know what I mean).
We’re not
trying to take anything away from any eBay member. Sometimes legal theory can
get complicated, and I try to focus on the primary issue: most people are
honest and trustworthy, and we should all treat each other the way we want to
be treated ourselves. And, eBay has a right to protect itself against unfair
competition; if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be in business.
In my mind,
competition doesn’t come from our own members; it comes from other businesses
who are providing a service similar to eBay. Most of those competitors compete
absolutely fairly, and some of them have nice sites; but unfortunately, some of
the others send robots to our site, hurting performance for our members, and
stealing information. I think I’m a nice guy, but I don’t think I should allow
that. And unfair competition is plain unfair.
I respect
all the opinions around this issue, and I hope my comments will help you see
how I think about this. Please take it with only that intent in mind.
Thank you
for taking the time to read this, and thanks to all those who have commented
publicly on this issue.
Regards,
Pierre
Anyway, if you want to
get into the mind of Pierre, you need to just start reading the endless drivel
he spewed all over UseNet back in the day before he was one of the richest
people in the United States.
Gotcha!
The best place to
complain about being ripped off on eBay is actually your State Attorney
General’s Office. Ask to speak to the InterNet Fraud Division if they have one.
If not, consumer fraud is the next best place.
You can find the
number of your states AGO by visiting your states web site. California is
www.CA.gov .
Explain to the AGO in your state, that you got defrauded on eBay.
Explain you feel that
eBay misleads the public about FRAUD PROTECTION.
You should also call
the AGO in California at (916) 322-3360, and complain directly to them about
eBay.
Another good place to
lodge a complaint is the local police department where the Seller or Buyer is
located.
Many detectives are great at getting deceptive sellers or buyers to do
the right thing with just a phone call.
Most scammers have no fear of the Police until they start calling.
If enough people in
your state or in California complain to the AGO, then eBay will be forced to
change the way they do business.
eBay admitted they were the target of
Government Investigations in their recent SEC filing known as a 10K.
eBay also admitted that a large number of
consumer fraud complaints have been filed about eBay.
Butterfields is an eBay subsidiary.
GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES
On January 29, 1999, eBay
received initial requests to produce certain records and information to the
federal government relating to an investigation of possible illegal
transactions in connection with its web site.
eBay was informed that the inquiry includes an examination of its
practices with respect to these transactions. eBay has provided further
information in connection with this ongoing inquiry. In order to protect the
investigation, the court has ordered that no further public disclosures be made
with respect to the matter.
On March 24, 2000,
Butterfields received a grand jury subpoena from the Antitrust Division of the
Department of Justice requesting documents relating to, among other things,
changes in Butterfields' seller commissions and buyer premiums and discussions,
agreements or understandings with other auction houses, in each case since
1992. eBay believes this request may be related to a publicly reported criminal
investigation of auction houses for price fixing.
eBay has provided the
information requested in the subpoena.
Should these or any other
investigations lead to civil or criminal charges against eBay, we would likely
be harmed by negative publicity, the costs of litigation, the diversion of
management time and other negative effects, even if eBay ultimately prevails.
eBay's business would suffer if it were not to prevail in any actions like
these. Even the process of providing records and information can be expensive,
time consuming and result in the diversion of management attention.
A large number of
transactions occur on eBay's web sites. eBay believes that government
regulators have received a substantial number of consumer complaints about eBay
which, while small as a percentage of its total transactions, are
large in aggregate numbers. As a result, eBay has from time to time
been contacted by various foreign, federal, state and local regulatory agencies
and been told that they have questions with respect to the adequacy of the
steps eBay takes to protect its users from fraud. eBay is likely to receive
additional inquiries from regulatory agencies in the future, which may lead to
action against it. eBay has responded to all inquiries from regulatory agencies
by describing its current and planned antifraud efforts. If one or more of
these agencies is not satisfied with eBay's response to current or future
inquiries, the resultant investigations and potential fines or other penalties
could harm
eBay
has provided information to the antitrust division of the Department of Justice
in connection with an inquiry into its conduct with respect to "auction
aggregators" including our licensing program and our recently settled
lawsuit against Bidder's Edge. Should the division decide to take action
against eBay, we would likely be harmed by negative publicity, the costs of the
action,
possible
private antitrust lawsuits, the diversion of management time and effort and
penalties we might suffer if we ultimately were not to prevail.
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