Scams on Screen – Let’s do something about it
Many eBayers watched Trevor MacDonald’s “Scams on Screen” program last night with a feeling of dread.
The program focussed on the exploits of a 16 year old fraudster who used eBay to con 84 people out of thousands of pounds by selling non-existent merchandise on eBay.
It’s not so much the misdeeds of one individual that made us feel such great concern, but the impact that this program will have on our eBay trading. Because even though scams on eBay are in the tiny minority, the TV program will inevitably cause “fear, uncertainty and doubt” in people who would otherwise be good customers of our eBay Shops.
What can be done to resolve this growing concern about the safety of buying (or selling) on eBay? It seems that eBay itself is unable to cure the problem – presumably because of the possibility that an admission there is a problem would be seen as bad publicity and therefore detrimental to eBay’s reputation.
So at LinksMultiple we’ve decided to do something positive and will be launching a new service early next year – the “eBay Scammers Register” - on our main website. Our site is primarily focussed on online auctions and eBay in particular, so we’ve already collected a mass of information about trading on eBay, including detailed records of several million transactions and associated feedback.
Key to stamping out fraud is eBay’s feedback system, but many buyers only look at the overall positive rating figure and never look at the details. Soon, we’ll be publishing some key statistics on our website that will show eBay sellers' buy/sell ratio (so you can be sure their reputation is good with buyers, not just gained through a few low-cost purchases).
The statistics will also include a “newness factor” (so you can see if their feedback has been artificially created) along with a “sameness ratio” (so you can check if “friends” have been used to create false feedback). A “respondent reputation” rating will also be shown and this indicates the bona fides of those who have themselves provided feedback.
It would be really helpful for everyone in the eBay community if you would let us have details of any eBay scams you know of – just drop us an email at linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk – with brief details of the scam, the eBay item number and the scammers eBay ID. All your details will be kept in strict confidence.
Let’s work together to keep eBay a good place to do business!
The program focussed on the exploits of a 16 year old fraudster who used eBay to con 84 people out of thousands of pounds by selling non-existent merchandise on eBay.
It’s not so much the misdeeds of one individual that made us feel such great concern, but the impact that this program will have on our eBay trading. Because even though scams on eBay are in the tiny minority, the TV program will inevitably cause “fear, uncertainty and doubt” in people who would otherwise be good customers of our eBay Shops.
What can be done to resolve this growing concern about the safety of buying (or selling) on eBay? It seems that eBay itself is unable to cure the problem – presumably because of the possibility that an admission there is a problem would be seen as bad publicity and therefore detrimental to eBay’s reputation.
So at LinksMultiple we’ve decided to do something positive and will be launching a new service early next year – the “eBay Scammers Register” - on our main website. Our site is primarily focussed on online auctions and eBay in particular, so we’ve already collected a mass of information about trading on eBay, including detailed records of several million transactions and associated feedback.
Key to stamping out fraud is eBay’s feedback system, but many buyers only look at the overall positive rating figure and never look at the details. Soon, we’ll be publishing some key statistics on our website that will show eBay sellers' buy/sell ratio (so you can be sure their reputation is good with buyers, not just gained through a few low-cost purchases).
The statistics will also include a “newness factor” (so you can see if their feedback has been artificially created) along with a “sameness ratio” (so you can check if “friends” have been used to create false feedback). A “respondent reputation” rating will also be shown and this indicates the bona fides of those who have themselves provided feedback.
It would be really helpful for everyone in the eBay community if you would let us have details of any eBay scams you know of – just drop us an email at linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk – with brief details of the scam, the eBay item number and the scammers eBay ID. All your details will be kept in strict confidence.
Let’s work together to keep eBay a good place to do business!
