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!

Launch of LinkSysMat - Auction Analysis

At LinksMultiple, we've been building an archive of pricing information based on online auctions for the past several months. During that time over 100,000 visitors have used this information to check on what makes a great bargain and what price they should bid at.

So we decided to expand the archives and to build some analysis tools that will help buyers and sellers check on description and pricing data for items previously for sale at the world's largest online auctions.

The LinkSysMat tools help you to analyse highest, lowest and median prices across a whole range of categories - from car and motorcycle accessories right through to toys and games.

If you're a seller, using the graphical and statistical results from LinkSysMat will indicate the likely effect on sales volumes for given changes in price. This information will help you to set your pricing at a level which maximises sales and minimises costs assosiated with re-listing your items.

If you're a buyer, the same information can be used to help set your maximum bidding level and also to check the frequency and volume of listings for the specific items or category of item that you want to buy.

Take a look at our main website and visit the "Value an Item" and "Best Bargain" sections where you can use Google to search a sample extract of half a million auctioned items and prices which come from our main database containing over 5 million items.

What’s the Hype with Skype?

What’s the Hype with Skype?

VOIP (otherwise known as Voice over Internet Protocol) isn’t a new technology – it’s been around for over 10 years now and still hasn’t taken over the traditional telcos virtual monopoly on voice communications either by landline or by wireless networks.

So why is eBay so pleased to have acquired Skype recently?

Meg Whitman is quoted as saying, "In the end, the price that anyone can provide for voice transmission on the Net will tend toward zero." Is this a direct attack by eBay on the world’s major telcos?

Well probably not, because the value to eBay from using the Skype technology comes through leveraging their user’s ability to make and close deals quickly and at the last minute – not to make charges for using the “eBayphone”.

Many of eBay’s investors are apparently questioning the logic behind Whitman’s acquisition of Skype and are apparently viewing the move as an attempt to move into the traditional telcos’ territory. But they’ve missed the point – because eBay probably plans to stick to its’ core business of online auctions, but can massively leverage it’s position against potential competition by “bundling” VOIP services as part of the overall customer retention package.

Smart move Meg!

New Archive Category Launched

We found our original "Value an Item" archive so popular with visitors that we've decided to launch a new service - "Best Bargains".

Based on the same concept of recording description and pricing information, "Best Bargains" uses Google search facilities so you can see what items that you might want to buy (or sell) are a good deal.

Why would anyone want to use our archives instead of eBay's own historical information? Well, unless you're already a registered eBay user, you can't access completed items on eBay, so it's not easy to figure out what any current item is likely to sell for.

And that information is especially useful if you want to use one of the new "Bid Sniping" tools that are becoming so popular because they automate the process of bidding at the last second. Very handy if you don't want to stay up all night waiting for that international auction to finish!

What do you Think of Skype?

eBay has recently bought Skype, the leading VOIP (voice over internet protocol) service company.

VOIP has been around for a good many years and allows telephone communication without actually using a telephone, but using your computer connected to the internet instead.

So what does this mean for eBay users? Well, apparently in the US, eBay links around 150 million buyers and sellers and they send 5 millions emails to each other every day.

Wouldn’t it be good if instead of just relying on emails for the buyer to ask questions and get replies from the seller you could get in touch immediately by voice using Skype.

That sounds a great idea, although many people prefer email because it means they can respond when it’s convenient for them. Now, the immediacy of communication facilitated by Skype may put these sellers at a disadvantage compared with those sellers who are prepared to take eBay Skype calls at any time.

But with the ever-increasing global trade made possible by eBay, be prepared to have your sleep disturbed when that important buyer calls from Hong Kong at 3am your time!