Don’t be a Victim of Online Auction Fraud

by Stephen Bucaro

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) reported that last year 7.7 million dollars was lost through online auction scams. The actual losses are much greater. Most auction scams are not reported because they involve only small amounts of money. Most auction Web sites are aggressive at fighting fraud. eBay has a fraud investigation unit that has helped them hold down fraud to only .01% of its transactions. If you paid for an item and never received it, or if you received the item but it was less than what was described, eBay's Fraud Protection Program will reimburse you up to $200, minus a $25 processing charge. In order to qualify for Fraud Protection coverage, you must submit an Online Fraud Complaint with eBay after 30 days and before 60 days from the time the auction ended. After making a purchase, buyers can leave feedback about their experience with the seller. Before you bid on an item, check the seller's feedback profile by clicking on the number next to the their User ID. There is also a feedback forum and discussion board. Below are a few actions that you should take to protect yourself from Internet auction fraud. For a high cost item use an escrow service. Avoid sellers who request payment by electronic transfer. Never provide your Social Security Number or Drivers License Number. Verify the delivery data and the sellers return policy. Review the online feedback on a seller. If the seller is a business, check with the Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org. Prefer sellers who accept credit card payments. When you use a credit card to pay for a purchase, federal law limits your liability for an unauthorized charge to $50. You can also request your credit card issuer to make a charge-back. Be cautious about buying from a seller in another country. If you buy from a seller in another country, understand the difference in laws governing auctions between that country and the US. If you become a victim of Internet auction fraud, you can submit a complaint report with an online form at the IFCC Web site www.ifccfbi.gov. The IFCC will review your complaint and refer it to the proper law enforcement agency. Internet Auction fraud is a large and growing problem. Take the measures outlined above to prevent yourself from becoming a victim. Copyright(C)2004 Bucaro TecHelp. Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is included. Stephen Bucaro To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com. To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit http://bucarotechelp.com/search/000800.asp

How Long Should Your Ebay Auction Run?

by Kirsten Hawkins

When it comes to durations, you have a wide range of choices: your auction can run for 10, 7, 5 or 3 days, or even only one day if you have a good enough feedback rating. There's a reason why you get to choose your duration, and that's because different durations are good for different things. To decide how long you should list your items for, all you need to do is ask yourself a few questions. Do you want to sell things quickly? If you'd rather sell now than in a few days, even if it means losing a little of your profit, then go ahead and choose the shortest duration you can get. If you're the more patient type, on the other hand, you might as well sell slowly. How much is your item worth? Items with a higher price are worth re-listing every 3 days or so using Buy it Now. The fees aren't that big as a percentage of the item's cost, and you'll sell more when you're constantly higher up in the search results. Could your item benefit from competitive bidding? Not every item is going to make bidders get excited and try to outbid each other. If you have items that consistently attract more than five bidders, though, you should always list then for as long as possible, to get the best price you can. People will be quite happy to follow your auction for days, bidding the price higher and higher as they go. What did the seller getting the best price do? Go back to that completed items display, and take a look at which durations the top seller uses the most often. The chances are that what they're doing works. Can you ship quickly? You might find that customers get frustrated if they have to wait for over a week for your auction to end, only to have to wait some more for the item to actually turn up. If you're running auctions with the longest duration, try to have the thing packed and ready to go for posting the day it ends. Is there a rush on? If it's the holiday period, or there's a sudden surge in demand for your particular item, then don't list items for as long as you would usually. It's in your interest to have a quick turnover, then you should be listing for the minimum of one day. How visible do you want to be? You might have noticed that most of the effects caused by varying item durations are basically caused by the fact that, by default, eBay sorts search results so that items ending sooner appear first. Since it's the default, this is the view most people use - meaning that items ending sooner get viewed much more. If you'd like a few more tips about increasing your auction's visibility on eBay, make sure to check out the next email. See you there! About the Author Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

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