05-12-2008, 09:04 PM
eBay is a scam.
I've had problems with sellers who are manipulating feedback ratings...I brought it to eBay's attention, and I was actually THREATENED by eBay with "transaction interference."
A seller was selling Swarovski crystal beads, but not delivering. I had looked at the seller's feedback rating, and it "seemed" alright at 99.6%. Because it was so high, I didn't look at the detailed feedback. It was a mistake.
After having a problem with payment with them (they didn't accept PayPal, and you had to go through a third-party system to pay), I tried to contact them, and they didn't respond. As I got frustrated, I started looking into their feedback ratings, and found that the seller was "pumping up" their feedback ratings with bogus purchases of "penny ebooks" and penny recipes. Other people were having problems, and when all was said and done there was about $2000 of purchases that people hadn't received. I contacted other buyers, and we tried to get eBay to do something. However, since the auctions were small...<$25, they were exempt from any rules...and we contacted eBay's Safe Harbor Department.
I discovered a whole underground network of feedback manipulation. One of the penny ebooks being sold even told sellers how to achieve "Power Seller" status by selling phony ebooks. One seller would put them up for sale...then other people would buy them...then they give each other favorable ratings. And after so many sales, the seller becomes a Power Seller.
So I started buying the ebooks, and using the feedback system to warn other buyers of what was happening. I also contacted the credit card processing company that the seller was using, and they shut the seller down. eBay still wouldn't do anything, and threatened to revoke my membership...which had been perfect. They also refused to shut the seller down, and threatened me with a lawsuit if I didn't stop interfering with the seller's ability to do business on eBay. I tried to use their chat boards to get help from other users, and they would shut my chats down within an hour of me posting a question. I had been a good eBay citizen for many years. And now this jerk who was scamming people and getting away with it. After that, I never used eBay again.
Anyway, I've found CL to be great, and the people honest. I've sold my car and gotten more for it than expected, sold exercise equipment, and just this week sold my iBook G4 within 24 hours for what I was asking for it. I've also bought things and paid more than people asked because I felt guilty that they weren't asking enough.
Craigslist ROCKS.
I've had problems with sellers who are manipulating feedback ratings...I brought it to eBay's attention, and I was actually THREATENED by eBay with "transaction interference."
A seller was selling Swarovski crystal beads, but not delivering. I had looked at the seller's feedback rating, and it "seemed" alright at 99.6%. Because it was so high, I didn't look at the detailed feedback. It was a mistake.
After having a problem with payment with them (they didn't accept PayPal, and you had to go through a third-party system to pay), I tried to contact them, and they didn't respond. As I got frustrated, I started looking into their feedback ratings, and found that the seller was "pumping up" their feedback ratings with bogus purchases of "penny ebooks" and penny recipes. Other people were having problems, and when all was said and done there was about $2000 of purchases that people hadn't received. I contacted other buyers, and we tried to get eBay to do something. However, since the auctions were small...<$25, they were exempt from any rules...and we contacted eBay's Safe Harbor Department.
I discovered a whole underground network of feedback manipulation. One of the penny ebooks being sold even told sellers how to achieve "Power Seller" status by selling phony ebooks. One seller would put them up for sale...then other people would buy them...then they give each other favorable ratings. And after so many sales, the seller becomes a Power Seller.
So I started buying the ebooks, and using the feedback system to warn other buyers of what was happening. I also contacted the credit card processing company that the seller was using, and they shut the seller down. eBay still wouldn't do anything, and threatened to revoke my membership...which had been perfect. They also refused to shut the seller down, and threatened me with a lawsuit if I didn't stop interfering with the seller's ability to do business on eBay. I tried to use their chat boards to get help from other users, and they would shut my chats down within an hour of me posting a question. I had been a good eBay citizen for many years. And now this jerk who was scamming people and getting away with it. After that, I never used eBay again.
Anyway, I've found CL to be great, and the people honest. I've sold my car and gotten more for it than expected, sold exercise equipment, and just this week sold my iBook G4 within 24 hours for what I was asking for it. I've also bought things and paid more than people asked because I felt guilty that they weren't asking enough.
Craigslist ROCKS.