"The eBay Effect"
So, I saw a CNBC special titled that a couple of nights ago...it was interesting, to say the least.
But, I did not get the sense of "eBay doing wrong", which I felt CNBC wanted me to feel like they were doing. Instead, I learned three things...
1. S*** happens.
They constantly talked about how there is fraud going on throughout eBay...duh!! You know that Far Side comic that depicts God making a cake that bears quite the resemblance to the world, and he takes a canister labelled "Jerks", and thinks to himself "And *just* to make it interesting..."? I think that sums it all up perfectly here.
2. Don't ever buy electronics on eBay.
Admittedly, I bought my Gigabeat/"Stanley"/MP3 player from an eBay seller...but I made sure to do my research and be careful. AND chances are that that will be the only eBay-bought electronic ever in my possession.
Contrary to how CNBC acted, fraud involving electronics on the Bay is absolutely nothing new or original...even in that wonderful word of junk e-mail. Every single fake eBay spam mail I get often mentions a camera or stereo in the subject, as I am able to see thanks to my MailWasher spam blocker.
and
3. Read the ENTIRE auction before you know what you are getting into.
And when I say the ENTIRE auction, I mean the seller's feedback too. If I had to choose one buyer's case on the CNBC special that killed me the most, it was this dude in Biloxi who bought a silver chain necklace on eBay for his wife. Yes, it sounds touching, until you not only find out that the chain arrived broken, BUT ALSO that apparently, the guy did not read the seller's feedback (which was chock full of negatives) until it was absolutely too late. I'm sorry, but I find it absolutely arduous to be sympathetic to someone ding-dongy enough to not at least read the feedback, or hell, not even notice the feedback being well below 98-100%. The seller feedback is one of the first things you see on the auction listing for a reason, people.
And for all we know, the seller *could* have cited that the chain was broken...a possibility I'm certainly not leaving out, since chances are pretty good that the buyer did not read the entire auction. It's the way I would bet, anyway.
But I think my dad, who was also watching the special, put it best when he said something that makes for a great closer:
"I think eBay is not a victim of anything, other than their own success."
Current Music: "Only Tomorrow Knows" by Dave Koz and Evan Rogers
So, I saw a CNBC special titled that a couple of nights ago...it was interesting, to say the least.
But, I did not get the sense of "eBay doing wrong", which I felt CNBC wanted me to feel like they were doing. Instead, I learned three things...
1. S*** happens.
They constantly talked about how there is fraud going on throughout eBay...duh!! You know that Far Side comic that depicts God making a cake that bears quite the resemblance to the world, and he takes a canister labelled "Jerks", and thinks to himself "And *just* to make it interesting..."? I think that sums it all up perfectly here.
2. Don't ever buy electronics on eBay.
Admittedly, I bought my Gigabeat/"Stanley"/MP3 player from an eBay seller...but I made sure to do my research and be careful. AND chances are that that will be the only eBay-bought electronic ever in my possession.
Contrary to how CNBC acted, fraud involving electronics on the Bay is absolutely nothing new or original...even in that wonderful word of junk e-mail. Every single fake eBay spam mail I get often mentions a camera or stereo in the subject, as I am able to see thanks to my MailWasher spam blocker.
and
3. Read the ENTIRE auction before you know what you are getting into.
And when I say the ENTIRE auction, I mean the seller's feedback too. If I had to choose one buyer's case on the CNBC special that killed me the most, it was this dude in Biloxi who bought a silver chain necklace on eBay for his wife. Yes, it sounds touching, until you not only find out that the chain arrived broken, BUT ALSO that apparently, the guy did not read the seller's feedback (which was chock full of negatives) until it was absolutely too late. I'm sorry, but I find it absolutely arduous to be sympathetic to someone ding-dongy enough to not at least read the feedback, or hell, not even notice the feedback being well below 98-100%. The seller feedback is one of the first things you see on the auction listing for a reason, people.
And for all we know, the seller *could* have cited that the chain was broken...a possibility I'm certainly not leaving out, since chances are pretty good that the buyer did not read the entire auction. It's the way I would bet, anyway.
But I think my dad, who was also watching the special, put it best when he said something that makes for a great closer:
"I think eBay is not a victim of anything, other than their own success."
Current Music: "Only Tomorrow Knows" by Dave Koz and Evan Rogers
posted by Stormbringer at 8/30/2006 12:42:00 PM
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