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http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/news/article.php/2214951
By Beth Cox May 30, 2003 In the course of running my little eBay business, I've come to appreciate the news and insights provided by Ina and David Steiner at AuctionBytes. Their newsletter keeps me up to date on what's happening with the auction giant and with auctions in general. Interestingly enough, what's happening with auctions in general is that online fraud has become such an everyday occurrence that a recent AuctionBytes newsletter carried a paid promo for a contest that is giving away a camera for the best auction fraud story. From the AuctionBytes newsletter:
"Have an auction fraud story you'd like to share? The company's contest asks you to: "Please describe in 500 words or less how you were victimized (or almost victimized) by auction fraud and the lessons you learned. You will be entered to win a Sony Cyber-shot 3.2-Megapixel Digital Camera!" The winning essay will be chosen by a panel of judges including Ina Steiner, editor of AuctionBytes. The winner will be announced at the eDeposit booth at eBay Live on Friday, June 27. "They are advertising in AuctionBytes to make more people aware of their services," Steiner said. "You see so much hoax bidding on certain items, especially celebrity items. One of the aims of the contest is to help them figure out what additional services they could offer for sellers." Privately held eDeposit, founded in 1999, bills itself as a "full-service online financial services company that minimizes fraud while providing deposit, settlement and payment services across the Web." The company lets eBay sellers of high-ticket items use a service called BidDeposit to qualify their bidders by taking deposits up front, protecting sellers from winning auction buyers who would occasionally back out (called deadbeat bidders) or attempt to renegotiate the final pricing/terms during settlement. Clients include Bid4Assets.com, as well as the U.S. Marshal's office, which auctions off seized goods such as boats and cars. eDeposit also offers an Inspect and Pay service that allows a buyer to inspect merchandise before paying for it. And it has a Seller Certification program that gives an authorized seller a medallion to use on their item listing, which offers insurance for the buyer, if necessary, and a mediation program for disputes. They compete with Transrow, among others. What struck me as ironic was just the fact of such a contest. It's like ho hum, another day, another auction fraud. Maybe we'll have an essay contest about it. One of the aims of the contest is to help eDeposit figure out what additional services they could offer for sellers, Steiner said. "I believe in educating people about fraud to help prevent it. I suspect people are using some of our stories to say, if you commit fraud, you're going to get caught, because we do write about convictions." "eDeposit launched this contest to get a feel for what people are going through as far as auction fraud," said Suzanne Elbaum, marketing director for the company. "We felt that this would help us relate to what is going on out there and how to develop products/services to help combat these problems." "They approached me ... and we brainstormed the best approach ... We worked together to fine tune it," Steiner said. "I just hope that it will ultimately entertain people as well as educate them about the dangers of fraud." Steiner said the winning story will be published on the eDeposit site and "we'll link to it or publish the winning story." Ina and David Steiner started AuctionBytes in 1999 as a buyers and sellers guide to online auctions. "It's most unfortunate that someone who writes about the online auction industry is becoming an expert in online fraud," Ina Steiner said. She believes that the level of sophistication (on the part of criminals) is increasing so much that even experienced users are falling for fraud. According to Steiner, "eBay should do a better job at educating consumers, especially new users, on trust and safety issues." |
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