If you’re ready to buy a home and don’t mind a little ghoulish bargain-hunting, now is a great time to hit the various foreclosure sites online, reports Reuters.
auctions
Study Says Shoppers "Save" Money On eBay
By 1.29.08
EBay doesn’t share data on bidders’ maximum bid amounts, so it’s always been difficult to quantify whether or not buyers are actually saving money, but a new study has attempted to put hard numbers behind the transactions. The study’s authors use data from bidders who used a specific sniping agent—by measuring what those bidders were willing to pay versus actual winning amounts, they’ve determined that the average winning bid comes in about 30% lower than the maximum amount the buyer was willing to spend.
Archivist Arrested For Stealing Historic Docs To Sell On eBay
By 1.29.08
Daniel Lorello, an archivist with New York’s department of education, was arrested this week and charged with “grand larceny, possession of stolen property and fraud” for allegedly “stealing hundreds of historic documents, many of which he sold on eBay.”
Cruise Ship Art Auctions Scams
By 12.13.07
Here’s a fun scam: buying art at auction on cruise ships. In one case, a woman paid $20,000 for what she thought were high-value Salvadore Dali, but when they got shipped to her, an independent appraiser told her they were worth maybe $700 each. The business is conducted on international waters, so there’s no consumer protection laws to throw you a lifesaver. Consumerama says they’re not even run under real auction rules, but are instead, “coordinated inebriated sales hysteria.”
Gift Idea: Porn Star's Old Breast Implants (Autographed)
By 12.5.07
Mary Carey recently had her crappy 36-D implants replaced with a more suitable set of all-weather steel belted 36-DDDs, and “while under anesthesia she realized [the old implants] could be used to raise money for breast cancer research.” Yes, anesthesia does crazy things like that, we hear. She’s auctioning them off on eBay (up to $210 as of noon today).
How To Not Get Scammed At Live Auctions
By 11.15.07
Should you ever venture into a live auction, you know, gavel, real chairs that you sit in, etc, Consumerama has some tips on auctioneer scams to watch out for. Let’s say the price drops to $300, and three hands shoot up. By law, he’s supposed to just accept one bid at $300 and move on, but:
U.S. Retailers And Police Ask Online Sellers To Help Fight Theft
By 10.26.07
The retail industry claims it loses $30 billion a year from organized retail crime—rings of professional shoplifters who sell their goods at flea markets, pawn shops, and online through auction sites like eBay—so they’re asking online sellers to help by posting serial numbers of products and by providing more information on high-volume sellers. Right now all they can do is ask, but there are politicians in Washington who are making noises about pursuing a legislative solution.
Do Your Thrift Store Shopping Online At ShopGoodwill.com
By 10.22.07
Ebay isn’t the only shopping site revamping its look: Goodwill’s online shopping website, which has been around since 1999, is about to launch a redesigned site that’s cleaner and easier to navigate. Because the only sellers on the site are member organizations of Goodwill Industries International, the selection may not be as big as eBay, but the fraud is minimal as well—and the member pool is large enough to have “posted more than 17,000 items from inventory that includes antiques, collectibles, clothing, electronics, books and musical instruments, which are arranged according to category. “
How To Spot Fake Craigslist And eBay Listings
By 10.12.07
Planning on doing some buying or selling online? Wired offers some tips on how to spot scammers when you’re on eBay or Craigslist.
eBay's Recall Protocol
By 10.2.07
The recall procedure in the U.S. is pretty streamlined by this point, what with all the practice we get. Pretty much every manufacturer or retailer publicizes its recalls as they happen, and the media then pushes it out to the country in news reports, blogs, etc. So what about eBay? How do defective, tainted, cursed, or otherwise unsavory items get the recall treatment in secondary markets? Today eBay announced that it’s working with the CPSC to “educate consumers” on recent recalls to help ensure a safe and successful buying experience online.”
Use Typos To Get eBay Deals All To Yourself
By 5.29.07
Not every eBay seller throughly spellchecks their listings, a little fact you can exploit to buy stuff for cheaper, says Kiplinger’s:
Smack Deal Of The Day
By 11.8.06
Jellyfish’s Smack Deal of the Day goes on at 1pm. It’s like Woot! except a reverse auction: as units sell, the price goes down. The game is to buy the product at the lowest price possible.
Ask The Consumerist: Ebay Laptop, Without The Fraud?
By 10.26.06
“Whatever IT is, you can get IT on Ebay,” goes the promise. Unfortunately for reader Wil, “it” has meant, “almost being scammed.”
eBay Thinks Sandra Bernhard Is A Pirate!
By 9.21.06
How does eBay tell if you’re a pirate? Your peg-legged swagger? Your use of arghs as punctuation? The foul-mouthed parrot crapping on your shoulder?
eBay’s Soviet Style Moderation
By 5.12.06
At first he though it was a phish but it turned out to be for real. Adam’s flawless eBay account was suspended for being “associated” with a previously suspended user.
Better Bidding for Hotel and Airfare
By 5.5.06
A few days ago, we chatted about biddingfortravel.com,an online forum for people to share bidding strategies on travel auction sites like Hotwire and Priceline.
Consumers Speak: iSold Your Stuff on eBay, But All You Got Was This Lousy Experience
By 1.31.06
Reader Ben P. writes with his horrible experiences with the Southern California ‘we sell your stuff on eBay’ chain, iSold.
I’ve sold items on eBay several times before, and while it’s a bit of a hassle, it never overwhelmed me. Late last year though, during a move, I had multiple items I thought would sell well on eBay that I couldn’t justify loading into the Uhaul, and having plenty on my plate with the move, thought I could just drop off at iSold it and wash my hands of the transaction. Their motto is after all: “The Easy Way to Sell on Ebay.”
eBay UK Weighed Down by Scammers
By 12.16.05
eBay UK is getting fraudier, reports the BBC. Crooks aren’t using just the standard, in-system scam, either—selling something they don’t have—but are instead hijacking high-scoring accounts, so better to lure in those who really want to buy a used hot tub.
Adidas told the BBC that it monitored up to 12,000 auctions involving its goods every day on the British site – yet it estimated that up to 40% of all Adidas products available were counterfeit.
It’s an online auction site—there are going to be some scams. Forty percent, however, is somewhat amazing. And if we can’t trust customer ratings, then what does eBay offer that Craigslist does not?
