eBay: The Missing Manual

Avoid Scams

Internet fraud is all over the news. And more than 60 percent of online fraud complaints are about online auctions. On the other hand, according to eBay, less than 1 percent of its auctions involve fraud.

Most eBay buyers and sellers are honest; the feedback system soon reveals those who aren't. But the scammers are there. eBay's size makes it easy to hide one fake auction, and the large number of newbies attracted to the site, eager to bid before learning their way around, means a constant supply of new people to con. This section shows you how to avoid becoming one of them.

Note

eBay works hard to shut down scammers on the site. According to Matt Halprin of eBay's Trust & Safety Group, eBay NARU'd over a million accounts in 2004. Not all of those million accounts were scammers, of course; other violations (like moving and forgetting to change your contact info) can result in suspension from the site. And when you consider eBay's gargantuan size, it means more than 99 percent of eBayers do play fair.

eBay finds scammers when other eBayers report them. So if you see anything fishy going on, like one of the scams described in this section, go to Help → Security Center and let eBay know.

Designer Fakes

After five months of buying and examining products sold through eBay, Tiffany & Co. estimated that nearly three-quarters of all Tiffany items sold on eBay are fakes. Burberry contends that the number of sham Burberry items is closer to 90 percent. Whether you're looking for jewelry, ...