How To Avoid Auction Fraud
With
the popularity of the Internet auctions there has been a concurrent rise in
complaints of auction related fraud. Much of this fraud could be
avoided if online auction users were better educated on the workings of online auctions, their rights and duties as auction participators, and the precautions necessary to avoid auction fraud.
The following commentary will explore these issues in more depth to
help you feel more comfortable in the wonderful realm of our
auctions. In addition, if you are a first time auction user,
this information will give you the wealth of knowledge needed to
predetermine and eliminate any possible conflict or issues.
Learn as much as you can about the seller
Even
though the sellers that you might be dealing with can come from
different countries, it is still possible to learn and get
more information about them.
Foremost, before bidding on the auction find out the feedback information about its members. At Yabexe.com, in the feedback section, you will see all positive and negative comments from
the previous buyers about the bidders and sellers. If there is positive
feedback described - great. This will encourage you to move forward in
making a deal with that particular seller. If there is, on the other
hand, a negative feedback look for the reason why someone expressed
such opinion. Read all the comments and evaluate the seller.
Though it may take some time for feedback to generate on our site, because of it's young age and the fact that many people just don't bother to leave feedback for a seller, you should take this into consideration during your evaluation. It is more important that a seller does not have negative feedback than it is having no feedback at all.
If a seller is "Verified", as indicated by a special icon awarded by Yabexe, this means that we have verified the basic information provided to us. Name, address, and phone number have all been confirmed. Though not foolproof, it is an indication that the seller lives where they say they do and their phone number is correct. Since this verification costs a monthly fee it is unlikely that they are fraudulent. Most scammers will not pay any type of fee, nor do they provide verifiable information. They simply move on to a less protected site. If they provide a Paypal or Google Checkout method of payment, this is also an added way to ensure honesty, as these programs have their own verification requirements. With Paypal you can actually see if the seller is verified by them.
Once you receive the information from Yabexe.com about the seller, verify
that the phone number is correct and that the name matches the number.
If you were only given the PO Box address, try to get the persons
street address by contacting the seller (by email or by phone). This
will allow you to easier get in contact with the seller if there is a
problem in the future. If the seller provides you with the street
address, this could be an indication that the seller is not trying to
hide or conceal his/her identity for fraudulent purposes.
Learn about the product you are purchasing
Purchasing products online is different then purchasing it in your local store. It gives you the convenience of having products delivered to your door
without spending time to drive to and from shopping malls, trying them
on (clothes, shoes etc.), waiting in cashiers lines and more. On the
other hand, you will need to make sure that you carefully read through
the information provided by the seller and examine the photos of the
product. Assess whether the photograph is the picture of the actual
item that you are buying and does the picture match with picture
published by the original manufacturer. If necessary, request from the
seller more pictures with different angles of the item so that you can
determine the condition of the item and evaluate it better. Write or
email seller if you have additional questions. Save all the
correspondence with the seller, since illegal misrepresentation of the product is against the law and could help you if an issue arises.
As a seller or buyer learn the terms
As
a buyer, you are legally obligated to comply and follow the rules of
the auction. Since the buyers are determining the terms and
conditions of the process, it is very essential that you, as a buyr,
understand those rules before you decide to bid.
As a seller, you need to determine the type of payment you will
accept from the buyer, whether you can
warranty the product, and make sure you provide the terms regarding
the shipping. Make
sure you take extra steps in packaging the product securely and insuring it, if the buyer has paid for insurance.
Some companies (such as UPS) will automatically insure the product for
up to $100.00 value. If the value of the item is greater then that
amount let the buyer know in your listing the cost of additional insurance, just to be safe in case
the product gets damaged during transportation. Majority of the
shipping companies (including United States Postal Service) sell additional insurance for both domestic and international deliveries.
To list your item simply click on the “Sell” link found on the header navigational bar. The listing process is split up into several main sections, notably:
- Category selection
- Item Details
- Auction Settings
- Shipping and Payment
- Listing preview
- Listing confirmation
The listing process is developed in such a way that you are guided through every step seamlessly.
The first part of the process is to choose the category you wish to list your item in, this can be revised at any time by using the “Previous Step” navigation button.
Step two enables you to enter your item title and description, a full wysiwyg editor is in place to enable you to use HTML descriptions.
If you have a voucher code to redeem this can be entered just below the description field.
Moving on to step three, this is the biggest stage of the listing process. On this step you can set the following:-
· Auction type:-
Standard Auction
This is a single quantity auction
Dutch Auction
Dutch auction enables you to list a multiple quantity auction, for example if you have 100 pens to sell you can list all of these together in a single lot. Bidders will be able to select how many they wish to bid for.
· Currency:-
You can select your preferred auction currency using the drop down menu available
· Quantity:-
This field is only active if listing a Dutch auction, please see above for an explanation of this listing type
· Auction Starts At:-
This requires you to enter the minimum bid you are willing to accept, you can also set a reserve price to ensure you do not sell the item for this amount. Please see below for more information on this.
· Reserve Price:-
Enabling a reserve price affectively means you will not sell the item for less than the amount set, for example you can set the start price at 5.00 but only accept winning bids over 50.00, should a bid be placed for 49.99 the item will close without a winner.
· Buy out (if available):-
Buy out allows you to set an amount you are willing to sell the item for – straight out. For example you can set the start price to 10.00 but offer interested parties the option to buy the item immediately for 100.00.
You can also list buy out only auctions, these auctions remove all bidding options meaning the listing can only be purchased for a set amount. To set a buy out only auction you need to set the buy out value to be exactly equal with the start bid.
· Offer-Range (if available):-
You can set a price bracket in which you are willing to consider offers, for example if you set the price brackets from 50.00 to 100.00, interested parties will be able to offer you an amount within these brackets, you can opt whether to accept or decline these offers at any time via the members area.
· Bid increment:-
This option can be used to set your own custom bid increment if preferred.
· Item featuring (if available):-
The following options are available to you (special feature fees may apply), these will highlight your item on site to ensure they reach more visitors:-
§ Home page featured
§ Category featured
§ Bold text
§ Highlighted background
· Set start/end time:-
You can either opt to list your item right away and set a defined number of days for it to be live for or you also have the option to define your own custom start/end time.
· Private Auction:-
Private auction will hide the bidders identity on the item details page
· Image upload:-
To accompany your item you can upload images from your local computer.
· Media upload:-
In addition to images you can also upload media files, please note only .avi/.mpeg/.mov are supported.
· Auto Re-List
For convenience you can opt to have your items automatically re-listed for you, options are available to allow you to select whether the item should be re-listed if sold and how many re-list attempts should be made. You are allowed 1 free relisting.
On the next step you can set your shipping and payment preferences including your shipping rates and available methods of delivery.
Proceeding on, you can then review the listing and make changes if required, please note you can still edit your listing, once live, via the members area.
The final step provides you with listing confirmation. The auction watch features notifies you of newly listed auctions which contain keywords you have chosen. For example if you are looking for a new Digital Camera you could enter in those keywords from within your members area area. Each time a new auction is listed containing those keywords you will be notified via email.
The item watch features lets you keep a close eye on any auction without having to place a bid on it. This feature means you can be kept up to date on how an auction is doing and prepares you to place a winning last minute bid. You can watch any auction by clicking on the “Watch this item” link on any auction page.
If the option is available you can use “Buy Out” to purchase the item immediately without having to place a bid. Some sellers offer such an option which can be used at any time until a bid has been placed over any applicable reserve price.
The “Buy Out” option will appear on the item details page, you will be asked to confirm your intention to buy out the item before the sale is concluded. Buy out’s cannot be retracted.
Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.
To create your account choose the “Register” link on the header navigational bar or use any of the links available on the home page. ALL NEW REGISTRANTS RECEIVE $10 FEES CREDIT.
When registering you will be asked to complete a short form which includes standard information such as your contact details, preferred login credentials etc.
Mandatory fields include:-
· Name
· City
· State/Province/county
· Zip/Post Code
· Phone Number
· Birthday
· Username & Password Note: Using domain extensions as part of your username is not allowed!
· E-Mail address (Note: Many "freemail" services are blocked)
· Confirmation of terms and conditions acceptance
Once registered you will receive email confirmation.
Should you encounter any registration difficulties please contact us.
Placing a bid on an item you are interested in couldn’t be easier.
When viewing the item details page you will have two areas from where you can place your bid, one next to the item details and a second at the bottom of the page.
To place your bid simply enter the amount you wish to bid, e.g. 50.00. Please note no currency symbols are required. The bid will be placed in the auction currency.
Once done you will be asked to review your bid and you will also be able to view vital item details such as the shipping conditions before confirming your bid. To submit your bid simply press the “Place Bid” button.
If your bid is high enough to take the lead in the auction a confirmation message will be displayed to you, however if your bid has not taken the lead, be it due to a higher proxy bid or not meeting the reserve price you will be invited to make a further bid.
Should you decide to retract your bid this can be done via the “Current Bids” section of the member’s area.
You can also place a proxy bid, proxy bidding allows you to place your “High Bid”. At all times you will only pay the lowest required bid should you win the auction. For example, if the current bid on an auction is 500.00 you can place a proxy bid of 2,000.00. Should you remain the only bidder you will only pay 500.00. However should the item receive other bids the site will automatically re-bid for you (up to 2,000 in this scenario) to ensure you remain in the lead.
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