(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)
With the infamous Trade Me art scam in the headlines lately it would be easy for the uninitiated to believe taking part in an online auction is akin to swimming in shark-infested waters.
Take heart gentle reader, it’s not that bad. I mainly use Trade Me for my online buying and selling and have managed to clock up more than 350 trades without being ripped off. In the time I’ve been trading I’ve found some great bargains, made a bit of spare cash and have met some fantastic traders.
Of course, there are plenty of other online auction sites out there apart from Trade Me, including eBay and OneWay. One thing they all have in common is the good old feedback system. This is where you can check out a trader’s prior trades and see just how trustworthy they are.
Unfortunately, some traders are so scared of getting the dreaded retaliatory bad feedback that they’ll post a smiley face good feedback even though they really aren’t happy. This is where you need to do some reading, don’t just look at the total number of good feedbacks, actually read through a few of them to make sure they aren’t actually paranoid negatives.
Another security feature is address verification, where the auction site confirms the traders postal address.
Most of the main sites also offer an escrow service. This is a third-party payment system where you make the payment to the escrow company, which holds your cash until you send notification that you’ve received your goods.
Scambusters played a big part in bringing to light the art scam that made the news but also does a lot of work in the background to protect the innocent.
The site came about after a group of traders was banned from the Trade Me message board last year. The traders had been responsible for starting a series of threads on the board highlighting some of the more dubious auctions.
Trade Me’s administrators took exception to the ever-increasing list and started issuing bans. A year down the track, the Scambusters group has proved its worth many times and has probably been even more effective in exposing scams because the pros and cons of suspect auctions can be discussed without censorship.
Happy birthday Scambusters, and keep up the good work.
STAY SAFE
If buying:
- Check the seller’s feedback
- Look for address verification
- Don’t send cash in the mail
- Don’t post feedback until you have the goods or the payment
- Compare prices to make sure you’re really getting a bargain
If selling:
- Don’t send the goods until the payment arrives
- Ask questions before you bid
- Consider using an escrow service such as Safetrader, especially for more expensive items
- If possible, opt for track and trace shipping