e-Bay Purchases

     Just about everybody has bought something from e-Bay at sometime or another and most of the time everything goes well and there are no complaints. My last purchase was a vintage Soviet chess clock from a seller in Latvia and there were no problems at all. But, things do happen. A couple of years ago my wife made her first ever e-Bay purchase: a clarinet. She received it in about a week and was well-satisfied with the instrument and the service. Shortly after that she got an e-mail allegedly from e-Bay concerning payment for her purchase and  was instructed to contact them because they needed additional information.  It was obviously a crude phishing attempt by some retard. Still, if you send enough e-mails I suppose somebody will bite.
     As a buyer, researchers at New York University suggest being careful what you order from eBay. They discovered a privacy flaw where a user, who doesn't even need to be logged in, can visit someone's “feedback as a buyer” page and view the buyer's complete purchase history. This might not be anything of interest, but then again, depending on what you purchased, you may not want people snooping around and finding out you purchased Porn Star Erection Cream or several pairs of Men's Sexy Soft Underwear Boxer Briefs with Bulge Pouch. Read the Consumer Affairs article.     
     It's good news for buyers, but not for sellers: According to an August 25th post in e-Commerce Bytes a seller filed a class action lawsuit against e-Bay and PayPal for, among other things, Breach of Contract and Unfair Business Practices, alleging that e-Bay has created a "buyer always wins" policy to the detriment of sellers, and touching upon several e-Bay and PayPal practices that are commonly criticized by sellers. 
     The lawsuit alleges e-Bay fails to refund 100 percent of sellers' fees when a transaction is not completed, and alleges that PayPal deprives sellers access to their money by placing 21-day holds and reserves on sellers funds. The lawsuit also alleges that e-Bay forces buyers to bring their disputes with sellers into the e-Bay Resolution Center rather than allowing the buyer to settle his or her dispute directly with the seller, and it alleges that this practice adversely affects sellers' Detailed Seller Ratings. Read complete article.  

e-Commerce Times sellers discuss their problems with e-Bay 
In February e-Bay sellers were notified of a class action lawsuit settlement...HERE 

Risks e-Bay Buyers Face 
    Fraud 
    Counterfeit goods 
    Junk and gimmick goods 
    Misunderstandings and unmet expectations 
    Unwarranted and "as is" purchases 
    Overpaying 
    Unwittingly illegal purchases 
    Shipping damage 
    Long delays, customs issues, and other international issues 
    Identity theft through phishes and spoofs 

e-Bay Scams from ScamBusters 
HoaxSlayer e-Bay Scams 
WikiHow – How to avoid getting scammed on e-Bay 
StumbleForward – e-Bay Scams