Sree's Thoughts on Avoiding Auction Scams
Sunday, April 20, 2003

In the last year, complaints to the FBI about Internet fraud have tripled, with 46 percent of the complaints being about online auctions. An average of $320 was lost because of the scams. So what can you do?

Here are some tips to save you an eBay headache:

DO YOUR HOMEWORK: find out the retail price or market price of the product before you bid. Visit sites like DealTime.com or Froogle.com. Also see Sree's Top Three shopping sites

STUDY THE RATINGS: each buyer and seller has a rating number that is the feedback of people who have done business with them; the higher the better

READ THE FINE PRINT: find out wha are the additional costs for shipping, handling, etc.

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING: make printouts, save all e-mail to and from the other party.

IFCCFBI.GOV: This is the site of the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center.

ECONSUMER.GOV: an excellent site in English and Spanish that helps you make complaints and offers tips.

And here is the link to the eBay help page on "safe trading."