Most of the tens of millions of items listed for sale on eBay are legitimate offerings from legitimate sellers. But as with anything, there will be the exceptions, and one of those involves a novel way of abusing eBay's "reputation" system. That's the method under which buyers and sellers rate each other.
John Morgan, a professor at the University of California Berkeley business school, found some users on eBay were artificially inflating their reputation scores via transactions designed only to serve that purpose. He explains how it works, and what eBay might do about it.
This is a most read http://www.startupjournal.com/ecommerce/ecommerce/20061222-gomes.html?refresh=on
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
eBay Seller Sentenced to 6.5 Years for Superbowl Ticket Scam
A Massachusetts man was sentenced in federal court on Thursday on wire and mail fraud charges for a scheme in which he advertised Superbowl tickets over the Internet, collected approximately $255,000 from customers, and then never provided either the tickets or refunds, according to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Peter Zegarac, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in New England, announced that MICHAEL R. DEPPE, age 20, of Hudson, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV, to 6 years and 6 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. DEPPE was also ordered to pay a $12,500 fine as well as $520,000 in restitution to his victims. The Court also ordered DEPPE to forfeit $370,000, including the $11,000 in cash that was found in his residence at the time of his arrest. Following a seven-day trial, on May 2, 2006, a jury convicted DEPPE of 3 counts of Wire Fraud and 2 counts of Mail Fraud.
Read more http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m12/i22/s02
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Peter Zegarac, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in New England, announced that MICHAEL R. DEPPE, age 20, of Hudson, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV, to 6 years and 6 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. DEPPE was also ordered to pay a $12,500 fine as well as $520,000 in restitution to his victims. The Court also ordered DEPPE to forfeit $370,000, including the $11,000 in cash that was found in his residence at the time of his arrest. Following a seven-day trial, on May 2, 2006, a jury convicted DEPPE of 3 counts of Wire Fraud and 2 counts of Mail Fraud.
Read more http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m12/i22/s02
Top 30 celebrity eBay auctions of 2006
As any dedicated stalker celeb-fan knows, eBay is fertile ground for getting a piece of the stars. Not literally a piece, obviously. That's not allowed. But anyway, Bayraider has spent the year tracking the hottest celebrity tat on eBay, and today it's announced the top 30 items this year.
A balloon-art Borat, Syd Barrett's Christmas tree, Paris Hilton's knickers, Marvin Gaye's smoking jacket, Mick Hucknall's wireless hi-fi... and many many more. It's a feast. And you can read the whole thing by clicking here.
A balloon-art Borat, Syd Barrett's Christmas tree, Paris Hilton's knickers, Marvin Gaye's smoking jacket, Mick Hucknall's wireless hi-fi... and many many more. It's a feast. And you can read the whole thing by clicking here.
eBay Objects to Tiffany's Evidence in Counterfeiting Lawsuit
When Tiffany & Co. sued eBay in 2004, it said 73% of items purchased on eBay in a study it conducted were counterfeit. eBay wants the testimony of Tiffany's expert excluded due to the methodology in coming up with those statistics.
On October 6, 2006, eBay filed a motion in limine (http://digbig.com/4qknn) to exclude the proposed expert testimony of George Mantis, a survey expert hired by Tiffany to design random buying programs for the purchase of Tiffany silver merchandise on eBay.
Read more http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m12/i22/s03
On October 6, 2006, eBay filed a motion in limine (http://digbig.com/4qknn) to exclude the proposed expert testimony of George Mantis, a survey expert hired by Tiffany to design random buying programs for the purchase of Tiffany silver merchandise on eBay.
Read more http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m12/i22/s03
Man accused of stealing computers and selling it on Ebay
A Lake Ann man was arrested for selling two stolen computers to police through the popular Internet auction site eBay.
Michael Lee Johns, 24, faces two felony charges after police said he stole two computers from Interlochen Center for the Arts, where he was hired as an independent contractor to install dozens of computers throughout campus.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins said an Interlochen employee checked a list to make sure all of the computers were installed and discovered two missing machines.
Read more http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/dec/23theft.htm
Michael Lee Johns, 24, faces two felony charges after police said he stole two computers from Interlochen Center for the Arts, where he was hired as an independent contractor to install dozens of computers throughout campus.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins said an Interlochen employee checked a list to make sure all of the computers were installed and discovered two missing machines.
Read more http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/dec/23theft.htm
Welsh Ebay counterfeiter jailed
husband who spent £920 on 10 pieces of toast covered in Marmite on eBay has been jailed... for selling counterfeit goods on the same website.
Wayne Withers was featured in the Echo earlier this month for buying the toast, described as a unique art piece depicting portraits of famous people, through the auction site eBay for his wife's Christmas present.
Read more http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/southwalesecho/news/tm_headline=welsh-ebay-counterfeiter-jailed&method=full&objectid=18320392&siteid=50082-name_page.html
Wayne Withers was featured in the Echo earlier this month for buying the toast, described as a unique art piece depicting portraits of famous people, through the auction site eBay for his wife's Christmas present.
Read more http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/southwalesecho/news/tm_headline=welsh-ebay-counterfeiter-jailed&method=full&objectid=18320392&siteid=50082-name_page.html
Shoppers not sold on eBay Express
Ebay Inc. is trying to woo online shoppers with its new eBay Express Web site. But it's been a tough sell.Earlier this year, Shelley Mitchell enthusiastically signed up to the eBay Express site launched in April.
The Hollywood, Fla., resident was already selling vintage punk clothes on eBay's main site at a Web page called Addicted to Rockabilly and Punk. The main site lets people sell merchandise either through an auction process or at a fixed price with a feature called "Buy It Now," but eBay Express lists only fixed-price items, to appeal to online shoppers who aren't comfortable bidding on items from a stranger.
Read more http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-ebay1225,0,2193425.story?coll=bal-business-headlines
The Hollywood, Fla., resident was already selling vintage punk clothes on eBay's main site at a Web page called Addicted to Rockabilly and Punk. The main site lets people sell merchandise either through an auction process or at a fixed price with a feature called "Buy It Now," but eBay Express lists only fixed-price items, to appeal to online shoppers who aren't comfortable bidding on items from a stranger.
Read more http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-ebay1225,0,2193425.story?coll=bal-business-headlines
I'm Dreaming of a White... PS3?
So what happens when you have plenty of time on your hands along with a background in painting car bodies? You take a PlayStation 3, repaint it, and auction it off of course.
Michal Birecki over at PS3center.net saw that the prices for PS3s have plummeted over at eBay (most of them are going for just a little over cost including taxes), so he decided to make his PS3 a little more "special" to help attract bids.
Using the skills that he learned from his dad who owns a body shop in Montreal, Canada, Michal disassembled his PS3 and repainted it a glossy white with a mirror finish. Even the wireless controller couldn't escape the airbrush as it too is covered in glossy white.
As of now, the auction for the white PS3 is up to $1,225 USD. It looks like the customization trick is working quite well so far.
Michal Birecki over at PS3center.net saw that the prices for PS3s have plummeted over at eBay (most of them are going for just a little over cost including taxes), so he decided to make his PS3 a little more "special" to help attract bids.
Using the skills that he learned from his dad who owns a body shop in Montreal, Canada, Michal disassembled his PS3 and repainted it a glossy white with a mirror finish. Even the wireless controller couldn't escape the airbrush as it too is covered in glossy white.
As of now, the auction for the white PS3 is up to $1,225 USD. It looks like the customization trick is working quite well so far.
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