Most people see the need for something like this to happen, the open source idea in the realm of communications. There are things like this happening in all realms of life. People have learned to gather freely (www.welcomehome.org). People have learned to build communities that defy expectations of money and regulations (Christiania). People have come together to build open source software, which defies money and regulations. The internet can be regulated, therefore it is nessesary to go elseware to create what many of use experienced with freenet, bbs, the 'good ol days' of the internet. It was possible for freenets to exist, so it seems to me that this is equally as possible. The technology might change, maybe it won't be 802.xx, but people will come together to communicate freely.
I've used ebay for awhile to buy and sell things. I have had all sorts of varied things happen.
I've been defrauded for 600$ buying a computer that was never shipped. I emailed him and he kept saying that there were problems and that he would get the shipment out to me as soon as possible.
Ebay claimed to be only liable for 175 in
insurance, but since I had waited for him to
fix things they were no longer responsible.
Paypal, who I paid through, claimed that they
weren't responsible.
The credit card company said that since the
offical merchant was paypal, that they
couldn't do anything since paypal offically
did their part.
Eventually I got an email from and FBI agent
saying that a number of people had been taken
for all sorts of money, and that they would
appreciate any information that I could give
them, and that was the last I heard from it.
I've closed a few auctions, and never heard from the person again, sometimes they email me a few times, but they never pay for it, so I never ship it. This leads me to feel that as a ebay seller, I will never ship an item before it is paid for.
I've sent things internationally and then had problems with the shipping companies or with the customs in the countries that I've sent it to, which has lead me to stop selling internationally.
I've had a number of people back out of auctions, saying that they changed their minds. In these cases I try to at least get them to pay for the listing cost of the auction and the fees that ebay charges me for the auction closing. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.
But through all of these thing I still use ebay to buy things and sell thing. I follow some simple rules, which everyone here has already elaborated on (use usps, use credit cards, use escrow if its a high dollar auction).
If people stop using online auctions because they can't trust the sellers or buyers, then it is a real blow to what we geeks feel is possible. The change that online auctions brings, is worth a little hassle as we try to get the kinks worked out. Then then again I always felt that the internet was better before the www and before it was called the internet.. But alas for the good ol' days... when it was all geeks online before geek became THE thing and was no longer geekly... but a business Opportunity.
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Most people see the need for something like this to happen, the open source idea in the realm of communications. There are things like this happening in all realms of life. People have learned to gather freely (www.welcomehome.org). People have learned to build communities that defy expectations of money and regulations (Christiania). People have come together to build open source software, which defies money and regulations. The internet can be regulated, therefore it is nessesary to go elseware to create what many of use experienced with freenet, bbs, the 'good ol days' of the internet. It was possible for freenets to exist, so it seems to me that this is equally as possible. The technology might change, maybe it won't be 802.xx, but people will come together to communicate freely.
I've been defrauded for 600$ buying a computer that was never shipped. I emailed him and he kept saying that there were problems and that he would get the shipment out to me as soon as possible.
I've closed a few auctions, and never heard from the person again, sometimes they email me a few times, but they never pay for it, so I never ship it. This leads me to feel that as a ebay seller, I will never ship an item before it is paid for.I've sent things internationally and then had problems with the shipping companies or with the customs in the countries that I've sent it to, which has lead me to stop selling internationally.
I've had a number of people back out of auctions, saying that they changed their minds. In these cases I try to at least get them to pay for the listing cost of the auction and the fees that ebay charges me for the auction closing. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.
But through all of these thing I still use ebay to buy things and sell thing. I follow some simple rules, which everyone here has already elaborated on (use usps, use credit cards, use escrow if its a high dollar auction).
If people stop using online auctions because they can't trust the sellers or buyers, then it is a real blow to what we geeks feel is possible. The change that online auctions brings, is worth a little hassle as we try to get the kinks worked out. Then then again I always felt that the internet was better before the www and before it was called the internet.. But alas for the good ol' days... when it was all geeks online before geek became THE thing and was no longer geekly... but a business Opportunity.