Ebids Future? Safety, Security

[donkeyote]

Great idea!
Why doesn't ebid be the first totally secure online auction by being escrow only?

I have to say I think it's a good idea too, to make the entire site escrow only, with all payments going through PPPay.com. I realise this might be problematic for some people, but I think the benefits to the majority would be worth it - i.e. almost zero fraud and vastly increased sales for us all. Then Ebay would at last have a competitor that could give them a run for their money.

Ebid are always keen to improve their service - look at how the site's evolved over the past five years, and always for the better. I can't remember ever seeing Gaz and Mark refusing to change something if enough people thought it would make the site better, whereas you wouldn't even bother asking Ebay to change anything - you know they just aren't interested in what us mere mortals think about them.
That's why Ebid will win out in the end. Watch this space!

[nobrassband]

I am not convinced that compulsory escrow is necessary for low value items. I seem to recall past horror stories on eBid about escrow from a seller's perspective. As far as payment methods are concerned: forcing people to use one particular payment method would be counter-productive. I used to offer, on eBay and here, Nochex, PPPay and Fastpay, in addition to PayPal and UK cheques/PO. Fastpay died and I might have had one Nochex buyer, and perhaps one PPPay, that's including eBay not just eBid. Now I offer only PayPal, UK cheques/PO, direct bank transfer and Egg Pay. PayPal still comes out as the favourite. eBay allows mutliple payment options (whilst plugging PayPal, of course).

[ropegg]

Great idea!
Why doesn't ebid be the first totally secure online auction by being escrow only?

I have to say I think it's a good idea too, to make the entire site escrow only, with all payments going through PPPay.com. I realise this might be problematic for some people, but I think the benefits to the majority would be worth it - i.e. almost zero fraud and vastly increased sales for us all. Then Ebay would at last have a competitor that could give them a run for their money.

I do not know anything about using escrow but I think people in general do not like having only one option.

Maybe things will need to be different for the different sites but I think on the US site newbies would not accept being forced to use escrow through PPPay.com as a lot of them are not that familiar with escrow and many will have never even heard of PPPay.com. The first I heard of PPPay.com was after I became an eBid member and started looking things over.

I feel like if new sellers or buyers realize the only option they have to receive payment or pay for an item is through escrow it may scare them away, especially if they have never used escrow before.

I have never used escrow and if buyers that have purchased from me on the feepay site come to my site on eBid (which I am trying to lead them to) I would like for them to be able to pay me just the way they have in the past with Paypal, check or money order.

I think escrow may be a good option for some but I would like to see it remain an option and not compulsory.

If the option is available to be used in eBid listings and the seller has not made the option available in their listing, couldn't a prospective bidder tell the seller they are interested but only if they will accept escrow? Then it is up to the seller if they want to really make the sale.

[jarremachine]

Escrow payments by PPPay.com will afford you the protection you wish. Money held in thirdparty until goods have arrived and the goods have been inspected.

I could not be entirely happy with that arrangement, because as an experienced seller on t'other side (over a 1000 sales!), one tends to get their fair share of morons e.g.

"It's not the colour I expected"
"It doesn't fit me"
"I thought it would come in a presentation box!" (That was for a wooden bamboo back scratcher! )

So what happens if the customer is being difficult, fussy?? Will the seller get their goods back in the same condition as they sent it???

Now Escrow payments by PPPay.com might afford a level of security for the buyer, but it offers nothing for a seller and I for one would not trust whingy, whiney customers who expect gold plated packageing finished off with a scarlet velvet ribbon tied in a bow

I'm afraid it's gonna be Paypal, Cheques & Postal Orders for me as a seller AND a buyer!

[jarpet21]

#14 I have to agree. I am both a seller and a buyer. Until now I have never had any problems with sellers who I have purchased from. As a buyer I am able to look at a sellers feedback and decide if I want to buy from them or not. Please everybody remember that there are problem buyers also. I would be extremely concerned if I had to rely on the buyer agreeing that they are happy with the goods. I don't know much about Escrow but what would happen if the buyer said they were not happy and didn't return the goods or the goods got lost on the return journey - would the seller loose everything? Would the buyer even be bothered to return the item? After all it is not their goods and they haven't even paid for them so why should they be bothered if you get it back or not?? Would they fill out a certificate of posting and put in a claim for you so that you don't loose everything if the parcel should get lost on its return journey? Now as a buyer if I needed the item to be returned safely to get my money back then that is another matter - I would make sure it was returned. These are things that need to be thought about. Also all other internet businesses require payment up front. You wouldn't see shops like m&s sending out goods and then only agreeing to you paying for them if you are happy. You still have to pay up front and then if you are not happy you have to send the goods back. Only then do you get a refund. This is how most internet business sellers currently operate now so to impose further terms to me would be unfair.

[jarremachine]

Also all other internet businesses require payment up front. You wouldn't see shops like m&s sending out goods and then only agreeing to you paying for them if you are happy. You still have to pay up front and then if you are not happy you have to send the goods back. Only then do you get a refund. This is how most internet business sellers currently operate now so to impose further terms to me would be unfair.

I agree, and it will most certainly be left open to abuse for the Non Paying Bidders

As jarpet21 says, "dosh upfront first mate"

[rainbowcraft]

I've never used Escrow, and I don't intend to start using it either. I hope my FB and general reputation as an online seller is enough to encourage people to trust me with their money...

[brassedoff]

I don’t think that the suggestion to make escrow compulsory would be allowed, no more than feepay can force you to use paypal, or as they are attempting at the moment not to use other methods of payment, after-all they are only a venue.

There is a Happy Hour auction today for a PSP from a zero rated member, now I don’t know about you but I would feel a lot happier and probably bid if Escrow was accepted. I would know that if no item ever showed up I would at least get my money back if it was an attempt at a scam. Otherwise there is no chance of me bidding.

agree, and it will most certainly be left open to abuse for the Non Paying Bidders

But it would cost them to return the item, remember an unsatisfied buyer has to return the item via track & trace at their expense not the sellers, also the cost of using pppay escrow in the first place is born by the buyer not the seller.

PPPay's Escrow FAQ https://www.pppay.com/help_centre.php?mo=escrow

[cmc_entertainment]

There is a Happy Hour auction today for a PSP from a zero rated member, now I don’t know about you but I would feel a lot happier and probably bid if Escrow was accepted. I would know that if no item ever showed up I would at least get my money back if it was an attempt at a scam. Otherwise there is no chance of me bidding.

G&M should have a system in place so that yoiu can only have a fronpage/happy hour auction untill you have at least a 10+ feedback and be AV ????

[donkeyote]

#14 I have to agree. I am both a seller and a buyer. Until now I have never had any problems with sellers who I have purchased from. As a buyer I am able to look at a sellers feedback and decide if I want to buy from them or not.

But this doesn't help you when a seller has zero feedback. It also doesn't help if a seller has ten or twenty feedbacks for low cost items, and then lists a laptop that you want to bid on.

Please everybody remember that there are problem buyers also. I would be extremely concerned if I had to rely on the buyer agreeing that they are happy with the goods. I don't know much about Escrow but what would happen if the buyer said they were not happy and didn't return the goods or the goods got lost on the return journey - would the seller loose everything?

Obviously not. If the buyer keeps the goods, then the seller gets the escrow money!
It's much easier for a fraudulent seller to make money by listing tens of expensive items and never supplying them, before their negative feedback catches them up, than it is for a fraudulent buyer to buy thousands of pounds worth of goods, and then say they don't like them, and even then they can't get the escrow money back!
There is no way (that I can see) for buyers to defraud sellers just because of escrow. The money goes into the seller's account as soon as the Recorded/Special Delivery item has officially been delivered. (I think this is bit too soon personally, I think the buyer should have five days to release the money to the seller (after the seller has entered the tracking number into PPPay.com) and then the money would be automatically released if the buyer hadn't released it themselves, nor complained that the goods hadn't been received.

Would the buyer even be bothered to return the item? After all it is not their goods and they haven't even paid for them so why should they be bothered if you get it back or not??

Escrow doesn't work like that. They can't get their money back unless you haven't sent the goods, or the goods are not what you said they were, and this is all up to PPPay.com support to decide.

Would they fill out a certificate of posting and put in a claim for you so that you don't loose everything if the parcel should get lost on its return journey? Now as a buyer if I needed the item to be returned safely to get my money back then that is another matter - I would make sure it was returned. These are things that need to be thought about.

None of these problems can occur with escrow.

Also all other internet businesses require payment up front. You wouldn't see shops like m&s sending out goods and then only agreeing to you paying for them if you are happy. You still have to pay up front and then if you are not happy you have to send the goods back. Only then do you get a refund. This is how most internet business sellers currently operate now so to impose further terms to me would be unfair.

It isn't unfair at all. Ebid is currently not working very well. The number of sales is tiny compared to Ebay. Ebay offer fraud protection. Ebid do not. But they do tell you to use escrow. Escrow protects you far more than Ebay's fraud protection does.
If buyers have an option to view only escrow auctions, then fraudulent sellers won't bother listing any more - as they can't con anybody.

Fraudulent buyers will have almost zero chance of ever succeeding in stealing goods from a seller - how could they possibly do this if the money is in escrow? And how would this situation be any different from if they paid in the conventional way, without escrow?

Every time I've suggested promoting escrow on Ebid, somebody always comes up with objections to it, that simply don't exist!
Imagine if when newcomers came to Ebid, they knew that it wasn't possible for them to lose their money, whether they were bidding on a laptop from a zero feedback seller, or a £2.00 CD. Can you imagine how many more sales we'd get, and thus how many more people would move to Ebid from Ebay, and we'd all save huge amounts of money, and get far better service to boot?

Perhaps somebody else can explain why they think there are so few buyers on here, apart from lack of trust of sellers. That's the only reason I can see for it.
There are always loads of expensive items from sellers with zero feedback. I'm sure many of those sellers are genuine, but how is a newcomer to know this, if they don't offer escrow?

I think that making the entire site escrow only, and putting Ebid in charge of the money, would hugely increase buyers' confidence. After all, how many people would feel safer paying money to a random seller with zero feedback on any auction site, compared to buying from, say, Amazon? It's not as if Amazon are going to run off with my £300 for a laptop, are they? But an unknown seller may well do.

It's fraudulent sellers that are the main problem on all auction sites, not fraudulent buyers. Escrow solves this problem, practically 99.9%.