An example of eBay insanity
The eBay monopoly has lead to a startling drop in customer service and in fact a startling drop in everything except a maniacal vigilance instituting harsh rules to eliminate so-called "fee avoidance".
The following is a typical example: I own the original art to Hostage. In August of 2003 an ebay user listed an auction claiming to be selling this piece of art. I tried to contact eBay, but that is nearly impossible these days. I filled out their silly forms to report things but nothing was done and I was never contacted. Wanting to inform others of the scam I posted in their forum pointing out that the seller was selling something I own and asking what I could do about it. Ebay finally took some action: They threatened to ban me for warning people. Here is what they wrote, and keep in mind this is the sum total of all action they took on this issue, they did nothing to stop the fraud and made informing people about the fraud impossible. And looking at auctions-100's feedback now it seems he successfully burned somebody, something that wouldn't have happened had eBay cared when I reported the criminal user. Clearly they like a high priced fruad because they get their listing fee, which is ALL they care about anymore. And in fact if you getting burned means they get their fee, then they're apparently all to happy to see you suffer. Here is the email I got from eBayk, their only action on this frauder (at least by September 2003):
> Recently we became aware that your eBay
> registered account was involved in the following activity:
>
> Posting auction reports or member violations.
>
> We realize that you may not have been aware there was a
> rule against this activity. Therefore, we would like to take this
> opportunity to invite you to review our site policies, which can
> be found at:
>
> http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-board.html
>
> Please understand our goal is to help you understand our
> policies to ensure successful experiences at eBay. Therefore,
> we respectfully request that you refrain from this activity in the
> future to avoid the possibility of a suspension of your eBay
> registration.
>
> Thank you for your cooperation in this important matter.