Most of the time, online auctions go very smoothly without a single hiccup for seller or buyer — the payment is transferred quickly, the item is shipped right away and received in good time with no damage, and everyone’s happy. However, a small percentage of the time, things can go wrong. Usually it’s circumstances that are out of anyone’s control — maybe the item got damaged in transit or even lost completely. Sometimes the buyer or seller isn’t as understanding as they could be when things go wrong.

Occasionally, when things go haywire in an auction, the causes aren’t necessarily happenstance. If you love to shop online, you need to be aware that there are people out there who aren’t so nice — scammers — who want to steal your money. In the anonymous world of the Internet it can be easy for someone to do so if they have a rip-off plan in mind and if the shopper isn’t in the know.

This might sound harsh and even paranoia-inducing, but don’t let it scare you away; as I said before, online auction scams are rare. The fact is — scams do happen, and it’s best to know how to recognize the warning signs.

Most online auctions sites have very detailed failsafe policies to deal with scams. This is why scammers often try to arrange payment details etc. outside of the auction site. As soon as you leave an auction site’s interface, you are no longer protected. This does not count transferring money to someone via an online payment site like PayPal; usually auction sites have the PayPal option built in to their interface and you can be directed to PayPal and back to complete your transaction. PayPal is very safe and also has stringent protection policies in place for its buyers and sellers — it should always be your first choice as a payment method for all online purchases.

If you bid on an item and lose the auction, only to have the seller contact you via email and claim that the winner has backed out and that the item is now yours to purchase, make sure to go back to the auction and make sure that it’s been relisted. If it hasn’t, whatever you do — don’t send the seller any money, no matter how badly you want it. You should actually never purchase an item via online auction unless you can physically do so through the site’s interface. There is no regulation and no protection on purchases done via email. Never, ever give out any personal banking information via email.

Make sure that an auction includes lots of details about the product and some clear photographs as well. A good seller will provide almost more information than you need in an auction, and will answer any questions you have promptly. Avoid auctions that are vague, don’t include photos, or are for amorphous items like a miracle cure or a weight-loss product.

All sellers on Mommy Auctions are just starting out and haven’t amassed a substantial amount of feedback yet. Make sure to ask these sellers lots of questions about their product and take note of how they answer you — do they answer quickly and with sufficient detail? If they are a seasoned seller and have lots of feedback, go through their feedback carefully before making a bid. Think twice if there are several negative feedback entries indicating that they shipped slowly, charged too much for shipping, sent an item that was not as described, didn’t respond to emails indicating that an item hadn’t arrived, etc.

A trustworthy seller will offer their email address (and sometimes their phone number) in the auction details. Communication is key. The more intent the seller is on making sure you as the customer are satisfied, the more likely s/he is going to be safe to deal with.

It’s also vitally important to read all details provided on an auction — including the fine print. An auction for a very cheap item that makes you think you’re getting an excellent deal could have hidden costs or an inordinantly high shipping cost. And honestly, unless it’s warranted, do you really want to purchase an item from someone who’s charging a ridiculous amount of money to ship something to you?

If you do end up getting burned by an online scammer, make sure to report them to Mommy Auctions immediately. Keep track of all communication you’ve had with the seller and provide that with your report.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 6th, 2007 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Good to Know, The World of Auctions, Mommy Auctions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.