Here's a terrific example of chutzpah that goes above and beyond the call of ordinary criminal behavior. After reporters from the Wall Street Journal purchased a fake Fendi handbag on eBay, the reporters attempted to get a refund:
It took three messages and a threat to notify eBay to finally get a response from the seller, in which he promised a refund and asked us to ship the bag to an address in New York. But days later, we found out that the address belonged to his next victim: another defrauded customer, who also paid the seller $40 for shipping charges.Isn't that wonderful? The Journal reporters pay to ship the fake handbag, and the seller turns around and collects shipping charges! I'm always amazed by just how brazen a criminal can be.
I spend a few pages in the book admiring eBay's technical cleverness and how they use that cleverness to make eBay an essential cog of the US economy. I think people forget that eBay is a marketplace where buyers and sellers meet and is not a party to the transaction — caveat emptor.
Topics: · business · security · trust · web
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