proebayer

First Law: a robot shall not harm a human, or through inaction allow a human to come to harm. Their bank balance, however, is fair game under the Inland Revenue’s new initiative targeting unpaid VAT on online sales income.

Early statements of intent to recover unpaid tax on online sales, initially mooted last September, have been followed up by the introduction earlier this year of a £250,000 ‘web robot’ – a specialised search engine whose mission is to track eBay and other online sellers who have carelessly omitted to register for – and therefore, pay – VAT.

If you’re just trying to shift those unwanted Capo di Monte figurines or recoup some of your teenaged outlay on Dungeons and Dragons modules, there’s no need to panic – the robot’s priority is to identify high-volume traders who, rather than taking advantage of eBay to de-clutter their cupboards, are making a working living – in some cases, a very good one – out of online auctions.

According to the National Audit Office report HM Revenue and Customs: VAT on E-Commerce, the Revenue’s target is to recover an additional £1m per year – to put that into context, £1bn tax on e-commerce transactions was collected from properly registered businesses during 2005-06 – as well as identifying the expected tens of businesses that have income over the VAT registration threshold of £60,000.

Some estimates indicate that as many as 70,000 people now make a quarter or more of their income from online selling, perhaps unsurprisingly when it’s considered that e-commerce has more than trebled in value since 2002 – taking figures again from the NAO report, from £6.4bn to £18.1bn by the end of 2004 and higher still for 2005.

By April 2010, that figure is expected to have increased tenfold to around £60bn, so it’s no shock that the Revenue is attempting to put countermeasures in place now to prevent its share dropping through cracks in the system.

The web robot, of course, is only part of the ongoing strategy to improve regulatory control of the e-commerce sector, addressing what might be seen as one of the softer targets in an industry complicated by issues of offshore trading, invisibility of transactions, and in many cases intangibility of product – digital media such as downloaded music and films being a prime example.

Perhaps even more than fingering the outright lawbreakers, the challenge facing the Revenue is to identify areas where the system may legitimately be exploited to their detriment. Which is good news, of course, for the amateur eBayer who wants nothing more than to quietly flog a couple of Star Wars action figures or those mint copies of 2000AD; it’ll be some time before the advanced fibre-optics of the taxman’s own R2-D2 focus on such small fry as you.

Or will it?

Posted by News desk at 02:58 PM | Permalink

The 'eBay avenger' who set up an embarrassing website about a student who sold him a faulty laptop last night offered to take it down.

Thomas Sawyer, 23, was incensed at wasting £375 on the computer and, after repairing it, plotted his revenge.

He designed a site showing embarrassing images of the vendor, Amir Tofangsazan, pornographic images and '90 pictures of women's legs' which he said he had found on the machine.

In a mocking first person account, Mr Sawyer told the story of the sale in detail. His victim, an 18-year-old A-level student from Barnet, North London, said his life had been made 'a living hell' and threatened to sue for libel.

Mr Sawyer, a student from Exeter, said he would take the site down in return for a refund and an apology.

It has since emerged that another eBay customer has complained about Amir.

Debbie McInerney, 42, from Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, claimed she paid him £147 for an iPod in March but it never turned up. She claims Amir banked the cheque but failed to answer emails asking when the iPod would arrive.

Amir, who claims the laptop was not broken and that the pictures of legs and pornographic images were nothing to do with him, refused to comment on Mr Sawyer's offer.

'The police are investigating the iPod case and I can't comment on it,' he added.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=409510&in_page_id=2

Posted by News desk at 02:51 PM | Permalink

AutoQuake Ltd has signed agreements with three major leasing companies - each of which disposes of up to 10,000 cars annually - to sell their cars on to private customers.

AutoQuake operates entirely on eBay, and puts its cars through HPI verification as well as conducting visual and mechanical checks before making them available for sale.

"By cutting out the middle man we can offer these cars at very low prices and with our unrivalled listings consumers know exactly what they are buying," says AutoQuake founder and CEO Jeanette Moskovits. "So far we have sold over 2000 vehicles and our 99.8% positive eBay feedback speaks for itself."

http://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/2006/may/31/10171.asp

Posted by News desk at 10:39 AM | Permalink

A security guard who used hundreds of false identities to sell pirate DVDs on an internet auction site has been jailed for six months.

An investigation by the Federation Against Copyright Theft and eBay revealed the distribution network involved the United States and Australia as well as the UK.

Prosecutor Lynn Griffin told Bradford Crown Court yesterday the 39-year-old father of two had already been importing and distributing pirate copies when he contacted eBay in October 2002 to ask if it was legal.

"He was told unequivocally if he carried on he was breaking the law,'' said Miss Griffin.

But for the next two years Spencer used false identities, including his wife's name, to sell the illegal fakes and, at one stage, had 260 bogus identities registered with eBay.

Spencer was paid using various methods and the court heard he netted about £40,000 through the Pay Pal system alone.

During the investigation a test purchase was made of a Kill Bill DVD, which Miss Griffin said was a poor quality copy.

In October, 2004, Spen-cer's home in Oakhall Park, Thornton, Bradford, was searched and a lap-top was seized from his workplace in Leeds. Miss Griffin said investigators found packages for posting, a spreadsheet listing nearly 4,000 films and postal slips for more than 1,500 items sent between November, 2003 and August, 2004.

Spencer told FACT officials he made between £500 and £800 a month profit and paid his Malaysian supplier £600 a month.

Spencer, now separated from wife Yvonne and living at Westgate Lane, Wakefield, pleaded guilty earlier this year to offences of importing and distributing material that infringed copyright.

The court heard he had no previous convictions and his barrister Nicholas Askins said he had lost his job as a security guard.

"These proceedings placed a terrible strain on the defendant's marriage," said Mr Askins.

His wife was upset and angry and they separated on April 4 after 19 years of marriage.

"He lives between his mother's and grandfather's houses and I submit on any view he has already lost a great deal," he said.

Recorder Helen Proops said: "It may have started out as a legitimate hobby. However you were informed of the illegality of your activities in October, 2002. You didn't drift into this activity, you consciously engaged in it when it was pointed out by eBay that it was not legal."

Spencer's wife had also been charged but Miss Griffin said the prosecution was offering no evidence and a formal not guilty verdict was recorded.

After the case FACT's director general, Raymond Leinster, said he was pleased the prolific pirate DVD trader had been jailed.

"The sale of pirate DVDs online is a growing problem," he said. "But FACT polices auction websites and other sites to ensure that those making substantial criminal gain from such activities can and will be traced and prosecuted.

"I would remind the public they should exercise caution when buying DVDs and other film products from sites such as eBay to ensure they are not purchasing pirate copies."

http://www.netribution.co.uk/2/content/view/608/2/

Posted by News desk at 03:41 PM | Permalink

One of Princess Diana's dresses is being auctioned on eBay.

The sarong-style pink evening dress, made by Catherine Walker, one of Diana's favourite designers, has a reserve price of £53,763.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17146750&method=full&siteid=66633&headline=di-dress-on-ebay--name_page.html

Posted by News desk at 03:36 PM | Permalink

STAMFORD, Conn. — General Electric Co. said Tuesday it will partner with eBay Inc. and Internet payment service PayPal Inc. to launch and market a new credit card.

Financial terms of the partnership with GE Consumer Finance were not disclosed. The PayPal Plus credit card expands on the two-year relationship between GE and PayPal. In 2004 they launched PayPal Buyer Credit, a revolving credit line for registered PayPal customers. This new agreement also includes GE eventually launching an eBay branded credit card, while eBay promotes the new card.

Shares of General Electric fell 26 cents to $34.07 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/3915160.html

Posted by News desk at 10:31 AM | Permalink

A website, apparently set up by a disgruntled eBay customer, is being investigated by police.

The writer behind the website claims to have been sold a faulty laptop by a 19-year-old student and shows pictures which the writer claims, he found on the laptop.

Amir Tofangsazan has become the talk of internet chatrooms and the site has registered more than half a million hits.

But the teenager from Barnet, north London, said it had made his life into a "living hell".

The mocking first-person blog begins: "Hello. My name is Amir Massoud Tofangsazan and I live in Barnet. I'm 19 but pretend to be a lot older and like to pretend that I'm a big businessman when I'm not actually that clever."

It suggests that Mr Tofangsazan sold his broken laptop computer for £375 on eBay, and goes on to show pictures of his family and friends, a copy of his passport, and pornography the buyer claims to have found on his hard drive.

There are also pictures of him with a bare chest, with a drawn-on moustache and devil's horns, kissing a girl, and sleeping, as well as pictures of women's legs apparently taken on the London Underground.

Mr Tofangsazan told reporters: "I am shaking all over and I fear my reputation is going to be ruined.

"They have put photos of me and my family on there after hacking into my hotmail account, as well as publishing personal details and bits of my CV.

"There are photographs on there from the September 11 bombings, porn pictures and pictures of women's legs which have absolutely nothing to do with me. Some people even think I took them.

"The laptop wasn't even broken. It was in working order. The last few days have been a nightmare, some of my friends have seen it and my father is very angry."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We have got an allegation of improper use of public electronic communications network that was reported to us on May 29 in person at Fulham police station.

"The allegation follows from a civil dispute. No arrests have been made and inquiries continue. It will be investigated by Barnet police."

http://www.itv.com/news/britain_1874824.html

Posted by News desk at 10:28 AM | Permalink

A TAXI driver down on his luck took part in an eBay scam which diddled bidders out of almost £2,000.

Bankrupt Steven Elliot and an accomplice he refuses to name "sold" phantom items including international rugby match tickets and game consoles for hundreds of pounds a time on the internet auction site, but never came up with the goods.

Cheques were put through a bank account belonging to a friend who knew nothing of the fraud, Cambridge magistrates were told.

Elliot, who had never been in trouble with police before, wept as he was spared an immediate jail term.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of obtaining money by deception and asked for five further offences to be taken into consideration.

The 43-year-old, who also admitted carrying out business while an undischarged bankrupt, was handed six months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 300 hours' community service. He must also pay back the £1,957 pocketed from the scam's eight victims.

Emma Dmietriev, for the prosecution, told the court the fraud had been carried out in September and October last year and among items up for grabs were tickets for an England v Australia rugby match, which went for £300.

Sony PSP games consoles also went under the hammer for up to £300 a time. Police were alerted after the buyers failed to receive what they thought they had bought and one woman customer travelled to Cambridge to visit the address to which she had sent her cheque - only to find it was a mailbox. Tracking numbers also turned out to be false.

Elliot, who had previously run his own taxi business which had gone under, was in a "parlous" financial state and was not the scam's prime mover, the court was told.

Monica Lentin, in mitigation, said the fraud had not been Elliot's idea. "He saw it as an opportunity to try and recover some of his debts and solve his cash problems," she said.

It was accepted Elliot facilitated the fraud by providing the bank account.

Urging the magistrates not to send Elliot, of Princess Drive, Sawston, to jail, Mrs Lentin said he had now got work cab-driving in Cambridge, but his taxi-driving licence would be revoked if he went to prison.

"If he is sent to prison he will have lost everything," Mrs Lentin added as Elliot wept, his head in his hands.

"He is genuinely remorseful and has learned his lesson."

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/articles/2006/05/29/9f133573-5532-4c70-a756-b81e14f1a040.lpf

Posted by News desk at 03:31 PM | Permalink

BINGHAMTON -- The owners of one of the city's historic landmarks has put the Victorian-style mansion on eBay in a no-reserve auction, which means the highest bidder takes the property.

Isaac Anzaroot of New York City -- who bought the former home of Gen. Edward F. Jones less than four months ago -- said he opted for eBay rather than a local real estate agent because he wanted to "give the world" a chance to bid on the West Side property, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We had some visions for it, but it doesn't look like we're going to make it happen," said Anzaroot, who operates Anzaroot Properties LLC with his wife, Donna Simovitch. "It's a little risky, but I'm confident that I'm not going to lose money."

Anzaroot Properties purchased the property on a cul-de-sac at 9 Asbury Court for $125,000 on Feb. 14 from a mortgage company, according to Broome County records. It was posted on eBay last week.

The highest of 19 bids -- which started at $1.25 on Wednesday -- was $42,700 by Saturday evening, and the site had been viewed more than 1,600 times. Anzaroot said the auction will end June 23. In the eBay description, the owners estimated property taxes at: $1,497 for school, $2,219 for county and $1,060 for city.

The owners already sold a seven-tier electric chandelier from the mansion's foyer on eBay for $2,125 to an Alabama bidder in April, Anzaroot said Friday.

Originally, the couple thought about living in the house, but then changed their minds, Anzaroot said. At one point, Anzaroot advertised the property as student housing in a Binghamton University publication.

Before the Brooklyn couple purchased the 21-room mansion, Binghamton resident Robin Alpaugh said he had contacted a real estate agent about the property, which he had wanted to buy and restore. Alpaugh said he was told the landmark had been sold.

Alpaugh was surprised to hear of the eBay auction. "I would only hope that this could possibly be a good thing if somebody local ends up with it and works to restore it," said Alpaugh, an Empire Development Corporation employee. He is not interested in bidding.

"I'm surprised at the current way it's for sale," added John Darrow, a Chestnut Street resident whose yard adjoins the former Jones mansion. "I would think he would sell it through a real estate agent."

Though the mansion is listed on the National Register, private owners may alter the property, dispose of its contents and sell it without restrictions, Broome County Historian Gerald Smith has said. A historic marker and wrought-iron fence -- which was falling down, according to Anzaroot -- have been removed.

Jones, a commander in the Union Army, built the mansion circa 1881 when he settled in Binghamton after the Civil War.

The eBay description said the house has a three-story staircase, a wraparound porch, stained-glass windows, 13 bedrooms, five-plus bathrooms and 11 fireplaces in 7,000 square feet of livable space.

The listing also touts the property as suited for a bed and breakfast, personal residence, law offices or restaurant. The site is zoned R-5, high-density residential. Its former owners -- Steven E. and Joanne K. Austin -- invested thousands of dollars in the property and operated a bed and breakfast before filing for bankruptcy in 2004.

Jones, who died in the early 1900s, served as New York's lieutenant governor from 1886 to 1891. He started a company on Clinton Street in Binghamton that manufactured household and industrial scales before going out of business in the early 1920s.

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/NEWS01/605280322/1006

Posted by News desk at 03:27 PM | Permalink

Robert A. Gossett, a resident of Hilton Head, S.C., spotted a black Porsche Carrera GT on eBay and bought it for the princely sum of $380,000.

This is not your average Porsche 911 or Boxster. The Carrera GT is the closest thing Porsche makes to a street-legal race car, with 605 hp, a 0-62 speed of 3.9 seconds, and a top speed of 205 mph. Porsche calls it a "race-bred sports car" outfitted with a carbon fiber chassis, a V10 engine, a six-speed racing gearbox, and a ceramic clutch.

The eBay seller was HBL, which operates the Porsche Tyson's Corner dealership in Virginia. Both Gossett and HBL agreed to substitute a silver Carrera GT for the black model, and it was delivered without incident to South Carolina.

That, according to the documents, was where the problems started. Gossett says he heard a knocking noise from the engine and took it to a local dealer, who said the engine would have to be lifted to diagnose the cause.

Fearing the value would be diminished, Gossett didn't want to do that and sued for breach of contract, breach of warranty, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligence, unfair trade practices, misrepresentation, conspiracy, and even more lawyerese that is, frankly, too lengthy for even Police Blotter to list in its entirety. In short, Gossett claimed, a car listed as "new" on eBay should have zero problems.

The United Auto Group (the successor to HBL as a result of a merger) asked the judge to dismiss the case based on lack of jurisdiction and also based on an arbitration clause in the purchase agreement.

Gossett claimed the arbitration clause should be unenforceable because the sale was complete at the time the eBay auction closed, but U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck referred the bulk of his claims to arbitration.

Excerpt from Houck's opinion: "The U.S. Supreme Court has held that 'as a matter of federal law, any doubts concerning the scope of arbitrable issues should be resolved in favor of arbitration, whether the problem at hand is the construction of the contract language itself or an allegation of waiver, delay or a like defense to arbitrability...'

"When a arbitration agreement governed by the Federal Arbitration Act covers claims that have been asserted in a lawsuit, the court must compel arbitration and either dismiss the action or stay further judicial proceedings until the arbitration has been held.

"Congress, in the Federal Arbitration Act, declared written agreements to arbitrate 'valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.'

"Courts have consistently interpreted this mandate broadly, addressing questions of arbitrability 'with a healthy regard for the federal policy favoring arbitration...'"

"The plaintiff's motion for reconsideration is denied...UAG's motion to compel arbitration is granted."

http://news.com.com/Police+Blotter+eBay+suit+over+380,000+Porsche/2100-1030_3-6077417.html

Posted by News desk at 03:22 PM | Permalink

Yahoo and eBay have formed a strategic partnership that, says the press release, "consists of four major components in the areas of search and graphical advertising, online payments, a co-branded toolbar, and the opportunity to explore "click-to-call" functionality."

Yahoo will improve its eBay searches and will standardise on PayPal for payments, both of which seem to be good for eBay. On the other side: "Yahoo! will become the exclusive third-party provider of all graphical advertisements throughout the eBay.com site, and sponsored search for complementary products on some eBay.com search results pages in the US."

This sounds as though Yahoo will sell banner ads that will appear on eBay pages, which is certainly good for Yahoo. However, I can't imagine many eBay users will be pleased to have the site slowed by banner ads, and eBay sellers might also have problems with the idea. If you are selling, say, CDs, will your auctions appear under a banner selling the same CDs at a Web-based store?

The "old" eBay community would no doubt have had a lot to say about these issues. However, I've looked on eBay's US discussion boards without finding a public outcry. Did I miss it, or does nobody care any more?

The partnership also falls short in that Yahoo's auctions site will continue to compete with eBay, and Yahoo doesn't charge listing fees. This is potentially scary for eBay since Yahoo is the world's biggest Web portal, in terms of unique visitors. If only Yahoo could exploit its traffic in Yahoo auctions, it could still be a serious threat.

Yahoo and eBay look like natural partners in the war against Google, but I can't understand why eBay has done a deal that doesn't make eBay Yahoo's preferred auction site, or ideally its only auction site outside Japan. Is that the next step?

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2006/05/26/yahoo_and_ebay_form_partnership.html

Posted by News desk at 03:17 PM | Permalink

The taxman is clamping down on tax dodging e-traders by hunting them down using a 'web robot'.

The £250,000 robot, which was launched in March, is an advanced search engine that targets high-volume traders, such as those that sell goods on eBay, that fail to register for VAT.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) expects the device to rake in an extra £1m a year in VAT and to force an extra 20 businesses to register for the tax.

According to a report by the National Audit Office, the Revenue collected more than £1bn in VAT from e-commerce sales in the 2005-06 tax year. This is expected to rocket by 2010 when the level of sales are expected to hit £60bn.

The number of people making a second income by trading on websites such as eBay has also soared. It is believed nearly 70,000 people earn a quarter of their living by trading on the website. However, a large percentage of them don't declare their earnings to the taxman.

Traders of second-hand goods only have to account for VAT on profits, but if they fail to register or keep records, then the taxman could charge them VAT on the full value of the goods.

Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, said: 'I find it encouraging that HMRC is well positioned to manage the current risks to VAT from electronic commerce.

'With internet sales set to mushroom in the next few years, the department faces a challenge to ensure it stays ahead of the game. Some businesses are inventive at side-stepping VAT, and the department must be equally innovative in guaranteeing the exchequer gets the revenue it is due.'

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/tax-advice/income-tax/article.html?in_article_id=409383&in_page_id=77

Posted by News desk at 12:52 PM | Permalink

The mystery involving the potential sale of a coveted University of Texas national championship ring remained unsolved late Wednesday.

In fact, the ring's seller on eBay twice took the Rose Bowl ring off the auction market, first claiming it was improperly listed before finally saying the item was no longer available. By that time, bids had reached more than $10,000 on the ring, which had a wholesale price tag of $350.

Still, the Texas athletic department wanted to know the identity of the player who gave up his ring, which the team earned Jan. 4 by beating Southern California 41-38 in the Rose Bowl.

In fact, athletic department officials even talked about buying the ring to take it off the market.

"We thought about it, but we have other ways to find out who this is," said Texas associate athletic director Nick Voinis. "There are ways to find out."

At issue is whether the player is still on the roster — because as of July 2003, the selling of an athletic award by a student athlete is forbidden by the NCAA, something which could result in suspensions.

The rule could be named for the Georgia football team, because it was passed after nine Bulldogs sold their Southeastern Conference rings after the 2002 season. The nine players were declared ineligible, then reinstated because the NCAA had no rule on the sale of championship items.

At about the same time, Florida State investigated allegations of players selling rings and other team souvenirs to a business that specialized in sports memorabilia.

The NCAA then passed a rule that a player would be penalized if he or she sold an item. The number of games depended on the wholesale cost of the award. If the item cost between $300 and $500, a player would be suspended for one game and required to repay the cost of the award.

There are no rules precluding former players from selling their rings. They can list them on auction sites like eBay or sell them to jewelry brokers. Rarely is the identity of a player revealed in these auctions. Only the buyer and seller know.

On Wednesday, a seller identified as "TravisTrader" was selling a 1999 Texas Cotton Bowl ring. He was asking for an initial bid of $4,495 for a ring belonging to an unidentified player. In an e-mail to the Austin American-Statesman, he said he had tried to sell the ring in previous auctions, but never received the right price.

A Holiday Bowl ring from 2003 also had been for sale on eBay earlier this month. Again, the broker did not receive the minimum bid of $3,999.99. The broker, identified as championship_sports_rings, has sold rings representing championships or bowl rings originally owned by players from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Michigan, Ohio State, Clemson, USC and Georgia Tech.

There was an active auction Wednesday for a 1997 Nebraska national football championship ring carrying a minimum price of $2,999.99. Also, there was bidding for a 1994 Arkansas basketball national championship ring that came with other souvenirs. The bidding was up to $11,500.

The UT compliance office monitors Internet auction sites every day. However, Voinis said this is the first case the office is aware of in which a Longhorn has sold a national championship ring.

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/shared/sports/stories/FBC_TEXAS_RING_0525_COX.html

Posted by News Desk at 05:17 PM | Permalink

Speculation is rife on Wall Street that a big internet deal or alliance is in the works, with eBay, Google, Microsoft or Yahoo! as possible partner - and a Yahoo!-eBay partnership seen as most likely.

A report authored by analyst Imran Khan and the JPMorgan Chase internet team said on Monday: "A partnership or merger between eBay and Yahoo! is the most strategically feasible.

"A combined company would have the leading position in auctions, communications, payments, graphical advertising, audience reach and geographic breadth."

Silicon Valley insiders, high-tech bankers and financial analysts are giving new credence to potential merger deals, which fly in the face of common wisdom that the internet's rapid growth has always outweighed the logic of consolidation.

But internet growth is slowing, and competition among the biggest companies - Google, Yahoo!, eBay and Microsoft - is intensifying.

eBay stock is down 30 per cent on the year. Yahoo is off 20 per cent and Google down 10 per cent.

Google, which nearly doubled its revenues last year, is expected to grow 62 per cent this year. eBay is seen growing 30 per cent, down from 50 per cent two years ago, and Yahoo!'s growth is slowing at a similar pace.

An eBay spokesman said the company works very closely with all the major web search providers - Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft - but he declined to comment on any potential Yahoo! tie-up.

eBay is one of the world's biggest buyers of web search terms. It manages a portfolio of 15 million keywords on different search sites aimed at wooing bidders.

The spokesman added: "We don't comment on rumours and speculation. We are talking to Yahoo! and other companies all the time as part of our normal course of business."

Yahoo! was not immediately available to comment.

The 56-page JPMorgan report weighs other scenarios, including the possibility that Microsoft's MSN internet unit would strike a partnership with Yahoo!. Google is viewed as likely to sit out big mergers and continue to go it alone, Imran argues, a view that many Wall Street analysts share.

Investors worry that gains by these companies are likely to come at the expense of one another, rather than through internet expansion, driving shares down this year.

Microsoft shares are off 12 per cent so far in 2006, hit by product delays as well as a recent move by the company to step up investment to better compete with Google and Yahoo!.

http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39159121,00.htm

Posted by News desk at 12:34 PM | Permalink

It’s not just an auction site any more. You can buy and sell with the traditional bidding format, but another option is the eBay store. This realm is one of the best kept secrets around — not because eBay is trying to keep it secret, but because buyers just aren’t familiar with the eBay store shopping experience.

It’s not just an auction site any more. You can buy and sell with the traditional bidding format, but another option is the eBay store. This realm is one of the best kept secrets around — not because eBay is trying to keep it secret, but because buyers just aren’t familiar with the eBay store shopping experience.

So let’s check it out.

An eBay store is more or less an online flea market booth. The seller pays a monthly rental fee plus a very small monthly fee for each item, and a commission when the item sells. Enough about selling. I want to explore the concept of SHOPPING in eBay stores.

All items in eBay stores are “buy it now,” with the prices fixed by the seller so there’s no question about final value and no anxious nail biting as you wait for auctions to end. You have no competition with other bidders, can purchase your items immediately, and can often combine postage costs if you are buying more than one item from the same seller. Most sellers will combine postage on store and auction purchases, so if you’ve bought something through an auction, visit the seller’s store for more bargains.

Also, if you find an auction listing for a popular item and that seller also has a store, look in the store for the same item. It may be the same price or just a little higher, and you won’t have the bother of waiting for the auction to end.

Price still too high? Some sellers accept bids on their store items. There is no obligation for them to accept your bid, and they may receive multiple bids on the same fixed-price merchandise. So be reasonable in your offer. Do some price comparison.

How do you find items in a store, anyway? The most basic way is to go to the eBay home page, and select “eBay Stores” under the Specialty Sites menu, at the left of the page. This brings up a directory of store categories on the left, which you’d use like the normal eBay category listings.

If you are looking for a store that specializes in vintage toys, for example, you would click on “Toys & Hobbies,” which brings up a listing of subcategories. You might then choose “Vintage, Antique Toys” to get you closer to your goal. Just work your way through the menu to reach a listing of stores with items listed in that category. The stores with the most related listings are at the top, in descending order. You can also sort the lists by store name. If you know the name, then just select the starting letter and go from there.

Another way to get to the stores is to use eBay’s regular SEARCH feature. Enter “antique toys” into the search window, and a list of regular auction listings comes up. To reach the same items in the stores, go to the box just below the listings. There will be a link to related items in eBay stores. You can also reach the stores in the link within the left hand column, under “Search Options.” Check the box for “All Items Including Store Inventory Items” and then click on the “Show Items” button. This feature combines auction listings with store listings, giving you the full range of available items.

One more way to reach a store is by the seller’s store link within his listing page. If a seller has an active auction listing, there will be a link to his eBay store in the “Meet the Seller” section on the upper right corner of the listing page. This is nice because you may already be acquainted with that seller and his merchandise. You also learn the name of his store and can bookmark his home page for easy access later.

Now that you know how to get to the stores, how do you purchase items from them? This is the easy part. Most sellers have their merchandise categorized in a menu at the left, and almost all items have a gallery picture, so it’s simple to shop by sight. If you find something you want, just click on the “Buy It Now” button and follow the instructions from there.

Don’t be afraid to shop in the eBay stores. It can save you time and money. And you just might find that special item which everyone else is busy bidding on.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/columns/local_story_144132305.html?keyword=topstory

Posted by News desk at 11:04 AM | Permalink

A new guide to using the popular online auction house ebay is now out on the shelves. Produced by Alligata's David Bradforth, eBay Advisor is said to be suitable for RISC OS users as well as PC and Apple Mac owners.

David said: "There are perhaps ten pages that are more PC specific; with the rest of the 100 pages being cross-platform to a very large extent. It's hence a very useful guide to those early eBay steps."

He later added: "As to which RISC OS web browsers worked best [with eBay], that's a very good question. I tried the Mac and PC ones, but have never owned an Internet-connected Acorn computer. Would make an interesting test though, I may set up my PC on the Internet so I can test with VirtualRiscPC."

In the years after the collapse of Acorn, ebay has become fertile ground for finding old and rare kit.

The journal is split into five sections covering topics such as buying and selling goods, and running a small business with ebay, using feature articles and practical hints and tips. RISC OS users who order a copy will get a copy of Richard Hallas's page design guide DTP Principles and some software thrown in for free.

http://www.drobe.co.uk/riscos/artifact1615.html

Posted by News desk at 10:57 AM | Permalink

40 years without a Cup is at least one year too much for frustrated fan

This can be an especially difficult time of the year for the majority of hockey fans, since, by the simple law of averages, the chances are better than 7-1 that their beloved team has already had their hopes of winning the Stanley Cup crushed for yet another year.

As most of their detractors love to remind their long-suffering fans, this time of year can be particularly difficult for fans of the Maple Leafs, since this year’s 40th consecutive postponement of a Stanley Cup parade down Yonge Street is a result of the second longest current losing streak by any team in the NHL. Toronto's streak of post-season ineptitude is second only to the hapless Chicago Blackhawks, who last won the prize in 1961.

http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=f22c562d-bcea-44d0-a1c4-483d88f93303&k=97891

Posted by News desk at 10:40 AM | Permalink

eBay India claims that it is the country's leading online marketplace, built on a community of buyers and sellers.

According to eBay India, the company offers the best consumer experience in an environment driven by high performance, constant innovation, team work, and entrepreneurial opportunity.

Formerly known as Baazee.com, eBay India was launched in 2000, and today it offers auctions, both fixed price and classifieds (for real estate and services).

Company sources maintain that more than 2,500 product categories, over 100,000 listings live, and thousands of sellers, currently feature on eBay India. Besides, a majority of the listings on eBay India offer "Paisa Pay" which is a secure online payment gateway enabling credit card and online bank transfers.

Commenting on the company's business graph, Ambareesh Murty, director - category management, eBay India, expressed the view that he believes the company is growing at a great pace, and that they do believe in their method of conducting business.

Aside of all this, eBay India also has an academy called the "eBay Academy," which is a training module to educate and clarify the many myths regarding Internet transactions.

http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=73424&cat_id=643

Posted by News desk at 10:31 AM | Permalink

Analyst Scott Kessler says the link-up is "not good news" for Google. Plus: Analysts boost Global Payments, and more

eBay shares are indicated higher in pre-market trading, as the company announces a broad partnership with Yahoo (YHOO) related to their U.S. businesses. PayPal will be the exclusive third-party provider for Yahoo's online wallet, and will be "deeply integrated" into the Yahoo website. In our view, Yahoo will enable eBay to better monetize its Web pages with online advertising. We believe this relationship and the pending offerings, which we expect to be rolled out beginning later this year, are a significant positive for eBay. Our 12-month target price remains $48.

Yahoo (YHOO) : Reiterates 4 STARS (buy)
Analyst: Scott Kessler

Yahoo is indicated higher following news of a broad partnership with eBay (EBAY) regarding their U.S. businesses. Yahoo will become the exclusive third-party provider of display advertising on eBay.com, and sponsored searches for complementary products on some eBay.com search results pages. Yahoo's search capabilities and results vis-a-vis eBay.com will also be enhanced, in our view. We think this relationship and the pending offerings, which we expect to be rolled out starting later this year, are a notable positive for Yahoo. Our 12-month target price stays at $40.

Google (GOOG) : Reiterates 3 STARS (hold)
Analyst: Scott Kessler

Google is indicated lower following news that Yahoo (YHOO) and eBay (EBAY) have established a broad partnership regarding their U.S. businesses. We think that Google's increasing size, offerings and power largely motivated the alliance. In our view, Google's share of eBay's online advertising budget will likely be negatively affected by this partnership, and eBay is a very important customer for Google. We also believe the partnership could enhance Yahoo's positioning in the online search market. Overall, we believe the Yahoo/eBay alliance is not good news for Google.

AVX (AVX) : Ups to 4 STARS (buy) from 3 STARS (hold)
Analyst: Dylan Cathers

Shares of this passive electronic component maker have declined in recent weeks despite the company's strong March quarter earnings. We believe that operating margins will widen this year due to an increase in sales of value-added products. We expect product pricing to hold steady, and we think that inventories will remain low. However, we are lowering our 12-month target price by $2 to $19, reflecting changes in peer valuations.

CIT Group (CIT) : Ups to 5 STARS (strong buy) from 4 STARS (buy)
Analyst: Robert Hansen, CFA

We see considerable upside to share price, which has fallen about 1% so far in 2006, and has declined 9% from its 52-week high. We think CIT's business is generally improving, notably in the commercial and vendor finance businesses. Although we don't see further improvement in credit quality, we think growth in managed assets, notably in its healthcare and student lending businesses, will benefit earnings. We are maintaining our 2006 earnings per share (EPS) estimate of $4.70, and our target price of $65. Recently trading at 11 times our 2006 EPS estimate, we regard CIT shares as very attractive.

Global Payments (GPN) : Ups to 4 STARS (buy) from 3 STARS (hold)
Analyst: Zaineb Bokhari

Our upgrade is based on valuation and our outlook for continued earnings expansion. Global Payments has followed what we consider to be a disciplined growth strategy through small acquisitions and margin gains. We are optimistic about the potential contribution in fiscal year 2007 (ending May) from Global Payments's pending venture with HSBC (HBC). Shares have fallen about 15% from recent highs, trading in line with peers on price-to-earnings. Given our view of Global Payments's execution, we believe a premium is warranted. Our earnings per share (EPS) estimates remain $1.54 for fiscal year 2006 (ending May) and $1.63 for fiscal year 2007; our 12-month target price stays $57.

Posted by News Desk at 10:26 AM | Permalink

Have you ever been caught in a bidding war on eBay? You’re breaking out in a light sweat as the last few minutes are counting down and you’re desperately hitting the refresh key to make sure you haven’t been outbid.

Don’t you think there aught to be a Reality TV show like that? OK, maybe the thought never crossed your mind but it did cross the minds of some ABC producers! ‘Buy It Now’ is one of the new reality shows set to air on ABC this summer.

The show will center around different families who put a variety of their prized possessions on eBay in the hopes of raising the proceeds to have some meaningful goal realized. “Buy It Now” will air twice a week. The first episode will introduce the family, their friends and neighbors and anyone else who might be participating in the project. The second episode will show the progress of the auctions and of course, the results.

I’m feeling a real ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ vibe on this one.

Posted by News Desk at 10:59 AM | Permalink

Those keen to grab a keepsake of the Socceroo's winning penalty goal against Uruguay in last year's World Cup qualifiers will soon have their chance when eBay lists a chunk of historic turf on its online auction site next week.

The charity auction aims to sell off the very piece of ground from which John Aloisi kicked the winning goal in the historic 4-2 penalty shootout win after extra time on November 16.

Officials from the Olympic Stadium in Sydney dug up the single square of earth following the victory and it was then dry-frozen over a period of weeks to remove any moisture. It has since been kept preserved in a glass cabinet.

The winning bidder will also receive an autographed ball used from the winning game and proceeds will go to the Johnny Warren Football Foundation which was established after the death of the former Australian soccer captain to help talented players expend their skills on the pitch.

eBay has played host to a number of unusual auctions in Australia, the most notable of which was the "Four Blokes" auction in which four young men from Sydney attempted to sell a weekend of "beer, snags and laughs" to an international audience.

That auction gave rise to a swathe of copy-cat charity auctions, and even celebrities such as Kyle and JackieO of 2Day FM got in on the act, offering a member of the public a chance to "sleep" with them.

However one of the hazards of high-profile online auctions is the large quantity of fake bids they attract and the "four blokes" were left high and dry after dummy bids swamped the site making it impossible to distinguish genuine offers.

GoingGone, a company that provides add-on verification services, has been hired to monitor the World Cup turf auction, and will checking credit card authorisation on all incoming bids.

Posted by News Desk at 10:50 AM | Permalink

Since 2004, DAL (www.d-a-l.com) has been the site computer techs and novices have turned to for free pc help. In the last month, their services have expanded to include an on-line auction section for technology goods such as Intel processors, hard drives, motherboards, complete PC systems, laptops and even mobile phones. But what separates the auctions at DAL from its competitors is it’s absolutely free to list and sell items from anywhere in the world

With many on-line auction sites, sellers have to pay an upfront fee or a fee once an item is sold. With DAL’s on-line auctions that is not the case. As owner David Leppard explains, “We wanted to create an auction experience unlike any other on the Internet. For years we’ve offered free PC support to anyone who needs it thanks to advertisers and sponsors. We’ve simply decided to extend that concept to include an on-line auction with sensational results. In the last month alone we’ve had over a quarter of a million unique visitors to our site as the auction side continues to grow.”

Although DAL, as with other auction sites, can’t claim responsibility for items offered by sellers there is a benefit to using DAL’s auction services not found at other on-line auction – knowledge. Most of the people who list products (and shop for them) are more knowledgeable about the technical products being sold.

“When I’ve visited other auction sites in the technology category much of the information provided by listers is either vague or inaccurate,” says Leppard. He explains how many sellers at these other sites seem unknowledgeable about what they are selling. But at DAL auctions, since many of the people who frequent the site are PC users with more than basic knowledge, you’ll find listings that are more accurately described. In other words, buyers have a greater chance of getting what is offered and not what the seller assumes is correct.

DAL is based in England but the geographic location of users consist of 40% from the US, 25% from the UK with the remaining percentages coming from Canada, Australia, Europe, India. As Leppard states, “Simply put, DAL auctions is essentially a ‘world marketplace’ for both buyers and sellers of almost any kind of computing equipment and accessories.”

Posted by News Desk at 05:32 PM | Permalink

THOUSANDS of Scottish golfers who buy equipment through websites such as eBay have been warned of a growing multi-million pound black market in counterfeit clubs.

The global trade in all counterfeit goods, focused in China but now branching out elsewhere, is estimated to be worth £400 billion a year.

It is so damaging that several major golf manufacturers have hired private detectives to crack down on illegal vendors.

More than 100 counterfeit putters, as well as golf bags and clothing, were seized in a raid by police and trading standards chiefs at a house in Berkshire earlier this month.

Police only became aware when a local professional noticed an anomaly in a pupil's Odyssey-branded putter, bought at a discount rate on eBay.

Counterfeiting has been on the rise for about a decade, ever since United States-based golf companies began subcontracting club production to China. Of the major manufacturers, including Adams, Callaway, Cleveland, Cobra, Nike, TaylorMade and Titleist, only Ping still makes most of its clubs outside China's Pearl River Delta region.

Callaway alone took action against 618 internet auctions of counterfeit clubs in 2002. The manufacturer said the recent auction of Odyssey counterfeits was "particularly sinister".

A spokeswoman said: "Our main concern is for people under the impression they are getting an authentic product and then feel cheated when it turns out to be a low-quality fake.

"Callaway Golf's authorised retailers are not permitted to sell new Callaway golf clubs on eBay.com."

Online auctions of counterfeit golf clubs pose a moral dilemma for British consumers, according to Stuart Keith, who studied Chinese counterfeiting for his dissertation at the University of Edinburgh last year.

Counterfeits are often sold for as little as a tenth the price of authentic clubs. And it is not illegal to purchase counterfeits, only to sell them.

He said: "It is simply not true to say you can't buy quality counterfeit clubs. Sometimes, the clubs will be made in the same factories as the originals, as workers sneak in for off-the-books shifts.

"A lot of counterfeits are technically authentic products, made in the same factories by the same staff - the only difference is that you are buying it through illegal sales channels."

Chinese triads have long been suspected of using counterfeit products to fund operations, as the penalties are not nearly as severe as drug-running, prostitution or illegal gambling.

Perhaps of more immediate concern to British golfers, counterfeiting discourages innovation, a blow to handicappers waiting for breakthroughs in golf club technology.

"Sure, a lot of prices for major- brand golf clubs are inflated, but the companies have to be repaid for their innovation otherwise there is no incentive to continue to bring new and better products to the marketplace," Mr Keith said.

Last summer, the heralded Scottish club manufacturer John Letters, which provides clubs to Sean Connery and several professionals, was put into receivership before being purchased by an online superstore. The company cited counterfeits and cheap imports from Asia as the primary reason.

A spokeswoman for the R&A, golf's governing body, said: "The rules only dictate that clubs must conform to certain specifications. So while we cannot condone counterfeits, they are almost always acceptable within the rules of golf."

A spokeswoman for Callaway said: "A full set of authentic Callaway golf clubs [including woods] , depending on the models, will retail for £1,373 to £1,648 or more. If the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is."

A spokeswoman for the National Consumer Council said: "In most cases, consumers are aware what they are purchasing is counterfeit, so it's a deal that suits them.

"However, if products are dangerous it's obviously not in the interest of the consumer."

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=762722006

Posted by News Desk at 05:02 PM | Permalink

Auction Wireless Alerts (a.k.a. AWA) has launched a Wireless Service for eBay Sellers that will help their buyers remember before an auction ends and is going to be initially offered in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. The alert that the buyer receives is sent directly to their cell phone and it includes the current price so that buyers could decide if they still want to bid at the time when they receive the alert.

AWA has been targeting eBay buyers for well over a year and has now introduced its new product, which is targeted to eBay sellers. "We believe there is an enormous market and a great potential for this product. We wanted to create a solution that could help eBay sellers remind their customers before an auction ended ... In the end eBay sellers are the ones that have the most benefit when a buyer receives an alert on their cell phone and we wanted to now target that market with our new solution," said Mr. Francisco Diaz, President and CEO of AWA, when asked why this new solution was created. Mr. Diaz also mentioned that they are launching AWA for sellers in four different countries simultaneously.

AWA for sellers is the first wireless product in the market today that is targeted specifically to eBay sellers. "This is another milestone for AWA because we were the first company to offer wireless services to eBay buyers for free and are now the first one to offer wireless services to eBay sellers for free, too," said Mr. Diaz.

United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia are the four countries where AWA for eBay sellers will be available at first and depending on the response it will then be open to Germany and Spain -- but for now it is limited to the four mentioned countries.

About Auction Wireless Alerts

Auction Wireless Alerts is a company own by Prisma Inc. located in Chicago, IL, which offers wireless services to eBay users. AWA has been in the wireless business since 2004 and is an eBay Certified Developer Company.

Contact: Francisco Diaz, C.E.O.
Auction Wireless Alerts
630-935-4711
francisco.diaz@prismaincorporation.com

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060523/nytu055.html?.v=48

Posted by News Desk at 03:08 PM | Permalink

Extensive marketing partnership opens up innovative possibilities for communicating with customers Mercedes web content at eBay and mobile.de targets new customer groups with an affinity for automobiles

Mercedes-Benz has entered into an extensive partnership with eBay in Germany for the market launch of the new-generation E-Class, thus moving in a completely new direction in the area of customer communications. From today on, eBay users who also happen to be car fans can obtain information on the new-generation E-Class on eBay’s website. They will also have the opportunity to participate in an auction for a special edition E-Class model, with the proceeds from the sale to be donated to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

“Having eBay as a partner enables Mercedes-Benz to utilize completely new channels for communicating with customers,” says Marc Frank, head of Relationship Marketing Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars. “eBay is an
ideal partner for us when it comes to targeting those Internet users who are also interested in cars. Our web pages at eBay and mobile.de will be viewed by a large number of people, allowing us to show them how safe, dynamic, powerful and reliable the E-Class is.”

Beginning today, Mercedes-Benz will post special web content related to the new-generation E-Class at the eBay website and will also launch an exclusive presentation at a newly established brand forum at mobile.de. Along with details on the charity auction, visitors to the sites will find information on important dates related to the model’s market launch and how to register for exclusive E-Class driving events.

eBay.de and mobile.de are two of the most popular online marketplaces, which is why Mercedes-Benz is using them to communicate about the new E-Class. The goal of the innovative partnership is to get potential new-generation E-Class customers interested in the model and offer them the opportunity to get to know the vehicle live
at exclusive driving events called “E-Class Experience”.

eBay - the world’s largest online marketplace - is a particularly important marketing partner for Mercedes-Benz when it comes to addressing younger target groups and gaining new customers for the brand with the star. “eBay and Mercedes-Benz are two strong brands that complement each other well,” says Patrick Boos, Senior Director Category and Seller Management at eBay GmbH. “Mercedes-Benz is a truly outstanding partner for us, especially with regard to our eBay Motors and mobile.de automotive platforms. We’re really looking forward to this partnership.”

To attract as many potential E-Class customers to the Mercedes Benz partner web pages as possible, eBay and mobile.de will be posting advertising content targeted at specific groups on their websites in the coming months. Web users interested in obtaining information on the E-Class will also be able to go directly to www.ebay.de/mercedes- benz and www.mobile.de/mercedes-benz, both sites designed in Mercedes-
Benz layout. Furthermore they can visit the Mercedes-Benz E-Class special web presentation www.Experience-the-E-Class.com.

“Stars and Charity Auction” of the “E 320 Laureus”: Proceeds will go to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
As part of the launch of the partnership between eBay and Mercedes, eBay will hold a “Stars and Charity Auction” of the special E-Class E 320 Laureus.” Anyone interested in entering a bid can do so from May 24 to June 3, 2006 at eBay.de. Complete details on the event, as well as a link to the auction, can also be found at the Mercedes-Benz partner web pages. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in Germany, which was co- initiated by Mercedes-Benz. The foundation sponsors sports projects around the world for children and teenagers in need. Former tennis star Boris Becker, chairman of the Laureus World Sport for Good Foundation in Germany, will hand over the vehicle to the highest bidder on July 7, 2006 at a celebration during the Laureus Golf Charity event in Berlin.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/05/22/008036.html

Posted by News desk at 01:07 PM | Permalink

Club owners asking $125,000, get liquor board's blessing

Tired of late nights and complaining neighbors, the owners of The Royal, a club in South Baltimore, are doing what Americans now do with things they don't want anymore.

They're going on eBay.

Mark Lasker and Peter Allen are selling their Baltimore liquor license on the Internet. And the ad, written by Lasker, is a grabber:

"Rare Opportunity. These licenses are no longer issued by the Baltimore City Liquor Board. They are only available from an ever dwindling pool of pre-existing licenses."

The asking price is $125,000 - a sum bar industry insiders say is not exorbitant considering the license's location near Federal Hill, a hub of nightlife in the city that is off-limits to new tavern licenses. The license could also be moved to another part of the city's 46th legislative district, which includes Canton and Fells Point.

"If they get more than $125,000, that would set the standard," said Melvin J. Kodenski, a Baltimore attorney who has helped broker dozens of liquor license sales over the years.

Liquor board officials said they'd never heard of anyone selling a license online but gave the concept a thumbs up.

"As long as it's legal and ethical, God bless 'em," said the liquor board's acting executive secretary, Samuel T. Daniels Jr. "And if they get that price, God did bless 'em."

Lasker said he listed the license on eBay about two weeks ago and, according to the counter at the bottom of his ad page, it has been viewed by more than 450 interested or just plain curious parties. Lasker said he and Allen had received more than 10 e-mail inquiries as of Friday. They've had no offers.

"EBay is simply a larger market to sell to," Lasker said. "It's great. I just bought a camera for my Dad on eBay. It's so easy."

The men, who are in their 30s, are no eBay neophytes. They listed their bar building, at Light and Randall streets, on eBay's real-estate section a few months ago and got calls from potential buyers in New York and Chicago.

The bar did not sell. The business partners have decided to move ahead with plans to redevelop the site as a restaurant and apartments, but Lasker and Allen say they are hopeful that eBay will create a similar buzz about their liquor license.

"I think the license is worth $125,000," said Allen, an Australian who moved to Baltimore when he married a city resident. "The fact that we've already had inquiries says a lot."

But selling a liquor license is more complicated than purchasing a camera or a vintage Barbie, and when word got out that The Royal's license was for sale on eBay, some bar critics called foul. Liquor board officials said they received several e-mails and calls about the posting over the weekend but said they told those who inquired that it was OK. The liquor board has to approve all license transfers.

"It's very novel," Daniels said. "As long as the license is legitimate, and it is, I don't know why a seller can't employ any legal means to sell it."

An eBay spokeswoman said she wasn't aware of any reason why Lasker and Allen couldn't sell their liquor license online, although she cautioned would-be buyers to do their homework. She could not say how often people try to sell liquor licenses through the Internet site.

"I don't know that it is something that we have listed very often on the site," said the spokeswoman, Catherine England. "It sounds like it may have happened in the past, but we don't have a category for liquor licenses. That is usually a good barometer."

A search of eBay yesterday turned up one other liquor license for sale, this one attached to an historic, 12-room hotel in Harrisburg, Pa. The seller was asking $350,000 for the entire package and was trying to entice prospective buyers with this line: "After the dinner-hour your patrons can relax in the pub to the entertainment of your choice."

The Royal, while not historic, has a colorful past. In 2002, when it was run under a different name by other owners, the bar was raided by city vice police and cited with adult entertainment violations. At the time, the bar was operating as a swingers club where barmaids wore see-through tops and patrons engaged in sex acts on couches on the second floor, according to police reports.

Lasker and Allen purchased the bar in 2003 and tried to turn it into a live-music venue, but neighbors complained of noise, trash and parking hassles. The men installed insulation in an effort to keep noise levels down, but some residents still complained. In the end, the business partners said they got tired of fighting. Today, they open the bar occasionally to keep their license valid. Licenses that go unused for 180 days or more are subject to revocation.

"I just got exhausted," said Lasker, who previously co-owned a Federal Hill bar called Boomerang. "I couldn't do it anymore."

Leigh Ratiner, chairman of the recently created Baltimore City Liquor Advisory Committee, an advisory group that will work with the liquor board to review liquor laws, initially balked at the idea of an eBay liquor license sale. He relaxed when he was told that Lasker had promised to add a sentence to his ad explaining that no sale would be final without liquor board approval.

"If that's done, I have no problem with it," said Ratiner, a retired lawyer who is pushing for liquor law reform. "Otherwise, it makes it appear that these things are just up for grabs. I don't think liquor licenses should be traded like baseball cards."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.liquor23may23,0,5237261.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Posted by News Desk at 12:08 PM | Permalink

A Texas County man in his 30s says an Ebay seller was playing the wrong tune after the Texas County man was stiffed on a $3,500 guitar.

According to the Texas County Sheriff's Department, the man, whose name could not be released, bought a guitar from Mitchell Levy of Baldwin, N.Y. Levy's Ebay ID is “mitchmaxx.”

The seller specializes in vintage guitars but in this case, the guitar never came.

According to a deputy of the Sheriff's Department, Levy said he sent the guitars in late March and blamed the shipper, UPS, for the delay.

Levy told the Sheriff's Department that he had a tracking number to prove that he had sent it but the tracking number just says the merchandise described as a guitar was shipped to an address in Lakewood, Calif.

The deputy, who did not want to be identified, said he wasn't sure if there was any legal ramifications that could come of this.

“I'm checking whether we can file criminal charges here,” the deputy said.

He said he has contacted the Nassau, N.Y. Police Department's detective division to see if anything could be done about the case.

Sheriff Arnold Peoples said he has had about three or four cases of e-fraud over the last couple of years.

“It's not Ebay,” Peoples said. “I'm sure they try to scrutinize their customers.”

Ebay has a ratings system for each of its sellers and buyers. People who buy something from a seller can leave positive feedback for the seller if they recommend him or leave negative feedback if they don't.

Sellers can do the same thing for buyers.

According to the Ebay review ratings, “mitchmaxx” has had zero positive ratings in the past month, five positive ratings in the past six months though and 11 in the past 12 months.

“Mitchmaxx” has had zero negative ratings over the past month, two negative ratings over the past six months and two for the past 12 months.

Also, according to Ebay's web site, “mitchmaxx” is not a registered user.

All of those negative comments indicate that he has had trouble getting items shipped to people in the past.

One negative comment from buyer “artvogue” wrote “Never paid. Full of wild excuses.” Another buyer, ID “ahorros savings,” wrote “Stay away from this one. Never gets back lost sale. Waste of money for me.”

The sheriff's deputy said “mitchmaxx” has received the check from the Texas County resident and the Sheriff's Department has copies of the cashed check.

The deputy said if people do get stiffed on Ebay, they may possibly be able file criminal charges however it is still uncertain as of this time.

Peoples warned that people should be careful when buying items online.

“I'm sure Ebay is probably a good deal,” Peoples said. “But they have outlaws just like everybody else does.”

Posted by News Desk at 10:57 AM | Permalink

ONLINE shopping is gaining pace: close to 6 million people now buy items ranging from cars to groceries on the internet.

Today eBay, the world's largest online auction house, will launch an Australian version of its US online retail enterprise, shopping.com. More than 200 merchants have signed up. They include Dick Smith, Apple Computer, Dell, Peter's of Kensington, Deals Direct and Strawberrynet.

Lorrie Norrington, president and chief executive of shopping.com in the US, led the Australian launch. She said that while the Australian market looked small compared with the US, "there are heaps of opportunities here".
Shopping.com, founded in 1999, was originally called DealTime and focused on price comparison. In 2003, it merged with ePinions, which provided consumer reviews of products.

Its staff is mainly in San Francisco, with programmers in Israel and another in Britain, where it opened for business in 2001. In 2004 the company listed on the Nasdaq and last year it was bought by eBay and expanded into France and Germany.

Australia is its fifth branch.

Ms Norrington said the company began researching Australia last year and discovered higher than average interest in online shopping.

"As broadband grows we expect internet adoption to grow more," she said. "There are 12 million internet users in Australia and 7.5 million online shoppers, of whom 5.5 million shop frequently.

"In addition, 87 per cent of all Australian internet users have bought something online, which is well above the (developed country) average of 77 per cent.

"Fifty-three per cent of those people say they have bought something in the last month. So we see the velocity increasing in the Australian market."

Shopping.com Australia manager Sean Cornelius said the online shopping population in Australia was growing by more than 40 per cent a year.

"We know that retailers are increasingly looking to add this additional sales channel to their business," he said. "They understand how the buyer is looking to transact online as well as offline."

He said trust was a vital ingredient in the transaction. "We provide transparency of information," he said. "Customers can rate their experience with online retailers and their views are shown on the site, so retailers are focused on building their online reputation."

Mr Cornelius said the company would keep an eye on customer reviews and would remove untrustworthy retailers.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/ebay-launches-australian-shopping/2006/05/22/1148150186770.html

Posted by News Desk at 10:55 AM | Permalink

User places Petach Tikva on auction site, with initial bids standing at USD 8.57; bus ticket also on offer

Founded in 1878 by Jewish pioneers, Petach Tikvah ("gateway of Hope") was the first Jewish village in Palestine and later became known as "mother of all colonies." In 1937 Petach Tikva received the status of a city. Today the number of citizens amounts to around 180 thousand souls.

But, apparently, not all residents are happy with the city. One has put the city on sale on auction website eBay, with initial bids standing at just USD 8.57. The auction ends in five days, however, and the Israeli city could certainly be worth more than that. The current highest bid is standing at USD 127.

The auction for the sale of the city, located near Tel Aviv, was published three days ago, and until now nine bids have been received.

EBay is one of the most popular websites on the internet. Every surfer can offer a price on an item, and other surfers are invited to make counter-bids. The highest bidder is the winner.

Two days ago, a web surfer who presented herself as Jane Lame place a photograph of Petach Tikva and offered the city for sale to the highest bidder. For some reason, the managers of the website took her strange joke seriously and published it.

Amazingly, until now nine surfers were willing to buy Petach Tikva, though it appears that they do not value it particularly highly.

Jane Lame is also offering a gift to the winning bidder: A bus ticket on line 66 from Petach Tikva to Tel Aviv, but only to those willing to take the bus standing.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3253684,00.html

Posted by News Desk at 03:14 PM | Permalink

The world's sweetest interactive auction. Chrysler Crossfires and once in a lifetime experiences hit the auction block at Hersheys.com

Do I hear one wrapper? Do I hear three wrappers? Sold for three wrappers! That's right, The Hershey Company is turning wrappers into cash as part of the world's sweetest interactive auction - "Get it With WrapperCash," powered by eBay. Hershey's is hosting daily auctions where wrappers from specially marked Hershey's candy bars, snack bars and cookies can be used to bid on amazing prizes. Up for auction are 12 Chrysler Crossfire cars, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and more.

To participate in Hershey's Get it with WrapperCash promotion consumers:

1. Set up a WrapperCash eBay account at Hersheys.com.

2. Bank codes found on specially marked Hershey's wrappers into their account. Once deposited, codes become points* good for use in the daily WrapperCash auctions or at the"Redeem Now" store. Codes can be deposited online or via text message from a cell phone.

3. Use points to participate in online auctions on Hersheys.com or redeem points instantly for Hershey's merchandise at the "Redeem Now" store.

4. Win! The consumer that bids the highest number of WrapperCash points on a particular item will be the winner.

The bidding began May 15th, with daily auctions held through October 31, 2006. During the first week, Hershey's will auction off a Chrysler Crossfire Roadster and a once in a lifetime experience to go behind the scenes at Hershey's to become a Master Chocolatier.

Hershey's Points
Hershey's standard bars = 2 WrapperCash points; Hershey's Snack Barz = 3 WrapperCash points; Hershey's 4-pack cookies = 4 WrapperCash points.

To find out more about WrapperCash powered by eBay, log on to www.hersheys.com.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2006/112_news060522_hershey_ebay_auction/

Posted by News Desk at 02:44 PM | Permalink

The irony of eBay is that as it grows to be ever more successful, it draws the unsavoury element of the internet towards it. I'm talking about people who make it their business to attempt to defraud you and I in our eBay and PayPal transactions.

Of course, not all dodgy dealings on eBay are fraudulent. Some are just mischievous. Others are by chancers, who perhaps reckon their victims won't be bothered to pursue them.

Whoever causes it, it's left to the targeted buyer or seller to try and sort out the problem. All that we as users can do is to be extremely vigilant and cautious in all our eBay and PayPal activities.

Here is a list of practical steps, in no particular order, which buyers and sellers can take to help avoid becoming the next victim.

Hopefully you are already aware of some of these. It doesn't necessarily follow that if one of these applies the auction or person is fraudulent. But if you use your head, and build up a view of the overall transaction based based upon a number of these factors, you will reduce your chances of getting conned.

1. Stock photos and descriptions, Because they don't have the item they are "selling", some fraudsters use a stock photograph of the item. And they will probably use the manufacturer's product description too. So, stock photos and no original description might be a sign. Search for other auctions by the same seller, and see if they are brazen enough to advertise the same item more than once.

2. A price too good to be true often isn't true, A fraudster wants your money quickly, so you may find they offer to close their auction early with you as the "winner" having bid a price which you know to be somewhat of a bargain. Why would anyone close their auction early if the price hadn't reached market levels? I'll give you one guess.

3. High value or high volume, newly registered sellers, Although the vast majority of new sellers are genuine and honest, be cautious of buying from people selling high value items in bulk, very early on in their eBay career. This pattern isn't quite normal. Think back to your own first sales. You would have been tentative, and probably have tried single, low value items initially. So, a new seller fitting this profile may be someone who has perhaps been previously suspended and has registered another ID.

4. 1 day listings, Although 1 day listing are used by genuine sellers who have more than one item or who want a quick sale, unfortunately this duration is attractive to fraudsters too. They sometimes use a 1 day auction duration to gain a quick sale before their actions can be reported and acted upon. So, be extra wary on auctions with 1 day listing.

5. Invitations to trade off-eBay, This is a classic ploy of fraudsters. Having made some kind of contact with you, or you with them, they will invite you to purchase or to sell off eBay i.e. without using eBay's auction services. The attraction here to the fraudster is that they can drive the transaction along the lines they prefer, whether that be escrow, PayPal etc. Another reason why trading off eBay is not a good idea is that you have to keep your own formal records of the transaction, and you forfeit any cover from eBay buyer protection and PayPal buyer protection. Plus, and this might be a minor point, but you will not be able to leave feedback to let others know your experience with this seller/buyer. 6. Payment methods with no recourse, Fraudsters prefer to chose payment methods in which the buyer has no protection, like wire transfers where the buyer has no way of tracing where the money is going. Western Union Money Transfers and BidPay are favourites and should be totally avoided. Postal orders are similar although they are a popular payment method among the genuine sellers as they require no clearance time. Bank transfers and cheques can only provide the possibility of your bank investigating the details of the account the money was transferred into. For the best protection use Paypal and fund with a Credit Card. Note there are limits on eBay and PayPal protection, and you should make yourself aware of what these are.

7. Unusual sales pattern, If your seller's feedback indicates that they normally deal in collectables, DVDs or other specific items, be suspicious that they are suddenly listing laptops, plasma TVs or other high value items. The change may indicate that this seller's account has been hijacked.

8. Bad english gives you a pointer, Some fraudsters operate from abroad but pretend to be in UK or USA. As they aren't particularly adept at the english language they might use a translation tool like Babelfish to create their emails to you. So, watch out for emails that are not good english. In itself, it doesn't prove anything, there are plenty of genuine eBay sellers for whom english is not their first language. But it might add to further evidence you have.

9. Location Location Location, In the case of lazy fraudsters you might find their locations don't match up. By that I mean the auction says the goods are in the UK, but the seller's ID details show their location to be, say, Ukraine. This is not a good sign. Often in these cases if you contact these sellers you will receive an excuse as to why the item is not in the UK, and therefore can't be collected in person. In short, if an auction says the item is in the UK and the seller says that it is not, I would avoid the auction. And don't forget to cross check with their PayPal account, and see in which country this resides.

10. Ask questions, Always, always ask your seller a question. Any question. Their response, if you receive one, will help you judge how genuine the seller is. Beware auctions that carry a message asking you to contact the seller via a given email address as opposed to via the 'Ask seller a question' link. This could be an account hijacker trying to prevent buyers from 'Asking the seller a question'. They want to stop this from happening because such questions could be routed to the real account owner.

11. "eBay can vouch for me" email, A warning about a relatively new tactic used by fraudsters. If you are proving hard to land as a buyer/seller, they may claim they can get eBay to email you proof of their validity so that you can trust them. eBay, of course, will NEVER do this. The email sent out, however authentic looking, is fake and is designed to get you to part with your money or your goods. This applies equally to Square Trade and PayPal. They will never email you certifying the genuineness of anyone.

12.A PayPal warning, There are fraudsters who use stolen PayPal accounts to accept payments. To lower the possibility of this, check your seller's location as shown in eBay, and then see if it is one of PayPal's permitted countries by clicking here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlr701.htm. If PayPal don't offer their service in the country that the seller resides, be very wary.

13. Passwords, Never have the same password on your eBay and PayPal accounts. Or indeed on any other financial or personal site. Change your passwords every 30-60 days on both eBay and PayPal.

14. Pointers in feedback, Try to read the positive feedback as well as the negative. Read the way your seller responds to negative feedback as this will often give you an idea of how the seller will react if something goes badly wrong. If the seller is offering high value goods, be wary if their feedback has been built up quickly from low value purchases. Also, if the overall rating is good, but there are a disproportionate number of negatives in recent days/weeks, this might indicate the account has been taken over. Finally, be aware that feedback is not the guarantee it once was. Feedback can easily be manufactured. Also, if the user ID has been hijacked, you'll be reading the feedback of the original account owner, not the person with whom you're currently dealing!

15. Credit Card payment, For high value items, or for amounts of money you can't afford to lose, make sure you pay by credit card which has online fraud protection. This will give you some recourse if the seller is fraudulent. In this context, paying via PayPal is not the same. PayPal do have a buyer protection scheme, but there are criteria which the eBay auction has to satisfy in order to qualify. Even if the transaction qualifies, PayPal's standard protection currently has a maximum value of $1,000. Note that payment by debit card provides zero protection.

16. Address and Telephone check, Use the Ask the seller a question link, and request they email you with their address and telephone number. Any reputable seller will give you their address and telephone number. When you get the number, call it, and see if you get through to the genuine seller.

17. Keystroke capturing virus, This is a computer virus which you inadvertently download onto your PC. It's task is to capture the keystrokes you make, and to send them to the virus placer. The fraudster then uses pattern recognition software to identify and extract personal information, like username, password, credit card numbers etc. To avoid this happening to you, it is wise to have good, up-to-date virus, firewall and spyware checking software on your PC. Here is where you can get free software for each of these functions:

18. Shill bidding, Shill bidding is where people work in cahoots to inflate the bidding on an item. A seller has a "partner" who makes bids on the seller's items with a view to bumping up the bid price. They have no intention of buying the item. Fortunately, shill bidders and their associated seller can be stupid. The shill bidder will usually makes bids on other items from the same seller. Here's how to check to see if shill bidding is a feature of a particular seller. First, look at the seller's closed auctions over the last 30 days. If most of the closed auctions have no bids, it is unlikely the seller has shill bidders working with them. If all of the closed auctions have bids, take a look at the bid history. See if the same bidder appears in the list of bidders, usually with aggressive bidding and normally at the start of the auction. If so, you may have uncovered a shill operation, so avoid that seller's auctions.

19. Keep your transaction information, Keep your own record of the transaction when you're buying. Don't just rely on eBay. You want a record of the seller's identification, the item description, emails sent and received, plus the time, date and price of your bid.

20. "I noticed your bid...." , Never deal with anyone who contacts you after seeing your bid on another auction. They will say something like, "I saw you bidding on that digital camera. I have the same model available for sale. I don't have time to list it on eBay. It has more accessories than the one you lost out on. You can have it for xyz." If you bite, they'll probably take you down the fake escrow route. Also, if you entertain this proposition, you're operating outside of eBay and therefore have no auction protection whatsoever.

21. Changed eBay ID, Never deal with anyone who has a changed ID icon next to their name. This icon menas they've changed their ID in the last 30 days. Few legitimate people change their eBay ID. When was the last time you changed yours? There's a 1% chance that an ID change is genuine, but 99% that it is fraudulent. Why take the risk?

22. Changed email address mid-stream, If a seller or buyer changes their email address on you in the middle of a transaction, stop dealing with them. It is likely their previous email account was closed down due to some irregularity - such as a previous victim reported them. If you think about it, why would any genuine buyer or seller change their email address whilst corresponding on a transaction they wish to conclude expeditiously?

23. Complications, Never get involved in any transaction where the seller/buyer tries to introduce a third person into the financial arrangements. They might ask you to pay xyz, who will then pay the seller, and you will receive a discount or commission for your co-operation. Such proposals are always fraudulent. They prey on greed. Don't be tempted.

24. Time is of the essence, This is a scam which is has more potential for success than traditional phishing attacks, as it is time sensitive. The fraudster searches for high value auctions that have just ended. The bid history for an auction contains hyperlinks to each bidder. The fraudster checks to see if the winning bidder is selling any items of their own. If so, they go to that auction and embed a request for payment from the first auction within a question for seller. This works because winning bidders are expecting request for payment shortly after an auction ends. A variation of this is to offer a bidder a "second chance". This time the "Ask the seller a question" email pretends that the real winner has backed out, and offers the item at a lower price. The buyer, believing the story, is lured into paying to whom they believe is a genuine seller. Many eBayers have heard of the second chance system, but have no experience of it. This unfamiliarity coupled with the fact that a few weeks might have passed, makes this an effective method for fraudsters. The moral of this story is never get involved in any transaction which arrives in your inbox via the Ask the Seller a Question feature.

25. eBay IDs, Never us your email address as your eBay ID, or part of your eBay ID. Fraudsters have software which monitors internet traffic looking for information such as this. If your eBay ID and email address are the same, it is simple for a fraudster to plausibly communicate with other eBay members in your name.

In the meantime, be aware, and be safe in your eBay buying and eBay selling.

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/27858.php

Posted by News Desk at 02:28 PM | Permalink

A surgeon has upset hospital bosses by ordering medical equipment through the auction website eBay.

Kevin Murray, a newly appointed consultant at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, had been asked to provide a list of the equipment he would need for his operating theatre.

The items he requested came to £45,000. But before arriving at his new job, he realised he had forgotten to include a £15 surgical retractor, used to hold wounds open during operations.

Mr Murray decided to save time by bypassing the NHS procurement system and using eBay. But when officials found out, the retractor was confiscated.

Roy Haynes, the director of human resources at the James Paget NHS Trust, said the instrument had been checked and sterilised and posed no threat to public health. It is back in Mr Murray's hands.

The NHS has repeatedly been urged to speed up its adoption of "eProcurement", the purchasing of items online.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=P8&xml=/health/2006/05/22/nebay20.xml

Posted by News Desk at 12:41 PM | Permalink

If you’ve got the money, a piece of American history is for sale on Lake Champlain.

The Civil War-era military outpost Fort Montgomery is for sale on eBay. The limestone fort sits on an island near Rouses Point and is connected to the mainland by a 700-foot causeway. Owner Victor Podd says this is the first time they have officially put the site up for sale. The family tried unsuccessfully a few years ago to donate the property to the State for a new State Park.

The sale includes 6,900 feet of lake frontage and 279 acres on the adjacent mainland. In 1935, most of the fort was demolished to build a bridge between Rouses Point and Alburg, Vermont.

Podd's father Victor purchased the fort and surrounding property in 1983 to build the headquarters of his company, Powertex, but never completed the plan.

Podd says the reserve price is set below $9.9 million, but declined to specify an exact figure. The current high bid with 13 days left is just over $3 million. The auction ends June 5.

http://www.newswatch50.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=1B043F3B-5D2E-491D-8B18-7636D7B2EF1E

Posted by News Desk at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Recently I was featured in the debut of AuctionByte's "First Item Sold Online" feature. I reminisced about the first item I ever sold on eBay - a broken watch. As we fast-forward nearly 8 years later, things haven't changed all that much - here's a recent auction I listed for a broken iPod.

There are countless reasons to buy and/or sell broken items on eBay. Buyers may be lured by the handyman's special and like to tinker around, or perhaps they are buying a broken item specifically for an unblemished part it contains. Sellers may be dumpster-diving profiteers, or do not have the technological know-how to fix an item.
Broken items on eBay should be tagged as either Broken, Damaged, Parts, Repair or Faulty (and may additionally be tagged "As Is"). Aptly, a search for "Broken iPod" on eBay yields the following:
"Related Searches : ipod as is, damaged ipod, ipod parts, ipod repair"

After the successful sale of my broken iPod Shuffle (I had put it through the wash!), and reading an article from Apple Matters Blog "How Much Cheaper Is the iPod Going to Get?" (http://digbig.com/4hpph), I was convinced that there was a flourishing market for broken iPods on eBay that needed to be further analyzed.

On March 26, 2006 (2:45p.m. EST), I ran a 90-day Completed Items Search and found the following results:
 539 items found for broken ipod
 101 items found for damaged ipod
 145 items found for ipod for parts
 78 items found for ipod faulty
 20 items found for ipod needs repair
I further broke down the 539 results and found that there were 334 items that actually matched the criteria of a Broken iPod (I did not include lots, isolated parts including new parts, repair services, repair manuals, repair tools or unsold items).
Broken LCD screens, dead batteries and dead hard drive were some of the auctions that I encountered. One auction comically (or deceptively) was titled "Broken Mini iPod in Great condition."

Total goods sold were $25,173 for an average selling price of $75 for all versions of iPod. I further broke down Total and Average Selling Prices for iPods based on Generation, Version and Disk Space.
Note that some sellers abbreviate G for Gen, which is an abbreviation for generation. Fifth generation iPod is the latest model, while 1st generation was the first iPod released in 2001. (Do not confuse G with GB, which is an abbreviation for Gigabytes - the amount of Disk Space.)
As you can see, the newer models demand a higher average selling price. However, it is an anomaly that the 40GB models had a lower average selling price than the 30GB. One would expect that larger the disk space, the higher the average selling point. A look at the auction descriptions might reveal the reason for this incongruity.
If you are interested in exploring this market further, Apple has compiled articles on how to identify different iPod models (http://digbig.com/4hppj) and how to identify the Serial, Model Number & Hard Drive Size of your iPod (http://digbig.com/4hppk).
Additionally eBay's Shopping.com, Amazon.com and especially Wikipedia are good resources to use to help identify and/or describe an iPod.

http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y206/m05/abu0167/s04

Saturday May 20th 2006

Elvis keeps a close eye on Ebay

PSYCHIC Uri Geller reckons Elvis told him he was the winning bidder in the Ebay sale of the Memphis house Presley lived in before moving to Graceland. Geller performed a spoon-bending trick in Las Vegas for the singer in the 1970s and now collects Elvis memorabilia. Geller also has a paranormal fascination with the number 11 .

As the bidding closed "I felt intuitively I got the price it was exactly 11 on my mobile phone and suddenly the radio started playing an Elvis song. That was Elvis telling me we got the house," Geller said. It cost him pounds 479,500 - more than twice what the property is worth without the Elvis factor.

Meanwhile, I promised I would let you know the outcome of the auction for the "two per cent share of the Holy Grail" sale, as reported here last week. However, it would appear the Ebay police pulled the sale before it reached a conclusion. A thorough search failed to find a result, even though sold listings remain available for 15 days after the end of an auction. Seems like Ebay suffered a sense of humour failure.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/05/20/1657332.htm

Posted by News Desk at 11:39 AM | Permalink

People in the United States and Canada can make free calls from their computers to telephones in those countries using online communication service Skype, the company said.

Skype, a division of eBay in Northern California, announced that its SkypeOut service would be free in the United States and Canada through the end of the year as a promotion intended to lure new users.

Skype calls from computer-to-computer have been free since the service was launched slightly more than two years ago, but SkypeOut calls routed from computers to land-line or mobile telephones came with fees. “Millions of consumers around the world are flocking to Skype every month, and we believe free SkypeOut calling will rapidly accelerate Skype adoption in the US and Canada,” said Henry Gomez, general manager of Skype North America.

Posted by News Desk at 11:33 AM | Permalink

Broadsword for sale, one lady owner, good runner-through

The founder of a service designed to let gamers swap and sell virtual items they pick up in online games has insisted that games companies must get used to the idea.
Joe Youngblood, who set up MMO Market, claimed that publishers of massively multiplayer online games often overstep their bounds.

"Last month Blizzard told eBay to pull ads from a guy selling an unofficial guide to World of Warcraft, so the guy sued them," he said.

"These sort of strong-arm tactics really hurt the gaming community instead of helping it to grow."
As well as letting players offer items for sale, MMO Market aims to help online groups such as clans and guilds recruit new members.

Youngblood suggested that some games publishers are already starting to embrace the sale of virtual items, and would have no problem with his site.

"You don't see Ford, GM or Honda blocking the 'aftermarket' sale of their cars," he pointed out.
If the service becomes a hit, MMO Market plans to integrate a payment service such as PayPal in the future.
"We do not want to add something like that so soon, since the site is fairly new and we haven't seen the demand for it yet," said Youngblood. "But if and when the demand is there we want to be ready to implement it quickly."

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2156592/virtual-items-gain-online

Posted by News Desk at 11:32 AM | Permalink

Cop leads crackdown on internet fraudsters

AN INTERNET supercop has been appointed to track down online fraudsters.
Detective Constable Scott Rennie will spearhead investigations into crooks using auction website eBay.

The move by Strathclyde Police comes as internet crime in the UK has soared to a new high. Bosses at eBay have become so concerned that they are helping train cops to track down the criminals.

Rennie, who works in the computer crime squad, has already dealt with around 200 eBay crimes in the last 12 months. The website have more than 195million users worldwide and have generated profits of around £530million.

But opportunist criminals use the service - launched 10 years ago - to sell stolen goods or commit fraud.

Rennie said: "The most common crime is what we call invisible goods. The guys take your money for something and never send the product.

"There was one case where a person bought £22,000 worth of computing gear and got stung.

"We had another incident where a guy had his quad bike stolen, then a few days later saw it being sold from England on eBay

"We made inquiries and found it was the right one. Police made an arrest."
One favourite tactic is for the crook to set up an ID, then build up lots of good feedback by selling things really cheaply.

Rennie said: "People then think they're reputable sellers but end up getting stung."
Gareth Griffths, of eBay, said the firm have being showing police tricks used by criminals on eBay.

He said: "We show them how to use advanced search facilities on eBay to track things down and what to do if they spot stolen items."

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17111212&method=full&siteid=66633&headline=ebay-watch--name_page.html

Posted by News Desk at 11:30 AM | Permalink

Ebay China and Taobao.com have started a war on a new battlefield.

Ebay China and Taobao.com have expanded their intense competition from the customer-to-customer (C2C) market to the business-to-customer (B2C) market. Both have launched online stores in cooperation with dozens of premium brands.

In China’s emerging e-commerce market, Ebay China, the Chinese unit of US online auction service eBay Inc, and Taobao.com, a unit of Alibaba.com, have been long-time rivals.
In the latest survey available, Taobao.com had a 67.3 percent share of China’s C2C market in terms of user numbers by the end of March 2006. That was followed by Ebay China which had a 29.1 percent share of the market.
Now the battlefield between these two arch rivals has been expanded to the B2C market.

In early May, Taobao.com set up online shopping stores which have attracted companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Qingdao Haier, and Lenovo.
As always, Taobao.com does not charge any fees to companies who want to set up shops on its website. Nor does it take commissions from any deals that have been successfully completed.

Ebay China has quickly followed suit by launching its own online shops in cooperation with 70 popular international and domestic brands in China, including Philips, Epson, Disney, TCL, and Adidas.

Unlike Taobao.com, Ebay China has several strings attached to its cooperation with other companies.

First, any company who wants to launch a shopping service on Ebay China’s website has to agree to make available on the site at least 70 percent of all the types of commodities the company sells. Secondly, the companies must have a sound and equitable customer service. Thirdly, prices must be lower than those obtained in traditional shops.
In an interview with the Beijing-based The Economic Observer newspaper, Ebay China’s chief executive officer Wu Shixiong says online shops are Ebay China’s specialty and he plans to make them account for half of the total trade volume at Ebay China by 2007.

Jack Ma, the Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba.com, the parent group of Taobao.com, is not so optimistic. He told the Economic Observer that with quality distribution and logistics channels, Amazon.com only achieves a profit margin of 5 percent. In Jack Ma’s opinion, China’s B2C market is already mature and it will be hard for companies to make further profits.
Meanwhile, reports say Taobao.com is trying out some new methods. One move includes auctioning the best positions on its website to interested companies. Companies can bid for the best position to sell their products on Taobao.com.
Most companies believe the move marks the beginning of charging companies for listings on the websites.

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/855/2006/05/22/581@92934.htm

Posted by News Desk at 11:29 AM | Permalink

Postal service and internet auction house join forces to boost their business. Seminars help would-be sellers learn how to cash in on the trend.

Alison Kelly of Stewartsville has bought a lot of stuff on eBay. She can maneuver around the popular auction Web site with some degree of comfort.

But when it came to selling, Kelly was like a mouse cringing in the corner, afraid to touch the cheese because there might be a trap attached.
"I was always afraid I'd blow up the computer," Kelly says.

Kelly sat in the front row in a room of about 32 other eBay learners during an eBay Day training session co-sponsored by the auction house and the United States Postal Service at the Phillipsburg Public Library.
The postal workers putting on the show even wore new blue shirts bearing the logos of both the postal service and eBay -- a uniform designed for making money.

When asked what led to the public-private "co-branding" as it's called, presenter John Dock, imported from the Mahwah, N.J., post office by Stewartsville Postmaster Jeff Hahn, explained, "Think about it. Just think about it. Right now there are more than 500,000 sellers on eBay The postal service ships more than 1 million eBay-related items per day, and that number is growing."

Dock and other postal workers have become a traveling road show of sorts. They co-sponsor eBay Days throughout the region with the purpose of linking eBay to the mailing services of the USPS.

Parts of the presentation resembled late-night infomercials, with Dock and co-presenter Ken Weit talking about cost savings when eBayers use USPS services, such as special co-branded boxes for shipping.
They even took orders for eBay kits -- "a $75 value for $59.95," Dock told the group.
Dock stresses beginners need four critical tools to get started.

•   A decent digital camera to take photos of whatever they're selling. More people take notice if a picture accompanies a description of what's being sold.
•   A scale so eBayers can calculate postage accurately. Without it, the seller could be cheating him- or herself by undercharging the buyer.
•   A magnifying glass to search for identifying signatures or other information on items being sold. Is it just a generic glass? Or is it Waterford Crystal? Finding the right marks can mean a difference between a couple bucks and a couple hundred bucks.
•   Professional packing. "Don't go dumpster diving for boxes to ship your product," Dock says. "And don't use newspaper as packing. It doesn't really protect. Use bubble wrap or Styrofoam 'peanuts.' I know one seller who even sprays a shot of Febreeze in his boxes. It makes it nice when they're opened."

Weit, meanwhile, stresses the importance of a seller maintaining a good reputation.
"That's all you really have," he says.

Those familiar with eBay know that once the transaction is complete, the buyer can -- and should -- take the opportunity to "grade" the seller on speed of delivery, condition of item when it's received, and whether any roaches hitchhiked along with that dumpster-retrieved cardboard box the item came in.

The bottom line seems to be, don't be cheap and charge enough from your customers to cover expenses.
Kelly plans to use her newfound knowledge and confidence to expand the services she and others provide at the NORWESCAP Thrift Store in Phillipsburg.

"I'll also be downsizing my own home," she says of stuff that's just gathering dust when it could be gathering cash.
Dock adds, "You know, most of the stuff sold on eBay comes from either the trash or garage sales."
The eBay Day presentations only scratch the surface of eBay-USPS co-branding, but Weit and Dock continually referred to its ease of use and urge new users to take the 1-hour and 40-minute tutorial on the eBay Web site. In fact, Dock keeps repeating what seems to be a USPS-eBay mantra -- "It's as simple as that."

However, if you don't have time to devote to eBay, yet you've got something to sell, professional go-betweens are cropping up here and there.
.
http://www.nj.com/living/expresstimes/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1148271017285220.xml&coll=2

Posted by News Desk at 11:01 AM | Permalink

Like many schemes that offer quick riches, buying and selling on eBay can be more challenging than many fortune hunters wish. You don't merely input your password, et voil, you are trading the Taj Mahal. The process is onerous, especially for sellers. Some entrepreneurs have simplified this for people who are willing to drop off their merchandise with them and the intermediaries in turn take care of the auction process and delivery.

But now there's an entrepreneur who has gone a couple steps further. She and her network will pick up the old computer or grandmother's pearls from you. Stella Kleiman of San Francisco also has developed her own software and accounting process, which has proven so simple a growing network of independent contractors uses her system, FoundValue, http://www.foundvalue.com.

When John Cummings of Hercules discovered FoundValue, he was already an eBay power seller, racking up sales of at least $10,000 a month.

While software developers have jumped on the eBay bandwagon to refine the process — the site http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/pages/ams has more than 40 software products supporting auctions on eBay and many competitors — Cummings liked FoundValue and became an independent contractor.

"There are lots of pieces of software that make the auction process easier for buyers but very few that make the auction process easy for consigners," Cummings said. "FoundValue is much easier. I load the merchandise right onto their platform. When you start the auction, the customers follow along with you automatically. I
don't have to do my own accounting anymore. FoundValue cuts the checks for the customers."

Kleiman calls her business FoundValue because turning unused merchandise into cash is just that, she said. She had been doing business development for a high-tech company in Silicon Valley with a staff of 50, enduring a lot of stress and a 90-minute commute. She called it quits and moved to New York.

"One day I found a watch of my husband's in the back of the car, and I decided to sell it on eBay. It turned out to be a collector's item, and we got a check for $154 for it," she said.

Getting that check hooked her. Soon, when people asked her what she was doing, she would say, "I'm selling oneBay."
Likely as not, they would ask her, "Would you do it for me?" Her business grew by word-of-mouth. Today, FoundValue has more than 250 independent contractors in 36 states. There are several in the Bay Area, and they are listed on the FoundValue Web site.

When someone joins the FoundValue network, he or she must buy a kit for $80 that contains a manual, a marketing kit and postcards. From then on, the specialist must pay a $10 monthly fee. Other than that, all he or she needs is a digital camera, access to the Internet and a car. Unlike many franchises that charge tens of thousands of dollars to join, the bar for entry here is low. FoundValue is not a franchise; it's a network of independents.

I wanted to be open to everyone. They get all the benefits of a franchise, but they are at home and they don't have the high startup costs. We own our own software platform and they get free online training. It's very easy to do this business," Kleiman said.

The seller gets a bigger chunk of the profits than at regular consignment stores as well, she claims. EBay drop-off stores typically charge commissions of 35 to 40 percent for the first few hundred dollars of each item sold, with the percentage decreasing for bigger transactions.

Meanwhile, FoundValue network sellers, or "eSpecialists," take 35 percent of the first $250 sold, 25 percent of the next sales up to $750 and 15 percent for anything over that.

Cummings is convinced because he went from being a lone operator to part of a network. Even though it's not in the formal contract with FoundValue, the organization passes leads onto him, he said. He likes helping people navigate the maze that is eBay — the San Jose-based company has more than 100 million registered members worldwide — positioning their merchandise to reach markets they could not have achieved on their own.
"I love selling things for people that are undervalued in one area and seeing them receive value in another. For instance, once I had a 1960 electric organ from Orinda whose owner couldn't sell it at all. But I got several bidders for it on eBay — even from as far as Germany," he said.

Oakland's Richard Lardner is a busy salesman who isn't home very much. He didn't have time to take care of his two 80-year-old parrots. Since he entrusted them to a parrot ranch, he's now burdened with their 5-foot by 3-foot wrought iron cage. Besides that, he has unwanted furniture, a weight set and a NordicTrack that have been gathering dust in his Grand Lake residence.

The parrot cage has been a problem. "Connecting with the right buyer for a thing like that is difficult," Lardner said.
He has been intrigued watching Cummings catalog all this merchandise and is eager to follow the auction process as it begins online.

Richmond's Vera Reddick said Cummings made life easier for her and her family after her mom died.
"We needed to dispose of her furnishings. He advised us which things would sell and which we should trash. I was surprised at some of the things that sold, such as the living room sofa and love seat that went for $500. He did everything. We just waited at home for the check," Reddick said.

When David Wolfgram and his wife bought a home in Alamo, they wanted to remodel the kitchen. The cabinets and the appliances were still usable but did not have the look they wanted.
"The contractor wanted to throw them all out; and we instead put the entire kitchen on eBay and saved them from the landfill. Some bidders came and looked at them. John was very good in handling everything for us," Wolfgram said.

They ended up selling their kitchen cabinets for $4,500 to a young couple in Sacramento.

Posted by News Desk at 10:58 AM | Permalink

It's a little ironic, but "word of mouth" is still a reliable way to attract customers who are strongly motivated to visit your auction or store listings and purchase items. And where a personal recommendation from a friend is unavailable, people more often than not will turn to the opinion of an "expert."

Expertise in this context refers to real-world experience with a particular field or product. And it can be as basic as having more visibility in the Amazon marketplace than the average person. It's this extra visibility that can steer people to your listings as an expert on a given product or subject area. Best of all, the cost of becoming an expert for this form of marketing is absolutely free.

Amazon has three ways you can become a "visible expert": reviewing products, using Listmania, or creating a special Amazon "So You Want To" list. In each case, you'll be afforded an opportunity to gain more visibility - and a link to your store - on many more Amazon.com web pages than any other method. eBay has recently taken similar steps, allowing users to write product reviews and "How To" or "Tip" Guides.

The simplest way to gain exposure on Amazon or eBay is by writing reviews. Web pages on Amazon each contain a link next to the product description to the customer reviews. (Currently, eBay has reviews for only a few categories, such as books, DVDs, music and cell phones.)

Each review will in turn have at least one link to the reviewer's name that can take an interested reader to a profile of the reviewer. On Amazon, you would see the profile with a "Browse" column in the left containing links to the reviewer's Listmania and other related links. If this reviewer had an auction listing or a zShop, there would be a link to the person's items.

This in turn begs the question: why would someone want to learn more about a particular product's reviewer? At times it is because you may have written such an interesting or controversial take on a product that a shopper may want to read more of what you have to say. More often, it will be because online buyers are, by and large, information-gathering people. Certain types of reviews will boost interest in your profile, which of course will link to your own eBay listings or Amazon zShop.

The reviews to get the attention of Amazon or eBay shoppers browsing for products need to be done with care. Writing a review that says, "This item is great, and I have 50 of these on sale!" isn't against the rules per se, but it will change your recommendation from an "expert opinion" into just another ad.

Remember that the review must be a sincere appraisal of a product's strengths and weaknesses. You can discuss your expertise in a positive, non-confrontational way that presents you as a more-or-less objective expert; one who likes the product line so much that you actually deal in it. Finally, you'll want to write reviews for products similar to the ones you carry, allowing you to catch the attention of people who may be drawn to buying widgets, but are not familiar with the brand you carry.
Here are two quick examples of reviews you could consider posting:

***
Excellent product so long as you can find it!
Reviewer: Widgetguy (USA)
I personally think the Black Edition widget is the hottest product out there. It just looks so cool - and you'll differentiate yourself from The Crowd. It's very capable and packed with features. I've been carrying this widget for a while and it's always been a perennial seller, so much so that I have to work to keep it in stock.

***
An A for Effort
Reviewer: Widget_Expert (USA)
The Silver Edition widget works well and has a decent interface. Having worked with widgets as a hobbyist and developer for a decade though, it still lacks a couple of the colors that I've only seen on Brand X models. I've had a lot more luck (and fewer returns) from Brand X since it has a special feature that the others don't.

Finally, you'll continue to gain more credibility if you decide to become an Amazon or eBay "Top Reviewer." Top Reviewers are graced with a special badge or symbol that tells other users that they've earned a high rank in the reviewer hierarchy. Thus, a top reviewer badge by default tells the casual viewer to pay attention - the holder of the badge is someone who is dedicated and knowledgeable about the details and quality of a given field or product. It's also an excellent definition of an expert.

Part 2 of this article will further discuss using Amazon's Listmania and creating guides on eBay and Amazon as marketing techniques.

http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y206/m05/abu0167/s02

Posted by News Desk at 11:38 AM | Permalink

The Hartman brothers have placed another of their rare items up for auction on ebay.

This time they have listed the very rare Transformers G2 Laser Cycle Jazz. Here is their description:

"This auction is for Jazz, a Laser Cycle from the Transformers Generation 2 series in America. The G2 Laser Cycles, originally released as Road Pig and Road Rocket in 1995, were planned to be recolored as Soundwave and Jazz, but were cancelled before they went into production. Some made it as far as the packaged sample stage, and this is one of the fewer than twelve examples known to exist."

Posted by News Desk at 11:37 AM | Permalink

Everyone is an expert about something. That is the premise of a new website called Squidoo.com (http://www.squidoo.com). Founded by Internet marketing guru and best-selling author Seth Godin, the site helps individuals create pages (called lenses) to give visitors a good understanding of a particular topic.

eBay and online sellers can use Squidoo to build credibility with buyers and increase their exposure. Many eBay sellers have built "About Me" pages on eBay to tell shoppers more about themselves, which can be important when your business is not a nationally known brand. A Squidoo lens serves a similar purpose.

Anyone can build a Squidoo lens on any topic. The lens is made up of modules, which can include links to other sites; an RSS feed from a blog or news feed; a list of related books available from Amazon; your own content; and a live updated eBay feed of your auctions or the auctions you select. The modules containing eBay auctions, Amazon listings and RSS feeds all update automatically.

You can link to your Squidoo lens in your eBay About Me page and in your email signature line. Shoppers who want to learn more about you can then visit your Squidoo lens and get a sense of who you are and what you know about what you are selling.

There is no charge for building a Squidoo lens, and Squidoo actually shares the revenue it receives from affiliate links built into some of the modules. (For example, Squidoo is an Amazon affiliate.) Squidoo recognizes that lensmasters, as it calls its members, are not likely to earn a sizable income from their lens pages, so it gives lensmasters the option to donate their income to charity.

It doesn't take long to register and set up a page on Squidoo. However, it does require an investment of time to fill out a lens with good content. I built a lens and went back several times to it fill out. Frankly, it's a work in progress, and I could continually add to my Squidoo lens.

Online sellers often have existing content from having answered questions from buyers and from writing their auction descriptions. Clothing sellers may have written guides on figuring out sizes when buying clothes online, or spotting fake designer items in listings. This content can be pasted into Squidoo modules. You might add links to your favorite websites about clothing, and links to blogs that are of interest to fashionistas.

According to Squidoo, many of the lenses show up in Google searches. So, for example, if you sell antique silver spoons and you build a great lens on spoons with links to authoritative books, to your auctions, to websites and to discussions, it's quite possible that a search on "antique silver spoons" might turn up your lens. If it does, it is sending traffic straight to your auctions (if you include an eBay auction module on your lens).

I put in a few topics in Google to see if the corresponding Squidoo lenses would show up on the first page of search results. At this point, it seems the searcher would have to use more than one word. For example, entering "Chevelle" into Google does not bring back the Chevelle Squidoo lens on the first page of results, but entering "Chevelle junkie" brings back the Chevelle Squidoo lens as the very first result on the first page. Obviously the more popular the topic, the more websites you will be competing with in search engine results pages.

I enjoyed building my Squidoo lens, it seemed similar to one of the blogging tools I had used to create a blog 5 years ago. Once you've created your lens, you can feel like a true expert on the topic.

The more places you call home on the Internet, the more likely people are to find you and your website or auction listings. You should be using every opportunity available to you to show potential shoppers that you are a knowledgeable and trustworthy seller. Investing some time in marketing your business can pay off in sales.

If you want to learn more about Squidoo, you can watch an interview with founder Seth Godin on the Features channel of AuctionBytes.TV (http://www.auctionbytes.tv/features).

Posted by News Desk at 11:34 AM | Permalink

If you are scrambling to score tickets to the upcoming World Cup, a German soccer official suggests it might be wise to avoid purchasing them over the Internet on eBay, according to a recent Reuters report.

For security reasons, tickets for the month-long event, which kicks off June 9, are personalized with the buyer's name and are transferable only under special circumstances.

But according to the report, that has not stopped an active market from developing online.

When asked for advice to pass along to any potential eBay buyers, German soccer chief Theo Zwanziger reportedly said: "I would just warn him he's running a risk. He's going to the stadium under a false name ... and he runs the risk he will be turned away."

He also dismissed a suggestion that stadium officials would only check the identities of only a few fans.

"Why are you so sure? We have a lot of stewards on the spot," Zwanziger said.

"If we have indications, firstly that the security situation is critical, and secondly that people are coming to the stadium without officially issued tickets, there will be intensive checks.

"And then those who don't have (official tickets) will be spotted, and they'll have paid a lot of money and they'll be sent home. So I'd advise them to spare themselves the frustration."

According to Reuters, the top Thursday afternoon bid on eBay's German Web site www.ebay.de for a ticket for the Brazil-Austria match on June 18 was 431 euros — or a whopping $551.

Obviously that is well above the official ticket price.

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5621772

Posted by News Desk at 05:44 PM | Permalink

Computer software makers launched a crackdown on illegal Internet sales of their products Tuesday by suing suspected pirates who have set up shop on the popular online auction site eBay.

Usually fierce rivals Symantec and McAfee teamed up to kick off the crusade by targeting five different eBay sellers in three lawsuits filed Monday in a Los Angeles federal court.

"If online marketplaces are going to pursue the free-market ideals that they aspire to, they must make sure the products they sell are authentic," said Joe Fitzgerald, Symantec's vice president of intellectual property.

The two leading makers of antivirus software decided to sue after uncovering evidence that the individuals named in the complaints had completed more than 15,000 sales involving pirated software between October 2005 and December 2005, said Keith Kupferschmid, an executive with the Software & Information Industry Association.

The trade group is coordinating the software industry's efforts to patrol eBay and other Internet auction sites for pirates. Kupferschmid said the group intends to buy copies of pirated software in the auctions and then sue "egregious" copyright violators without forewarning. The industry expects to file the suits on a monthly basis.

The campaign isn't currently aimed at eBay or the buyers of pirated software.

Besides software makers, the association also represents a large number of providers of electronic information, including The Associated Press.

This week's initial burst of lawsuits named: Edward Cosmos of Bloomington, Calif.; Grace Chan of San Jose, Calif.; Kevin Liu of New Brunswick, N.J..; Mary Tian of New Brunswick, N.J.; and G.T. Tian of Highland Park, N.J.

Cosmos, Liu and the Tians didn't immediately respond to e-mails sent to their eBay profiles Tuesday. Chan's auction registration is no longer active, according to eBay. Efforts to locate a phone number for her were unsuccessful.

Cosmos and Chan received nothing but positive feedback from sellers, according to their eBay profiles. A few negative remarks were mixed with the mostly flattering commentary posted about Liu and the Tians on eBay's site.

The civil suits seek unspecified damages, as well as court orders to prevent future copyright and trademark infringement.

Software makers have long complained about pirates looting their sales. The industry estimates it loses $US11 billion ($14.3 billion) to $US12 billion a year from the distribution of pirated software.

The industry believes 90 percent of all software sold on Internet auctions violates copyrights or licensing agreements, Kupferschmid said.

California based eBay disagreed with those estimates. "We know (piracy) is an issue, but we don't think it's a big problem," spokesman Hani Durzy said. Ebay supports the software industry's efforts to penalize pirates, Durzy said.

Copyright holders and eBay don't always agree on the definition of an improper sale.

For an example, a small business that bought a piece software that was never installed on a computer may have a legal right to sell the unopened copy on eBay, Durzy said, even though the manufacturer might disagree.

In auctions involving clear-cut cases of piracy, eBay removes the listing within hours, Durzy said.

But Kupferschmid said eBay sometimes takes several days before shutting down an auction of pirated software. He also expressed frustration with an eBay policy that allows sellers previously flagged for piracy to run future auctions.

"It's like playing 'Whack-A-Mole,' " Kupferschmid said. "You take one auction down and then another one pops up."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/companies-crack-down-on-ebay-pirates/2006/05/17/1147545358529.html

Posted by News Desk at 04:47 PM | Permalink

Is eBay, the internet auction site, killing off independent secondhand shops? Mike Rowland, who runs Memory Lane, a music shop specialising in records from the Fifties to the Eighties, thinks so. His business has been hit by the number of people shopping online.

"This is obviously my full-time career, but there are people who are using eBay and making far more money than me," says Mike, 51, from Croydon, south London.

About 68,000 British people now earn at least a quarter of their income through the website and the number of small businesses set up through it is growing rapidly.

There is no doubt that there is a keen appetite for secondhand goods. The trend for vintage fashion has made trawling thrift shops popular and charity shop numbers are holding steady at about 7,000.

But Richard Perks, a retail analyst at market researcher Mintel International, says: "It's not just eBay that is having an impact on secondhand shops, it's also low-price retailers like Primark. We are still in a consumer boom and people are not in recession mode, but they are spending their money in cheaper shops."

But Mike complains that eBay has an advantage over secondhand shops. "I can put my records on eBay, but because we are VAT-registered, I must declare it to eBay and become a registered VAT company with it," he says. "Someone else can sell an album on eBay, but often won't have to pay VAT."

Revenue & Customs says: "It is true that the UK is not in line with the same VAT rulings as other EU countries.

"As for taxation, someone can earn up to 8,500 a year before being liable for capital gains tax. Anyone trading regularly on eBay as a primary or secondary income should register as such with eBay."

An eBay spokesman says: "We are not aware that eBay has affected the secondhand retail market, or of the difference in tax laws.

"We comply with what the UK regulations require of us and if there are differences, these are a matter for the UK tax authorities."

Posted by News Desk at 04:49 PM | Permalink