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Show HStopIfe May 4. 2000 by Capt. Douglas W. Chicka Hill Legal Offices More and more people are turning to online auctions in hopes of finding e goods at prices or making a few bucks off the baubles and gadgets collecting dust in their garages. At online auction sites, you can sell and bid upon just about anything under the sun-- . top-notc- h fire-sal- and collectibles, computer equipment, sporting goods and Beanie Babies - all from the comfort of your PC. There are upwards of 150 online auction sites. As they grow ever more popular, auction sites are becoming a magnet fix' the unscrupu-louIn fact, according to Internet Fraud Watch, operated by the National Consumers League, online auction complaints were the number one fraud complaint in the U.S. in 1998. How do scheming surfers take advantage of legitimate auction users? Some sellers will employ a second email address or a friend (called a shill in auction lingo) - antiques s. to artificially pump up the prices for a particular item, forcing a buyer's bid upwards or sometimes prompting a bidding war. Another scam has the foyer using another email address or a friend (called a shield) to drive up prices and discourage bids on an item she wants. At the last minute, the shield withdraws the high bid, allowing the buyer to win the item at a lower price. While most auction sites forbid retracting a bid ware online once its made, shields either take advantage of the few exceptions to this rule or simply use a phony email address to make and withdraw the bogus bid. Its hard for an online auction user to spot a shill or a shield through the faceless online world (There are ways to avoid them - see Tip 5). . The more obvious and frustrating scam occurs when a winning bidder or a seller sends the money or the goods but never receives what was promised in exchange. Unfortunately' if youve sent money or merchandise and the other side doesnt come through, long distance and lack of contact information can make it very hard to collect While most auction sites wont take any steps to force a sale, some sites now guarantee some transactions under $250 meaning youll be reimbursed if you havent received your money oryour merchandise. Either way, prevention is still the best medicine(See Tips 6 and 7) . While auction sites are scrambling to combat fraud, the nature of online commerce makes it virtually impossible to eliminate it totally. Ive pulled together 10 tips scams in tion jargon) . Check out feedback on the other party auction sites allow users to post positive or negative comments about their experiences with other users. Be extra cautious when dealing with users with negative or no feedback. And remember, you cant always believe positive feedback, since a user can use an alternate email address or a friend to pad their feedback with undeserved comments. to help you avoid some of the common pitfalls of auction scams. 3. Be wary of untraceable users. 1. Educate yourself. Start slowly, both as a buyer or a seller. Carefully read the auction sites rules Most sites require sellers to supply billing information (including an address and a physical address) and sometimes pay a listing fee up front, most sites dont require buyers to put up any funds or credit card information in advance. That makes it harder to find someone should a deal go sour. (Amazon, which requires and verifies credit card information from buyers and sellers, is an exception.) Worse, most auction sites dontprevent users from using anonymous email addresses. For e-m-ail and frequently asked questions pages before listing an item or making a bid. (You may also want to check out AucfionWatch, which offers information on auction basics, aglos-sar- y of techie auction jargon and other tips and tactics.) Spend some time on a particular site to get the lay of the land. The auction sites have different rules, which ran be quite technical, so if you switch sites, make sure you understand the differences. When youre ready, start by bidding on rel- services, such example, Web-base- d as those provided by hotmail.com, myowne-mail.coYahoo! and Excite, may require for registration, butthey address aphysical location or the users idendont verify the e-m- atively inexpensive items, or, if youre sellitem or two. This ing, first sell a low-cost reduces your risk while you learn how online auctions really play out ' tity. 2. Check out sellers and buyers. 4. Check retail prices before bidding. 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