"Ian" wrote in message
k...


Dave Welsh wrote:
[SNIP]
, so that everyone in the group can judge for
themselves whether eBay should be allowed to continue operating a venue
for
collectibles, antiquities and other items for which authenticity is
important, without any effective policing. This will also serve the
useful
purpose of warning RCC readers about some auctions that should be
avoided.

Profit and dividend are ebays key motivators..... not fraud prevention.
Until they are persuaded that it too should be a key motivator their
activities in that arena are likely to remain purely `token'.

There are lots of decent people out there selling their wares on ebay.
They are not `bad' for using a `venue' that is far from perfect.

The message I am trying to present is NOT that the "decent people out there
selling their wares on ebay" are bad, or that RCC readers should stop
bidding in their auctions.

The wrong that is being done on eBay is the work of a relatively small
number of unscrupulous criminals, and it is also the work of an amoral venue
that is perfectly willing to go on taking the commissions these fraudsters
pay so long as this can be done without any legal liability.

I am trying to convince RCC readers that it is time that eBay should acquire
legal liability for facilitating all this fraud, as a result of Government
regulatory action. That is the only sort of "persuasion" I can imagine eBay
responding to.

I
wouldn't stop buying from them because ebay can't/ won't match my
expectations of what I would like it to be. As long as you keep your
wits about you there are good deals to be had and fair people to deal
with on ebay. If you blink however you could very easily find yourself
on the wrong end of a bad deal. Life's like that though.

It's tough being a month-old calf trying to cross the Zambezi, with all
those crocodiles hungrily awaiting you. That's much like being a neophyte
candidate-collector who wants to get into the hobby by buying coins on eBay.

On the other hand, modern society does have laws and police forces to
provide a more orderly system than the "law of the jungle," and to protect
the ignorant and unwary. When a venue such as eBay reaches the point of
being a significant factor in the lives of a large proportion of the
population, it is appropriate that it should be subject to regulation to
prevent criminals from using it to defraud the public.


Dave Welsh
Classical Coins
www.classicalcoins.com