| - |
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
-
Testimonial tales“After an extensive trial of your chlorodyne in Hospital, Infirmary and Private Practice, I am able to state that it is a valuable medicine,” wrote Dr Alfred Aspland to the makers of Towle’s Chlorodyne (a type of chloroform) in the 1860s. Towle’s wasted no time in running Dr Aspland’s expression of satisfaction in their newspaper advertisements, while other companies peppered their notices with similar outpourings of delight. Designed to give potential buyers the courage to make the purchase, such effusions were very much the fashion of the day.
According to Messrs Sydenham’s notice of 1898, to take another example, their patent new-style cigar case made “an ideal present for a smoker”, and, what was more, the advertisement went on to explain, “Society men, sportsmen, cyclists and gentlemen driving say they are the perfection of simplicity, superseding the old style of cases.” Nowadays, we are told that we will look sad and foolish if we are seen to have an old-fashioned mobile phone; in those days, evidently, the wrong type of cigar case could lead to ridicule. I mention these long-forgotten claims of excellence simply because, remarkably, this kind of puff is making a comeback. Not in newspaper advertisements, but online.
It is a curious fact that in the late 1990s, eBay (the only truly successful Internet auction site) managed to single-handedly revive one of the staples of the advertising industry from a hundred years before. Having been almost entirely neglected for the best part of a century, ‘the satisfied customer’ was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the modern age. In the Victorian era, expressions of praise like Dr Aspland’s were known as testimonials. Nowadays, we call them feedback, and feedback is one of the cornerstones of eBay.
eBay’s original idea was that users would essentially police themselves by rating and commenting on the honesty and efficiency of their trading partners. Using this model, feedback ratings were designed to give the buyer a chance to evaluate the honesty of the vendor’s offer, while giving good vendors a chance to promote themselves by using the testimonials of their satisfied customers. For these reasons, as soon as an auction ends, both the buyer and the seller are encouraged to leave comments and a broad rating about one another. You have three options.
If things have gone well, you can click on the ‘praise’ icon and leave up to 80 characters of comment supporting your opinion. If things have not gone as well as you had hoped, you can click on the ‘neutral’ icon and leave the 80 characters of comment, and, if things have been bloody awful – the goods have not turned up, the buyer has not paid, whatever – you can click on the ‘negative’ icon and leave up to 80 characters of intemperate and probably vituperative bile (and a big welcome to the word ‘vituperative’, by the way, making its GAN debut in this issue – Ed).
Here is a small selection of my own golden reviews.
“Perfect transaction. Willing to highly recommend. Just how eBay should be.” “Great eBayer, nice friendly attitude and patient. Highly recommended to anyone!!” “First-class buyer. Prompt payment & excellent communications. Recommended.”
Now, before you start thinking, golly, what an immodest old git, I have to tell you that feedback like this is not unusual. I’d like to say that these comments accurately reflect the fact that I am a truly wonderful human being and a cut above the usual riff-raff, but it ain’t necessarily so. In fact, comments like these are pretty much standard stuff. A kind of ‘I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine’ culture, combined with a terror of finding that someone has left negative comments about you, means that most traders give positive feedback almost as a matter of course; it is actually quite rare to find negative feedback.
But those same positive ratings mean that those who are dishonest but patient can build up a decent stock of positive feedback before really cleaning up with a big scam. It is quick and easy to build a positive profile by buying a few low-cost lots for a couple of pounds each. Once a scam artist has a good profile, it is easy to sell bogus or nonexistent goods, and some are willing to spend years building up their profile.
A couple of years ago, one seller who had been trading for seven years and who had garnered thousands of positive feedback ratings during that time disappeared with between $225,000 and $400,000. His victims had seen and trusted his feedback and so sent him their money in good faith. Whoops. If this sounds worrying, don’t fret too much. Such scams are very, very rare. Besides, there are a few simple steps that can be taken to help minimise potential disagreements and/or the risk of being ripped-off. Here are some of the most important.
• Don’t believe all that you read. If you are naturally cautious when you evaluate the lots at your local saleroom, you should be doubly cautious online. Use the same level of scepticism that you would take to a real-life sale.
• Research the lots you like. Make certain you understand what it is you are bidding on and that you have a good idea of its relative value. Some bidders give chapter and verse when it comes to the lot description but others are deliberately vague. Don’t assume it’s Ming if it says Chinese; don’t assume it’s a watercolour if it says picture (and, come to think of it, don’t assume it’s a watercolour if it says watercolour). You must be certain you know enough about the lot to form a sensible judgement before you bid.
• Make sure you are happy with the terms and conditions of the sale, including who pays for shipping and the seller’s return policy (if any).
• Check the seller’s feedback rating. Despite the horror story above, it is fairly unlikely that someone with lots of good feedback is going to deliberately rip you off: if they are making good money, why would they need to, and why would they risk negative feedback from you?
• If you see a single piece of negative feedback, it should make you wonder a little, while two should mean treat with caution and three should mean avoid at all costs.
• Consider using an escrow service. This is especially important if the seller doesn’t accept credit cards or third-party payments, and the price will exceed the amount covered by the site’s insurance policy. eBay offer free insurance on lots up to the value of £100, although you must pay the first £15 of any claim.
• Decide how much you are willing to risk. My own limit is around £100… rather happily, the limit on eBay’s insurance policy.
• Don’t be scared. I have bought around 40 lots since last July, and I’m having a ball and only this week listed my first item for sale. But more of that another time.Stuart Maclaren
©Government Auction News 2004
