However, in some cases, don't expect to get an operating manual for the item, and make sure to know what sort of warranty is attached to the product bid on. Also, you may be able to find a better deal elsewhere. Mark Williams, director of the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, said online bidders also should check out the value or cost of an item, whether returns are allowed and what are the shipping costs and who pays, and they keep a record of all transactions and e-mails. Most problems are similar to those of general mail-order complaints. Oliver Muoto, vice president and co-founder of Epicentric Inc., which makes corporate Internet portal software, said that while online auctions are the riskiest kind of cybershopping, there are steps consumers can take to protect themselves.
Members use a bulletin board to rate how the person they dealt with behaved.
If there is enough negative feedback, eBay will cancel the account, company officials said. Each month, between 20 to 50 accounts are canceled. Despite the safeguards and warnings, online auctions still top the list of consumer complaints. Beanie Baby bilking probed The National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators and the Consumer Federation of America, in a recent consumer protection survey, cited some examples of online auction fraud. And the Ventura County, Calif., District Attorney's Office brought a case against two companies that conduct sales and auctions for computer equipment and other merchandise over the Internet and operate as an Internet Service Provider.