Snappybids online auction blog

The need for an online vibrant auction website has never been stronger than ever.

Take a look at our local food cooperative Like the Ashland Food cooperative in Ashland Oregon.
What a food cooperative is a group of working together to forge an economic benefit for their local communities;
Now we online auction websites have to take the cooperative model to attack Ebay; this is where kaqoo comes in and other auction networks. But Kaqoo and profit sharing networks are only as good as the customers that are brought in.

Consumer privacy is important and we have to maintain a robust privacy policy for business to continue. Business like Newscorp whom practice evil privacy invading and spying tactics on to there own customers, whom are spread out through out the world. Will go down a quick and unspectacular demise. I can imagine the huge loss of revenue that this scandal has caused. But to tell you the truth I am happy that Newscorp is taking a hit.

A businesses employees should be well disciplined enough not to do evil actions like hacking into cell phone accounts of minors, and war heroes, or there families, never mind politicians and Joe citizens accounts.
To stay in business people need sharp disciplined employees, plus management whom will keep track of there employees making sure they are acting ethically and morally while on the job and representing the company.
To Newscorp’s defense the paper is a tabloid paper but that does not allow them the right to invade a childs privacy by hacking into there voice mail accounts.
Obviously there are problems with the management of the institution that is Newscorp and maybe Mr. Murdock should step down as head of the Newscorp.
For my business that is Snappybids.com if anyone of my employees broke the law by violating privacy of my customers and anyone else. I would turn them in and send out a letter that says we apologize to the people and there families for the invasion of there privacy. I would also submit to them the names of the employees whom violated there privacy and stipulate that they did not do so under management direction. (This is what I call the plan be method of saving my companies reputation).

With a looming economic down turn, and economy that is not creating enough jobs to sustain growth.
Business have to be looking for a strong eCommerce presence in all facets of the internet.
Many businesses think that there market strategy is perfect and is strong, A market strategy should be adaptable, creative, and cost effective. Simple is key to marketing keep it simple, there is no real need for complex ads that cost thousands of dollars, when just creating one ad that is eye catching, delivers your product message to your target audience.
Some businesses like Nikey rely on commercials that just entertain the audience, and some business like Apple create commercials that explain to the audience. A good business should do something that is in the middle of explaining and entertaining to the audience.
I am in the middle of building Snappybids.com’s online marketing strategy. I am planning a cost effective low budget campaign that will undoubtedly get my message out to my audience.

Free Special Report on Internet Scams: “The 10 Most Important Things You Can Do Now to Avoid Getting Scammed.” Click here to get your free copy and sign up for the #1 publication on Internet fraud, Internet ScamBusters.

Everyone can get scammed, its very easy trick to do. Lots of people think that it can’t happen to me I am to smart to be scammed. But fishing scams happen all of the time; along time ago I once received an email from paypal or I thought it was from paypal till i looked more closely where the url of senders message came from it was from peypal. Now many people would of made the mistake and clicked on the link, on that day how ever i was getting trained by Mcafee as a site adviser to detect online scams and help fight them.
Steps to take for your safety.
These five simple steps will help keep your credit safe and personal information from being stolen or taken into the wrong hands.
1. When viewing your bank account online have a paper statement ready so you can check the companies name make sure it was spelled correctly.
2. Never give out your password, or name your password after your pet, statistically if you name your password after fidos name the thieves can easily find out your pets, 90 percent of people online do not follow this rule I was guilty of that my self.
3. Leave no personal information out there, no name, telephone number (except for business use but should not be listed on Facebook, MySpace etc…) The less people know about you the better.
4. This rule applies to everyone make sure your antivirus is up to date, along with your firewall your windows firewall or Mac firewall should be engaged.
5. Passwords keep them in a draw, on a piece of paper, or in your head, never allow your computer to remember them especially if you use one that is public access.
6. Rule for parents, never allow your children or teenagers to use the internet by them selves, they become easy targets for perverts, molesters, predators etc.

Keep these rules in mind and keep your antivirus up to date it will help you by saying this site is not ok, I have blocked the connection.

Fraud
The Latest in Online Auction Scams

By Kim Boatman

Sydney Johnston thought the exercise equipment she spotted on an online auction was a real deal at $200. But the New Jersey seller never delivered the goods.

Johnston’s might be just another cautionary tale about taking care while participating in online auctions but for this: The Atlanta resident is a long-time eBay buyer and seller. She also teaches online auction training courses. And she smartly offered herself a measure of protection in the transaction.

“I used a credit card, so I was safe,’’ she says. “I’m really careful.’’

Online auction sites such as eBay serve these days as the world’s flea market, a chance to empty out your closet or garage and to trade stuff with other folks emptying their closets or garages, sometimes halfway around the world. Auctions are a source for collectibles, from Pokemon trading cards to antique potato mashers, consumer electronics and even big-ticket items such as cars.

Most of us don’t think twice about buying from and selling to strangers through online auctions. And the vast majority of transactions go off without a hitch. But online auction scams continue to top the complaints received by the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Online auction fraud accounts for about 45 percent of the complaints the center receives.

Don’t want to become a victim? Be on the watch for these scams, new ploys and old standbys for auction fraud.

1. The “traveling” salesman
Online auction fraud is big international business. Sellers may make it appear an auction is based in the United States, and then tell you they must leave the country for a family emergency or a similar excuse. They’ll then ask you to wire money via Western Union or a bank-to-bank transfer, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

“If you use Western Union, once it’s gone, it’s gone,’’ says Johnston of your payment. “If you use a credit card, you’ve got recourse.”

Credit card purchases, of course, carry protection. You’ll have little to no hope of recovering your money if you pay via check, cashier’s check or wire transfer.

2. Fake escrow companies
Crooks may offer to use a third-party escrow service to hold funds until goods are delivered. This is another case of buyers and/or sellers beware: The crooks are in cahoots with the fake escrow company, and either your merchandise or your cash is never seen again. Use a reputable escrow company such as Internet Escrow Services, and be particularly wary, since the bad guys will attempt to duplicate the appearance of the escrow company’s web site.

3. The old switcheroo
Passing off inferior, counterfeit merchandise as the real deal is a time-honored con. It’s no different in online auctions, where there’s a huge market right now in counterfeit designer handbags, says Johnston. It’s quite simple for a con artist to either post a photo of a real designer bag or to buy one designer bag to use in photos, then send you a cheap knockoff, says Johnston.

“If it looks and sounds too good to be true, it probably is when it comes to online auction fraud,’’ says Craig Butterworth, a spokesman for the National White Collar Crime Center. “If you do your homework, where does your intuition take you?”

4. Counterfeit cashier’s checks
The bad guys, often located out of the country, offer to pay with a cashier’s check made out for more than the transaction amount. You’re asked to wire the excess back on a false pretense, such as paying some associated cost. But the check is actually fraudulent.

5. Phishing
Phishing, or soliciting your valuable personal information by impersonating a legitimate business such as eBay, remains prevalent, says Butterworth. Criminals will attempt to hijack your eBay account by getting you to respond to emails asking for account information such as your password. Once they have the necessary information, they can commit fraud by conducting bogus sales on your account — and damaging your reputation as a seller.

And now that you know the kinds of scams floating around out there, the next step is to avoid them. Online auctions might be favorite targets of scam artists, but there are practical ways to stay safe, says Johnston.

Know the seller. Evaluate a seller’s rating and check out his or her sales history. Make sure you understand your obligations as a buyer and/or seller in every transaction.

Avoid live links inside an email. Never log onto eBay or PayPal, by using a live link that it is included in an email to you. Review with caution any email purported to be related to an online auction.

Know the merchandise. Make sure you understand both the item you’re buying and the market for that type of item. Make sure you’re conversant in the vocabulary for collectibles, and ask plenty of questions.

Start small. If you’re new to online auctions, begin modestly, says Johnston, with transactions that won’t make or break you.

Educate yourself. A number of organizations, including the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, offer practical tips related to online auction fraud on their web sites. The Federal Citizen Information Center offers information about all sorts of scams and consumer-related fraud. You can even sign up to have regular updates on frauds and scams sent to your email address. The Internet Crime Complaint Center provides information about current trends in online fraud.

“There are some really good deals out there,’’ says Johnston. “But people want to believe so badly that they’re going to make a fortune that they talk themselves into things when they should know better.”

Kim Boatman is a journalist based in Silicon Valley, Calif. She spent more than 15 years writing about a variety of topics for the San Jose Mercury News.

http://cybercrimenews.norton.com/articles/Online_Auction/index.html

a very interesting article

In today’s online market place we have to be safe, secure, our lives depend on it.

Steps to take to make sure your web site is secure
1. make sure https is present when processing a card, so that both the buyer and sellers are secure. Usually a service like Paypal , or another secure shopping cart service will work.
2. Second for the benefit of the online merchant has to make sure to check and validate that each transaction is on the up and up what I mean is to varify the address and telephone number, this is usually done via email.

The issue of cyber security has to be kept on top of, constantly thieves and hackers change daily so should your web hosts security needs to be adaptable.

Snappybids has entered the world of online auctions, we are rebuilding our web presence and moving forward into the world of kaqoo web based auctions.