Better Business Bureaus across the country regularly receive complaints from online auction bidders who believe they have been tricked or defrauded. Although the majority of online auction transactions go off without a hitch, there are plenty of situations where the winning bidder doesn’t feel like bragging. BBB in the United States and Canada are offering suggestions to online shoppers to help them learn how to bid safely and successfully at Internet auction sites. The BBB offers some useful suggestions that can help ensure satisfactory conclusions to an online auction
Be sure to participate in online auctions only on legitimate auction websites. Carefully read the directions for bidders and seller, and learn before bidding what types of protection the site offers. Some sites offer insurance to protect bidders from losing money on a sale. At the very minimum, a site should offer a guarantee or some kind of security system that screens out fraudulent sellers.
The advantage of using a service or a credit card to pay for an auction item is that if you don’t receive it, you can challenge the charges and have your card issuer be your advocate. If you use an online service, check out their policies to see what protection you’re afforded if the seller doesn’t deliver as promised.
If your purchase involves paying a large sum of money up front, you may want to use a third-party escrow service that will hold your payment until you receive and approve the item you’re buying. As with the auction site, always verify that the escrow service is reputable. If a seller doesn’t have any feedback comments and the auction listing doesn’t provide any information about the seller, avoid doing business with them, especially for expensive items.
Some fraudulent sellers have actually gone so far as to use the Better Business Bureau logo or name in an attempt to convince buyers that they an escrow service is operated or endorsed by the BBB. Shoppers are advised to always contact the BBB when there are questions concerning the legitimacy of a service or retailer, or if there are problems with a purchase.
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