At long last I can give eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) a pat on the back about something. Most of you know that's pretty hard for me, but this time eBay has gone the extra mile to prove to me that it at least recognizes there are some nasty pirates and profiteers operating on its site. With the direction of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, eBay assisted in putting the clampdown on an unscrupulous jewelry seller that was ripping off eBay customers by placing price inflating bids on its own merchandise.
EMH Group, the company in question, is said to have placed nearly a quarter million fraudulent bids on nearly $5 million worth of merchandise within the period of one year. Of course, EMH claims no wrong doing, but it has agreed to pay $400,000 in fines and will be "banned" from the online auction industry for four years. As for its victims, it is said that there will be a buyback incentive program "for certain items." I'll bet those certain items are all gold and EMH expects to purchase them back at the previous sale price. Yeah, ain't that just peachy.
Yes, I'll give eBay a pat on the back for exposing just how easy it has been to make millions of dollars of fraudulent business on its site. As far as Attorney General Cuomo's part in this, until he sends someone to prison for stealing from the public like this, in my opinion he's just blowing smoke in our eyes to the tune of $400,000. Without even checking, I'll give you 15 to 1 odds he's a Harvard man.
And so it goes.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-12-2007 @ 12:32AM
Brad Kirkland said...
Ebay kicked me off because I am deaf-I hope they go bankrupt
9-19-2007 @ 9:12AM
Rosie said...
Hey Gary, credit where credit is due, did you read FireMeg's take on this http://www.firemeg.com/2007/06/ebay-auction-fraud-by-manhattan-jeweler.html - isn't it great to have this piece of good news just before eBay Live ;-)
And Brad Kirkland, deafness doesn't prevent you selling online, try any one of the sites signed up to the SS2BM event being organised through www.pheebay.com
9-19-2007 @ 6:37PM
SS2BM said...
For those who are fed up with Ebay should check out a promotion called "SS2BM" (Summer Solstice to Blue Moon). It is desgined to promote alternatives to Ebay. More details can be found by Googling "SS2BM" or checking out this page:
http://pheebay.com/index.php?pr=Summer_Solstice_Blue_Moon_St_Elsewhere_in_Unity
6-12-2007 @ 11:24AM
Michele said...
Brad,
That is shameful... Would you care to elaborate... There are those of us who have not stopped compiling evidence of this monopoly fooling their investors and pulling a fast one on the public...
As for the article, yep, pretty much...
In Unity, M
6-12-2007 @ 11:35AM
firemeg said...
http://tinyurl.com/2bwasv
I'm glad someone in the mainstream (or semi-mainstream) has picked up on the fact that eBay made tons of money of this seller before shutting him down.
As for Cuomo's office.... You can't send someone to prison if there has been no crime committed. Though against eBay policy, shill bidding is not illegal everywhere. Nor is buying back items from someone who purchased them for more than was paid. That's just a good example of capitalism.
I am NOT condoning shill bidding. However, if there was an actual cut and dry crime, it probably would have resulted in criminal charges and penalties.
In the last paragraph of my article I suggest that Meg Whitman write out a big check from eBay Inc. and give back ALL the revenue that eBay took in over the course of Dweck's shilling, by donating that sum to charity.
Meg & Co..... I dare you to keep that money. I know you aren't that stupid. You know how this looks.