Having never used Ebay before, this was an interesting challenge. However it has not converted me into another one of the millions of regular users. The reasons for this I will come to shortly, for now you can see the eBay items that got away in this slide show, as you can see they are a motley bunch of the weird and wonderful.
So having missed out on everything from a prosthetic eye to a kangaroos paw, I found myself wondering why. Often it was just because the final bid went just beyond our fifteen pound limit. However in some cases something strange was afoot in the world of ebay, some bidders seemed able to place a bid hours before mine without it ever showing until the auction closed. I suspected the influence of outside software. Regardless the hunt had to continue although I became more wary and found myself checking sellers feedback in more detail often seeing duplicate feedback artificially raising their ratings. I futher investigated the value of this feedback by asking the seller of the item I finally won, if they could provide me with good buyer feedback even before payment was received. They obliged willingly.
Another aspect of Ebay I became aware of, and personally didnt like or expect, was the high number of resellers, shops using Ebay as a sales channel. It was not their presence but their number that I was disappointed to see and it eroded my experience as the 'uniqueness' and 'value for money' became increasingly difficult to find.
Finally and after many lost auctions I did settle on what I considered suprising value for the money, an antique Rolls Royce 1920's silver plated razor at the bargain price of £6.50 plus delivery (ebay number: 250088793917). That being said, I am still awaiting delivery.
So the issue of trust had revealed itself. And within the digital realm this can be seen across so many layers; from the personal identity and how they portray themselves, through to the apparent authenticity of entire websites. Even Microsofts latest releases for internet explore attempt to combat this threat using anti-phishing protection.
Another face of trust that is becoming a greater threat to those choosing e-commerce is the security of credit or bank card details and the use of digital certificates within the SSL. Major players in the industry such as Verisign have developed trust, but as with all 'identities' there are others providing far less protection. As with everything online, the complexities of identity continue into the complexities of trust, ultimately we must all follow our own paths.
Well it finally arrived and was wrapped to prevent all but the most persistent of buyers from actually gaining access to what they had bought. I was exhausted having fought for 5 minutes against the adhesive powers of several hundred meters of masking tape, doubly exhausting when having broken throught the first layer I was faced with yet another individually sealed against hazardous materials box.
Eventually I was face to face with what had caught my eye online, and ignoring the fact I am easily entertained, was surprised to find it was even better than I could have imagined as the box containing the razor was actually an integrated sharpening stone and leather strap. A marvelous example of quality products from a bygone time.
So having missed out on everything from a prosthetic eye to a kangaroos paw, I found myself wondering why. Often it was just because the final bid went just beyond our fifteen pound limit. However in some cases something strange was afoot in the world of ebay, some bidders seemed able to place a bid hours before mine without it ever showing until the auction closed. I suspected the influence of outside software. Regardless the hunt had to continue although I became more wary and found myself checking sellers feedback in more detail often seeing duplicate feedback artificially raising their ratings. I futher investigated the value of this feedback by asking the seller of the item I finally won, if they could provide me with good buyer feedback even before payment was received. They obliged willingly.
Another aspect of Ebay I became aware of, and personally didnt like or expect, was the high number of resellers, shops using Ebay as a sales channel. It was not their presence but their number that I was disappointed to see and it eroded my experience as the 'uniqueness' and 'value for money' became increasingly difficult to find.
Finally and after many lost auctions I did settle on what I considered suprising value for the money, an antique Rolls Royce 1920's silver plated razor at the bargain price of £6.50 plus delivery (ebay number: 250088793917). That being said, I am still awaiting delivery.
So the issue of trust had revealed itself. And within the digital realm this can be seen across so many layers; from the personal identity and how they portray themselves, through to the apparent authenticity of entire websites. Even Microsofts latest releases for internet explore attempt to combat this threat using anti-phishing protection.
Another face of trust that is becoming a greater threat to those choosing e-commerce is the security of credit or bank card details and the use of digital certificates within the SSL. Major players in the industry such as Verisign have developed trust, but as with all 'identities' there are others providing far less protection. As with everything online, the complexities of identity continue into the complexities of trust, ultimately we must all follow our own paths.
"It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust." - Samuel Johnson
"I trust everyone. I just don't trust the devil inside them." - The Italian Job
Well it finally arrived and was wrapped to prevent all but the most persistent of buyers from actually gaining access to what they had bought. I was exhausted having fought for 5 minutes against the adhesive powers of several hundred meters of masking tape, doubly exhausting when having broken throught the first layer I was faced with yet another individually sealed against hazardous materials box.
Eventually I was face to face with what had caught my eye online, and ignoring the fact I am easily entertained, was surprised to find it was even better than I could have imagined as the box containing the razor was actually an integrated sharpening stone and leather strap. A marvelous example of quality products from a bygone time.
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