You can find just about anything on eBay these day's a random browse brings CDs, clothing, cars, and skin to your computer screen. That's right, I said skin. One man recently auctioned patches of his body to advertising companies, who tattooed their logos on to him. EBay isn't the only site for surfers bit by the auction bug. There are literally hundreds of sites on the web where you can sell your useless crap and use the money to buy someone else's useless crap. It's a flea market if I ever saw one-just online. And hey, it's not all junk. You can find some great deals on auctions sites.
One problem: People are getting scammed, which turns them off to these types of sites altogether. Of course, security is bound to be an issue whenever the Internet and money are involved, but with online auctions, individuals are in control, not corporations who are more trustworthy with business transactions. 99 times out of 100, the relationship between auctioneer and buyer will go smoothly, but just in case, here's the top five ways users will scam you. Don't become that minority who walks away from a deal having lost both money and item.
1. Phony Users. I don't know what the reason is behind it, but some users will bid on items when they never have any intention of purchasing it. Your auction will be over, and the user will cancel his auction membership and disappear-and there's not much you can do to stop him. Most auction sites charge a fee to sell items, so not only do you still have the unwanted item on your hands, but you also have lost money trying to sell it.
One way to prevent this from happening is to closely keep track of you auction. When the auction closes, take note of the second and third runners up. That way, if the winner bails on you, you can contact the others to see if they are still interested in purchasing the item from you. At some sites, you also have the option of only accepting bids from confirmed users-these are bidders who have either won and paid for items in the past or who have their own auctioneer's account set up with the site. Check the guidelines, because every site is a little different on their definition of "confirmed buyer."
2. Stolen Credit Cards. If you own a business and choose to accept credit cards, be careful about how you do this online. When a user pays with a stolen credit card, it may take a few days for the rightful owner to realize it's one. Guess what? You won't get the money for your item, which is already in the mail-as good as gone.
Credit card payments are tricky, and I don't recommend using them unless you own a business with an online website that has credit card payments available. If not, call the credit card company. The name and address that the user provided for shipping should be the same name and address on the card. Companies are glad to check their records for you-it saves them time and money when their cards are stolen. If it doesn't match up, decline the card and ask for payment in another way.
3. Shipping and Receiving Scoundrels. Whether you're the buyer or seller, you should be cautious about the exchange of money and goods. Users can easily take your money or item and disappear without sending you what you're due.
In most conditions, it is the buyer's responsibility to send payment first. If you're using a personal check to pay for an item, date the check two weeks from the day you send it. That way, if the seller never sends the item, you can cancel your check before its cashed. The best choice, especially for larger items, is to use an escrow service. These companies act as a go-between for buyers and sellers.
Check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports before selecting a service to make sure they aren't scamming both buyer and seller by disappearing with the item and the money, both at once.
4. Check Bouncers. As with stolen credit cards, buyers can easily scam sellers by sending them checks that are no good. You receive the payment and mail the item, but when you go to cash the check, you find out that it is worthless. Don't shoot yourself in the foot-use a third party service instead.
Third party payment services, the most popular of which is paypal, allow people to create free online accounts to transfer money. Using a bank account or credit card, you can send and receive money almost instantly, which prevents users from stealing your stuff. This is the best option for payment after an online auction.
5. Identity Thieves. As with any online service, you need to be very careful with your personal information to prevent identity theft. These crooks are getting very sneaky, often the e-mails or messages you receive from them look and sound very official. As people are getting more web-savvy, so are cyber criminals.
Use a well-known auction site that you trust. These sites should never ask for information like your social security number. Most of the time they won't be the ones trying to scam you. Other users will use their company name to send e-mails demanding such information. If you get something in your inbox that looks fishy, forward it to the company or give them a call, and professionals there can tell you if it's legit. These sites will also never ask for your user name and password in an e-mail, so beware of claims that this information is needed.
Use common sense. The information you share online should be limited and you should always take preventative measures to protect yourself. Sites are only as secure as their users, so if you get scammed, most times you only have yourself to blame. Before signing up with any auction site, check their policies. Knowledge is the key to keeping your online transactions protected so that you can buy and sell all the personal property, goods and services you want. Before long, that green and orange polka-dotted couch will be yours.
You will discover and learn why affiliate marketing business is suitable for people who want to start their business and top 4 ways to avoid the scam of affiliate programs. In this article, those 4 ways will definitely help you before joining up any online affiliate marketing program on the internet.
Typically, the home based affiliate marketing business is a great opportunity for those people who want to venture out on their own. The minimal risk and zero start up costs make it an attractive option to many. The affiliate marketing partner programs are perfect for those people who are motivated and self starters. They are also great for those who want to set their own working hours. Also, they are free to sign up and join for advertising online.
In general, the internet has been proven that it has helped up change so many aspects of our lives. We can study and work from home with the help of a computer and high speed internet access. We can exchange and find out the information easily on the internet. However, there are unfortunately lots of hackers out there ready to take either your money or your work to use for their benefits. Many of these email scam programs and work at home schemes have little hope of amounting to any kind of living.
Unfortunately, these hackers have made their ways into the world of affiliate marketing as well. There are some excellent affiliate marketing partner programs to get involved with; the trick is how to spot the hackers.
The face and manner of the internet and home based affiliate marketing business is constantly changing. This makes it very difficult to produce a definitive list of what we should do and do not. However, there are some signs that we can look for. If the company displays any of these signs, it does not mean for sure that we should avoid forever. Actually, it should warrant further investigation hardly if the affiliate program is worthwhile. You will learn top 4 ways to avoid the scams of affiliate marketing partner programs below:
1. Walk through and check their website carefully. If the company has no quality website, then you should consider something else. Legitimate affiliate marketing partner programs generally have a detailed website with all the information you need. One should be suspicious of companies that operate only by email. A website is fairly easy to create so why this company has not invested the time to do so. Also, a website leaves a bit more of a trail to a company. If they do end up scamming you, the chances of tracing the people, via a website, are much better then tracing them through masses of email addresses.
2. Look for their support service in the affiliate program. The affiliate marketing partner programs should always provide you with some supports. This can include an agent that you can contact with questions or problems. A legitimate company should want you to do well. The better you do, the better they do. Your sales are their sales either. It should at very least contain a toll free phone number, email address and fixed street address. If the company is an online affiliate marketing partner program, the lack of an email or web page should definitely raise some red flags. Other things such as no phone or address do not mean necessarily that they are trying to scam you. However, it is a good idea for you to investigate them further.
3. Send couple emails to ask some questions for their affiliate programs. Personally, I believe that another good test is to send the company couple emails with some basic questions. If it takes them weeks to get back to you, then you need to give this venture careful consideration. Again, they may not be a scam for you, but if they are poor at communication, this could be a sign of other internal problems. The highest recommendation is to avoid the affiliate marketing partner programs, which have a very poor communication. With the poor communication, it can lead to other problems particularly related to your affiliate commission payment. Also, I believe that you are not comfortable with the poor communication and other internal problems, which you don't know.
4. Communicate directly to their dedicated affiliate manager. It is obvious that you should determine how well communication of the affiliate marketing partner program is to determine by their dedicated affiliate manager. An affiliate manager in the company is the person who takes a fully responsibility of the affiliate marketing partner program and affiliate marketing entrepreneurs. Without a dedicated and proactive affiliate manager, you should put more consideration on the affiliate marketing partner program. Communicating with the affiliate manager is the most effective approach to determine whether the affiliate marketing partner programs is scam or not. With the right communication, you can ensure that those affiliate programs are real.
Truly, many of us would love the opportunity to work for ourselves. We would love to chuck in the day job and start our own home based affiliate marketing businesses. However, the costs of starting a business combined with the risk involved stop most of us, before we even get started. The home based affiliate marketing business is a great way to make some money by working for you. The costs are none and the risk minimal. One needs to use some caution when signing onto a program. Make sure there is adequate support available to you. Make sure the company is contactable and that they answer queries in a timely fashion. Be incredibly cautious of companies that have no website. These factors do not always mean that the company is out to scam you; however they should be looked at carefully.
Final thoughts, it is obvious that those above approaches can definitely help you far away from the scams of online affiliate marketing programs. With those approaches, you can ensure that which online affiliate marketing partner programs are real or not. A part of those scams, the affiliate marketing business is an absolutely great place for anyone in the world, who wants to start their business. You can start earning extra money on the internet by selling other people's stuff.
Both Bill Wardell & Zmilliondollars are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Bill Wardell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Teenagers, About My Space and Online Business. Bill Wardell Is the Senior Editor/Creator/Developer of Online Security Authority, the Author of "Don't Take Candy From Strangers" and a Authority Site Center Certified Coach. Speaker and Radio Show Host, Publisher, Researcher and National Radio Guest!. Bill Wardell's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.
Zmilliondollars has sinced written about articles on various topics from Site Promotion, Personal Desktop and Marketing. About The AuthorSiripong R. or zMillionDollars is a recognized authority on the subject of making money online from home through highly profitable & successful home based business. His websites,. Zmilliondollars's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.