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Technology Stocks : eBay - Superb Internet Business Model -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank Luongo who wrote (5014)	8/23/1999 12:45:00 PM
From: mrknowitall	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7772

Frank - the problem with deadbeat bidders isn't something that can be effectively dealt with at a state or local level. Particularly with lower-cost items. This is always going to be a thorn in ebay's side until the buyer community becomes so large that they have to start qualifying them. As it stands now, they can't afford to turn prospects away with onerous demands or threatening verbiage. Eventually, they may be in a position to require credit-cards from buyer registrants for authentication. IMO, the limiting factors for ebay are the lack of trust for internet commerce among the masses and their own technically-imposed limitations on the performance of the system, which they presently seem willing to address for the present by not attempting to enhance the number of auctions being put up. The brouhaha over reserves has subsided to some degree since the latest adjustment to the policy, but as a buyer and not a seller, I'm now seeing some of the things I'm interested in showing up from some of the same sellers on Amazon and now Gold's. Thus, another thing that may be limiting ebay is their almost cavalier attitude toward their paying customers. I keep hearing horror stories about lack of support, and this most recent situation does not seem like someone thought it out very thoroughly. Seems yet another step in a trend of business decision-making errors. Mr. K.