OT: Theft by any name is still theft.

[bridger]

better outlaw money then...

[Badger]

No, not blaming Ebay, they can't help whos selling what, its the not knowing the who and the history of the what thats the problem.

Badger.

[Duane Bozarth]

Dave Hall wrote: ...

Perhaps, perhaps not...I tend to think that most folks who would stoop to selling stolen goods won't be honor-bound when dealing on eBay, either. Not a given, certainly, but as the old saw says about apples and trees...

But, indeed, it would be difficult to tell for certain that anyone is using eBay to fence stolen goods--usually, though, in the auctions I've looked at it has either been pretty clear it was personal items or resale of liquidation auction items, etc., or various levels of professional traders. I tend to stay away from the latter as many have onerous policies. There are, I'm sure a lot who are legitimate, but if they're pro's I've rarely found that the deals were worth the hassle.

[Charlie Self]

Badger responds:

knowing the who and the history of the what thats the problem.

[Dave Hinz]

That's what I'm saying, yes.

In maybe 6-8 years of buying stuff on eBay, I've had exactly _one_ problem. I don't buy from people with bad feedback from good people. I also don't buy the sort of thing that seems likely to be stolen, I suppose.

[Dave Hall]

You may have only had one problem, but that does not mean that you have not purchased stolen goods. Unless the stuff comes with a title how would you know (hell, even titles can be forged). I have purchased brand new items in retail packaging from ebay. There is no way that I can know if the guy is a legitimate liquidator, bought a lot at an auction, bought the contents of a storage unit or simply stole some boxes from the back of a truck. I certainly try to deal with up front people, but I have found that the unscrupulous put on a better "honest face" than many saintly honest people do and people selling stolen goods which have a 100% profit factor often give better "customer service" than people making 5% on the sale can afford to give. It's a crap shoot. The best you can do is try to deal honestly and try to give deals the sniff test.

Dave Hall

[mp]

Have sellers pledge to the "Scouts Honour" before posting an item for sale.