AuctionBytes-Update Number 9 - March 5, 2000 - ISSN 1528-6703

ABOUT AUCTIONBYTES-UPDATE
AuctionBytes-Update is a free newsletter for online auction buyers and sellers. AuctionBytes-Update will show you how to make money and is useful to anyone who uses online auctions -- business people, collectors and hobbyists. AuctionBytes-Update is published by email twice a month. (Print it out for easier reading.)

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IN THIS ISSUE:
1) From the Editor
2) ARTICLE: Half.com - An Innovative Model for Buying & Selling Books, CDs,...
3) ARTICLE: Online Auctions - An Overlooked Market Mover?
4) ARTICLE: Selling at Bookfairs - Part 2
5) ARTICLE: A New eBay Bidding Scam?
6) COLLECTOR'S CORNER: Star Trek, Toy Fair 2000
7) FOUND IN THE ATTIC - Tribute to Oscars, Best Actress Award
8) ARTICLE FOLLOW-UP: PayPal Online Payment Service
9) ARTICLE: X.com and PayPal.com in the News
10) AuctionBytes.com Reader Question

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1) FROM THE EDITOR

It's almost yard sale season here in the Northeast. The time we dust off the map and break out the rolls of quarters. :) There's nothing that beats the feeling of finding treasures for a "steal." (Have any stories you want to share?)

Spring fever or not, we have been busy here at AuctionBytes! We have redesigned portions of the AuctionBytes.com Web site. Please tell us what you like about the site, and what features would you like to see added. We are going to make an effort to boost the links - if you have sites you use or would recommend for online auction users and collectors, please email me
at ina@auctionbytes.com. (Note that we are in the middle of a redesign on the Collector's Corner pages.)

Our subscriber base is growing! Thanks for your support. If you find AuctionBytes-Update useful, please forward it to anyone you think may also benefit from reading it. This extra support will mean that AuctionBytes-Update can remain first-rate and free.

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Charge it!
Would you like to be able to accept credit card payments from buyers when you sell items on auction sites? Some online payment systems allow you to do so, like BidPay and PayPal, which we've reviewed in past issues. But to set up your own online merchant account, be informed - check out an article on AuctionWatch at http://www.auctionwatch.com/awdaily/features/beware/index.html.

Scroll down to read about the merger between X.com and PayPal.com. Especially disturbing is news about security problems relating to X.com. This, added to the periodic reports of credit card numbers being hacked into online, and privacy concerns (heard about DoubleClick?), I'm feeling justified in my reluctance to disclose personal information online. I urge you to be careful too.

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Be sure and check out eBay's announcement board. There have been significant announcements, including a notice that eBay's new feedback policy has gone into effect as of yesterday, March 4, 2000. (http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml)

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The Online Auction Users Association ( http://www.auctionusers.org) is a nonprofit corporation. "The OAUA is an association committed to maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards in the online auction community, in an atmosphere of integrity and honor. We provide education, research, lobbying efforts and a collective voice in matters concerning the interests of all members." More information on the OAUA and its history can
be found here: http://198.173.20.127/press/ . It has an excellent links page.

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Our very own Toys Editor Ray Tipton (Comic Ray) attended the Toy Fair 2000 show in NYC recently. In this issue, he gives us the latest on TOYS! Take a sneak peak at a "Shelby" (cousin to Furby) at our Web site at http://www.auctionbytes.com .

-Ina Steiner, Editor
ina@auctionbytes.com

PS: We post all past issues of AuctionBytes-Update on the Web site. You can read them at
http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/email_newsletter.html (or just go to the home page, http://www.auctionbytes.com , and click on "Email Newsletter").

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2) ARTICLE: Half.com - An Innovative Model for Buying & Selling Books, CDs,...

Half.com is a site where you can sell your used, mass-produced items like books and CDs. Everything is at least 50% off. There are no listing fees, but sellers are charged a 15% commission upon the sale of their item; Half.com charges buyers shipping charges, but it appears that it only gives sellers a portion of that fee.

Here's how it works. Once you've placed an order for an item, Half.com notifies the seller of the item you've purchased. Then it emails you as soon as the seller has confirmed that the item will be shipped. After your item has been sent, Half.com charges your credit card. (No seller ever has access to buyers' credit cards.)

Half.com sends checks to sellers up to twice a month, depending on how much you sell. The check to sellers will be for the amount sold minus a 15% commission, plus an allowance to help cover your shipping costs. You can leave feedback for sellers (seller ratings). Half.com does take action in the event of fraud.

"Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets" hardcover book (list price $17.95) was available on Half.com for $8 on March 5. (I checked eBay, and there were multiple copies, one for $8 with no bids, and other copies with higher bids!)

If you've used Half.com, let us know what you think of it - go to http://www.auctionbytes.com and click on the General Feedback Message Forum button.

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3) ARTICLE: Online Auctions - An Overlooked Market Mover?
By David Steiner

Recently I was asked by a local journalist to comment on a story she was writing about online auction scams. It seems to me that every time there is a news story about online auctions, the focus is always on its negative aspects: scams, absurd items, etc.

So much of the media attention is directed to these negative areas, I feel that the real story is being overlooked - online auctions are giving people new business opportunities, adding to the SOHO revolution and affecting the market in many subtle yet discernible ways.

Here are just a few quantifiable ways that online auctions may be making an impact.

* A rise in Priority Mail Shipping. According to Monica Suraci-Miller of Expedited/Package Services, there has been an 8% increase in Priority Mail Shipping since 1995. "We attribute part of that to people who are sending out packages to online auction buyers."

* Retailers closing their brick and mortar shops to pursue online auctions full-time. Donna Haines owned an antique store and dabbled in eBay. "Over time, the Internet sales exceeded the sales of the shop, and we made the decision to close the shop and focus on Internet sales," said Haines, who along with her husband Dick, now sells as oldbooksandpaper.com on eBay.

* Packing material, a product that could be found in dumpsters, has become a hot commodity. According to Staples P.R. person, Kristina Erridge, shipping material is a growing category in itself. Staples has instituted a "Pack 'n Ship" program to keep up with the growing demand for shipping. An Office Depot representative also remarked that there has been a "substantial increase" in the sales of packing material over the past few years.

* A rise in the sales of digital cameras and scanners, both very important tools for the online auction seller. According to Michele Lampmann of Infotrends Research Group Inc., a firm that tracks PC imaging and image capture technologies, digital camera sales have enjoyed a better than 150% rise in sales since 1997. In 1997, just over 800,000 digital camera were sold nationwide, and by November, 1999, nearly 2 million units had been purchased. Interestingly, 15% of registered camera users responded in 1999 that they used their cameras to sell items over the Internet. Infotrends forecasts that by 2003, over 7 million digital cameras will have been sold.

* Changes in tax laws. Legislators are looking for ways to bring in tax revenue from users who trade on online auction sites. North Carolina and New Hampshire are just two states that are proposing legislation that would require certain users to obtain licenses to sell online.

What do you think? We'd love to hear from you! If you have examples of how online auctions are influencing the market, let us know. Email me at dsteiner@auctionbytes.com, or leave a message in the Main Message board.

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4) ARTICLE: Selling at Bookfairs Part 2
By Edith Reynolds

I reviewed the basics of exhibiting at shows in my last article (AuctionBytes-Update #8 http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/Email_Archives/22000 e.html). In this article, I recommend ways to find bookfairs and how to display books.

Finding a Fair
Want to sell at bookfairs, but you don't know where to start? Jerry Oliver of Oliver & Gannon Associates in Albany suggests, "There are many ways to learn about fairs nationwide. 'Book Source Monthly' has a national calendar, as do many of the antiques trade publications. The ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers of America Assoc.) maintains a Web site, and there is a new cable channel: BookTV that has a calendar." If the Northeast is your stomping ground, check out Oliver & Gannon's page at www.showsfairsfestivals.com.

Displaying Your Books
Your goal is to display a wide variety of books in a way that attracts customers and encourages impulse buys. Most dealers set up lightweight collapsible shelves that fold flat during transport and sit comfortably atop the provided tables. Shelving like this can be found at most department stores and cost from $30 to $75.

Ron Weston of Ron's Reading Room suggests you look for the kind without the decorative side dowels so you can maximize your space without stretching your pocketbook. He invested in half the number of shelf units his booth allows and fills in the gaps with plain planks. "I use three boards to connect the bookcases. They should be thick enough to handle the weight of
normal books. I use the width of the bookcase as a guide in cutting the boards."

If you're lucky enough to find shelving that allows one unit to be securely stacked atop another, you've given yourself the added bonus of eliminating one or more of the tables, opening up more space for customers to fill. That's what led bookseller Bob Seymour of Colebrook Book Barn to construct attractive wooden boxes that permanently house his show stock from transport to display. This way, he wheels his stock in on a handcart and arranges the boxes along the perimeter of his booth in no time flat. This gives him valuable time to take advantage of the pre-show sales and finds. Take-down time is just as swift.

If you're still scratching your head, wondering what will work for you, don't despair. Most booksellers are generous with information, so ask the ones nearest you. They'll be able to advise you about shelving, costs, and sales methods. They'll also be a wonderful resource for deciding what shows will bring the most reward.

There are many ways to display books. Decide for yourself what works best for setting up quickly and keeping the books organized. Don't expect to get it perfect the first time--most dealers find their own path over time. If you're handy with woodworking tools, you may find yourself designing a display that's creative and unique. But if you're not so blessed, the best
advice I can give is to keep it simple.

NOTE: In her last article, Edith mentioned EEZEE Products as a resource for purchasing flame-retardant coverings for your display table. Here's the contact information for EEZEE Products: 1873 Central St., Stoughton, MA 02072, tel. 781-341-3640.

Edith Reynolds is a former newspaper and magazine writer who now owns an antiquarian bookstore with her husband, Dan. For the past nine years, they have specialized in early Americana and rare bindings. Edith is responsible for online sales. In addition to their bookstore, The John Bale Book Company, Waterbury, CT, and eBay sales (eBay: TAXTER), they utilize the book show circuit, attending shows in New England and the Mid Atlantic states.

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5) ARTICLE: A NEW EBAY BIDDING SCAM?
By Alan Mendelson

Some funny things are happening with the bidding on auctions on eBay, the online auction site. It seems that some collectibles are getting many bids - perhaps too many bids - and the bids are going up to ridiculously high prices. But this is not a case of a seller who is using shills to increase the bids for the items he is selling. No, this is a case of bidders creating their own shills to scare away legitimate competing bidders.

The scam works this way: One legitimate bidder finds an item he wants to bid and buy, and he places a legitimate single bid on the item. Then, using other bidding identities, he enters many more bids that not only outbid his one legitimate bid but also outbids all other bidders including the bids of the phony bidders he has created.

In one instance, the legitimate bid for an item might stop at ten dollars, but the phony bids could reach fifty or seventy dollars. Those super-high phony bids have the effect of scaring way other legitimate bidders - but in the last seconds of the auction, the phony bids are all retracted, leaving the low legitimate bid to win the item.

One Internet newsgroup member identified as John told other Internet newsgroup members how he recognized one such scam: "Just the other day, I was talking to my wife and trying to explain how a couple of fraudulent bidders (or one bidder with multiple ID's) could bid up a coin so high that the legitimate competition (other bidders) would take one look at the auction and then pass it by without bidding. Then at the last minute," he writes, "the scam-artist could withdraw his high bid(s), leaving his second or third account the new highest bidder, but with a much smaller amount to win the auction."

His advice is that if you want to enter a legitimate bid, do so, and your high bid might be reinstated if it turns out higher bids were fraudulent. But with the eBay system and other Internet bidding systems, that might not be possible because the Internet computers will only recognize a new higher bid, and will not let you enter a bid that is lower than one that already
appears for the auction item.

Watch out for this scam.

By Alan Mendelson of KCAL-TV and KFWB Radio in Los Angeles. This article is reprinted from his Web site at www.moredeals.com, which includes articles on collecting and hard assets. These articles are sprinkled in two sections of the site -- MONEY TIPS and MONEY ALERTS and are updated twice a week. You can read more of the "personal finance information" and "best buys shopping tips" on moredeals.com.

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6) COLLECTOR'S CORNER: Star Trek and Toy Fair 2000

Visit the Collector's Corner section of the Web site for current and past articles along with reference sources, links and message boards!

NOTE: Collector's Corner Web pages are in the process of being re-designed.

COLLECTOR'S CORNER - STAR TREK
by Michele Alice, Contributing Editor

Like many another Star Trek fan, I am constrained by space and budget to limit my collecting impulses. So how does one choose from the literally THOUSANDS of licensed products which have been issued over the 33+ year history of the series?

Well, first, there's just plain old personal preference-BUY WHAT YOU LIKE! I concentrate on anything to do with the original cast (CLASSIC TREK). You, however, might have a special fondness for Enterprise D and the Next Generation, while someone else might steep himself in all things Klingon. Others may specialize in types of merchandise-books, toys, etc. Whatever you choose, if you're planning on living with it, you should enjoy it.

Buying as an investment can be another matter entirely. Items produced over 30 years ago are relatively scarce today (back then, how many people realized Star Trek's potential?) and so have appreciated greatly (a 1968 Star Trek domed, metal lunchbox recently sold on eBay for $516.00!!!). Will that Klingon d'k tahg you purchased today be of comparable value 30 years
from now? There is really no way to know for sure, but there are a few ways to hedge your bets:

Double your pleasure; double your fun. I know more than a few collectors who buy TWO of whatever they like--one to keep and one as an investment. If the items increase in value, great, but if not, they've got an extra one to play with.

Don't invest in "collectible" editions. If something is marked "collectible", chances are that so many have been produced that it won't appreciate in value in your lifetime. I have several such items, but only because I enjoy them, not for their (nil) investment potential.

Buy the first in a series. The first issue is almost always the most limited. Subsequent items in a series are issued in greater numbers to meet the demand as collectors jump on the bandwagon. (This holds true for all kinds of items, from Hallmark ornaments to Volkswagen Beetles.)

Buy first editions. First edition books almost always have greater investment potential than other editions. And if it comes with a dust jacket, so much the better.

Buy mint, and keep it mint. Nothing wrecks potential value more than failing to keep an item in pristine condition. This means NOT storing your stuff in damp basements (invest in a dehumidifier) or hot attics, and NOT storing paper (comics, cards, etc) in non-archival materials. (Anything with PVC, for instance, will cause paper products to yellow and become
brittle.) Here are just three of a number of books dealing with the subject:
Caring for Your Antiques & Collectibles -- Miriam L. Plans, Paperback;
Caring for Your Collections -- Arthur Warren Schultz, Robert McCormick Adams (Illustrator), Hardcover;
Caring for Your Collectibles: How to Preserve Your Old and New Treasures -- Kenneth Arnold, Ken Arnold, Paperback.

To see what's available in the Star Trek universe right now, check out http://www.startrek.com (the official Paramount Web site). There are links to http://www.startrekcontinuum.com where, if you click on NEWSGROUPS, you can find out about conventions where you can browse all kinds of great stuff. There is also a link to http://www.startrekstore.com where, if you click on COMMUNITY and then PRODUCT INFO, you will find links to a number of producers of Star Trek merchandise. I tried the link under PUBLISHING, which took me to http://www.simonsays.com/startrek. There I found all kinds of company information (including guidelines for manuscript submissions!) in addition to a list of all their Star Trek titles in print. There are also links to Playmates Toys, the Franklin Mint, and a whole slew of others I had known nothing about.

There are also a large number of books on Star Trek collectibles. You can check out Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com to see what's available. Though I don't find the price guides of current value (check out the eBay, Amazon, and Yahoo auction sites for up-to-date prices), they are helpful in identifying items of relative scarcity. You might also want to check out current issues of STAR TREK COMMUNICATOR, the official fan magazine which lists lots of items for sale. Good luck, and, LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

Michele Alice is AuctionBytes.com Contributing Editor. She is a freeelance writer in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts. Michele collects books of all kinds, science fiction memorabilia, and more!


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COLLECTOR'S CORNER - TOYS/DOLLS/GAMES: Toy Fair 2000
by Ray Tipton (ComicRay)

This is the time of year that toy collectors, manufacturers, and kids look forward to. The American International Toy Fair 2000 was just held in New York City. Toy companies revealed and showcased all of their products due for release in 2000. Toy Fair is held every year and is the largest trade show in North America.

This year's show was a great one with lots of highly anticipated toy lines making their debuts. Here is a brief overview of some of the more popular toy lines.

One of the most obvious toy lines that were hyped up at Toy Fair was Pokemon toys. Tons of new toys are planned for 2000, from action figures to girl's jewelry. Pokemon will once again be a force to be reckoned with in sales for the year. There were 31 different companies showing off their Pokemon products, with the lion's share of them from Hasbro, which holds
the Pokemon master toy license. There is another feature movie release called "Pokemon the Movie 2000", which will debut in theaters July 21, 2000 and will give Pokemon a big push into the holiday season, much like last year.

Another toy line all set to repeat a record year in sales is the line of Furby toys from Tiger Electronics. First came the standard Furby, then the Baby Furby. Now comes Shelby. It is somewhat of a cross between a Furby and a clam, and it interacts with all of the other Furby products. [Editor's Note: to get a sneak peak at a Shelby, go to http://www.auctionbytes.com!] There are also going to be interactive Yoda and E.T. toys based on the Furby technology. Expect another successful year for all of these toys.

One company that was making some waves at Toy Fair was McFarlane Toys. Created by comic book legend Todd McFarlane less than a decade ago, it consistently brings out some of the most innovative and well-sculpted figures ever made. A few of the more popular lines include some new Beatles action figures, a Shaft figure based on an upcoming movie starring Samuel L. Jackson, Spawn Interlink action figures, and a hot line of Japanimation figures. There were also some rumors about some more toys based on some older feature films, but nothing can be confirmed at this time.

One of the most talked about toy lines overall at Toy Fair were toys based on the upcoming feature film "X-Men the Movie" based on the Marvel comic book characters. Toy Biz has the master toy license for the film, but due to the film's secrecy, the toys were not on display for the public. Expect character licenses of stars such as Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, and Ray Park (of Star Wars' Darth Maul fame) in this toy line as some of the stars of the movie.

The year 2000 is going to be a great year for toy enthusiasts of all ages. With such a great year planned for the toy industry, expect a carry over to the online auction industry as well. All of the new Pokemon, Furby, X-men and other new and popular toy lines should be hot sellers online. Brace yourselves.

For more complete coverage of Toy Fair 2000 check out the following Web-sites and magazines.
http://www.figures.com(General Toy Coverage)
http://www.sirstevesguide.com (Star Wars Coverage)
http://www.pokeguide.com (Pokemon Coverage)
http://www.mcfarlaneguide.com (McFarlane Toys Coverage)
http://www.wrestlingguide.com (Wrestling Toys Coverage)
Lee's Action Figure News and Toy Review
Tomarts Action Figure Digest
ToyFare Magazine

Collector's Corner Editor Ray Tipton (ComicRay) is editor of http://www.pokeguide.com and reporter for http://www.figures.com. A long time collector of toys and comics, Ray can be reached at comicray@web-access.net.

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ADVERTISEMENT -- Your ad could appear here!! Limited space available in AuctionBytes-Update newsletter. Our rates are low now as we build circulation - take advantage. We'll treat our early advertisers right in the future for helping us in this early stage. Please email advert@auctionbytes.com for more information.
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7) FOUND IN THE ATTIC - TRIBUTE TO OSCARS, BEST ACTRESS AWARD
by David Steiner

Last issue, in Part I of our "Salute to the Oscars" month, we stacked up the leading Oscar nominees to see who was the most 'collectible.' This time, it's the ladies' turn! This search was done on Monday, Feb. 28...now, on
with the show!

Annette Bening
Number of items: 95
High: $40.00
Low: $2.25
Average: $8.74
Sell through rate: 51%
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Janet McTear
Number of items: 0 (Sorry, Janet!)
High: N/A
Low: N/A
Average: N/A
Sell through rate: N/A
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Julianne Moore
Number of items: 84
High: $44.23
Low: $1.00
Average: $8.84
Sell through rate: 50%
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Meryl Streep
Number of Items: 363
High: $50.00
Low: $0.95
Average: $7.52
Sell through rate: 35%
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Hilary Swank
Number of items: 39
High: $34.00
Low: $1.04
Average: $9.73
Sell through rate: 72%

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8) FOLLOW-UP ARTICLE: PAYPAL ONLINE PAYMENT SERVICE
By Ina Steiner

I received a letter from a reader with questions about the PayPal service, which I reviewed in the last issue. If you remember, PayPal is an online payment service that allows you to pay for online auction items with a credit card for no charge.

Donna wrote:
"I don't know how you can say that PayPal charges your Credit Card in $5 increments. I copied and pasted the PayPal contract regarding the Credit Card charge of $5.00. I'm receiving this to mean that every time a Credit card is used, the account is charged $5.00.

"Not ALL funds can be withdrawn at any time: (the following is from the Contract) Any amount charged to a credit card but not transferred to a Recipient ("Credit Card Surplus"), will be added to the Sender's PayPal account. The sender may use the Credit Card Surplus to pay other Users, but the Sender may not withdraw any Credit Card Surplus."

Well, I checked with PayPal, and PayPal is indeed free. There is no $5 charge when you use the service. However, Donna is correct in that you can't necessarily withdraw all the funds. Here's what Vince Sollitto of PayPal said:

"As to your reader's questions, she has two: does PayPal charge your credit card $5 for each transaction? Answer, no. Your article described the transaction sequence exactly correctly. People may make transactions in denominations no smaller than one cent -- however we will charge your credit card in $5 increments, and place any remaining balance ($4.99) in your account.

"Her other question was: how come I can't withdraw that "credit card surplus?" Answer: we do not serve as a cash-advance ATM for credit cards. You can withdraw any money someone sends you, but you can not use PayPal as a way to take money from your credit card and deposit it in your bank account to access with your ATM card without having to pay any credit card cash advance fees. So, in theory, you can be charged up to $4.99 on your credit card if your balance is not sufficient to cover a transaction and then not be able to withdraw it. You could, of course, email it to someone else as payment...."

Thank you, Donna, for catching that important point.

If you have used PayPal or any other online payment system, leave a message in the General Feedback Message Board http://auctionbytes.com/bin/generalbbs/config.pl and tell us about your experience.

Note that we reviewed the BidPay online payment service in Issue #6 of AuctionBytes-Update
( http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/email_newsletter.html ), and the PayPal online payment service in Issue #8 (http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/Email_Archives/22000 e.html).

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9) X.COM AND PAYPAL IN THE NEWS

X.com Corporation (http://www.X.com) and PayPal.com (http://www.PayPal.com) announced on March 2nd that they would combine in a merger of equals, touting it as the creation of the world's largest secure network for instant online payments. The two companies offer free online payment services that enable customers to send money or request payment online from an individual or group, to settle online auctions instantly, and to track online payments and shipping. The combined company will have an immediate customer base of more than 500,000 users.

X.com was also in the news recently due to a security problem. According to Inter@ctive Week (January 31, 2000 p. 10), there was a security flaw "that allowed transfers of funds from any banking account in the country." A story at the Ziff-Davis site, ( http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2429999,99.html?chkp t=zdnntop) filed by Bob Sullivan, MSNBC (January 30, 2000), stated that the problem highlighted "the security drawbacks that can come with convenient Internet banking."

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DO YOU HAVE A SHIPPING QUESTION FOR BILL THE POSTMAN?
Email askbillthepostman@auctionbytes.com.
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10) AUCTIONBYTES.COM READER QUESTION

CURRENT QUESTION: Some sellers use words in their auction titles that are unrelated to the item that is being sold so that they will draw a larger audience. Do you think that this is acceptable?

VOTE NOW!! http://www.auctionbytes.com

PAST QUESTIONS - GO TO THE WEB SITE TO SEE THE VOTING RESULTS!
Question from 2/26/00
If you see a listing that is claiming an item to be an original and you know for a fact that it is not, what would you do?

One Reader Said: "According to eBay rules, notifying bidders is auction interference and is grounds for suspension. All that can be done if notify seller and hope they are honest enough to tell bidders. 'Buyer Beware.'" (nriddel)

Another Reader Wrote Us and Said: " I saw your question on the chat board and wanted to tell you what happened to me. I listed a piece of glass on eBay and stated that it was Heisey and I did think it was. Well, it wasn't. Another eBayer sent me an email and told me the book and page to check in the Cambridge reference book and he was right. So, I thanked him for his help and stopped the auction and relisted with the correct information.

"Not everyone can know everything about everything, and sometimes people make a mistake not realizing it. The kindest thing to do is let the person know that you think it's something else and let them decide to fix it or not. If they do fix it, then you know they are grateful that you told them. If they don't fix it, it could be some sort of scam or whatever, and then you wouldn't buy it anyway.

"Thanks for listening. I always appreciate it when someone corrects me - and I'm always amazed at the things I don't know. It is amazing that I got to be this old and don't know a darn thing!!!! Have a good day." -- Diana
L.

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Question from 2/19/00: What method of payment do you use most often to buy online auction items?

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Question from 2/12/00: If a buyer pays for an item with a personal check, should you leave feedback as soon as you receive the check, or after the check clears?

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Visit the General Message Board and tell us what you think (and read what others have to say): http://www.auctionbytes.com/bin/generalbbs/config.pl

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AuctionBytes-Update ISSN 1528-6703
AUCTIONBYTES.COM CONTACT INFORMATION
Editorial: ina@auctionbytes.com
Advertising: advert@auctionbytes.com or 508-655-5697
Letters, Comments, Suggestions: feedback@auctionbytes.com
Want to Write for AuctionBytes-Update? Go to http://www.auctionbytes.com and click on "write for us" to view author guidelines. If you are interested, send email to ina@auctionbytes.com.

Ina Steiner, Editor, Publisher and Co-founder: ina@auctionbytes.com
David Steiner, Webmaster, Technical Editor, President and Co-founder:
dsteiner@auctionbytes.com
Michele Alice, Contributing Editor
AuctionBytes.com
c/o Steiner Associates
PO Box 668
Natick, MA 01760
508-655-5697
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