Here is the AuctionBytes online-auction news roundup for Friday, February 4, 2005.

Technical Issues

Amazon: Printing Packing Slips (2/3/05)
http://forums.prosperotechnologies.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=am-sellannounce&msg=843.1&ctx=0

Industry News & Trends

"Media Mail searches raise privacy concerns: Media Mail, a cheap way to mail books, is the focus of USPS security checks," By Joanna Lin, Daily Trojan
http://digbig.com/4cpgb

"Some eBay sellers are going, going, gone," By Jon Swartz, USA Today, 2/2/05
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-02-01-ebay-usat_x.htm

"Taking on eBay: A Grants Pass online auction that had been discontinued, has resurfaced to face its largest Internet rival," By GREG STILES, Mail Tribune
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0202/biz/stories/01biz.htm

"ShopNBC boosts recovery rate of surplus goods sold through online auctions," InternetRetailer.com, 2/1/05
http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=14007

"Alibaba and eBay square off," (China Daily), ChinaView.cn, 2/3/05
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-02/03/content_2541469.htm

"eBay Drop Off Stores Not Doing So Well," posted on Techdirt Blog, 2/2/05
http://techdirt.com/articles/20050202/020236_F.shtml

"Online Auctioneers Finding New Careers"
http://www.bizmonthly.com/2_2005/3.shtml

Weird, Unusual, Celebrity or Charity Auctions

"Pregnant woman's belly gets $4,000 on eBay" (AP), News & Observer, 2/3/05
http://newsobserver.com/24hour/weird/story/2086757p-10151253c.html

"Trump's wedding mementos see bidding frenzy on ebay," NewKerala.com, 2/2/05
http://athens-olympics-2004.newkerala.com/?action=fullnews&id=67698

"Giant corn flake sells for $156 on eBay," WIStv.com, 2/2/05 http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2886265

Fraud, Privacy, Security Issues

"Online auction scams soar, Complaints nearly double," by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/2/05
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/02/02/COMPLAINTS.TMP

"Man charged over eBay WRX gear," Australian IT, 2/2/05
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,12123228%5E15319%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html

"No cheer for Duff beer eBay crime" (AP), CNN.com, 2/2/05
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/02/02/duff.beer.ap

"Yarrow's Missing Guitar Found on EBay," by Tony Winton (AP), Yahoo News, 2/1/05
http://digbig.com/4cpeb

"Answers costly for high-tech cheater: Teen charged with misdemeanor after his teacher's computer is rigged," By ROBERT CROWE, Houston Chronicle, 2/3/05
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3020344

"Rowling Warns Potter Fans - Watch Out for Scams," By Paul Majendie (Reuters), Washington Post, 2/2/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57121-2005Feb2.html

"Students' hot calculators make eBay," By Susan Tuz, THE NEWS-TIMES, 2/3/05
http://news.newstimes.com/story.php?id=68721&channel=Local

Miscellaneous

"Sun picks up grid auction gavel and hopes for the best," By Manek Dubash, Techworld, 2/3/05
http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=3071