An eBay member was invited to a search usability study at eBay's facilities, and he took along his camera. Steve (ID: gratefuldad) said we could all take a look. Go to http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/gratefuldad and underneath the photo, click on the link that says "Click here to see some photos of eBay." While you are there, click on the "Snipes!! bid reminder for eBay" link for a very interesting primer on sniping!
Seventeen-year-old Steve Ebin, an eBay veteran (yes, he started selling on eBay when he was 14 years old!), has started a company to try to make eBay selling safer. He developed a "patented pending algorithm" that "extrapolates complex data from the feedback rating" and assigns scores to eBay buyers and sellers. Higher scores indicate lower chances of fraud, according to the company. Those with high scores will be able to join Reliable Merchants and display a Reliable Merchants logo in their auction listings. We hope to get more information about this intriguing company into the next issue of AuctionBytes-Update! http://www.reliablemerchants.com