Bidding over the web - some security tips

By RICHARD WOOD

When I went hunting for tips from regular auction site users, I found that protecting yourself online was the hot topic.

Once you've won the auction, you are expected to buy the goods, and that's when people wonder what happens if the products aren't sent.

On most auction sites there is feedback about sellers. You can read what people have had to say about dealings with the person.

The idea of the feedback is that someone who has a lot more transactions and positive reviews is more trustworthy. But you might be wary of people who have built up a good reputation with small sales if you are involved in a bigger one with them.

Beyond that, you can protect yourself further with site payment systems that hold the money in a safe account until the products are delivered and the two parties confirm they are happy with the transaction.

Site managers take action to dump rogue traders as it reflects badly on their site. However, these bad eggs can find other ways to return under different identities or can flit to another auction site.

If you are left out of pocket, it may be a case of contacting the police as auction sites will have protected themselves in their terms and conditions against taking responsibility for dealings that are outside of their control.

This really is the new economy in action, so it's worth reading those terms closely so you know where you stand.

One auction user who responded to my call for tips suggests using search engine Google to see if the person you are buying from is being criticised elsewhere - although there may be no practical way to verify such criticisms.

He also suggested reading the auction site's message boards for the latest discussion on dodgy dealers and the list of feedbacks on site TrustWeb Services.