Our Proven Verified sellers program has been a huge benefit to our Treasures auctions site helping to sell over 500,000 gems online. Unlike other sites fraud has not been a problem as we only allowed verified industry sellers.
Fraud and misrepresentation is a huge problem online as in many transactions you do not actually know who you are dealing with.
Our soon to be released Verified Sellers Seal below will be available for only $39 per annum. The seal can be used not only for sellers but buyers as well. Only genuine industry participants will be approved with each member receiving a certified registered number.
The biggest problem on the internet is one of credibility. There are many businesses selling products or services that they have no knowledge of. Out right frauds or scams are a problem but so is misrepresentation of products which does not get as much publicity.
Our proven Verification system started in 2004 allowing Verified Sellers to sell expensive gems on our gemstone sites. To qualify sellers needed to show that they have product knowledge and a verified address and identity.
Paypal and eBay will verify your bank account and address but we will also verify that they are an experienced seller as well. We have a proven system to approve bona fide sellers. Over the last 8 years we have assessed hundreds of thousands of sales on our site ensuring that our system works for our Verified Sellers. It also provides a better experience for customers as Verified Sellers with experience are long term sellers and are after repeat business not just a quick buck.
While writing this article I did some research on Facebook. It took only 15 minutes to see that a person had sold three items and had bragged about the sales posting the buyers names, home address, email and phone number online. It’s a huge problem for these buyers as there is now the potential for identity fraud. Of course verified sellers would never do such a thing.
Gumtree and Craigslist contain some of the worst frauds as all buyer and sellers are anonymous. No one is verified and the sites do not offer any sort of buyer protection or payment programs. See below for Gumtrees top tips needed to stay safe on their site. In our view there is no point buying online if you then have to meet in-person to see the item and exchange cash to make sure you are not ripped off.
Source: https://help.gumtree.com.au/knowledgebase.php?article=26
We also met a person this week who sold a $1700 ring on gumtree.com.au. Gumtree is a division of ebay the buyer paid with PayPal but it was from a PayPal account that did not exist.
She went to the police but they could not follow up the complaint as she did not have the copy of a certificate to value the ring. Unfortunately most police cannot help in internet scams as they have no jurisdiction over fraud conducted overseas.
Scams fall into the following categories
(A) Once only rip off
Offers that look too good to be true. The web site may look legitimate selling brand name items at half price. The goods may end up being fake or more concerning they may try to steal personal information. The majority of these scams tend to exist on community sites like Craigslist and Gumtree as buyers and sellers are not verified.
Don’t miss or must buy now. There is pressure to pay today. Legitimate businesses do not pressure.
(B) Private seller offers “too good to be true” deals on products or services.
They will offer an unbelievable deal with massive savings but they will typically ask for money upfront scamming you for a few hundred dollars.
(C) Traditional scammers. The Nigerians will keep reinventing themselves.
(D) Cheap rental homes scams are a favourite. The scammer will list pictures of the property based on another actual listing at a much lower price. The scammer will pretend to be the owner, but will ask interested parties for an application or deposit fee to hold the rental. Users can tell the ad is fake because they typically do not ask for social security numbers or personal information just the money.
All these scams exist as the seller cannot be verified and nothing is guaranteed.
Our Proven Verified sellers program will help increase trust that will enable both buyers and sellers to have the confidence to transact online.
You can find out how it helped our gemrock auctions site at http://www.gemrockauctions.com/help/getting-started/verified-sellers-program
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