INTERNET AUCTIONS:

Caveat Emptor or Stricter Regulation?

 

With e-commerce constituting almost 5% of all global sales, the online auction has become an increasingly popular method of buying and selling goods and services.  Online auctions are a $6.4 billion dollar per year industry, and the considerable volume of transactions creates numerous problems ranging from auction fraud to identity theft.

 

Please visit www.ebay.com to familiarize yourself with the site and how the online auction works.

·        Briefly review the list of categories (located on the left side of the home page).

·        Do a search for any item that interests you.  This can be done through the category links or through the search function.

·        Once you have selected an item, please read a few of the seller’s reviews so you have an idea of how eBay’s feedback system works.

 

Please read the following for an overview of online auction fraud and regulation:

·        http://law.indiana.edu/fclj/pubs/v52/no2/vsnyder.pdf

 

Please read Gentry v. Ebay, 99 Cal.App.4th 816, 2002.

·        Link: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/californiastatecases/d037661.pdf

·        Do you agree with court’s decision?

·        Should eBay have more responsibility for sellers’ descriptions?

·        Is there any validity to the argument that eBay ‘provides’ the description to consumers?

 

More ways online auction users are victimized:

·        http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-868306.html

·        http://www.msnbc.com/news/773280.asp?0cb=-51a110957#BODY

·        http://ecommerce.internet.com/news/insights/trends/article/0,,10417_1487811,00.html

 

Paying for your auction:

·        http://news.com.com/2010-1080-281404.html

 

For Discussion:

·        Do you agree with the Snyder article?

·        Who is in the best position to regulate online auction sites?

·        Under Snyder’s theory, will the costs of regulation be too high to the participants?

·        Should we adopt a ‘caveat emptor’ (buyer beware) attitude toward online auction regulation?

·         How can buyers and sellers protect themselves?  Are their current options functional?

 

Please e-mail me if you have any questions, problems, comments or additional material you would like to cover in discussion.  acronogue@yahoo.com