Things to take note to prevent e-auction fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction

Electronic auctions (e-auctions) are similar to off-line auctions except that they are done on a computer. Host sites on the Internet serve as brokers, offering services for sellers to post their goods for sale and allowing buyers to bid on those items.
Major online auctions such as eBay offer consumer products, electronic parts, artwork, vacation packages, airline tickets, and collectibles, as well as excess supplies and inventories being auctioned off by B2B (business-to-business) marketers.

One of the limitations of e-auction is possibility of fraud. Auction items are in many cases unique, used, or antique. Because buyers cannot see the item when participating in an e-auction, they may get a defective product, and the buyers can also commit fraud. Thus, the fraud rate in e-auctions is very high.

There are some protecting against e-auction fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction are:

1. By authentication service. Product authentication is a way of determining whether an item is authentic and described appropriately. Authentication is very difficult to perform because it relies on the expertise of the authenticators. Because of their training and experience, experts can often detect counterfeits based on subtle details. However, two expert authenticators may have different opinions about the authenticity of the same item.

2. By grading services. Grading is a way of determining the physical condition of an item, such as “poor quality” or “mint condition.” The actual grading system depends on the type of item being graded.

3. By Feedback Forum. The e-commerce website Feedback Forum allows registered buyers and sellers to build up their online trading reputations. It provides users with the ability to comment on their experiences with other individuals.

4. By non-payment punishment. For example, a e-commerce website to help protect sellers in e-auction, a first-time non-payment results in a friendly warning. A sterner warning is issued for a second-time offense, a 30-day suspension for a third offense, and indefinite suspension for a fourth offense.

5. By appraisal services. Appraisers use a variety of methods to appraise items, including expert assessment of authenticity and condition and reviewing what comparable items have sold for in the marketplace in recent months. An appraised value is usually accurate at the time of appraisal but may change over time as an item becomes more or less popular in the marketplace.

6. By Verification. One way of confirming the identity and evaluating the condition of an item is through verification. With verification, neutral third parties will evaluate and identify an item through a variety of means


For more information about e-auction, can refer to
http://myphliputil.pearsoncmg.com/student/bp_turban_introec_1/Turban-Appendix2A.pdf

a review on a post Legal from My e-commerce blog

Based on Piracy in Malaysia: Fighting through Education and Enforcement! In my point of view, the raids operation and crackdowns on pirated software was a good move. This also includes of the seized and destroyed of pirated CDs, DVDs and other relevant materials. However I felt that there’s so much more we can do in curbing this menace by following some countries development and their enforcements. The likes are such as the United Kingdom on how they stop and curb the illegal downloader. UK government is working on a new law to have this illegal downloader's internet connection to be cut off.

Under the new proposed new law, action will be taken against the users who use their account to access pirated material by the internet services provider. There are estimated around 6 million people are downloading files illegally in UK. These illegal downloading of music and movies are costing the industry to lose million of pounds in revenue every year.

Among the contents of the new proposed law are ISP who failed to enforce the rules could be prosecuted and details of customers suspected in illegal downloading can be made available to the courts. Thus, a hefty fine should be imposed on the wrong doers to teach others as well to stay away from illegal downloads, software and others piracy possible materials.

Review Of Local E-Commerce Site

Www.BeyondGift.com.my specializes in import & manufacturing a series of promotional bags and Premium Gifts. It was founded in 1994 and established in Melaka, Malaysia for almost 13 years.

Their features are as such,

Their main products consist of bag, non-woven products, T-shirt, jacket & tracksuit, caps, household, electronics, keychain, stationery, leather gift, pen gift, wooden gift, umbrellas, sunshades, and miscellaneous.

Download speed would not be time consuming.

Site Design and Layout. The layout has white and yellowish colour. It is quite simple but it easy for us to view. It is easy for us to click on the picture icon which we wanted to know more about the description of the item selected. And even some images is moving to which can attract the viewers.

Search Engine. There has a Quick Search on the right side in the Design and Layout. We can find desired items and it is convenient for us to search for items and less time consuming.

Shopping Chart. Shopping chart is available at the bottom of the toolbars. Moreover when we click at the item selected, the ‘Shopping Chart’ icon will appear for customers to add in their list.

Calendar, Date and Time. There is a calendar as a reminder for viewers. It is quite useful for those customers who are forgetful about the memorable date, event and time.

BeyondGift.com.my considered as worthy website to be visited and browse through thus discover and even purchase their items to their beloved ones.

Coporate Blogging

Corporate blogging


There are two types of corporate blogs: internal and external.
Internal Blogs
Internal corporate blogs are those accessible to company employees and usually available on company Intranets. Although the decision as to who can and cannot contribute to the blog is up to the company itself, a communal approach, where anybody may contribute, can be an effective way to encourage employee participation, a sense of community, high morale and other factors.
Allowing employees at every level to contribute to your corporate blog creates an open
atmosphere and can promote open discussion about corporate policies, direction, criticisms or
suggestions.

External Blogs
The other type of corporate blog is an external blog. Although the blog is maintained and
authored by corporate staff, it is viewable by anyone with Internet access. These can be used to
make company announcements, share viewpoints, respond to news articles or any number of
other communications. More importantly, utilizing a comment system allows an organization to
interact directly with its audience in meaningful ways.

Advantages

Encourage Discussion Among Your Audience
Comments give your company instant feedback and can be used to measure of value for new products or services in your customers’ eyes. This interaction can also provide invaluable insight as to what your audience thinks, wants, needs or feels. Comment systems encourage discussion between visitors. The most successful blogs are those whose comment sections are much more active than the blog itself.
While there isn’t any professional communicator who would argue that getting a message to an audienceisn’t a success, blogs carry much more potential. Imagine the value of not just getting your message to your audience, but having such an impact on it that they consider and discuss it among themselves.Blogs can also be used to find and directly communicate with influencers within a company’s audience.Reaching opinion leaders and influencers has always been a goal of public relations and blogs allow communicators to do so much more easily than in the past.

Give Your Perspective
Corporate blogs are undeniably biased, but they also have several advantages. First, corporations have complete control over the content of the site. That isn’t to say that the blog should focus on corporate strengths and ignore controversies. As a matter of fact, blogs are fantastic opportunities to address issues and concerns from the company’s perspective. Providing timely, honest views about potentiallycontentious issues can have a dramatic effect on public opinion and adds to an organization’s credibility.

Increase Your Reach
External corporate blogs also come with the added advantage of increased traffic and search engine rankings. Frequent updates add credibility and encourage visitors to return, which will help keep your search engine rankings high. Another good idea is to create an RSS feed for your blog.RSS feeds automatically update users’ aggregators and alert them to new posts or bulletins on your blog.Essentially, rather than looking for new information, users have the information sent to them. As more people adopted the use of this technology, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to do the same in order to keep up with Internet trends.
Corporate blogs are powerful tools to reach your audiences. Several companies have already started utilizing blogs and if you plan on keeping your company competitive, a corporate blog is a must have communication channels.