here is my beef...then i REALLY am off to race: dale often summons up the word 'civility' when citing list discussion guidelines. many of these ebay trashings border on name calling and the like and in my opinion represent the worst in better judgement. i'd rather decide for myself than read 2 dozen differing opinons about why some guy's desription isn't what the cr-ers think is appropriate for the item listed. e-RICHIE ...'cross bekons.
On Wed, 9 Oct 2002 12:12:59 -0700 Jan Heine <heine@mindspring.com>
writes:
> I strongly believe that one has the right to be critical of other
> people's efforts. I am no framebuilder, but I still can criticise
> some bikes that are poorly done.
>
> I don't think Dale would turn anybody away who wants to join the CR
>
> list, so the sellers could join and defend their auctions, if they
> like.
>
> Even if the sellers are not present, we can talk about them. Just
> like I can criticise the government's war plans among friends
> without
> asking the government to attend.
>
> Finally, I don't like the "buyer beware" policy. When you bid on an
>
> e-bay item, you have a description and a few photos. If you assume
> that the photos show the best side and omit the problems, and
> likewise for the description, you cannot buy anything. The same for
>
> other stuff listed on the net - often without a photo at all. So
> "buyer beware" means that you only buy locally what you can inspect
>
> in person.
>
> So, e-bay is based on trust. Bad listings, intentional or not,
> destroy the whole process. Sure, you could travel to see the bike in
>
> question, but the cost is such that it is not worth while in most
> cases. (Spend $ 800 to find out that a $ 650 bike isn't what you
> thought it was? You might as well buy it and throw it in the garbage
>
> if it doesn't turn out, and still save $ 150.)
>
> One of the reasons e-bay is so successful here, and not in my
> original home country of Germany is that people here are more honest
>
> with their descriptions, while Germans very much feel "Buyer
> beware."
> "You didn't ask whether this particular flaw was present, so I
> didn't
> have to tell you" seems to be the prevailing thought among many
> Germans.
>
> Just my thoughts, of course.
>
> Jan Heine, Seattle