Re: [CR] Now: eBay ratings, Was: Chater-Lea cranks

(Example: Framebuilding)

Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2005 18:10:39 -0500
To: gpvb1@comcast.net
From: "Phil Sieg" <triodelover@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [CR] Now: eBay ratings, Was: Chater-Lea cranks
In-Reply-To: <010720052250.1035.41DF124B0005E91C0000040B2200734748CE0D909F09@comcast.net>
References: <010720052250.1035.41DF124B0005E91C0000040B2200734748CE0D909F09@comcast.net>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

At 17.50 07.01.05, gpvb1@comcast.net wrote:
>What if we applied 99% to other endeavors as being "good enough?" What if
>surgeons killed every 100th patient due to an error on their part? What if
>every 100th car blew up when you tried to start it the first time? In
>electronics, 99% reliability would put you out of business in short order.

Whoa, son. I was kinda, sorta with you a 1000% until here. :D I can't hold eBay (or any monetary transaction) to the same standard to which I would hold a medical procedure. Buying or selling something for a few bucks certainly isn't equivalent to my life. In a system where greed always lurks under the surface, s**t happens. Comes with the territory. You wallow with pigs, you're gonna get some mud on you.

With respect to cars and electronics, the problem is that those are rather simple to get right as opposed to dealing with ornery cantankerous human beings. [sarcasm]If you expect > 99% consistency and rational behavior from people, you probably also believe that cats can be herded successfully or you watch way too much Fox News [/sarcasm].
>How much risk do you want to undertake? It's all up to you. As buyers on
>eBay, we have very few tools in our arsenal, but FB is almost always the
>most important one, no question.

Don't disagree, but the best tool in our arsenal is severely flawed. It still gets down to you pays yer money and you takes yer chances. Most of us who are frequent eBayers probably can recognize when a listing isn't quite right, even if it's something we can't put our fingers on. Like obscenity, we can't define it, but we know it when we see it. :-).

Phil Sieg

Knoxville, Tennessee