The rise in popularity of online auction websites has led to an increase of online auction scams being used by ruthless, unscrupulous sellers. These scams can sometimes be hard to spot and therefore it can be easy to be caught out.
The Internet provides a degree of anonymity for sellers of ‘dodgy’ merchandise, which is why some auction sites are working hard to ensure their customers are both happy and secure. For example, CQout, the UK’s second largest internet auction site, employs some sophisticated measures to help combat fraud.
‘SecurePay’ is one such measure, giving 100% peace of mind and protection for the Buyer so that in the unfortunate event of a transaction going wrong, you can reclaim your money.
Another is the ‘CQTrusted’ scheme which entails a number of checks to establish the background of Sellers in order to make sure they are genuine before being allowed to display the ‘CQTrusted’ logo in their auctions.
A third is the ‘TradeSeller’ scheme which ensures that Buyers know whether they are buying from a private individual or a trader and ensures that distance buying regulations are honoured.
There are common sense things you can do yourself in order to protect yourself when using online auction websites:
- Use the Q&A feature to communicate with the Seller, giving you the opportunity to discuss details of the sale to make sure you are totally happy with how things are proceeding. If you don’t tell the Seller there’s a problem, they can’t sort it out!
- Always check the seller’s ratings to ensure that they do not have any negative comments or feedback about their transactions. If the Seller has little or no feedback, use the SecurePay option for peace of mind.
- Don’t try to save a few pennies by agreeing to do a deal ‘off site’: if the sale isn’t carried out through the auction site, you won’t be protected.
- Everyone likes bagging a bargain, but if something looks just too good to be true, ask yourself why and protect yourself with SecurePay if you decide to go ahead with the transaction.
All of the above methods provide effective protection. Although there is no way of being 100% protected, 100% of the time, CQout works hard to protect both Buyers and Sellers