About Product Authenticity.
When I was a young lad my father gave me some advice that has stood me in good stead for many years. He said , "Son don't ever buy a car without driving it first." That was many years ago. Gasoline cost .24 cents a gallon at the time. Times have changed , some would say for the worse. The Internet has changed the world but Dad's warning is still sound advice.
Misrepresentation of items sold on Internet auction sites is a huge problem that is getting statistically worse every year. It doesn't always happen by design. Often times it is simply a matter of perception. Either way the end result is the same. Don't be a victim! The high cost of what may be unsucessful litigation can be avoided if the proper steps are taken before your purchase.
Every day all over the U.S. people are making high dollar purchases on internet auction sites.
Surprisingly most of them report that the sale was a satisfactory experience. Quite often though the results are drastically different. The five most common
methods of Internet Auction fraud include bid shilling, bid shielding, non-delivery of merchandise, non-delivery of payment, and product authenticity.
This past month I have personally watched cylinder heads sell for $6000.00 a pair and engines sell from $4500.00 to $10,000.00 The people who made those purchases bid according to the information provided by the seller. What if the buyer didn't ask the right questions?
Sometimes the information is incorrect. That doesn't always happen because the seller is intentionally fraudulent. Sometimes the seller's perception of the items condition is faulty. For example I know of an automobile purchased on the internet recently for nearly $20,000.00 that has now become a litigation matter. The buyer (from the west coast) claims that the car was misrepresented. The seller (from the mid west) says it wasn't and refuses to refund the purchase price. The court will have to sort it all out at great expense to both parties. This could have been prevented by having the car appraised by a Certified Appraiser before finalizing the transaction. The buyer has now paid for an appraisal and also expert witness services as well as attorney fees and court cost. Will he win? Possibly. Will he recoup his losses? Including all the added expense , aggravation and time spent traveling and fighting in court? It's doubtful.
