Japanese Yahoo Auctions Will Require Pause For Snail Mail Authentication
from the fraud-detection-or-waste-of-time? dept
Yahoo Japan is trying to prevent online auction fraud by implementing a snail mail authentication system for anyone who wants to sell products online. It works by mailing out an authorization code (via snail mail) that a seller will need to enter into a web form, before they'll be allowed to post their items for sale. This will, of course, make it less likely that the casual seller will bother to use their auction service. However, some are upset that Yahoo doesn't do more. They point out that this won't stop that much fraud, because sellers can use temporary post office boxes or other services to collect the mail and still remain unknown. Some of the other "recommended" policies to stop fraud are just as bad. None will stop fraud, but they'll make life much more difficult for legitimate users who just want to auction something off. As Yahoo points out in the article, they can only do so much to prevent fraud before it becomes too burdensome on legitimate users. While some anti-fraud measures are certainly helpful, in the end there are always going to be online scams. The real issue is that users need to be better educated on how to spot scams themselves.
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Two things
1. I don't see any mention of "post office boxes" in the article, and I've never heard of such things existing in Japan. Are you sure about that, Mike?
2. Used items are not popular in Japan, because of the stigma attached. There is a notion that the only people who want used goods are foreigners.
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Re: Two things
Although, eBay made it's name from collectibles, the real money in online auctions is from new products. Either small business reselling or large companies selling excess or old inventory. Both eBay and Yahoo Auctions are trying to get companies to sell new products.
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