My
Success With eBay
by
John Jakubik
eBayTM
Launches The Most Comprehensive Trust And Safety Upgrades To The World's
Largest Person-To-Person Trading Site
Online community to benefit from free insurance, SafeHarbor(tm) 2.0
and the Legal Buddy Program 2.0 as eBay continues to ensure a safe and
fun place on the Internet for person-to-person trading
San Jose, Calif. Jan. 15, 1999
eBay(tm) (www.ebay.com, NASDAQ: EBAY) -- the world's leading person-to-person online trading community -- announced today the release of its updated SafeHarbor and Buddy Programs. SafeHarbor(tm) 2.0 and the Legal Buddy Program 2.0 are comprehensive programs that help promote safe online trading as well as protect the community from fraud, the sale of illegal or infringing materials and people that would misuse the system. Highlights of the comprehensive trust and safety program:
· Free insurance from Lloyd's of London
· Verified eBay User status with accompanying icon
· Enhanced Feedback Forum
· Easy access to escrow
· Tougher Non-Paying Bidders and Shill Bidding policies
· Clarification of illegal items that are not permissible for sale
· Strengthened anti-piracy and anti-infringement program
While less than 1/100 of 1 percent of the millions of transactions have a reported fraud complaint, eBay takes every one seriously. Since it was founded in 1995, eBay has instituted a number of safety tools and resources including the Feedback Forum in Feb. '96 and SafeHarbor in Feb. '98. to actively work with the community and law enforcement agencies. eBay is now expanding this industry-leading program and providing even more with new tools and safeguards to make the site a safe place to trade online.
"eBay has zero tolerance for fraud," stated Meg Whitman, eBay president and CEO. "These new upgrades to the SafeHarbor and Legal Buddy Programs are designed to meet the demands of our growing community. While fraud and other trust and safety issues are not new, eBay's solutions are. We have committed and will continue to commit resources to have the most comprehensive programs in order to keep eBay a safe harbor for online person-to-person trading."
SafeHarbor(tm)
2.0
eBay vigilantly looks to protect its community and has created SafeHarbor
2.0 with new mechanisms added to its existing ones to help complete successful
transactions, research complaints, and work with law enforcement agencies
to investigate, arrest and convict fraudulent buyers or sellers on eBay.
Verified
User Program
Currently, when a person joins the eBay community, they submit contact
information that is verified at the time of registration and periodically
updated to confirm its validity. In March '99, a new voluntary program
-- Verified eBay User -- will encourage users to supply eBay with
additional information for online verification. By offering their social
security number, driver's license number and date of birth, users will,
at an introductory price of $5, qualify for the highest level of verification
on eBay. Verified eBay User status with accompanying icon means other
eBay members can conduct transactions with added confidence in the identity
of the user. All users' information will be protected under the eBay Privacy
Policy and used exclusively for verification purposes.
"As a dedicated eBay member, I am in favor of the Verified eBay User program," stated Brent Peterson, an eBay user with 587 positive feedback points. "Now when I look up a user's profile, I will look for the Verified eBay User icon. For me, this symbol next to their name is another added level of confidence and trust."
To provide this online verification information, eBay will partner with Equifax Secure Inc., a division of Atlanta-based Equifax Inc., a trusted provider of consumer and business information. In evaluating the identity of the user, Equifax will compare and analyze the information provided by the user against consumer data from Equifax and other consumer and business information sources. The transfer of all private member information will be secure and encrypted.
Feedback
Forum
At the core of the eBay community is the Feedback Forum, where
registered buyers and sellers build up their online trading reputation.
The Feedback Forum provides users with the ability to comment on their
experiences with another individual. This creates a user feedback profile,
which follows the user everywhere on eBay. Enhancements to the Feedback
Forum will distinguish between feedback tied to a transaction (with the
item number) and general feedback. In addition, for easier reading, responses
and clarifications to comments will now be tied together to encourage
further dialogue.
Insurance
By March '99, SafeHarbor 2.0 will automatically provide insurance
from Lloyd's of London for users (with a net non-negative feedback rating)
on their auctions up to $200, subject to a deductible of $25. eBay and
Lloyd's of London have designed this program to set a new standard for
safe online trading at no cost to the user.
For items over $200 or when either a buyer or seller feels the need for additional security, eBay recommends escrow services. With an easy to access link to a third-party escrow service, both partners in the deal will be protected.
Shill
Bidding Policy
Trust within the community is lessened when a user makes a bid on an item
with the intent to drive up the price of item and not to purchase it.
With a new tougher shill bidding policy, eBay drives home the message
that it does not tolerate shill bidding on one's own items either directly
or through the use of multiple identities. The policy now clearly states
there is a 30-day suspension for first time offenders and indefinite suspension
following a second offense.
Non-Paying
Bidder Policy
To help protect sellers, clear policy guidelines are also being set forth
for non-paying bidders, a community-coined word for bidders who
do not honor their commitment after winning an auction. Since there can
be extenuating circumstances, first time non-payment results in a friendly
warning. A sterner warning is issued for a second time offense with a
30-day suspension for a third offense and indefinite suspension for the
fourth offense. This feature takes effect immediately and works independently
of the Feedback Forum.
An additional upgrade to SafeHarbor 2.0 is the further clarification of illegal items that are not permissible for sale on eBay. As clearly outlined in the User Agreement, eBay does not allow the posting of items that are in violation of laws, statutes, ordinances or regulations. To further define this point, eBay will post a partial reference list of less obvious non-permissible items, which include live animals, human relics and remains, bulk email lists and other items.
Legal
Buddy Program 2.0
The Legal Buddy Program has been upgraded by strengthening the ongoing
relationship between eBay and Content Owners, the owners of intellectual
property rights or copyrighted items. eBay is currently working with more
than 100 industry-leading companies from software publishers to toy manufacturers
to apparel makers.
Once notified by a Content Owner, eBay will remove illegal or unlicensed items. To help alert Content Owners, eBay has developed numerous tools, including an automated daily key word search for Content Owners to use to quickly enable them to find potentially infringing auction items. Dedicated email accounts will be established for Content Owners to contact eBay to remove the questionable items.
When items are removed from the site an email notice will be sent to the seller as well as any bidders, directing them to the Content Owner for further information. Many Content Owners are providing an educational "About Me" Web page to give users further information about copyrighted or other infringing items, what is permissible and not permissible to sell, FAQs and a company contact to discuss the authenticity of the item.
Enforcing SafeHarbor 2.0 and the Legal Buddy Program 2.0, the SafeHarbor Team currently consists of 24 members. This dedicated staff works around the clock to remove items and suspend users for inappropriate behavior. The Team diligently investigates and pursues claims of fraud and inappropriate or infringing items and works closely with local, state and Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FTC, FBI, ATF, state attorneys general and the Postmaster General.
As the community has always defined eBay, these changes to the SafeHarbor and the Legal Buddy programs will be launched in concert with community input and involvement in the first quarter of the year. Beginning next week, eBay will host discussions and invite community members to post their input on the "Discuss eBay's Newest Features" board. In addition, conforming changes will be made to the user agreement and Community Guidelines to take into account the new SafeHarbor 2.0 and Legal Buddy Program 2.0.
"We applaud eBay for taking these innovative steps to reduce the potential for problems with online auction transactions," said Susan Grant, director of the National Consumers League's Internet
Fraud Watch (IFW) program. "Providing more reliable information about sellers and preventing shills from abusing the system should give consumers more confidence in bidding for items." The IFW program, which can be reached through www.fraud.org, offers advice to online shoppers and relays consumers' reports about suspected Internet fraud to law enforcement agencies. IFW's online auction tips, including how to pay the safest way, are featured on the eBay site.
eBay is changing the way people collect by opening the world of the Internet to people from across the country to share their passion for collectibles, hard-to-find items or other auctionable items.
About
eBay
eBay (www.ebay.com), the world's personal trading community(tm), pioneered
person-to-person online trading. Founded in 1995, eBay has developed an
efficient and entertaining trading site on the Web that is available 24
hours a day, seven days a week. eBay has more than 1.3 million registered
users. Currently, there are more than one million items listed for sale.
More than 150,000 items are added daily in more than 1,000 categories,
including: antiques; books, movies and music; coins and stamps; collectibles;
computers; dolls and figures; jewelry and gemstones; photo and electronics;
pottery and glass; sports memorabilia; and toys.
Statements in this press release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Those factors could include technical or contractual difficulties in fully implementing planned programs, and other factors discussed in the "forward-looking information" section in the management's discussion and analysis included in the company's prospectus and in the company's quarterly report on Form 10Q for the period ended September 30, 1998.
