Georgia wrote:
>How about if a couple of people bid it up?...Then when you receive the
>notification to pay - just ignore it.  No auction police will come after
>you."
 
That is not necessarily true!  Someone failed to pay a winning bid on a
collector's book I offered on eBay and after I made a formal complaint,
eBay went after them.  I may not have made money off that particular
auction, but eBay relisted the book for free and it sold a week later for
even more money than originally offered.  According to what eBay told me,
the person made a hobby of bidding without paying and eBay was filing civil
and criminal charges against them.  I am not a contract lawyer, but I have
been told by one that the agreement a person makes when placing a bid on
eBay is a legal and binding contract, which means the SELLER (not eBay)
could place a claim against you in small claims court, attach your wages or
even place holds on tax refunds and the like if they chose to do so.  Now,
with a single incidence of non-paying, you are right; probably nothing
would happen other than negative feedback.  But that still wouldn't prevent
the seller from offering it to the lower bidder or putting the pelt right
back on the auction block.  Doing it several times would be a pattern
suggestive of a conspiracy and THAT could cause legal problems, especially
if the seller is a fighter.
 
The last I heard, it takes a credit card to register for eBay, which means
it very difficult to create a false identity and get away with it.  That
means eBay would know the person who registered, placed a false bid and
then defaulted on payment.  AND that contact information (but apparently
not the credit card info) is provided to the seller (at request) when bid
payment requests are ignored.  In other words, if you bid on something of
mine and default, I can ask (and WILL be given) your full name, home
address and phone number.  If those turn out to be false, eBay can request
the info from the credit card company.  They take a proactive role in
convincing people to comply with the bid contract.
 
You should have suggested this off the FML.  The feds take very seriously
conspiracy to commit interstate fraud and this type of a request could be
seen that way by someone who lacks the same love of ferrets you have.  I
understand why you want to do it, and as a person who thrives on anarchy, I
certainly appreciate all forms of civil disobedience even if tight-assed
bureaucrats who are so anal that they could use butt suction to pull bricks
out of a wall do not.  The problem is, the FML, being a ferret advocacy
forum, would be a logical place for a civil lawyer to look for ANYTHING of
value, especially since I am sure at least one "disgruntled" FML member
mentioned they saw the problem mentioned here when they were complaining.
You have made a very public statement which could easily be used against
you AND the FML AND the people who help you, should the improbable occur.
 
Now, Georgia, you and I have broken bread together and I remember a
discussion about animals and their parts during that visit during a
discussion on zooarchaeology.  You know my personal and private feelings on
this matter.  So you know, maybe better than anyone else on the FML, that I
have very little sympathy for the person selling the ferret pelt.  I am NOT
saying you are wrong in your actions; as George Fox once said, "if God has
placed a sword in your heart, then it is right for you to use it." The only
way bad things change is when someone gets mad enough to fight for what is
right.  All I am suggesting is you shouldn't advertise it in a public forum
with public archives.  That places the FML at risk, as well as anyone who
might want to help you.
 
Might I make a compromise suggestion which can solve almost all the
problem?  Why don't several people get together, bid on and BUY the ferret
pelt, and then give it a decent and loving burial?  Sure, the person
selling the pelt might get some money, but you can't stop that.  Sooner or
later, they will sell it to someone who could treat it with disrespect or
even resell it later.  So put a few dollars together, buy the pelt and give
it the last rites you think the poor ferret deserves.  The advantages of
this solution are that you absolutely prevent future resale or disrespect
without putting good people at risk.  Since I am already registered on
eBay, I would be willing to share the cost with others, win it, then ship
it to whomever wants to be responsible for the funeral rites.  The
important thing is, no one loses, not us, not the ferret, and especially
not the FML or well intentioned people.
 
Bob C and 16 Mo' FURRY Ferts
[Posted in FML issue 3018]