As always, I had a great time as the guest of Dr. Eric Clemons, and I enjoyed hearing the passionate questions, insights and feedback from the students. One of the students posted an article about my visit on his blog, The Un-Wharton.
My inspiration for starting buySAFE was a similar scam that I fell victim to on eBay during the summer of 2000. The only major differences that I can point to are that I purchased a $400 PDA, and instead of taking the scammer to court with Judge Judy, I decided to instead start a company dedicated to making every online transaction trusted, reliable and risk-free... buySAFE!
Next time, I hope these two innocent victims limit their purchases to buySAFE merchants. It will save them a whole lot of anguish and effort!
Counterfeit/fake/stolen goods are obviously becoming a major issue for e-commerce, but in my opinion, this problem is actually a symptom of a much larger, more important, fundamental problem... Online, buyers have a very difficult time discriminating good sellers/product from bad sellers/product. The REAL problem is that the Web suffers from major information asymmetry issues. That is why bad guys are successful at defrauding consumers.
Please think about my diagnosis for a moment... If consumers could tell the difference from the good guys and the bad guys, would shoppers ever unknowingly buy a counterfeit item? Of course not! Fraud happens because of information asymmetry.
I think you will find the "Designer Duds: Fake or Real?" news segment very interesting. However, as you watch this clip, please understand that the counterfeit/fake/stolen goods fraud problem is due to a more fundamental e-commerce problem... Buyers can't reliably tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys! In economic terms, this is called information asymmetry, and it is causing legitimate, professional merchants millions of dollars each and every day.
Kudos to Jeff Grass, buySAFE's CEO, for a job well done!
Jeff Grass, buySAFE's CEO, recently posted a comprehensive article on the eCommerce Trust problem, and how buySAFE is specifically designed to tackle this big issue. Jeff does a great job of laying out the requirements for effective online trust and safety solutions, and I thought you might enjoy the read.
Travis Brown, buySAFE's General Counsel & VP of International, recently spent a week in France as a guest of the French government. The purpose of the trip was to learn more about the exploding counterfeit goods industry, and to explain how bonding merchants and buySAFE could significantly mitigate this huge problem.
I found Travis' post to be one of the best I have ever read on the issue of counterfeit goods, and I am sure you will agree. I encourage you to give it a quick read.
The new Travelers relationship adds another major U.S. financial institution to buySAFE's growing team of business partners. The Hartford Financial Services Group and The Rutherfoord Companies are major investors in buySAFE, and in 2005, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company joined with buySAFE to provide significant surety bond capacity for buySAFE's rapidly growing business on eBay, Overstock.com, and TIAS.
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