This Week's True Business Story: Excuses
“Robin,” he said firmly, “You only have yourself to blame. You ignored all the red flags.” My friend Errol was right; I had wasted three weeks pursuing a client who never intended to do business with me. Instead of telling me outright that he didn’t want to buy our services, this prospect made every excuse under the sun to avoid meetings and commitments. He showed up late, didn’t return calls and played the Gutless Game, as I call it. That’s the game played by people who don’t have the guts

Wholesale Selling Success Secrets
Building a wholesale business requires a deep understanding of underlying essence of the business.Wholesale is different than retail in the sense that the end customer is not the beneficiary of the wholesaler. The actual beneficiary is the reseller who gages his satisfaction by the profit he earns with the wholesale merchandise.The more he makes, the more he will buy from his wholesale supplier.By understanding this idea the wholesaler can build a successful business.Ebay scams abound, on both the buyer and the seller side. Granted, Ebay is a great way to sell or buy products online, however, do not participate with your eyes closed. Always be aware of what is going on within the auction world and protect yourself -- whether you are a seller or a buyer. Here is a sample of some of the current 2007 Ebay scams going around.

Buyer Side Scams

Western Union Scam -- The scammer states that they can only accept payment via Western Union. The buyer find the product the seller is advertising to be so enticing and below cost, that the buyer can not resist. So, he/she will agree to send money thru Western Union to purchase the product. What happens- 1) they may never receive the product from the seller. 2) The seller will send a product not of the quality advertised.

Rule of thumb: Never,eversend money to a complete stranger via Western Union.

Fraudulent listings-auctions-- fraudulent auctions contains links that direct buyers to spoofed sites that attempt to phish their Ebay credentials.

The Fake Escrow Account - The scammer utilizes an email to purport the scam. When a buyer states an interest in buying,they receive an email from the seller(scammer) that states to please send their payment via a wire transfer through an "Ebay trader". This is where the scam gets interesting: the "Ebay trader" notation is the scammer's attempt to fool the buyer into thinking that this is truly a secure escrow account, when in fact it is not. Where does the money go? The money is deposited directly into the se

me of the current 2007 Ebay scams going around.

Buyer Side Scams

Western Union Scam -- The scammer states that they can only accept payment via Western Union. The buyer find the product the seller is advertising to be so enticing and below cost, that the buyer can not resist. So, he/she will agree to send money thru Western Union to purchase the product. What happens- 1) they may never receive the product from the seller. 2) The seller will send a product not of the quality advertised.

Rule of thumb: Never,eversend money to a complete stranger via Western Union.

Fraudulent listings-auctions-- fraudulent auctions contains links that direct buyers to spoofed sites that attempt to phish their Ebay credentials.

The Fake Escrow Account - The scammer utilizes an email to purport the scam. When a buyer states an interest in buying,they receive an email from the seller(scammer) that states to please send their payment via a wire transfer through an "Ebay trader". This is where the scam gets interesting: the "Ebay trader" notation is the scammer's attempt to fool the buyer into thinking that this is truly a secure escrow account, when in fact it is not. Where does the money go? The money is deposited directly into the s

end money thru Western Union to purchase the product. What happens- 1) they may never receive the product from the seller. 2) The seller will send a product not of the quality advertised.

Rule of thumb: Never,eversend money to a complete stranger via Western Union.

Fraudulent listings-auctions-- fraudulent auctions contains links that direct buyers to spoofed sites that attempt to phish their Ebay credentials.

The Fake Escrow Account - The scammer utilizes an email to purport the scam. When a buyer states an interest in buying,they receive an email from the seller(scammer) that states to please send their payment via a wire transfer through an "Ebay trader". This is where the scam gets interesting: the "Ebay trader" notation is the scammer's attempt to fool the buyer into thinking that this is truly a secure escrow account, when in fact it is not. Where does the money go? The money is deposited directly into the s

lent auctions contains links that direct buyers to spoofed sites that attempt to phish their Ebay credentials.

The Fake Escrow Account - The scammer utilizes an email to purport the scam. When a buyer states an interest in buying,they receive an email from the seller(scammer) that states to please send their payment via a wire transfer through an "Ebay trader". This is where the scam gets interesting: the "Ebay trader" notation is the scammer's attempt to fool the buyer into thinking that this is truly a secure escrow account, when in fact it is not. Where does the money go? The money is deposited directly into the s

payment via a wire transfer through an "Ebay trader". This is where the scam gets interesting: the "Ebay trader" notation is the scammer's attempt to fool the buyer into thinking that this is truly a secure escrow account, when in fact it is not. Where does the money go? The money is deposited directly into the seller's overseas account.

If you are wanting to buy:

1) Ask questions of the seller about the item

2) Verify seller's contact information-before you submit money to seller 3)Make sure your method of payment offers protection. Paypal is the safest way on Ebay, 4)If seller accepts only cash or cash wire transfers -- do not bid on listing 5)Be cautious when consider escrow accounts 6) If you received an email that says it was sent by Ebay-verify. You can verify that the email is real by forwarding the email to spoof@ebay. They will respond in 24 hours to tell you if it is real or fake.

When the Seller Is Scammed

The seller can also be scammed. So, for the newbie wanting to try their hand at Ebay selling, make sure you do a little research, and have things set up to protect yourself and your business. Here are a sample of some of the scams sellers can encounter.

1) Fake credit card, check or money order

2) Utilizing the chargeback feature - the buyer, using their credit card, will purchase the item. So far, so good. However, once the product has been received by the buyer, they will issue a chargeback. The scammer is banking on the fact that you do not have enough proof that you sent the product --