An article in today’s Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) has an article by Jack Kapica w
ere he talks about an old idea made modern by Peter de Jager of King’s Bail.
Article here:
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030918/TWKAPI18//?query=Kapica
Peter de Jager’s home page here: http://www.kingsbail.com/
Maybe Dale could set up a front office for this idea.
MarkB
Mark
the idea merely seemed clumsy and not worth the effort for most items sold at online auction, especially those under a couple of hundred dollars. Other than that, I thought it not to unreasonable UNTIL I came across the following line:
“Mr. de Jager was the moving force behind the warnings about the Y2K bug.”
All of a sudden, I found myself thinking - how many barnyard fowl do you think believed Chicken Little the SECOND time he declared that the sky was falling? The closest thing I can think of is the so-called scientist who started a near-panic in the US with his announcement of the day that the New Madrid Fault was gonna blow. I don’t put much stock in him anymore, either.
I agree with you Chuck that for small transactions on the internet Jager’s idea is drastic, but I think that it is the cummulative effect of all those little transactions that drive most off from using the internet as a main vehicle of commerce.
I also agree that the panic over Y2K did exceed itself, but on the other hand a lot computer systems worldwide were updated, creating a lot of employment besides hysteria and great speculative News coverage and commentary.
MarkB
We already have a very similar system to this, and in fact eBay strongly suggests using it for large-cost auctions. It’s called an escrow account. The major difference is that the seller doesn’t have to put money into it. The buyer puts the cost of the item (and shipping, and whatever other costs are involved) into a separate account at a bank or similar institution, then the seller ships the item, and the buyer releases the funds once the item arrives in as-described condition. It’s not quite the same as this King’s Bail idea, but it’s the same sort of idea, and I think it would offer plenty of protection. Therefore, I don’t see why this Jager fellow thinks he’s being so original and ground-breaking.
Steven
So, if I want to donate money to charity, I can double the donation by engaging in auction fraud?
Caj