Hi All,  I don't use eBay for selling, but I have purchased a couple
of items over the years.  So, I was surprised when a gentleman called
about sending me $1,500 for an item he had bid on and won.

He told me that he was prompted to call because my area code indicated
that I lived in New Jersey, but the mailing address where the check was
to be sent was in Colorado.  Making the mystery even more interesting
was the fact that just two weeks earlier I had disputed a charge on my
credit card that came from eBay.

After a lengthy investigation it was determined that someone at eBay
had helped someone else set up an account using all of my personal
information except my mailing address.  In other words, it was an
inside job!

The point here is simple.  The security of any Internet system is only
as good as the people who manage that system.

As I approach my first million in Internet sales, I'm extremely proud
of the fact that of the thousands of sales I've made, only one was
disputed.  And, after a flurry of paperwork, it was found that the
customer disputed the charge to their credit card because they didn't
recognize my business name.  (Hello!  They bought player piano music
rolls, and the business name is 'Player Piano Repair Services'.)

So, when people complain about the fact that I don't have a fancy
shopping cart system, an interactive customer data base, or PayPal,
I simply explain that all of those things require the services of a
third party company over whom I have no control.

"The only way to be in total control is to have total control."

Musically,
John A Tuttle
Player-Care.com
Brick, New Jersey, USA