Do you trust people online?

[temi]

Midlandi is packing in his online business because he is feed up of "being scammed"

gedtee game me £250 to hold for disbursement to the winner of his web design competition, is he foolish or a trusting person, does it not occur to him that I could 'run away' with his money?


I once have a project done on Elance, I paid a few thousands, the winner of the project stole bits of OSCommerce code, pass it off as a code he created.... I was not able to get the money I paid him back..


The point of this post is to start a debate on "trust" when doing business online, share your experience and share tips on how to avoid getting scammed.

 

[kappa84]

I think it's like in real life: you cannot know to what person you're dealing with unless it screws you.Or not...

I've been screwed once in off line business by a bestfriend, so I don't really trust people when it comes to business. Money makes people act crazy most of the time.

 

[Bagi Zoltán]

Dealing with unknown person is not possible for me, but this statement is for my offline life as well. I like to hava a long deep look into other's eyes, and reading someone's post for a while is almost the same for me. So I have no scam story luckily

 

[KingPin36]

I probably will get flamed for this but..

I don't think there is one person that has not been burnt, online or offline. Business is getting more competitive and more people are becoming ruthless. Business is a cutthroat game.

Who should you trust? I think you should trust you're natural instincts. If something doesn't feel right then don't do it. It really is as simple as that.

I have been working online for 11 years and have I been screwed over? of course I have. Upon reflection I am happy that it has happened now because I learned from my lessons.

I personally have built my reputation on being honest. I don't sugar coat anything, it's not my style. I have lost clients in the past but they have all respected my honesty and opinion on the subject matter.

If you think your going to go through life not getting burnt, then your silly, even the sweet shop will screw you over for a few pence but you don't say "I'm not going back to that shop" do you? of course not.

You just learn to count your change next time.

This is going to sound pretty blunt but Midlandi, stop complaining and get back on the horse and get on with it.

Just learn from your mistakes and trust your instincts.

KP

 

[kappa84]

KingPin is right. When you're into business you must expect bad and good things to happen.

If you're afraid of having accidents, don't drive at all.

 

[gkd_uk]

Most people who deal through Paypal know there is chance for them to get their money back by opening a dispute so such sites play a huge role.

I would only trust members that I have known. If the deal is worth a few dollars then I would deal with someone I do not know.

When it comes to trust. it can very difficult as when you are shopping on the net, you may come across a new site which sells the product you are after at a low rate. How do you know this site is not a scammer?

Risks have to be taken when it comes to dealing online but I would never hand over a large sum of money to someone on the net unless I had known them for a while.

Temi, Gedtee handed you the money because he trusted you and you are definetly a person who can be trusted.

 

[clangallacher]

As the old saying goes, it's a jungle out there, so tread carefully with the trust thing or else you'll be bitten. sometimes the bite is a scratch, but sometimes you will require treatment.

 

[xhan]

I'm so paranoid about getting taken for a ride - I always ask for a deposit from clients but I show them some work i've done before hand so they know I'm not scamming them.

I never spend more than £30 on ebay etc because its just not worth the hassel!

 

[Resonate]

KingPin i like you alot. Unlike many on the internet some fear to voice there opinions when there completely blunt but right. I do the same & if there were more like us people may actually take note & not put them seleves in positions to be left vunerable.

When it comes to money exchanges or currency full stop. I use third party sites which cover my arse.

 

[KingPin36]

Exactly. I use PayPal, yes but for very small transaction no more than 100 GBP and I will only purchase anything if that user is Verified.

I mainly use Escrow, yes, it's a pain because you have to wait and if you're dealing with someone in another country it can be time zone dependant but it is the safest method along with direct wire which is another option I prefer.

KP

 

[blue19]

its not even just people online, its companies too. Well, i guess thats kind of the same thing. I had a lot of money stolen from my egold account and egold did nothing to help me. It sucked

 

[gedtee]

I buy many items online (I sell a few too), generally the reasons I buy online are twofold.
Firstly, prices tend to be very competitive online and secondly it's very convenient.
Regarding trust, I suppose a big aspect of how much you trust a seller depends on a few factors, if you have had previous dealings with a supplier you base your trust on those experiences, how much the item is can also affect your decision whether to buy online. I have no qualms up to a few hundred pounds, but over this I like to be able to see and handle the item before parting with my money.