eBay 2004 Annual Report Download - page 8

features designed to detect and prevent some forms of abuse. Users who receive a suÇciently negative net
feedback rating have their registrations suspended and are unable to bid on or list items for sale. We believe
our Feedback Forum is extremely useful in overcoming initial user hesitancy when trading over the Internet,
as it reduces the anonymity and uncertainty of dealing with an unknown trading partner.
SafeHarbor Program: In addition to the Feedback Forum, we oÅer the SafeHarbor program, which
provides guidelines for trading, provides information to resolve user disputes and responds to reports of misuse
of the eBay service. eBay's SafeHarbor staÅ investigates users' complaints of possible misuse of the eBay
service and takes appropriate action, including issuing warnings to users, ending and removing listings, or
suspending users from bidding on or listing items for sale. Some of the complaints the SafeHarbor staÅ
investigates include various forms of bid manipulation, malicious posting of negative feedback and posting of
illegal items for sale. The SafeHarbor group is organized into three areas: Investigations, Fraud Prevention and
Community Watch. The Investigations team investigates reported trading infractions and misuse of the eBay
service. The Fraud Prevention team provides information to assist users with disputes over the quality of the
goods sold or potentially fraudulent transactions. When we receive an oÇcially Ñled, written claim of fraud
from a user, we will generally suspend the oÅending user from the eBay service or take other appropriate
action. The Community Watch team investigates the listing of illegal, infringing or inappropriate items on the
eBay Marketplace sites and violations of certain of our policies. When we receive a valid written notice of
claimed infringement of intellectual property rights by the owner of intellectual property, we remove the
oÅending listing. Users who repeatedly infringe intellectual property rights are suspended. In addition, we have
increased the number of people reviewing potentially illegal items and have developed software programs that
scan new listings for keywords that may indicate illegal, infringing, or inappropriate items. Our trust and safety
initiatives, including user identity veriÑcation, buyer protection, integrated escrow, authentication, and other
proactive anti-fraud eÅorts are key elements of our eÅort to make the eBay Marketplace a safer place to trade.
eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program: Disputes over items not received, or items received but
where signiÑcantly not as described in the listing, can usually be resolved by direct communication between
buyers and sellers. To help transaction partners reach a resolution, eBay oÅers an online process through
which buyers and sellers can communicate with each other. If, upon completion of this process, the buyer still
has not resolved the issue, the buyer has the opportunity to submit a claim. Upon submission of a claim, which
is an online process, eBay's Trust and Safety team is alerted about the transaction. If the buyer closes the
dispute with this option and the transaction is eligible, then the buyer may Ñle a claim under eBay's Standard
Purchase Protection Program, through which the buyer may be reimbursed up to $200 (minus a $25
processing cost). Additionally, if the eBay Trust and Safety team believes further action is warranted, the
seller's account may be restricted or suspended. The buyer can close the dispute at any time if the buyer's
concerns are resolved. The buyer can escalate a claim if 30 days have passed since the transaction date and
either the seller has responded at least once or has not responded within 10 days of the dispute being opened.
A dispute can only be open for 90 days after the transaction date. If the buyer has not closed the dispute within
90 days, it will be automatically closed. When a dispute is automatically closed, the seller is not reported to
eBay's Trust and Safety team and the buyer is not eligible to submit a claim under eBay's Standard Purchase
Protection Program.
In addition to these eBay Marketplace trust and safety programs, PayPal also oÅers a Buyer Protection
Program that makes buying on the eBay Marketplace more secure. With PayPal Buyer Protection, qualiÑed
purchases are eligible for up to $1,000 coverage.
Customer Support
We devote signiÑcant resources to providing personalized, accurate and timely support services to our
community of users. Buyers and sellers can contact us through a variety of means, including email, online text
chat and, in certain circumstances, telephone. We are focusing our resources on increasing our accessibility
and capacity, expanding our category-speciÑc support, extending our online self-help features, and improving
our systems and processes to allow us to provide the most eÇcient and eÅective support possible.
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