Major Ebay security flaw...justification for having a P.O Box...

So I sold a sealed box of 10 SE proofs a while back on an auction and the guy took about 2 weeks to pay. After emailing him with no response I decided to look at his feedback and items purchased other than mine. In the 2 weeks of him not contacting me, he had purchased and paid for about $20,000 in Gold Eagles and even paid an outrageous $1,800 for a 08/07 Reverse SE PCGS First Strike MS70....My point is that I had his home address, and knew exactly what he had purchased in the past few months. With a Little Google Earth action I could see the layout of his home and even what kind of car he drives. A little word to the wise, Unless the shipper specificaly states they will not ship to a P.O., I would highly recomend everyone that wants security to use one. I can forsee a time coming that it will happen, just like anything else, it's just a matter of when. Protect yourself and your investment! O' yeah and Merry Christmas to all!!!

 

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I really appreciate this. I always try to be cautious, but this is something I wouldn't have thought of . . . someone selling something on eBay to 'virtually case' your place. Another reason to obey the trusted advice repeated on this forum time and again - buy from trusted sellers.

 

Hey boys...just go and buy another gun.
It is a worrying factor that the internet opens doors not just for collectors but for thieves.I have also been made aware of collectors taking insurance on their collections and some snotty nosed telephone insurance seller has passed on info.
When we go away the collection is split....I've only just found my shillings from 2 summers ago.:smile

 

How nice. What's your eBay handle so I'll know not to buy from you?

 

Oh dear. Google 'look down' lookin' at me? Heavens.........

Then I guess ya know the upstairs bathroom's gotta be fixed. Wanna lend a hand?

 

Hey, come on by. I'll introduce you to my friends Smith and Wesson.

 

Yeah, if someone breaks in my house looking for gold & silver, they're gonna end up getting lead!

 

WOW! It wasn't a threat, just some friendly advice! I'm not saying it to get you paranoid! To answer your question it's the same as it is here, I could care less if you buy from me or not!

 

Ditto!!! That is what makes this country great, Sam Colt made us equal!

 

For the record I have already sent an email to their security department regarding this matter.

 

And if you end up meeting a criminal who can use his brain and break in when you're not home???

 

I have never read of anyone being robbed or burglarized of rare coins due to an Ebay purchase.

Does anyone else know of such an incident?

 

The dog has the go ahead to shoot and kill..........

 

Alarm systems, safes, safe deposit boxes. There are plenty of ways to guard against robbery.

Nobody can hide in our information-sharing society. It's impossible, really.

There's a line between taking prudent precautions and living in fear. I refuse to live in fear.

 

You got me Caz, gonna have to leave it to the alarm and police. Please keep my secret Santa address safe. LOL


I just changed my feedback setting to private, that keeps others from going through my purchases. Ebay says seller's can't do that, but I only buy.

 

I take the 2nd amendment very seriously.

 

Just out of curiosity, if Ebay doesn't provide the mailing address of the buyer to the seller, how are you going to get the items to the person? The address is only made available to sellers, not everyone who just happens to be browsing. In retrospect, a po box may be a wise thing to consider, but remember, 1/3 of the country lives in rural areas where that isn't an option.
Guy

 

The OP has not realized the flaw to his argument. All you need is someone's name to enter into an online database to find out what their home address is. These databases can be easily found on Google. Will the OP now suggest to ebay that they block out a buyer's real name to the seller? Ebay has become extremely restrictive in revealing a bidder's user name with active auctions over the last several years. This makes it very difficult to detect shill bidding. By the sounds of it the OP wants to make ebay even more restrictive.

 

Yep, sell a $1K item, ship it cross country, then travel to break in and steal it back. Where do I sign up?

 

I find it strange that I have to make my whole feedback section private just to prevent others from looking through my buying history. There should be a way to make only the items a person buys private. My feedback rating is 100%, and I have never "dead-beat-bid" on anything. That's something I'm proud of and would like to show, without showing what I've purchased. - It just came to me, that a lot of friends and family know my eBay user name. They could just log on and see all my Christmas purchases!