Quotes are from other posters here; my observations and
follow-up questions are in-lined and prefixed with "::"
"winner was contacted, by email, with the the statement
"Congratulations"
:: I believe that this is an automated eBay feature and happens
:: essentially, instantaneously. It certainly does not help Husker.
"Then that email was followed by a second email and phone call
stating the listing was an error"
:: And an alledged boast that eBay will side with Husker because
:: they are part of a multi-billion business group. Was mgt aware?
:: Apparently, not yet.
"... it happened and we are all learning from it, not matter what
side of the story has more weight to it."
:: That's why I'm here. I'm thinking of old nautical charts where
:: cartographers noted, "There Be Dragons Here." Those cautions
seem appropriate for eBay and internet sales.
"I think that is a setup fault in the eBay listing vendor they're working with."
"It only takes 1 person, 1 posting to really screw things up."
:: I agree. It seems that VT allows their GMs the discretion to
:: choose if/how to run their eBay and internet stores.
:: The post by the BMWCCA President in Lincoln was enlightening.
:: After visiting the store and chatting with those involved, his
:: (calming) post implies that their internet guy was operating
:: both solo and unsupervised - and that he initally tried to hide
:: the auction problem(s) from mgt.
::
:: I am wondering: How well did mgt truly know their employee?
:: Did mgt realize the potential risk(s)? How diligently did mgt
:: select and train for this role? All rhetorical questions.
:: Specific answers are not expected, general discussion is
:: appreciated.
:: I am not suggesting that posting on eBay requires the rigor and
:: procedures of USAF Missle Lauch Officer teams, but an eBay
:: rep that is operating solo has fewer checks & balances than the
:: typical retail sale. Maybe I'm reaching too far with this next
:: point - casino security is exceptionally wary of possible
:: undisclosed relationships between dealers and cheats. Should
:: mgt consider more scrutiny of their internet auction practices?
:: In the apparent chronology, lawyers for both participants are
:: engaged now. They agree to close the deal at the auction terms
:: and instruct the buyer to contact the GM and pay the deposit.
:: It is alledged that the GM refused the deposit. If true, boy
:: did Fil ever miss an opportunity. I can imagine what he was
:: going thru, but that alledged action strikes me as having been
:: the tipping point - the alledged moment when the campfire
:: began to grow.
:: If either party recorded that call and the lawyers find it during
:: discovery ... game over for whoever is lying. Given that NE is
:: the home of many call centers, I will guess that single-party
:: notification rules allow for permissive recording (by Husker).
:: Caution; changing topics slightly ...
::
:: It seems their eBay sales guy also has two MySpace pages,
:: one of which could pose an ethics challenge for an Eagle
:: Scout. He seems ripe for a Honey Pot attack. i.e. an
:: ESPECIALLY knowledgeable customer [cheat] could have
:: targeted him for hardball negotiating [extortion] to keep this
:: matter away from his wife. If his wife didn't know and approve
:: of his MySpace friends, "Sorry," is unlikely to be satisfactory.
::
:: It is unlikely that mgt will ever know if a trusted, solo internet
:: rep is being extorted to choose between his wife and family
:: vs. the possible loss of paycheck. If he takes the high road and
:: reports it to mgt; and mgt then choose to engage LE, it wil be
:: virtually impossible to keep it from the media. Few wives will
:: hang around for public humiliation.
:: In this stream of conciousness post, it seems to me that
:: internet sales reps are especially vulnerable to extortion.
:: Everything needed to assess their possible vulnerability is
:: available to anyone on internet. And that assessment can be
:: accomplished siliently and anonymously from a distance. I
:: wonder if mgt knew he had a MySpace page?
::
:: MySpace is just the tip of the iceberg. Many states have
:: websites that allow broad searching of criminal histories.
:: Yup, There Be Dragons Here.
:: The various eBay and internet listing services and sales training
:: vendors are almost certainly building Powerpoint decks and
:: preparing to storm the gates with packaged "solutions" for these
:: matters.
"I'd be hiring one of the brightest marketing firms in the business and figure out how to someway turn this bad publicity into a
something positive, it would have to be edgy...but I think it could
be done."
:: I agree, but think that the Honest-Abe approach would be more
:: effective in Corn Country and the Rust Bowl. Edgy would
:: certainly be effective for large metro/urban markets.
