How (Not) To Support Shoplifting
Written: Jun 02 '02
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Half.com, for the oblivious, is a site where a seller posts an item that has been gathering dust in a closet and a buyer buys it for a reduced price. Maybe oversimplified, but that's it at it’s very base. I have experienced both the buyer side and the seller side and, oddly enough I’ve also been the middle man, though not here. Through that experience I would like to impart a few words.
Buying from Half.com could not be easier. You search for your desired item and if it’s there, you often have a choice of how much you would like to pay and what quality you would like the item to be. Pick your item and you will make someone somewhere very happy (in addition to add something to their ‘to do’ list as items must be shipped out the
day after confirmation.) Keep in mind that you are not dealing with a company that has a shipping department, but with an individual who might not get to the post office the next day no matter what Half.com says. This same person also listed the item and decided whether it was "Like New" or not. I have ordered a number of things and have had them arrive as described and on time in each instance. You are also able to ask questions of the seller. When I wanted to purchase the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion Revised edition I sent an email through Half.com to the seller to make sure it was indeed the red revised version and not the blue regular version that I already had. They also have a Wishlist feature and a Pre-order feature. When something is on your wish list and it gets posted, Half.com sends you an email to tell you it’s available. If you don’t get to it before other people who also have it on their wish list, you lose. The Pre-order feature will, when someone is posting your item, pop up with a dialogue box that says "Someone has this pre-ordered for $XXX. Would you like to sell it now?" If the seller agrees Half.com sends you an email telling you your Pre-order is on it’s way.
Selling from Half.com is, if anything, easier than buying. You post the junk you don’t want, Half.com asks you what condition it is and offers a suggested price. You can charge whatever you like, but you are the only one who knows how quickly you want to get rid of it. Another thing to watch with the suggested price is how much others a charging for the item. I’m not certain what the formula is but it takes into account the average current price. If, for instance, you are trying to sell a copy of Orson Scott Card’s Enchantment, you will end up with an unrealistically high Half.com suggestion because I am currently selling a review copy that I’m not really that eager to part with and have put a correspondingly high price on, skewing the average up. Sales, at least for me, come in rushes. I’ll post a bunch of stuff and I’ll sell about half of it right away. The rest sits here on the floor of my office until it gets picked off (hopefully) later. Half.com insists that you drop ordered in the mail the day after you confirm them. This is kind of a pain, and hasn’t always happened, but it also hasn’t hurt me when it hasn’t.
Now for the middle man. I worked, as I have said, for a used CD emporium where I was responsible for making trades. Half cash, 2/3rds trade for what we can sell the item for. We carried CDs, tapes, games and small electronics. Not long after starting to do trades I learned to sense stolen items and more or less shaft the person trying to trade them for cash. Hot new title, still sealed? Let me guess, you want cash. I’ll give you a dollar. For this reason I will not buy hot new anything off Half.com and I ask that you don’t either. Oh sure, I could with surprisingly little risk, start ripping off my employer for titles I know would sell and turn them around very quickly on Half.com, making a nice chunk of change in the process. And I know that people shoplift to sell on Half.com. How do I know? Well, I thought of it, didn’t I? You won’t make as much money stealing something and returning it for cash at another store, but your risk of getting caught is vastly reduced. It’s the difference between a bird in the bush or a bird in the hand. Stolen $24 DVD sold on Half.com for $20, do that 100 times a month and you’re making something like a living. A $16 CD sold for $10. A $20 hardcover book sold for $15.
I also will not buy expensive items off Half.com. First, because they could be stolen. Laptops are imminently portable. So are TVs and game systems. In fact, anything that isn’t nailed down is fair game to the determined shoplifter. The second reason is that it could be a scam. Half.com is reasonably well set up to protect from that, however…
Half.com sends checks on the 15th and the last day of the month.
Media Mail can take up to 2 weeks to arrive at your door.
Funny coincidence, huh? So I post let’s say and Apple iBook with a super drive on Half.com on the 6th for $1000. In fact, let’s say I post 5 of them. It looks like a good deal since new they run $1600. All five would probably be snapped up in a week. Half.com mails me a check for probably $4500 after their commission and the check fee. The computers never arrive. Then I open up another PO Box for the check to be sent to, set up another account and post, oh 10 brand new iMacs at $1000. How long can I keep this up? Do you want to find out?
I haven’t explored the possibility of the second scam working too thoroughly and Half.com probably has some way of stopping scammers like that, but I wouldn’t underestimate the truly determined evil genius. Trust me, comics have it all wrong, evil geniuses don’t want to rule the world, they just want your money. As much of it as you are foolish enough to give them.
So, over all I love Half.com, but there are a few things I won’t be buying from them. I’m more than happy to trade my trash for someone else’s treasure, but I’m not willing to support a shoplifter or a scammer.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Reviews written: 480
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