Recently in ecommerce Category
Either there's an upsurge in Amazon phishing emails or the phishers only got my email address recently.
I've had about half a dozen phishing emails today purporting to be from Amazon regarding my "seller" account.
To start with I don't have a seller account.
The other giveaway sign is that although the links are similar to Amazon domains, they aren't Amazon domains.
They all seem to be subdomains of by.ru, which appears to be some sort of free hosting solution based in Russia (I don't speak Russian, so I'm only making an educated guess)
Unfortunately, while Amazon do have a facility for reporting phishing emails it is clearly not aimed at the "casual" end user or anyone who is short of time. It consists of a rather convoluted series of web forms instead of a simple email address.
While the likes of Paypal, Ebay and most of the major financial institutions make it relatively easy for even a novice to report phishing emails Amazon dare to be different.
While they may be getting the reports in from honeypots etc., surely it would make more sense to facilitate end user reports?
Am I missing something?
I've had about half a dozen phishing emails today purporting to be from Amazon regarding my "seller" account.
To start with I don't have a seller account.
The other giveaway sign is that although the links are similar to Amazon domains, they aren't Amazon domains.
They all seem to be subdomains of by.ru, which appears to be some sort of free hosting solution based in Russia (I don't speak Russian, so I'm only making an educated guess)
Unfortunately, while Amazon do have a facility for reporting phishing emails it is clearly not aimed at the "casual" end user or anyone who is short of time. It consists of a rather convoluted series of web forms instead of a simple email address.
While the likes of Paypal, Ebay and most of the major financial institutions make it relatively easy for even a novice to report phishing emails Amazon dare to be different.
While they may be getting the reports in from honeypots etc., surely it would make more sense to facilitate end user reports?
Am I missing something?
One of the things that drives me mad is when a "cheap" item has a high shipping price.
You know the scenario I'm sure. Item "costs" about 2 euro, but by the time you pay for shipping it's suddenly 30 euro.
If you're using eBay.com from Ireland there's an option to show the estimated shipping cost as part of the display columns. If I can't see a price or it's simply too high I won't bother bidding.
Now there is a difference between "too high" and simply "insane"
Check this out (click to enlarge):
It's obviously a glitch in their system, as the items' listings show a much saner shipping price.
Don't you just love computers?
You know the scenario I'm sure. Item "costs" about 2 euro, but by the time you pay for shipping it's suddenly 30 euro.
If you're using eBay.com from Ireland there's an option to show the estimated shipping cost as part of the display columns. If I can't see a price or it's simply too high I won't bother bidding.
Now there is a difference between "too high" and simply "insane"
Check this out (click to enlarge):
It's obviously a glitch in their system, as the items' listings show a much saner shipping price.
Don't you just love computers?
eBay Ireland have unveiled their helpline for their "most valued customers" ie. those of us who spend lots of money.
The guys in eBay had told me about this a few weeks ago, but I had been asked not to mention it in public until it was ready for primetime.
It will be interesting to see what kind of support levels they are going to offer via this new support service.
I'll have to try it out to see! (I currently have a couple of minor issues that I'd like to get resolved)
I've been using a very handy tool to help my eBay addiction over the last few days.
Bib Burglar is a "sniping" tool which basically bids for you in the last few seconds of an auction. Since it's a remote service you don't have to worry about leaving your desktop computer on 24/7.
The interface is very simple. All you need to do is provide the item / auction ID number, the maximum amount you want to bid (it will automatically use the currency of the eBay site) and how many of the items you want.
If your bid is too low you'll get an email to let you know that you are losing, so you can easily increase your max bid.
The only minor niggle is that the system works primarily based on the auction ID, which is probably faster than polling eBay's servers for the item name. So when you get a warning message about a potentially losing bid you've no way of knowing what it actually refers to until you login.
Apart from that one little issue it's a really nice service and you only pay the really low fees based on the items you win ie. if you don't win the auctions you don't have to pay for your bids.
If you signup you can get an unlimited trial account for a couple of weeks. I'm currently having fun abusing mine.
Bib Burglar is a "sniping" tool which basically bids for you in the last few seconds of an auction. Since it's a remote service you don't have to worry about leaving your desktop computer on 24/7.
The interface is very simple. All you need to do is provide the item / auction ID number, the maximum amount you want to bid (it will automatically use the currency of the eBay site) and how many of the items you want.
If your bid is too low you'll get an email to let you know that you are losing, so you can easily increase your max bid.
The only minor niggle is that the system works primarily based on the auction ID, which is probably faster than polling eBay's servers for the item name. So when you get a warning message about a potentially losing bid you've no way of knowing what it actually refers to until you login.
Apart from that one little issue it's a really nice service and you only pay the really low fees based on the items you win ie. if you don't win the auctions you don't have to pay for your bids.
If you signup you can get an unlimited trial account for a couple of weeks. I'm currently having fun abusing mine.
It must be something to do with the long weekend, but I've been getting emails about special offers and sales all morning ...
Anyway the latest one I've got is from CD Wow who are running yet another sale for the next few days
Enjoy :)
Anyway the latest one I've got is from CD Wow who are running yet another sale for the next few days
Enjoy :)
Cancelling a PayPal subscription if you are a buyer isn't that hard, but if you are a merchant it's far from obvious.
We ran into the issue a few times in recent months, so we contacted PayPal's support team. They happily informed us that the only way a subscription could be cancelled was if the buyer cancelled it from their end.
Of course a lot of buyers either don't know how or simply forget to do it, so we were still getting calls about the issue.
I called Paypal again this afternoon and spoke to a very helpful guy in their Dublin offices who walked me through the steps to cancel a subscription from the merchant's end.
It's quite simple once you know how.
Login to your Paypal account and click on the "History" tab.
In the "show" dropdown choose "subscriptions" and set the start date to some date in the past. You may need to go back quite a bit, as the history section only shows the subscription creation date and not any subsequent payments from the client.
Once you've found the subscription you want to cancel click on the "details" link. You should now see an option to "cancel subscription". Then click on it and confirm that you really do want to cancel the subscription.
You should receive a confirmation email within a couple of minutes.
Now if only they'd told us that when we first asked!
We ran into the issue a few times in recent months, so we contacted PayPal's support team. They happily informed us that the only way a subscription could be cancelled was if the buyer cancelled it from their end.
Of course a lot of buyers either don't know how or simply forget to do it, so we were still getting calls about the issue.
I called Paypal again this afternoon and spoke to a very helpful guy in their Dublin offices who walked me through the steps to cancel a subscription from the merchant's end.
It's quite simple once you know how.
Login to your Paypal account and click on the "History" tab.
In the "show" dropdown choose "subscriptions" and set the start date to some date in the past. You may need to go back quite a bit, as the history section only shows the subscription creation date and not any subsequent payments from the client.
Once you've found the subscription you want to cancel click on the "details" link. You should now see an option to "cancel subscription". Then click on it and confirm that you really do want to cancel the subscription.
You should receive a confirmation email within a couple of minutes.
Now if only they'd told us that when we first asked!
I don't mind admitting that I have a serious addiction to DVDs.
The only problem is paying for them!
Of course the beauty of the internet is that you don't have to restrict yourself to buying from your local shop. You don't even have to restrict yourself to Amazon or Play.
The downside with ordering anything online can be the shipping cost and possibly customs duty if you're unlucky enough to get caught for it.
Over the last couple of weeks I've been doing a lot of research into the various options for buying home cinema equipment, dvds, hd dvds and blu ray discs. If I get a chance I'll put some of what I've learnt into a coherent post, but in the meantime I thought I'd mention a couple of pretty cool sites I came across.
EzyDVD, which is based in Australia, carries the normal selection of DVD, HD and BluRay titles you would expect, but also has a really impressive selection of "Exclusives" (the link to them on my Godfather post was eaten by FF3 beta!)
DVD Therapy. UK based shop that carries a very eclectic selection of hard to find HD discs. From what I can gather the people behind the shop are film nuts! If you're serious about film this is one worth looking at. Pricing is pretty good on a lot of the titles as well. Shipping costs are based on weight. Pricing in Sterling.
Store4.They seem to have a fairly comprehensive selection of titles. Pricing in Sterling. Free shipping.
DVDi. It may not be the most attractive site on the internet, but the free delivery worldwide is a nice USP.They also have pricing in a variety of currencies including Euro, which saves a lot of flipping backwards and forwards to xe.com.
4CheapCDs. Very similar to DVDi. Free shipping to Ireland and pricing in Euro
SelectCheaper. Incredibly ugly site, but the shipping cost of 50p per DVD is hard to beat (unless you opt for a shop offering free delivery obviously)
DeepDiscount. Nice selection of titles. The pricing on some items is good, but the shipping cost isn't that attractive.
AxelMusic. Very attractive site and easy to navigate (unlike some of the others). The really nice feature that makes this site a true winner is their region-free blu-ray section. They seem to have truly embraced the web and offer RSS feeds and even a Mac desktop widget. Pricing in Euro. Delivery pricing is based on weight.
If anyone has any other recommendations please let me know.
Now where did I leave my credit card?
The only problem is paying for them!
Of course the beauty of the internet is that you don't have to restrict yourself to buying from your local shop. You don't even have to restrict yourself to Amazon or Play.
The downside with ordering anything online can be the shipping cost and possibly customs duty if you're unlucky enough to get caught for it.
Over the last couple of weeks I've been doing a lot of research into the various options for buying home cinema equipment, dvds, hd dvds and blu ray discs. If I get a chance I'll put some of what I've learnt into a coherent post, but in the meantime I thought I'd mention a couple of pretty cool sites I came across.
EzyDVD, which is based in Australia, carries the normal selection of DVD, HD and BluRay titles you would expect, but also has a really impressive selection of "Exclusives" (the link to them on my Godfather post was eaten by FF3 beta!)
DVD Therapy. UK based shop that carries a very eclectic selection of hard to find HD discs. From what I can gather the people behind the shop are film nuts! If you're serious about film this is one worth looking at. Pricing is pretty good on a lot of the titles as well. Shipping costs are based on weight. Pricing in Sterling.
Store4.They seem to have a fairly comprehensive selection of titles. Pricing in Sterling. Free shipping.
DVDi. It may not be the most attractive site on the internet, but the free delivery worldwide is a nice USP.They also have pricing in a variety of currencies including Euro, which saves a lot of flipping backwards and forwards to xe.com.
4CheapCDs. Very similar to DVDi. Free shipping to Ireland and pricing in Euro
SelectCheaper. Incredibly ugly site, but the shipping cost of 50p per DVD is hard to beat (unless you opt for a shop offering free delivery obviously)
DeepDiscount. Nice selection of titles. The pricing on some items is good, but the shipping cost isn't that attractive.
AxelMusic. Very attractive site and easy to navigate (unlike some of the others). The really nice feature that makes this site a true winner is their region-free blu-ray section. They seem to have truly embraced the web and offer RSS feeds and even a Mac desktop widget. Pricing in Euro. Delivery pricing is based on weight.
If anyone has any other recommendations please let me know.
Now where did I leave my credit card?
I am not happy.
Over the last two months I have spent a disproportionate amount of money on Ebay. I should be ashamed, but since that isn't likely to happen I shall condemn eBay.
Ebay - you are evil!
Why do you tempt me with cool and fun ways to spend money?
Why do you let me buy high quality goods at a fraction of their high street value?
According to my eBay control panel I've spent about EUR3000 in the last 60 days!!
What have I been buying?
1 x iMac desktop computer.
Lens for my digital SLR
Bluetooth headset for my mobile phone
Carrier bag holder (thing you hang on your kitchen door for holding plastic bags - couldn't find one in the shops...)
Batmobile - Corgi diecast models
Firewalls - well I do run a hosting company!
Over the last two months I have spent a disproportionate amount of money on Ebay. I should be ashamed, but since that isn't likely to happen I shall condemn eBay.
Ebay - you are evil!
Why do you tempt me with cool and fun ways to spend money?
Why do you let me buy high quality goods at a fraction of their high street value?
According to my eBay control panel I've spent about EUR3000 in the last 60 days!!
What have I been buying?
1 x iMac desktop computer.
Lens for my digital SLR
Bluetooth headset for my mobile phone
Carrier bag holder (thing you hang on your kitchen door for holding plastic bags - couldn't find one in the shops...)
Batmobile - Corgi diecast models
Firewalls - well I do run a hosting company!
I'm currently considering getting a Blackberry or similar device. Much as I love my N95 it's lack of a full keyboard wouldn't make it my ideal choice for email "on the go".
Since we're with Vodafone I naturally thought that checking their site would be a good idea.
How wrong could I be!
There is simply no sane way to see a list of available phones on their site.
Sure. You can lie and say you are a new client and get "a" list, but if you are an existing bill pay client you will end up looking elsewhere in frustration, as the site simply does not work.
You can't see the phones unless you login.
So, you login.
Can you now see the phones? No. That would be far too logical. Not only does it ask you to login (even though the top right of the page shows that you are already logged in) but it starts asking you irrelevant questions about upgrades.
Did I say I wanted an upgrade?
Do I even care if I am eligible?
No.
All I want to know is what phones are available and roughly how much they cost.
Is that too much to ask?
Sorry about the rant!
I feel calmer now!
I think I'll just head over to ebay instead...
Since we're with Vodafone I naturally thought that checking their site would be a good idea.
How wrong could I be!
There is simply no sane way to see a list of available phones on their site.
Sure. You can lie and say you are a new client and get "a" list, but if you are an existing bill pay client you will end up looking elsewhere in frustration, as the site simply does not work.
You can't see the phones unless you login.
So, you login.
Can you now see the phones? No. That would be far too logical. Not only does it ask you to login (even though the top right of the page shows that you are already logged in) but it starts asking you irrelevant questions about upgrades.
Did I say I wanted an upgrade?
Do I even care if I am eligible?
No.
All I want to know is what phones are available and roughly how much they cost.
Is that too much to ask?
Sorry about the rant!
I feel calmer now!
I think I'll just head over to ebay instead...
There are gaffes and there are gaffes. This one is brilliant!
