I have been thinking in great detail about some late developments on the ebay site, and it is almost as though the landscape is protecting the scam artist more than it protects the consumer he victimizes. Here are my complaints with the current process:

It is common knowledge that we, as a community, are able to spot the fake every now and then. Trouble is, when we confront the seller, he ignores us or replies with nonsense. We then...

1. Write to ebay with hard facts. They do not do anything about our email other than reply with a form letter instructing us not to write further or inquire about the opened case, because it is confidential from that point on. Days go by with no action until the item is sold, usually for big money.

2. Out of frustration due to ebay's lack of action, we attempt to write to bidders to warn them. Trouble is...

a. ebay blocks this communication often because their software knows we are not in a transaction with the other buyer. It tells us that it reserves the right to block this communication for "safety" purposes.

b. the item reaches a price point where the complete buyer list is scrambled -- hence, we can't even write if we tried. Again, this is for "safety."

The only safe haven I see being created is for the scam artist. He can continue to sell his fraudulent item despite an entire community knowing it is fake because -- nobody is taking action, buyers are still there, and the only mechanisms in place to warn the prospective buyers are being blocked and/or ignored.

What are your thoughts regarding this matter? Is there anything we as a community can do collectively to help this situation?