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Dr.Koos...but ULTIMATELY it's up to an INDIVIDUAL to safeguard himself. Bear me out. Take for example, a city like NY (the 5 Boroughs). How many personnel make up the workforce of individuals designed to safeguard us from ANY type of criminal activity? Just factor STREET level. Police, auxillary police, Civillain patrol, security personnel of any kind whatsoever, etc. I would have to very conservatively guess at LEAST 50,000 and the actual number is most probably MULTIPLES of that estimate! And THAT work and volunteer force's main function is to safeguard the lives and belongings of over 10 million people!
Now, how many auctions are submitted per year on Ebay. Let's imagine that the number is 10 million. How effectively do you imagine Ebay's "police and security" can be in protecting the consumer in each and every case unless their workforce hired to do so were at least, say 5,000? And going back to our NYC example..how effective is the anti-crime force in eliminating it whatsoever? Even with an estimated force of 50,000?
Ebay GIVES us 99% of the necessary tools to protect ourselves. Search engines, feedback ratings, etc. We can use these research tools, apply some common sense, and drastically reduce our chances of being victims. Just as if you decide to take a walk down DARK, desolated streets at 3AM, waving your pocketbook in the air, you're taking abnormal risks and you CAN'T expect immediate HELP when thugs accost you, the same logic applies if there's a seller auctioning a 1933G Ruth found in Uncle Jimmy's old Vaudeville trunk, with no reserve in a 3 day auction and he has a feedback of 3 positives in a 2 week old account, all indicating purchases of CDs or Sega game cartridges. You PASS!! You assess the situation..and you PASS. Common sense keeps us from harm. Sense of self preservation and using our brain keeps us from harm...NOT just the police force. It's GOOD that they are there if we choose incorrectly, but they can't be expected to always be in the right place at the right time. WE have to help the police protect US by helping ourselves using deductive reasoning and a little common sense. And if you sense "danger", for Chris'sakes, don't just STAND there...MOVE!