[kwlug-disc] Buying online

[Rick]

"Insurance Squared Inc." <gcooke at insurancesquared.com> writes:
> I'm surprised at how gullible even you tech folks are.  This stuff never 
> happened to me.
>
... interesting list ...
>
> But other than those times, these scammers are pretty obvious to me :).
>
> Conversely, the first deal I did on ebay, ever, back many years ago, I 
> sent someone like $5K and the deal went fabulously.

It occurs to me that eBay is a reflection of risk taking. You've taken
big risks and gotten large benefits ... like a true entrepreneur. Maybe
to get the great experiences in life (be it bargains, income,
relationships), you need to be wiling to take risks. You have to accept
a bit of Russian roulette and accept stochastic rather than guaranteed
results. Judge well and, over time, the wins overwhelm the losses.

Instead of becoming more risk-averse, I feel a kind of delightful
angry/grumpy energy from this experience, as I caught a con-artist
red-handed. The time that I wasted on this effort can't be repaid by a
$15 PayPal refund. But I feel something shifting in me as the latest
layer of timidity falls away from me. So, as with much in the Linux
community, the time-cost was huge, but the perspective-shift and
experience has been "... priceless".

Of course, different people have different needs during various stages
in their life ... there is no right/wrong risk setting for all people.