Clark makes about 50 small purchases per year on eBay. He especially loves the cheap cell phone/electronics accessories that he can pick up for around $5. In fact, he bought his daughter a case for her iPod Nano for $1.25 including shipping! The item came from Hong Kong, so you know the seller took a loss on the shipping charges alone.

Many people, however, use eBay for more expensive things. There's been a recent breakdown in trust between sellers and buyers. Sellers used to be able to manipulate approval ratings, but that system was done away with as eBay has tried to instill buyer confidence. Merchants are now angry that their customers can post negative things online and they're stuck with it.

One seller recently went so far as to sue a buyer who put up a neutral rating -- not even a negative one! A Seattle man named Steve Shellhorn was unhappy with the packaging that accompanied some coins he bought on eBay. So he posted his comments and was sued by a seller in North Carolina for $10K. The case was thrown out of court, but Shellhorn incurred $500 when he hired a lawyer.

The takeaway here is that a lot of people make "anonymous" posts on websites that trash other people or companies. But your identity can be revealed with a court order. So this is not to say that you can't use free speech; just realize you also have the responsibility to do it respectfully and factually. Not that those issues came into play in the Shellhorn case -- that was completely out of left field!

Purchases you make on the Internet are tax free, right? Wrong! The states are at it again trying to find new sources of tax revenue as we stare down a recession. They've now turned to trying to get the word out that you're legally required to pay sales tax on Internet purchases -- unless, of course, you live in a tax-free state. That's news to most people.

The courts have decided that web merchants are not responsible for collecting taxes unless they have a domicile in the state where the purchaser lives. But you still owe the tax. North Carolina has been aggressive about trying to collect. Some states are even participating in cooperative efforts where they'll rat you out to other states. We're not talking about something you buy for $12 on Amazon; we're talking about something you might buy for $12K online. 25 states now have a line on their income tax forms to collect sales tax on Internet purchases you've made over the past year. Consumers are expected to keep a log of all their e-commerce transactions and then report them!

Craigslist has been in the news a lot lately after an Oregon man came home to find almost all his possessions gone. Someone had made a Craigslist post stating the man had to leave town on short notice and was giving away all of his belongings, including a horse! Predictably, there was a feeding frenzy at the house. The man got on the scene and told those who had come that the Craigslist post was a hoax, but they just showed him the printout and acted like they had a right to take his belonging. Police have since discovered the post was made to cover up a burglary that had taken place just days earlier at the residence. While the Internet offers so much good, there's also a certain amount of anarchy in cyberspace. Several days ago, Clark was talking about JuicyCampus.com as an example of the downside to the Internet. In other news, there's a new lawsuit against Verizon, AT&T and Sprint for engaging in illegal gambling. TV viewers were paying fees to send text messages to shows that were essentially running non-government sanctioned lotteries.

Clark has had a love/hate relationship with eBay for a long time. On the one hand, he loves the deals he gets through the website. But eBay has been notorious for helping out fences and counterfeiters. So there are opportunities to save big, but there are times you may get burned too. Clark recently needed to purchase a smartphone after his was damaged during the Hawaii staff trip. When he called up his carrier for a price quote, what originally cost him $99 was now being priced at $599! So he went on eBay and found a nicer one for half the money. The risk is always that the seller gives you junk or doesn't deliver. But Clark had no such problems.

The level of savings you can get on eBay are not just anecdotal. Recent studies at the University of Maryland and a foreign university have found that consumers have saved a cumulative $19 billion (!) over the years thanks to eBay. Your typical eBay purchase is available at a discount of 30 percent versus the retail price. Not surprisingly, the greatest savings are to be found when the economy slows down and people have to dump new stuff they can no longer afford. Right now eBay is going through a midlife crisis. Their CEO is out, and eBay is lowering the costs of its items while raising commission on the sell. Clark thinks eBay needs to take a cue from Craigslist -- of which it owns a 25 percent share. Craigslist allows sellers to list their wares for free and not pay any commission when something sells. It's as if Craigslist is the new and improved eBay. The new CEO at eBay will be challenged with making a marketplace in which the counterfeiting is dealt with and people know they won't get junk.

Just the other day Clark was talking about Bill Me Later, a company that gives you an alternative to doing online transactions via the credit card cartels. The Wall Street Journal now reports that $1 in every $7 is being processed online through an alternative payment method. Clark has now learned that Bill Me Later, PayPal Checkout and Google Checkout are even better than he originally thought. All 3 are now offering extra incentives to get you to use them instead of your traditional credit cards. PayPal is offering a 20 percent cash-back discount, capped at $50. Not to be outdone, Bill Me Later has since started offering free shipping up to $20, and a no payment for 90 days policy at participating merchants. Google Checkout is also offering free shipping. Clark likes Bill Me Later best because they completely assume the role of a credit card and cut the usual Visa and MasterCard suspects out of the picture. That means increased benefit to consumers and merchants alike.

Clark wants to warn you about a new e-mail scam making the rounds. Criminals have been gaining access to e-mail contact lists and sweeping out all the addresses. They then send out a very distressed note in your name to every contact on your list. The e-mail will claim that you're in financial, legal or medical trouble and that you desperately need money right away. The criminals hope that even one or two of your closest friends will respond with an offer of funds. Public e-mail services such as Yahoo! have been hit by this scam, according to The New York Times. Sometimes the criminals will even change your password while they're in your account. At that point, it can be very difficult to reclaim your e-mail address. So if you get a suspicious e-mail from a relative or friend, call them first and find out what's going on before you give them your money. On a related note, there's now a $5 security key that really helps secure your PayPal account. The key generates a random code every 30 seconds that you must use to access your account. Even if a thief has your e-mail address and password, they still won't be able to get in without the code. These kinds of security keys have become so inexpensive yet so invaluable. Clark hopes that brokerage houses and banks will soon be offering these devices to customers.

For years Clark has taken issue with eBay because it's enabled counterfeiters by creating an unmonitored marketplace where they can peddle their bogus goods. Now he's saluting the company because of its coordinated effort to crack down on people selling recalled toys that have lead paint. Clark's executive producer Christa -- a frequent eBay seller and buyer -- usually takes a very libertarian view of things. But in this case she too salutes the company's efforts since the products in question have already been recalled by the government. Meanwhile, Clark has a market-based solution to the counterfeiting problem. He believes eBay should have bonded sellers. People would pay for a bond and the company would reimburse buyers if they were sold bogus goods. Sellers would then be able to command higher dollars for their legitimate goods under Clark's plan.

There's going to be a marriage of TV and Internet in the coming years and the level of interactivity will be incredible. Clark was really excited when TechNewsWorld.com recently reported about upcoming innovations that will integrate e-commerce and TV programming in a new way. Say you're watching a TV show and you notice some really fashionable clothing or shoes being worn by an actor or actress. You'll be able to click with your mouse or TV remote and purchase the clothing or shoes right then and there via a pop-up purchase window. People who watch TV shows on the web are already experiencing this kind of cross-promotion on their computers.

An MTV reality series called The Hills is trying out this new business model. So TV viewers like Christa, Clark's executive producer, can purchase clothing worn by the show's Lauren Conrad while she experiences daily drama in the chic setting of her Teen Vogue internship. Not exactly the kind of advancement Clark was hoping this technology would bring us! He's looking forward to the day when there will be one junction box on your TV that bring together lots of programming from multiple platforms -- satellite, cable, the web, mobile and more.

Modern technology brings with it modern crime. Clark loves Craigslist because it offers free local online classifieds across the country. But the website is also beloved by criminals who have made a cottage industry out of selling stolen goods online. The Washington Post reports that very expensive stolen bikes are now showing up for sale on Craigslist. These bikes originally cost their rightful owners thousands of dollars. But because they're not registered with tags or plates, they make a great target for thieves to steal and resell in the anonymity of cyberspace. It's getting to the point where bike theft, which used to be a crime of opportunity, is now like organized crime. Thieves are setting up rings to steal these expensive toys. So people are fighting back on websites where you post pictures and an exact description of your stolen bike. Even better, some owners equip their two-wheel rides with GPS technology so their bikes can be tracked if they're stolen. It's like having LoJack for your bike.

Clark recently took his oldest child to college for the first time and came away with some musings about how much things have changed since he was in school. Back in the day, he went to campus with one trunk full of belongings. At his daughter's school, students showed up with fridges, microwaves, coordinated bedspreads and more. He even saw one student carrying in a 36-inch LCD hi-def TV. Meanwhile, everyone has cars on campus these days. When Clark was studying, freshmen weren't allowed to have vehicles. Sophomores could do so only with parental permission or if they had a job. Of course it goes without saying that when Clark was in college, there was no Internet, computers or cell phones. He used a typewriter and had one professor who did not allow papers to be turned in with any corrected letters on the page. If you made a mistake while typing -- even in the last sentence -- you had to start all over again.

Clark has one bit of advice for anyone who doesn't want to pay those hefty prices for college textbooks. His daughter's roommate spent $580 on books for class, while his daughter has to pay $135 for one book! Clark says to shop around for the books online. CheapestBookPrice.com, AllBookstores.com, Biblio.com, AbeBooks.com, A1Books.com, BookFinder.com, ValoreBooks.com and Textbook411.com are all good sites for this purpose. Amazon is also doing big business selling college text books, and there are some British book websites that offer science textbooks for about 40 percent off the domestic price (even when you factor in the cost of international shipping.) Don't buy your books before class starts. Go the first day and ask your professor if you can buy a prior edition and try to find it used.

What do you do if you need money but want to avoid borrowing from the banks? In the past, Clark has always recommended credit unions. But now there are even more options available. Prosper.com is a site where people lend money to each other instead of a bank being in the middle. The investor who takes a risk in lending to you earns relatively high returns and you get a low rate. This is a big success that's growing exponentially. The way it works is that a borrower gets a lot of cash from several different people online. That helps lower the individual lender's risk in the case of default. People are essentially becoming their own loan officers by calculating the risk to see if they want to be part of a loan. There's a similar website in Britain called Zopa.com that's getting ready to come to the United States. A little competition in this field is going to be a healthy thing. However, there are some core differences between Proper and Zopa. The former grades your credit and then assigns you a lender, while the latter is tougher and only allows loans to those with moderate credit.

The volume of transactions on sites like these is growing. So is this a threat to the banking business? While it's still small potatoes today, over time it could be. CircleLending.com is also a good site to use for lending to people who are your family members or friends because it helps you negotiate a contractual agreement. Meanwhile, Clark has a rule for lending to family that he calls the "one time out rule." It states that you can lend to a family member once (and only once) as a gift. Even though they will call it a loan, you may never see the money come back. If it does, you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's kind of the same idea as the old saying, "First time shame on you, second time shame on me."

When you’re shopping online, you want the best price - but you also want to know you’re buying from a reliable retailer. Online sales continue to grow by leaps and bounds, although people still shop in stores much more often. About 90 percent of the retail dollar is still spent in the bricks and mortar stores. The one great thing about online shopping is the ability to comparison shop. Clark has enjoyed shopping around on the Web on sites such as Froogle, Shopzilla and CouponMountain. But he’s never found a great site that gives him exactly what he wants…until now. DealNews.com is a new site that is almost like a message board. Deals are updated about twice an hour and each deal is graded based on how hot it is. The more orange circles, the hotter the deal. So, you can tell if it’s really a great deal or not. Check it out!

Criminals have figured out how to rip off not only inexperienced buyers on eBay but also very experienced buyers. How are they doing it? As you know, many buyers rely on seller ratings when they’re buying on eBay. When it happens, there is an assumption that the person is a safe seller. So these criminals are capitalizing on that. They set up a site selling hundreds of very expensive items while offering great customer service. After a period of time, the seller gets a “power selling” rating and starts selling more expensive items. It’s usually electronics such as cameras and computers that are sold for a great price. People start buying up all kinds of these items and they trust the seller because of the outstanding rating. But there are no electronics. The seller collects the money and takes off, leaving hundreds of people victimized. When asked about this practice, eBay had no response. Just make sure you’re being careful on the site. Clark always makes sure he never buys anything more expensive than what he is willing to lose. Know your price point and be willing to lose it, because it very well could happen.

There is a lot of talk these days about eBay’s foray into the car selling business. Some people don’t think Clark should be so hard on eBay. Others say he needs to be more tough on them. One thing is for sure: eBay Motors is trying to win your business. The company is running huge color ads about all of the “purchase protection coverage” the company offers on car purchases. The company claims that all purchases are protected up to $20,000, which sounds great, right? But if you look deeper and read the fine print, most of the “protections” offered are stripped away in clauses and restrictions. People still buy on eBay and that isn’t going to stop. It’s a great marketplace. But you have to know that you’re taking a risk. Clark buys lots of gadgets and accessories for his cell phone on eBay because they are so much cheaper than in retail stores. He knows it may not show up, though. So, just make sure you ALWAYS reads the mice type and remember that it’s buyer beware with eBay.

There are tons of great discounts on eBay these days. But the company is suffering from all of the fraud complaints and fears out there. eBay has been disappointing Wall Street for a while now because people have stopped using the site as much. As a result, eBay is trying several new tactics to clean up its tarnished image. One of them was to hire 2,000 new employees whose main job is to monitor sellers. The site police can impose penalties on sellers if they are not following the rules of the site. There is even an eBay “Probation Course” that penalized sellers must take before they can start selling again. Clark thinks eBay needs a Trusted Seller Program that people pay a little extra to join and buy from. eBay needs to rethink how it does business before the stock price drops even more.

eBay has been in the news again lately regarding the number of fake items sold on its site. One recent report stated that nearly 80 percent of the designer items sold on the site are fake. That is phenomenally high. If you’re into designer items, you want it to be the real thing, right? Well, people are getting ripped off every day on eBay. Now, Clark wants you to know that he thinks eBay is a great company and a great concept. But eBay has failed to do anything tangible to help the fraud situation on its site, and it seems to be about time to do something. Christa, Clark's executive producer, thinks ebay should bond its sellers as a way of ensuring products and protecting people. But Clark doesn't think that's enough.

eBay’s stock price has dropped, in part because people have lost confidence in the site. People are afraid to go into the marketplace for fear of getting scammed. As a result, eBay has set up a second marketplace for people with feedback ratings of 98 percent or above. It’s called “eBay Express and it’s all fixed prices. You can find it at express.ebay.com. Some people just don’t have time to bid all day or to monitor the bidding, so this allows you to avoid all of that. So, it helps thin the ranks of potential scammers and is more convenient. Satisfaction after the sale is still an issue, for instance if you need to return an item or something goes wrong.

Google has been a huge success in the Internet market and it is now branching out into yet another industry. You may have heard of PayPal. The eBay owned company has had the electronic payment market to itself. And, as a result, it has been able to treat customers in a mostly poor manner. But that’s all about to change. Google is now stepping into the ring and is offering a FREE electronic payment program. It’s called “Google Accounts” and it’s only available in test form and in certain markets. It will be available to people who use “Google Base,” the company’s equivalent and competitor to Craigslist, the online local marketplace that is partially owned by eBay. So, it’s a great alternative if you’re doing lots of online transactions and are either paying a lot or getting bad customer service from PayPal. Just remember that if you decide to use Google Accounts, there is no fraud protection at all. This would be the time for PayPal to step in and offer real service and protection for its customers. We’ll see what happens.

eBay is under assault again for more counterfeit activity on its Web site. Three out of four “Tiffany” items being sold on eBay are counterfeit. As a result, Tiffany is suffering and is suing eBay. Tiffany is losing twice in the matter and could win this case. eBay, on the other hand, could lose something much more important – the trust of the American public. Clark thinks there are so many bad things going on with eBay that people will eventually stop using them. We’ll keep you posted.

You’ve probably heard of Google, the company that has established itself as the best search engine in the world. The company has been so successful that the company has started its own e-mail, discount merchandise site and more. Now, Google is getting into the online auction industry. That’s right; Google is working on a free alternative to eBay. Word leaked out recently that Google is testing a free seller’s service that will compete with eBay and its partially owned company, craigslist.org. The company would be called Google Base. The company is also creating a payment service that would compete with PayPal. We’ll keep you posted on this.

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Along those lines, Skype – the free phone calling service – is growing by leaps and bounds. A million new customers are signing up every 6 days. It took Vonage about four years to get 1 million customers. So, there is so much content for free on the Internet and so many alternatives. Clark thinks every one of these innovations is going to be hugely successful.

You’ve probaly seen the pitches on the Internet and late night TV about how to get rich through government auctions. They sound so exciting, but all these people want to do is take your money. There are some legitimate sites, however. Consumer Reports’ newsletter, “Money Advisor,” lists the sites at federal and state auctions. The best part is that they are free. You have to do a little digging at these sites, but you can find some great deals. Are you going to get a Porsche for $50? Not likely. What happens is there is government minimum set on the items, which are typically seized or foreclosed items. If that bid is not reached, the organization can reject all of the offers and the bidding starts again.

Clark has held steady to his opinion that the popular auction site eBay needs to take some responsibility for the fraud and crime happening on its site. The site has created trust among its followers and users over the years. But crooked buyers and sellers have infected the site for the last two years, and eBay has simply washed its hands of the issue. Clark thinks that eBay must get a handle on the fraud in order to maintain its success. It’s apparently already taking a toll, now that news reports show that eBay’s stock has been dropping like a rock. Bloomberg reports that traffic on the site has also dropped, so people are getting more leery of using the site. Christa, Clark’s executive producer, has felt differently since eBay’s inception. She thinks it’s an open marketplace, much like a classified ad, and eBay should not have to assume any responsibility. We want to know what you think. Tell us in our weekly poll. If Clark could decide what happens with eBay, he would offer two kinds of sellers. The first would be bonded sellers, who have been checked out and have a bond. The other group would be unbonded sellers, and it would be buyer beware. It seems that eBay can’t decide whether it wants to protect people or not, and that’s unacceptable to Clark.

Would you buy a $90,000 ring or a $20,000 bracelet on the Internet? Amazon is hoping you will and has been surveying people to find out. So far, they’ve found people are receptive to Amazon selling fine jewelry. Not all of it is fine jewelry. Prices will start at about $50. But Amazon is joining forces with tons of Internet jewelry sellers. The sale of online jewelry is up 40 percent in the last year. But only about 5 percent of jewelry sales happen online, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some people are still selling fake or counterfeit jewelry online. So, you need make sure you can get a full refund for the item within a certain period of time if you happen to change your mind. Usually jewelers will allow you to return within 14 days. That’s not a store credit. You need to make sure you can get a full refund for any reason. And get a receipt that says that. You need to be able to provide proof that you have a right to a refund. But think a different way about buying jewelry. If you’ve always bought from stores, consider trying the online route. You always want to compare.