People who have not used online marketplaces like eBay are often suspicious of whether people will honour their online promises once they log off.
I have always been plesantly suprised by eBay transactions. Not only are the goods delievered promptly but are often accompanied by a little compliment slip. But despite my happy experiences I was surprised to see quite what a trustworthy marketplace eBay is. In 2002, 668 million products were listed on eBay (just the US version I think). Of that incredibly large number a mere hundredth of one per cent fell foul of dishonest practices. Whilst still representing 66,800 people, it means that if you were to buy 10,000 times items from eBay you could expect to receive 9,999 packages.
I contrast this very high level of trust to the way people feel about corporations today. Just one example (albeit a big one) of corporate misbehaviour at Equitable Life led to 800,000 people losing out. And often in a way that changed the course of their lives for the worse. This has led to a very high level of cynicism about corporations of all kinds. The most dramatic example of this being direct action anti-globalisation groups (some of the most serious digital consumers around).
Does this mean that digital consumers trust each other (even total strangers they will never meet) in a way that they don't trust corporations ?
And what does that mean for the modern marketeers ?
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