100% Secure Trading on Souq

Posted: April 26th, 2007 | Author: dotblack | Filed under: Business, UAE | 9 Comments »

Speaking about absolute thinking, and false promises. There is no 100% secure transaction what so ever on the Internet and that’s a fact.

There are really creative secure ways of doing business online, Souq might be one of those, but using a “100%” tag is really an over-talk, over-show, and the worst of all, a false promise.

Here’s a snapshot of the 100% secure promise:

Souq's 100% security promise

While we’re on it, just a paragraph after the promise there’s this note:

Not sure?

Weren’t they so sure a while a go? 100%? If it’s an absolute thing, why is there measures and levels of security labeled by locks and secure icons? It’s like saying something and then saying hey, I was wrong, but still saying it again.

I’m an occasional Souq user and I like the service, but that doesn’t mean that I’d love how they’re trying to reach out.

I just don’t like their approach of Marketing nor their Advertising. Remember the false Shakira Google Ads? And now this. But I still use it, it’s the only service available.

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1 Amr Hourani said at 2:46 am on April 27th, 2007:
Man

Do No Mix between the to screen shots above..

in the first illustration, they mean �visa, aramex COD, master cards� which means that they have the accounts of the users so they can force them to buy or sell without ruining any auction.

for the second illustration, they meant that some people do not have credit cards, and they deliver hand by hand, so they(souq) cant assure that the deal will be accurate between the seller and buyer, and also cannot stop sellers or buyes for such items from ruining any auction

Bytheway, am the one who developed souq.com so am aware of all these things
2 dotone said at 3:14 am on April 27th, 2007:
Hi Amr, thanks for commenting back, it�s nice to see you reacting on it since you�ve developed it. So my question would be, can you ever promise a 100% security in online transactions? That�s the catch that I�m discussing over here, I�m fully aware of the way transactions are handled in Souq, whether offline or online, is there such a thing called �100%� secure transaction online? Can you answer confidently with a yes with capital �Y�?
3 Amr Hourani said at 2:00 pm on April 29th, 2007:
in souq case; YES

only if the (souq.com) have your credit card number or cashu number, then they will be able to deduct the ammount from you if you wouldnt buy the item you bid on..

i know what you are talking about; it happens wherever even on ebay.. but what my knowledge says, the only thing which can franly and honestly rank up or down the users is the �Rating-Feedbak� thingie, since you will never buy from nigative feedbacked, and you will be banned after 3 negative feedbacks or after not paying the commission to souq (Do not worry if they didnt contact you back, because the business developer there is busy doing other staff for the time being, but she will definitely contact you someday acquiring souq�s commission)

anyhow, ebay now is very very very secure trading engine especially when you send compalints and not waiting the admins to read the seller/buyer feedback since they are using paypal accounts and credit card numbers to register you.

finally, i think this marketing tagline/slogan made a lot of trust, so buyers and sellers can sell/bid with confidence.

Thank you man for the complement and wish you the best of luck in your blog (nice blog bytheway)

Amr Hourani
4 ronmou said at 9:17 am on May 2nd, 2007:
The security on souq comes from the fact that souq.com acts as an escrow service.,,, meaning: The money is only released to the seller after the buyer receives the product and approves it as he rates the seller. Hence the risk is NULL�

As for credit card number and so on, souq process these with a secure payment getaway
5 dotone said at 10:31 am on May 2nd, 2007:
In that case, let me tell you a story. I put my Laptop for sale, I started getting questions until the buyer asked for the �reserved price�. So I gave it up. The next day another user closes the bid with the reserved price that I had disclosed to only one user. So the auction was closed and then I received an e-mail from the winning user saying plz ship it to Nigeria with a given address and then asking me for my bank account details.

Now do the math, the user who won the bid was a fake user who registered through a stolen mobile. Now do the math again!

I ain�t demeaning Souq�s coolness and how great it is as a market place, but 100% secure is really exaggeration! That�s all I want to say. Security is a relative measure and nobody in the world can actually guarantee a 100% security, no matter where or how!
6 ronmou said at 12:07 pm on May 7th, 2007:
Hello dotone,

Well, that is the exact case you get with many international auction sites, they act only as a venue�

In this case, clearly the buyer can not utilize the Escrow service provided by souq.com, and the deal would be stopped, eliminating the risk�.

If the process and the redesigned payment and shipping tools are used, the level of confront and security is up there� if not 100% very close to it. The key is to stick to how the deal should be done, following souq systems/steps and procedures..
7 dotone said at 2:55 pm on May 7th, 2007:
I�m clearly saying that �100% Secure� is not a fair thing to say or claim. I�d like to hear back from you saying that �Yes� there�s no such thing as �100% Secure�.
8 ronmou said at 2:36 am on May 21st, 2007:
I disagree, with the souq escrow system, you are 100% secure�
9 dotone said at 3:11 am on May 21st, 2007:
You are unbelievable! Internet and Absoluteness, no match!