don’t claim to be a heavy eBAY user. But, I do buy and sell stuff occasionally and my recent experience selling stuff on eBAY could be a good indicator of what is probably worrying the execs of EBAY: Managing scale.For the past month or so, I’ve been trying to sell a laptop on eBAY. I’ve listed the items two times already and here is what happened both times:

1. Within hours of listing, I get sent messages of two categories: People who want to cheat the sytem and barter offline and scammers with manufactured or stolen eBAY identities who want the “usual” information. I spend valuable time dutifully forwarding it to the security folks at eBAY.

2. During the weeklong listing, I spend even more time responding to form responses from eBAY and handling email discussions with CallCenter agents who plainly have no expertise in managing security.

3. During the last day or two of the auction, I will have three or four genuine buyers who I communicate with and keep engaged.

4. During the last minutes, I see bidding begin and notice my genuine buyers being beaten by scammers with stolen identities win the auction with outrageous bidding. I cannot do anything. Things move at the speed of the Internet!

5. I then get a “Congrats” email followed by a “sorry, the scammers beat us” email and to protect the integrity of the network (read: eBAY probably doesn’t want this information getting public) the entire listing is removed.

This got me thinking and I’ve come to the following conclusions that you might or might not agree with:

- E-Commerce is now no different than regular commerce. An Internet business will initially probably have advantages due to the network effect, but in the end they will end up just like the other utilities: they will struggle to manage scale and offer a compelling service. My eBAY experience was no different than calling my telephone or cable company: Form responses, casual processes to address core business competencies, and frustrating customer service.

- Internet establishments will progressively develop a tiered system. The big customers will get all the attention and the small/occasional customers will not be able to take any advantage of the benefits the network provides. It won’t be egalitarian like it used to.

- Secure E-Commerce is elusive. Internet businesses who depend on earning money through customers they trust will struggle to keep their infrastructure secure. There is a constant struggle between expanding the user base and offering a secure environment. There has to be a better way than the best computer scientists being routinely defeated by the dolts with a phone and a laptop from the most “backward” regions of the world.

eBAY is probably the most innovative of Internet businesses. Their annual report proudly states:

This is not a post about management or technology, but something of utmost importance to us technologists. Do you like solving big problems? Read on…

SAHC, an exciting non-profit got started by the Bay Area El Camino Hospital, South Asian physicians, specialists, and generous donors. I am pleased to let you know that the center is out of its pilot phase and is now open. There was a well attended opening ceremony yesterday with a who’s-who in the South Asian community making their pitch for getting screened.

I want to do my part and share my experience with you: A few years back, on a plane ride to India, I read an interesting piece in India Today where there was preliminary research being done in Singapore, London, and Chicago (Dr. Enas Enas) on a genetic anomaly with South Asians that increased their chances of fatal heart attacks by 400%. Kaiser was also noticing an abnormal number of fatal heart attacks in the Indian community in the Bay Area.

I kept track of these events, learned of SAHC, and got screened a few months back confirming a few early markers. Once this was confirmed, a case worker was assigned to me and the SAHC hooked up with my primary care physician. They also sponsored a free fitness instructor at the YMCA and assigned a nutrionist to work with Meera and me on diet choices. Thankfully, I can postpone getting on drugs for a little bit more. Best of all, the service was all free and Aetna picked up a significant portion of the advanced lipid tests. I spent $69 in total for such world class service.

My long blog is to convince each and every one of you South Asians to get screened at http://www.southasianheartcenter.org/. This epidemic is real and will likely you. It does not matter if you are:

* Working out
* Rich
* Vegetarian
* Thin
* Stress Free
* Have had no other complications
* Have borderline cholesterol readings
* Are a woman

Please make time to sign up and get tested. Look at all the positives you will get by simply signing up:

* You contribute to some very cutting edge research that will save the lives of many of your friends and millions of South Asians. By 2010, India will have 60% of the CAD world burden. The median age of a South Asia CAD victim is fast dropping to the late 30s/early 40s.

* You will be in control of events in the eventuality of a cardiac event or a stroke. You will be armed with all the relevant information. You risk is already two times the US national average based on existing data. You risk increases 4-8 times if you have adopted a western lifestyle, smoke, or drink.

* A majority of South Asians in the US are just beginning to enter the danger zone. 5% of all ER cardiac events in the Bay Area are due to South Asians. You could be next! Act now!

* With changed lifestyle choices, you will indirectly contribute to combating childhood obesity/diabetes in the community and give our children a better future!

Please do sign up.

It’s tax season time and it’s only appropriate to discuss all things taxes, aka “surcharges” in our industry. I’ve always believed the incumbents with or without VOIP have a huge pricing power over any emerging technology that mimics what they offer.

Spunky voice providers like Vonage and SunRocket can offer cut-throat prices (aka spend their venture dollars on you and me), but they will never be able to displace the incumbents for basic residential service. Besides, take a look at my all-i-want-is-9-1-1 phone bill below and decide for yourself if at&t or the US Goverment is the competition in my area!

The odds are against them especially when Uncle Sam and his 50 nephews and nieces grab their share of surcharges and fees from you every month. Of course, you cannot call them taxes :-)

And I don’t actually use my phone and have the service only for E-9-1-1.

I think the only way to compete is to fight on the access side and the events that are transpiring in the muni networks is the way to go. The fight is still in the pipes.

Voice, after all, is just another application on the network.