It's similar to eBay - they give you the necessary information to make an informed decision... but don't tell novice users how to use this information.
For eBay, how important is a seller's rating? What should I weigh more heavily, raw points or percentage? Does the Power Seller badge really mean anything? What if the guy sells $5 trinkets normally but is trying to rip me off with a $5000 item? The list goes on, there's no education, only trial by fire.
It seems like AirBnb is falling into the same trap. AirBnb needs to come up with its own measurement of reliability/sketchiness and show this to the user, either explicitly or in search ordering. Users/postings that drop below a certain bar (or just plain unproven users) need to be marked for novice users so that they know to tread more carefully.
It's not a trap -- there is no way EBay can provide all of the necessary information that would stop people from getting scammed since someone would simply try a new trick that wasn't listed in the documentation. It isn't simply "trial by fire," but suspicious until proven otherwise, a general tact that works well on the internet and among strangers that want your money.
Anyways, most of this is common sense. Examine the number of positive reviews in the past six months. Examine the ratio of positive to negative. Examine the nature of negative reviews. If buying something expensive, verify some other items sold were also expensive. Buy via paypal or something else that includes buyer protection.
People will have to learn the same sort of way to navigate airbnb.
For eBay, how important is a seller's rating? What should I weigh more heavily, raw points or percentage? Does the Power Seller badge really mean anything? What if the guy sells $5 trinkets normally but is trying to rip me off with a $5000 item? The list goes on, there's no education, only trial by fire.
It seems like AirBnb is falling into the same trap. AirBnb needs to come up with its own measurement of reliability/sketchiness and show this to the user, either explicitly or in search ordering. Users/postings that drop below a certain bar (or just plain unproven users) need to be marked for novice users so that they know to tread more carefully.