EBAY RANT

[vorpoll]

I really don't like using ebay but I know it reaches the most people so it helps you sell items faster. I use it to help get rid of the parts of my collection I want to change over for something new when I can't get what I am looking for here in our forums.

For the first time ever I contacted eBay about a seller who is bidding on his own items. They happen to be all Sideshow statues at the moment. His seller name is chwilcox2012 if you look at any of his current or old auctions you will find a bidder with 3 feedback bidding multiple times on most of his auctions. Going further I found that bidder with 3 feedback has 100% of all his bids ever placed on ebay were placed on chwilcox2012 auctions. He has 3 bid retractions in the last 6 months. I guess when he makes a mistake and jumps over a true bidders highest price he then retracts it. He probably bought 3 very small priced items from himself to get the 3 feedback he has. I mean I see he has bid 21 times on the same auction in small increments until he matches or gets close enough to the current high bid, then he stops.

I guess it really get me because even after I reported it to ebay these auctions have been allowed to continue and his current batch ends later today. Does ebay really care? I mean if he drives up his own price they get more of a cut right? So its a win - win for them until someone gets the word out.

 

[sarakawa]

That's true but eBay makes so much money I doubt they would allow that to happen if there was enough proof he was crooked. I would say they would just be too lazy to deal with it than anything.

 

[EVILFACE]

Ebay won't do anything and I would move on.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Two things:


1) If ebay is looking in to the matter, you are not likely to be told about it and ebay has a system of dealing with these matters. It starts out with warnings and such and progresses from there. So there is also the possibility that they have started the process to deal with the matter, but you can not tell because they are in the beginning stages where they are attempting communication with the seller.


2) If I was Ebay, I would not start an investigation based on what you posted. Although it LOOKS bad...nothing you posted is actual proof of shill bidding.

 

[thenammagazine]

This is why I always snipe auctions anymore. ____ the shill bidding sellers. If they can't up the anny in the last 3 seconds of their own auctions, they don't deserve the artificial hike.

 

[vorpoll]

Two things:


1) If ebay is looking in to the matter, you are not likely to be told about it and ebay has a system of dealing with these matters. It starts out with warnings and such and progresses from there. So there is also the possibility that they have started the process to deal with the matter, but you can not tell because they are in the beginning stages where they are attempting communication with the seller.


2) If I was Ebay, I would not start an investigation based on what you posted. Although it LOOKS bad...nothing you posted is actual proof of shill bidding.

They took action and found what I said to be spot on. Every single bid that the second account has ever made since it was started had always been on this guys auctions. If that isn't proof what is. It wasn't hard to figure out when he is placing 10, 15 sometimes 20 bids in small amounts and then stops when the top bid is found...I mean if it walks like a duck. Then to see he had bid on all 6 auctions that were active and to go and look at all the previously ended auctions and saw he bid on all those as well, if that isn't proof what more do you want. Looks like he still got away with some that ended earlier. The later ones I see they wiped his bids off and saved some of the buyers a lot of money. Made my day.

 

[Bezzerkerr]

When ever i see BS like that i just steer clear.

This is why I always snipe auctions anymore. ____ the shill bidding sellers. If they can't up the anny in the last 3 seconds of their own auctions, they don't deserve the artificial hike.

Since the beginning of time, catching your opponent off guard has always been a key to victory.

 

[Darth Cruel]

They took action and found what I said to be spot on. Every single bid that the second account has ever made since it was started had always been on this guys auctions. If that isn't proof what is. It wasn't hard to figure out when he is placing 10, 15 sometimes 20 bids in small amounts and then stops when the top bid is found...I mean if it walks like a duck. Then to see he had bid on all 6 auctions that were active and to go and look at all the previously ended auctions and saw he bid on all those as well, if that isn't proof what more do you want. Looks like he still got away with some that ended earlier. The later ones I see they wiped his bids off and saved some of the buyers a lot of money. Made my day.

See? I was right. Congrats!

 

[Darth Cruel]

This is why I always snipe auctions anymore. ____ the shill bidding sellers. If they can't up the anny in the last 3 seconds of their own auctions, they don't deserve the artificial hike.

Sniping auctions is the only way to bid that makes any sense.

Not only do you keep people from jacking up the price to a small extent (there will still be bidders with maximum bids), but it also keeps me from second-guessing myself. I set a price for an item that I want...I submit it with about 15 seconds left on the auction...if I win, great. If not, oh well.

 

[vorpoll]

Sniping auctions is the only way to bid that makes any sense.

Not only do you keep people from jacking up the price to a small extent (there will still be bidders with maximum bids), but it also keeps me from second-guessing myself. I set a price for an item that I want...I submit it with about 15 seconds left on the auction...if I win, great. If not, oh well.

Totally agree. Its the only way I bid as well.

 

[Frank]

Yeah, everytime I see an auction that already has 15 bids with like 4 days to go, I shake my head. I really don't get it unless they know the seller and are serving as fluffers. They can't all be newbs!

 

[kingellesar]

Reported stuff like this to eBay several times, they never do anything. It's taken them about 20 years to increase postal price limits, they have the worst customer service in the world.

I once told the person I won an auction from I won't be paying because the bid suddenly jumped up in the last second, it was only a video game but I hate seeing people do it, if you start a low auction price you need to suck it up and accept whatever you get, it's funny because he relisted the item about 3 times, everytime doing the SAME thing, people were catching on though.

 

[thenammagazine]

Reported stuff like this to eBay several times, they never do anything. It's taken them about 20 years to increase postal price limits, they have the worst customer service in the world.

I once told the person I won an auction from I won't be paying because the bid suddenly jumped up in the last second, it was only a video game but I hate seeing people do it, if you start a low auction price you need to suck it up and accept whatever you get, it's funny because he relisted the item about 3 times, everytime doing the SAME thing, people were catching on though.

That's pretty ____ty of you and he should've reported you for deadbeat bidding, considering it's just speculative on your part. That was very likely someone trying to snipe the auction at a low price but didn't beat your bid.

 

[kingellesar]

What? No the bloke had 100% bids with the person with 0 feedback too. Plus if you read my post he relisted it another 3 times, same person who drove the price up on my bidding again.

If it was just a random person, why would 3 (possibly 4, I gave up watching it after the 3rd time it sold) people not pay for it?

Edit - Oh and I wasn't exactly horrible towards him, I simply said that I thought you were driving the price up and I'd rather you offered it to the second highest bidder. But he just said "Ok" and relisted the same day.

 

[thenammagazine]

What? No the bloke had 100% bids with the person with 0 feedback too. Plus if you read my post he relisted it another 3 times, same person who drove the price up on my bidding again.

If it was just a random person, why would 3 (possibly 4, I gave up watching it after the 3rd time it sold) people not pay for it?

Edit - Oh and I wasn't exactly horrible towards him, I simply said that I thought you were driving the price up and I'd rather you offered it to the second highest bidder. But he just said "Ok" and relisted the same day.

It's almost worthless for a seller to shill bid at the last second of an auction. The only sensible reason a seller would even do so is because he doesn't want to sell it and needs to outbid the current bidder which wouldn't resemble shill bidding, but likely a single high bid at the last second to guarantee he keeps it. Remember, a seller doesn't know what your high bid is, so your scenario still makes no sense.

 

[pixletwin]

I once bought a can of fresh air from Bodie the Cursed.

When I opened it, it killed my gerbil.

 

[thenammagazine]

I once bought a can of fresh air from Bodie the Cursed.

When I opened it, it killed my gerbil.

You do realize, that still won't explain the trace amounts of feces on his skin, let alone why he's hairless, right?

 

[pixletwin]

You do realize, that still won't explain the trace amounts of feces on his skin, let alone why he's hairless, right?

That is irrelevant, sir!

 

[thenammagazine]

That is irrelevant, sir!

*calls ASPCA*

 

[pixletwin]

..........

naughty)