Ebay FAke/Spoiler Bids

W1zz

Just been checking through last nights XBox360 auctions and almost all sold between 11pm and 2am-ish have been won by 2 or 3 users with (0) feedback.
Obviosly fake/spoiler bids or Buy It Now winners.

I understand some people may be peed off cos their Xbox didn't come in time for Xmas, but what a farce that these people can make a complete nonsence of ebay.

Isn't their any protection for the sellers?

Yes - I have an Xbox360 up this weekend - I was fortunate to drop on one whilst still awaiting for my 4 September pre-order from Game.Net.

I have it on BIN and buyer must purchase immediatly with linked Paypal account.

Can't think of anything else I can do to protect myself.

W1zz

Ivrytwr3

I said in a previous post what i did when i sold my 360. I watched all other 360 auctions 1/2 leading up up to mine finishing. Write down the user names (low feedback) of all bidders and note how many times they win the auction. You can then block them from your auction before they even start to bid.

W1zz

Great tip - Thanks

cougar_3

you could set up an auction for pre-approved bidders only. They'll email you in order to bid and then you check them out. It works best with buy it now auctions because you have fewer potential bidders, but the ones you do get are genuine...

kaaloo

This is a big prob. I had 2 decent mobile listed recently both, finishing within minutes of each other.

Despite the fact that I had stated clearly that zero rated bidders would be cancelled unless they made contact beforehand, both my auctions were literally "attacked" by zero rated bidders who had just registered that day -what is that all about??.

Picture the scene, i had about 4 windows open, 2 for the phones so i could see how they were doing, one for BLOCKING bidders and another to CANCEL bids. It was manic but I managed to sell both phones to people with decent ratings in the end! I then get a cheeky message off one zero bidder asking why I blocked him!

Yes some are genuine and we all have to start somewhere but my past experience tells me that a zero rated bidder who registers on the day never pays - why do they do this?

Justicia

kaaloo wrote:

Yes some are genuine and we all have to start somewhere but my past experience tells me that a zero rated bidder who registers on the day never pays - why do they do this?

That's a tricky one, isn't it.

I would suggest that most people who have "0" feedback, have signed up on the same day and are indulging in their first bid are actually quite genuine. I don't know of anyone signing up to eBay for no particluar reason and then finding it useful when logging in again weeks or months later ~ it's generally (in my opinion) because they hear of eBay, browse and see something they like/want and sign up to (genuinely) bid for it. I am also one of these people who did exactly that in March of 2001 and since have a fairly high rating without any negative transactions or experiences or attempts to rip any sellers off.

I appreciate that you have had bad experiences in the past with new, "0" rated bidders but don't allow those who screw it up for others to totally ruin your trading and enjoyment.

Of course, you can cancel whose bids you like, I am not going to argue with that as they are your auctions that you have paid and spent time in building and listing but please don't let the negatives outweigh the positives and you (via your auctions) also suffer

soolin

I think there are a lot of 0 bidders out there bidding on consoles as the newspapers are full of the story that the only place to get a console this year is on ebay. They therefore register and start bidding on every one as it nears completion.

Soo

motorguy

kaaloo wrote:

This is a big prob. I had 2 decent mobile listed recently both, finishing within minutes of each other.

Despite the fact that I had stated clearly that zero rated bidders would be cancelled unless they made contact beforehand, both my auctions were literally "attacked" by zero rated bidders who had just registered that day -what is that all about??.

Picture the scene, i had about 4 windows open, 2 for the phones so i could see how they were doing, one for BLOCKING bidders and another to CANCEL bids. It was manic but I managed to sell both phones to people with decent ratings in the end! I then get a cheeky message off one zero bidder asking why I blocked him!

Yes some are genuine and we all have to start somewhere but my past experience tells me that a zero rated bidder who registers on the day never pays - why do they do this?

I did exactly this when selling my xbox 360. I also put in my description

"ZERO Feedback or bidders with significant negative feedback please read only

Due to the number of scammers and people who find it funny not to pay, anyone who wishes to bid who has 0 feedback or significant negative feedback must contact me 24 hours PRIOR to bidding with full contact details and await a response from me. Zero feedback bidders not following the above procedure will have their bid removed"

As they dont bother contacting you first, you are justified in removing their bid and blocking them. Also i never found it worthwhile to list an xbox 360 on more than a 24 hour auction as noone bothers bidding until the last three hours.

Check every hour (where feasible!) and remove zero feedback bidders, also check all new bidders as i had a bidder with a feedback of 4 who was bidding on 10 x box 360s and winning 8! I suspect he would just have paid for the cheapest one....

Also Royal Mail Special Delivery will guarantee delivery in 24hours up to probably thursday and will cost £19.00 or so and be insured up to £500

Then the last hour do as kaaloo says and keep all those windows open... you will need them! On the plus side, if you do all of this you should do fine. Mine made £580 and £480

Justicia

soolin wrote:

I think there are a lot of 0 bidders out there bidding on consoles as the newspapers are full of the story that the only place to get a console this year is on ebay. They therefore register and start bidding on every one as it nears completion.
Soo

Sorry.

Forgot to add a similar "clause" to the end of my post

If you are selling the current "hard to get" item (like the Xbox) that is causing all sorts of eBay-related nonsense with fake bids, etc., then I can understand totally why everyone needs to be suspicious and cautious with their auctions...

The contents of my post was geared more towards "everyday" items

motorguy

Justicia wrote:

Sorry.

Forgot to add a similar "clause" to the end of my post

If you are selling the current "hard to get" item (like the Xbox) that is causing all sorts of eBay-related nonsense with fake bids, etc., then I can understand totally why everyone needs to be suspicious and cautious with their auctions...

The contents of my post was geared more towards "everyday" items

yeah, its not too bad getting someone with 0 feedback not paying for that second hand cd you've had listed, BUT not paying the £500 they bid for the XBOX360 the week before christmas makes you want to beat the person to death (sorry, havent taken my pills today yet!)

cougar_3

Anouther thought. If you don't mind the risks and cost associated with paypal, set up a BIN with instant payment required...