shill bidding on a car i bought - what can be done

mystic_bertie

i bought a car off ebay, without going into the various problems i have had im here to ask about shill bidding

i am certain the seller has been using other accounts to bump up the bidding on many of his auctions including the auction for the car i bought

i intend to report him to ebay and hope they find evidence when they investigate

is there anything legally i can do ie take him to a small claims court as it means i paid £327 more than i should have for the car, i assume ebay would need to find him guilty of shill bidding for me to have a case.

i also had another ebay member contact to tell me all about his shill bidding and he says he has been reported before about it, however he always manages to get the negative feedback removed so he can keep on conning people

what can be done ?:mad:

custardy

you bid the amount you were willing to pay regardless of other bidders
you can back out of the sale and take a NPB strike

mustrum_ridcully

Personally I say no, complain but I don't fancy your chances.

He probably gets the negatives removed because (I suspect) ebay keep a record of the IP address of the listers and bidders. If they're all different then it's very difficult to prove that there was any shill bidding going on.

If you're smart and not greedy shill bidding would be surprisingly easy to get away with...

deanos

I reported a Powerseller that was shill bidding and it was pretty obvious but Ebay did nothing, i even asked people to have a look on various forums and they all agreed but there you go.

so2006

deanos wrote: »

I reported a Powerseller that was shill bidding and it was pretty obvious but Ebay did nothing, i even asked people to have a look on various forums and they all agreed but there you go.

Like the previous poster said, it has to do with ISP address, Or maybe ebay felt lossing then would cost them lots :rotfl:

emweaver

what makes you think its shill bidding?

mystic_bertie

i have studied the bidding history for a while, i doubt ebay will ban then as said these car sellers will help their profits so i cant see them doing anything about it.

AUDI A6 - 170305271227
Bidder: Bidder 24
## - Bid activity (%) with this seller: 28%
Feedback: 10 to 49 • 100% Positive
Registered on eBay: Between 2 and 3 years
Item description: 2001 AUDI A6 1.9 TDI 115 ESTATE NO RESERVE
Bids on this item: 2
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 7
Items bid on: 5
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 28%
Bids to unique sellers: 5
Bids in unique categories: 3
Bid retractions: 0
Bid retractions (6 months): 0

Bidder: Bidder 18 - (BID CANCELLED AT £3001)
## - BID RETRACTION
## - FEEDBACK, SELLER STATES ONLY BIDDERS WITH 10+ FEEDBACK CAN BID
## - Bid activity (%) with this seller: 25%
Feedback: 1 to 9 • 100% Positive
Registered on eBay: 6 months or less
Item description: 2001 AUDI A6 1.9 TDI 115 ESTATE NO RESERVE
Bids on this item: 1
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 4
Items bid on: 3
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 25%
Bids to unique sellers: 3
Bids in unique categories: 3
Bid retractions: 1
Bid retractions (6 months): 1

ASTRA COUPE – 170295113156
Bidder: Bidder 4 No longer registered with eBay
## - ALSO BIDDER 12 ON HONDA ACCORD COUPE – 170294686039
## - 8 BID RETRACTIONS
Feedback: 100 to 499 • 97% Positive
Registered on eBay: Between 3 and 4 years
Item description: 2002 VAUXHALL ASTRA COUPE TURBO GREY
Bids on this item: 3
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 0
Items bid on: 0
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 0%
Bids to unique sellers: 0
Bids in unique categories: 0
Bid retractions: 0
Bid retractions (6 months): 8

RANGEROVER 4.0 COUNTY – 170296487547
NO SHILL BIDDING HOWEVER USED A STORY ABOUT THE CAR HAVING A FAULT AND DID NOT SELL IT TO THE WINNER





HONDA ACCORD COUPE - 170294686039
Bidder: Bidder 12 No longer registered with eBay
## - ALSO BIDDER 4 ON ASTRA COUPE – 170295113156
## - 8 BID RETRACTIONS
Feedback: 100 to 499 • 97% Positive
Registered on eBay: Between 3 and 4 years
Item description: 1998 HONDA ACCORD COUPE 2.0I ES AUTO NO RESERVE
Bids on this item: 3
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 0
Items bid on: 0
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 0%
Bids to unique sellers: 0
Bids in unique categories: 0
Bid retractions: 0
Bid retractions (6 months): 8

HONDA HRV - 170289506299
Bidder: Bidder 5
## - LOOK AT THE 26 TOTAL BIDS AND 21 BID RETRACTIONS VERY SUSPICIOUS
Feedback: 50 to 99 • 100% Positive
Registered on eBay: Between 1 and 2 years
Item description: 2000 HONDA HR-V JOY MACHINE
Bids on this item: 2
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 26
Items bid on: 15
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 3%
Bids to unique sellers: 13
Bids in unique categories: 12
Bid retractions: 1
Bid retractions (6 months): 21

AUDI A4 – 170310970581
Bidder: Bidder 10
## - ZERO FEEDBACK, SELLER STATES ONLY BIDDERS WITH 10+ FEEDBACK CAN BID
Feedback: Zero • 0% Positive
Registered on eBay: 30 days or less
Item description: 2000 AUDI A4 2.4 SE S4 lookalike 18" alloys Bose audio
Bids on this item: 1
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 2
Items bid on: 2
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 50%
Bids to unique sellers: 2
Bids in unique categories: 2
Bid retractions: 0
Bid retractions (6 months): 0

Bidder: Bidder 2
## - BIDDER 6 ON LAND ROVER DISCOVERY – 170308938285
## - FEEDBACK, SELLER STATES ONLY BIDDERS WITH 10+ FEEDBACK CAN BID
## - BID RETRACTION
## - 90 BIDS WITH LESS THAN 10 FEEDBACK AND JOINED FOR LESS THAN 30 DAYS
Feedback: 1 to 9 • 100% Positive
Registered on eBay: 30 days or less
Item description: 2000 AUDI A4 2.4 SE S4 lookalike 18" alloys Bose audio
Bids on this item: 2
Total bids: 90
Items bid on: 59
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 5%
Bids to unique sellers: 56
Bids in unique categories: 28
Bid retractions: 1
Bid retractions (6 months): 1

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY – 170308938285
Bidder: Bidder 6
## - BIDDER 2 ON AUDI A4 – 170310970581
## - FEEDBACK, SELLER STATES ONLY BIDDERS WITH 10+ FEEDBACK CAN BID
## - BID RETRACTION
## - 90 BIDS WITH LESS THAN 10 FEEDBACK AND JOINED FOR LESS THAN 30 DAYS
Feedback: 1 to 9 • 100% Positive
Registered on eBay: 30 days or less
Item description: 2001/51 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY TD5 GS 7 SEATER
Bids on this item: 3
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 90
Items bid on: 59
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 5%
Bids to unique sellers: 56
Bids in unique categories: 28
Bid retractions: 1
Bid retractions (6 months): 1

emweaver

Hate to say thisa but it happens a lot, more than people realise. Only bid what your prepared to pay that way you wont be a victim of shill bidding. Make sure your right before you report them as eb ay could close an innocent sellers account!

mystic_bertie

emweaver wrote: »

Hate to say thisa but it happens a lot, more than people realise. Only bid what your prepared to pay that way you wont be a victim of shill bidding. Make sure your right before you report them as eb ay could close an innocent sellers account!

as ebay are not that great at enforcing their rules i doubt they will ban this guy, but i am certain there is shill bidding going on, its not a hunch

emweaver

it could simple be that a few bidders are looking for new cars dont want to buy anything else off ebay so are only bidding on cars. Maybe they live in the sellers area so are bidding on a few of his. This would mean they arent bidding on many items meaning a higher % bidding for each seller. Say hes bid on 3 items in 30 days by 3 sellers, this would give a 33% but doesnt mean its shill bidding. Could be innocent