Shill bidding scam! Avoid this seller!

liuhut

That is so blatant - Feel like emailing all the people who have placed bids to warn them.

sheraz2

so has anyone taken any action, i've sent an email to zoe78... askign her if those two bidders mentioned by the OP are her friends?
should get her sweating

rdwarr

sheraz2 wrote:

so has anyone taken any action, i've sent an email to zoe78... askign her if those two bidders mentioned by the OP are her friends?
should get her sweating

Thank you for taking the time to write to eBay's Trust and Safety
department. Shill bidding is a serious offence and we will investigate
your report as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.

We will investigate the accounts for possible shill bidding by looking
at the information you have provided as well as our internal records. We
will also compare this to bidding patterns and any other activity that
may have occurred involving the reported accounts.

If we are able to find evidence of shill bidding, we may take one of
several actions, including issuing an educational alert, temporarily
suspending the member, or in some cases an indefinite suspension. The
type of action that we take depends on the specific situation
surrounding an individual account. When make our decision, we will take
into account factors such as the existence of a previous warning, the
nature of the offence and the length of time this member has been part
of the eBay community. Repeated violations of policies will often result
in the suspension of a member's account.

Sometimes, what appears to be shill bidding may actually be legitimate.
For example, a bidder may bid almost exclusively on one or two sellers
whom they have come to trust. If we find there is not enough evidence of
shill bidding, we may not take action against any of the reported
accounts.

Please keep in mind that, due to our privacy policy, you will not
receive specific details of our actions. In certain circumstances, we
may contact you by email if we need further information. However, please
be assured that an eBay Trust and Safety representative will quickly
review your report of shill bidding and apply our guidelines fairly.

We know your time is valuable and we appreciate you taking a moment to
express your concern to us. Thank you for helping to keep eBay a safe
and reputable forum in which to conduct business.

Possibly

Mr_Squiddy

How can you tell that the account is suspended?

LULUBELLE_2

I think that all her (and her friends' ) current auctions disappear.

jenniferpa

Mr Squiddy - that's my fault. I deleted my post.

Jennifer

LULUBELLE_2

If you go HERE there's load of items listed with end still to come, but if you look HERE it's showing 'No items for that seller'. So I guess that she's been suspended - but 'Widgettart' is still showing items for sale HERE.

They'll probably get around to her 'friends' soon. :T

Viv

Surely she'd be better off starting the auctions at a higher price if her shill bidders are winning so many? She's got to pay the fvf and then pay to relist it, and wait for longer to get her money. I know she's doing it to drive her prices up, it just doesn't seem that smart though!

jenniferpa

It doesn't look as if she is very smart though. After all, this is a pretty obvious shill situation. Now it does look as if her auctions have been removed. That's what I posted originally and then deleted because it was showing different things in different places.

LULUBELLE_2

I agree, Jennifer, but she's got away with it for so long that she's become very careless. :rolleyes:

It looks like it's her main job, so she's going to pay the price for underhand dealing.