Shill Bidding

bubbaBlue88

Hi

I just want to start a discussion based on Shill Bidding. Before I start I am not condoning the practice just playing devils advocate.

The practice of Shill Bidding is against eBay policy and also not in the spirit of the eBay community either but if you attend a real live auction the auctioneer often uses the practice called off the wall bidding, where they in fact make up a competing bidder and therefore artificially drive up the price of the item and this is allowed.

If eBay just provide a marketplace as they state and not an auction arena then surely we as sellers are just paying for the privilege of using the servers and web space. Or are we paying the former as well as a policing element as well?

Thanks

frivolous_fay

Consider those that choose to use ebay *because* shilling is not allowed. Maybe they avoid auction rooms for that very reason. Obviously they have to remain alert in case someone's breaking the rules!

Unfortunately users like us are indeed the main component of ebay's rule enforcement... if we don't report bad auctions and unscrupulous sellers, nothing gets done.

Soprano

Shill Bidding is just the way you find out what people are willing to pay.

donstermonster

I dont think that Ebay care about shill bidding, why should they?

They get extra fees for selling items at a potentially higher price and then get a higher fee if the items are paid for via Paypal

Also - i do not know why ANYBODY cares about shill bidding, if you are silly enough to pay more than you wanted to for an item then that is your luck out, set a price , stick to it , stop complaining

Purely any opinion not directed to anybody

so
dont forget to SMILE and have a great weekend !!!!

frivolous_fay

Sure, you have a figure in mind for what you'd be willing to pay. But that figure takes into account that there is a demand for that item. If someone is creating an artificial demand, it's not unreasonable to be peed off that you are paying more than you need to!

Think of all the current reports of a housing boom, x% increases last year, prices on the up...

Say, for the sake of argument, that all that media speculation turned out to be an elaborate publicity operation whereby the public was falsely led to believe demand, and prices, were higher than reality.

Would you still be happy that you were paying £20k more for your new house than you should have done?

(Crummy analogy I know, sorry)

soolin

Are you sure that the 'real' auctions are taking bids 'off the wall'? If they do then I can assume that any real buyers would soon walk away, I would. In the auctions I attend you would soon see if the auctioneer was making up bids as people watch the bidding, and even for amateurs like me if there wasn't a second bidder it would be pretty obvious.

It is however possible that the auctioneer is taking bids off the book, an entirely different and legal procedure.

Soo

rdwarr

With eBay you should be able to assume that if you buy something, you'll be able to sell it later for the value of the next highest bid. Shill bidding invalidates this.

rdwarr

soolin wrote:

Are you sure that the 'real' auctions are taking bids 'off the wall'? ...

I've seen this a lot at car auctions, especially where there's a reserve on the vehicle. If somebody is willing to pay the reserve it's a way of "helping them get there" :eek:

donstermonster

rdwarr wrote:

With eBay you should be able to assume that if you buy something, you'll be able to sell it later for the value of the next highest bid. Shill bidding invalidates this.

why?

Surely no matter where you buy something , no matter what it is , the only thing you can assume is that you paid what you thought was reasonable price for it?

If i bought a tin of baens in tescos for 30p and then saw the same tin in Sainsburys for 40p i would not automatically assume ic ould sell my original tin for 40p

When have you EVER bought anything assuming uou will sell it for a higher price

houses, cars , food, ebay items will only EVER sell for what someone is prepared to and presumably happy to pay for an item , hey its an auction , it goes to the highest bidder who obviously wants that item at that price

donstermonster

donstermonster wrote:

why?

Surely no matter where you buy something , no matter what it is , the only thing you can assume is that you paid what you thought was reasonable price for it?

If i bought a tin of baens in tescos for 30p and then saw the same tin in Sainsburys for 40p i would not automatically assume ic ould sell my original tin for 40p

When have you EVER bought anything assuming uou will sell it for a higher price

houses, cars , food, ebay items will only EVER sell for what someone is prepared to and presumably happy to pay for an item , hey its an auction , it goes to the highest bidder who obviously wants that item at that price

sorry about the spelling - i was about to check it and pressed submit - sorry !!!

shellsuit

Also - i do not know why ANYBODY cares about shill bidding, if you are silly enough to pay more than you wanted to for an item then that is your luck out, set a price , stick to it , stop complaining

I care because it is greedy, dishonest and against the rules.

If I suspect a user is shill bidding, I'll report them