Shill Bidding

soolin

rdwarr wrote:

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:

Then they are not bidding off the wall, they are bidding against a reserve, so the auctioneer just has to keep going until reserve is met. If a buyer doesn't meet a reserve then the item remains unsold so the buyer is not disadvantaged as they don't have a winning bid until reserve is met.

That is exactly the same as ebay and is perfectly OK, if I bid on something now that has a reserve my bid will be taken even if reserve is not met, but I will be urged to bid higher until reserve is met.

I would not be bidding against a shiller, I would be be bidding against a fixed reserve and couldn't win if I didn't meet that reserve.

Soo

donstermonster

:rotfl:

ribboninthesky wrote:

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

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

do lighten up , people STILL only buy if they are happy with the price that is my point people only pay what they want to pay and are happy with paying, and why is it dishonest , it is a gamble for the shillers (or whatever they are called) they might end up "buying" their own goods and still have to pay ebay fees and relisting fees

What about jewellers in town, they commonly mark up items by 400% do you refuse to buy jewellery because it is dishonest and greedy , what about your friendly corner shop where prices are hugely inflated and multi-packs are split and sold separately

seriously i respect your opinion but do lighten up a little :rotfl: :rotfl:

soolin

Well, I have to lighten up too as well then. I also report shill bidders, have been successful in getting a few suspended as well.

Ebay is a hard venue and bad sellers give us all a bad name. We are all quick to moan when we get caught out, or lose out to a scammer so why condone the actions of someone who sets out to mislead?

Soo

shellsuit

donstermonster wrote:

:rotfl:


do lighten up , people STILL only buy if they are happy with the price that is my point people only pay what they want to pay and are happy with paying, and why is it dishonest , it is a gamble for the shillers (or whatever they are called) they might end up "buying" their own goods and still have to pay ebay fees and relisting fees

What about jewellers in town, they commonly mark up items by 400% do you refuse to buy jewellery because it is dishonest and greedy , what about your friendly corner shop where prices are hugely inflated and multi-packs are split and sold separately

seriously i respect your opinion but do lighten up a little :rotfl: :rotfl:

I don't get whats so funny?

There are rules in place for everyone, if people abuse those rules then they should be reported.

I don't have to haggle in Jewellers and corner shops for the item I want to buy, that's the difference between RL shops and e-Bay auctions.

jeetster

I too agree that Shill Bidding is wrong.

Personally I think all you can do is report it and be aware.

Lots of people say they do it 'cos everyone else does, but I refuse to stoop to that level!!

chugalug

If I really want an item I'll check out the sellers history and keep an eye on any bidders.

The last item I bought was deeply suspect. Sure enough, a shill bidder bid up the price and one of the bidders dropped out. I then put in my highest offer, what I was willing to pay for the item. I was outbid by the shill bidder so duly waited for my second chance offer. It came, I replied that I'd only pay my maximum based on my best offer, taking into consideration the real bidder. They sold to me at my price so I didnt lose out.

rdwarr

soolin wrote:

Then they are not bidding off the wall, they are bidding against a reserve, so the auctioneer just has to keep going until reserve is met. If a buyer doesn't meet a reserve then the item remains unsold so the buyer is not disadvantaged as they don't have a winning bid until reserve is met.

That is exactly the same as ebay and is perfectly OK, if I bid on something now that has a reserve my bid will be taken even if reserve is not met, but I will be urged to bid higher until reserve is met.

I would not be bidding against a shiller, I would be be bidding against a fixed reserve and couldn't win if I didn't meet that reserve.

Soo

I disagree that this is the same as eBay. If an item is listed for a £500 reserve and I bid £100 then eBay will say "reserve not met". It will not automatically bid £200 to see if I'll go higher.

rdwarr

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

I never said anything about selling at a higher price, I was talking about the next highest bid. If somebody has bid £10 for something and I then bid £11 I should be allowed to assume that the £10 bid was genuine and that the item is worth at least that. But if the £10 bid was a shill then I'm stuffed!
The only way you can value an item is to see what somebody else is willing to pay for it.

In the past I've often bought things assuming I can sell them at a higher price and have been correct. It's called "trading" and many people make a living doing this on eBay.

donstermonster

rdwarr wrote:

I never said anything about selling at a higher price, I was talking about the next highest bid. If somebody has bid £10 for something and I then bid £11 I should be allowed to assume that the £10 bid was genuine and that the item is worth at least that. But if the £10 bid was a shill then I'm stuffed!
The only way you can value an item is to see what somebody else is willing to pay for it.

In the past I've often bought things assuming I can sell them at a higher price and have been correct. It's called "trading" and many people make a living doing this on eBay.

mmmmm??? perhaps you can value an item by checking out what it costs elsewhere , i am sure seeing what somebody else paid for it or is willling to pay for it is not the only was as you say to value an item?

mike230652

donstermonster.................. you can be lighthearted, tell us all to lighten up etc....... No-one's being miserable in the first place.

Top and bottom is that shill bidding is against eBay rules.

Like soolin, I'd report it too.

You can justify it all you want..it's wrong and it's against the rules...to any fair minded person that should be the answer...not weaseling around justifying shill bidding.....IMHO

mike