Strange bidding pattern - What's going on?

quoia

stavros wrote:

.... It looks from the bidding that these 2 bidders could be a competitor selling a similar item and they are pushing up the price of the competition to make their own goods look more attractive. I'm basing this on things on the fact that they have made bids for items after they've already won the same item:

I notice you say that "these 2 bidders COULD be a competitor selling a similar item" and that you are " basing this on things on the fact that they have made bids for items after they've already won the same item".

Sorry but this is utter nonsense.

As I said in my earlier post, you cannot accuse hardi1l of this because HE'S NOT SELLING ANYTHING !

And j.gibson does have things for sale but "a similar item" is nowhere to be found !!!!!

Some years ago I bid on several auctions for the same item AT THE SAME TIME because I actually wanted several of them.

I wouldn't worry about it at the moment.
1. It is possible that neither of these bidders will actually win the auction.
2. If one of them does, there is ONLY a problem if the money fails to turn up.
Specifically regarding j.gibson , he has recently been given excellent feedback for bidding and winning 2 auctions worth "significant" amounts - namely £65 & £91.

stavros_2

quoia wrote:

I notice you say that "these 2 bidders COULD be a competitor selling a similar item" and that you are " basing this on things on the fact that they have made bids for items after they've already won the same item".

Sorry but this is utter nonsense.

As I said in my earlier post, you cannot accuse hardi1l of this because HE'S NOT SELLING ANYTHING !

And j.gibson does have things for sale but "a similar item" is nowhere to be found !!!!!

Some years ago I bid on several auctions for the same item AT THE SAME TIME because I actually wanted several of them.

I wouldn't worry about it at the moment.
1. It is possible that neither of these bidders will actually win the auction.
2. If one of them does, there is ONLY a problem if the money fails to turn up.
Specifically regarding j.gibson , he has recently been given excellent feedback for bidding and winning 2 auctions worth "significant" amounts - namely £65 & £91.

The fact that neither of the id's have anything similar for sale is completely irrelevant. They could quite easily have a different id under which they are selling a similar or the same item. If you don't believe me that's fine but stating that I've written "utter nonsense" when I have given perfectly legitimate reasons for my opinions is just plain silly

EDIT: I can also understand how people may bid on several of the same items if they actually want more than one of them. However, in this circumstance, it is a little suspicious that both of the same id's have bid on many of the same items. Do you actually think that hardi1l really wants the 11 digibox's he is winning at the moment?

quoia

stavros wrote:

The fact that neither of the id's have anything similar for sale is completely irrelevant. They could quite easily have a different id under which they are selling a similar or the same item. If you don't believe me that's fine but stating that I've written "utter nonsense" when I have given perfectly legitimate reasons for my opinions is just plain silly

EDIT: I can also understand how people may bid on several of the same items if they actually want more than one of them. However, in this circumstance, it is a little suspicious that both of the same id's have bid on many of the same items. Do you actually think that hardi1l really wants the 11 digibox's he is winning at the moment?

Sorry, the "utter nonsense" is "the conclusion" from "the evidence"

Looking at the bidding done by hardi1l over the last month he has yet to actually win one having already bid on 6 digiboxes where the auction has finished. He probably doesn't want 11 digiboxes and it is very unlikely that he will actually win all, if any, of them.

stavros_2

quoia wrote:

Sorry, the "utter nonsense" is "the conclusion" from "the evidence"

Looking at the bidding done by hardi1l over the last month he has yet to actually win one having already bid on 6 digiboxes where the auction has finished. He probably doesn't want 11 digiboxes and it is very unlikely that he will actually win all, if any, of them.

stavros wrote:

e.g.
j.gibson has already won a "Pace Sky Digibox" on 9th April
j.gibson placed bids on 2 "sky tv links" after already winning 2 of them
hardi1l placed a bid on a "SKY CARD ,yellow house, NO RESERVE" after having already won "Sky Digital Viewing Card Version 2 (YELLOW HOUSE)"

now explain the actual examples I described. I also note you haven't made a comment regarding me pointing out that these are not necessarily selling id's. I am not saying there is definitely something bad going on, but if you don't think it's more than a little bit suspicious you're being a bit naive (never a good thing on ebay)

quoia

stavros wrote:

now explain the actual examples I described. I also note you haven't made a comment regarding me pointing out that these are not necessarily selling id's. I am not saying there is definitely something bad going on, but if you don't think it's more than a little bit suspicious you're being a bit naive (never a good thing on ebay)

I agree about the possibility of these not necessarily being the selling ids, but unless you can find and identify the ones that are, then it's all speculation.

Find them and I'll be 100% behind you in your suspicions.

hardi1l wanting more than 1 card is a bit nebulous. My brother has 3 since he has 3 systems.

j.gibson's multiple bids on "sky tv links" would only suggest he is possibly doing the same as a mate of mine. Putting one in EVERY room where there is a TV. I use a different system (Powermid) but this allows use of any remote control for not only my digibox, but also DVD, NTL, VCR and freeview unit, from every bedroom (4) in the house AND the kitchen !

Re "being a bit naive" I've found loads of really dodgy auctions, really dodgy sellers, shilling and other illegal eBay activities, reported almost everyone that I've been 100% sure about (and had the evidence to back it up) to eBay, and know for a certain that well over 100 users became "no longer a registered user" because of my input. In fact everyone I've ever reported has been kicked off.

stavros_2

Firstly, apologies for the "being a bit naive" comment.

I would like to point out that I've never said that I have "evidence" that something dodgy is going on, merely that the probability has been intensified by the findings I've pointed out. If these were one-offs then I wouldn't be so concerned, but the fact that they are all there would lead to more caution than I think you are suggesting is needed. This is the point I was trying to get across.

I still stand by my original suggestion that emailing the sellers of some items that they've won to check if they've paid is the best option.

Do you agree?

quoia

I agree that checking up on a member, if there are some doubts, by contacting others is a possibility, but again care must be taken that what information is returned, is not misinterpreted or perhaps even tainted. Hopefully just confirming that a payment has been made should be simple but how someone else thinks a particular transaction went may not be relevant or even the whole truth

I've had buyers demanding to know why their goods have not been delivered even before I received their cheque, once even before they had posted it.
ie. They won the auction on a Friday evening and complained the goods were not on their doorstep when they came home from work on the Monday. My auctions always make it very clear about payment 1st, clearing periods for cheques and then the posting - usually 5 to 7 days after getting the cheque

I've had sellers that have sent out an "Unpaid Item reminder" to me only 3 or 4 days after an auction finished when they are perfectly aware (since I sent them an email explaining) that I will be paying by a cheque that will be sent 2nd class post - expect it in 4 to 6 days.

So when verifying that hardi1l has paid up, if the auction has only ended in the previous 3 or 4 days, or even up to a week in certain circumstances, I wouldn't go overboard if the answer is no.

quoia

I see that this auction was won by someone other than the 2 original "dodgy" bidders, both of whom still have 100% unblemished records and have recorded additional positive feedback in the meantime.

Smoke does not necessarily mean fire, especially when what you are observing is in fact steam !

stavros_2

quoia wrote:

I see that this auction was won by someone other than the 2 original "dodgy" bidders, both of whom still have 100% unblemished records and have recorded additional positive feedback in the meantime.

Smoke does not necessarily mean fire, especially when what you are observing is in fact steam !

Apologies for doubting you