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Richard Poole
10-09-2009, 12:12 PM
I won an auction the other day for a HPI Jaguar from the USA and after further investigating I believe the auction may has been pumped up with shill bidding.

After my one and only bid was placed three bids were placed by two users, I'll call them A and B

Upon checking the bid history of A I noticed that they have the following:

0 feedback
54 bids in total on 47 different items
100% of their bids are on auctions from the same user (seller in this auction) yet they have won nothing

Checking B brings up a similar story

0 feedback (not a registered user)
80 total bids on 41 different items
51% of their bids are on auctions from the same user (seller in this auction) yet they have won nothing

The seller in the auction has over 10,000 feedback so things should be ok but the above info looks pretty obvious to me.

I haven't brought this to Ebay's attention yet but I am interested in your opinions.
ratster70
10-09-2009, 12:25 PM
Hmmmmm sounds very fishy to me richard altho bit hard to make it stick id email ebay and ask them to look into it and see what they say specially if it was bumped up substationally over your bid other than that you could withdraw from the sale if you feel youve been dupped (not good practice as it goes against you if it happens to much) but hey plenty do it knows ive had several that bid then dont pay not much you can do about it. Or just bite your tongue and take it guess it depends how bad you want it i guess hope that helps some
John
pitcrew
10-09-2009, 03:38 PM
Hey Richard.
If you are happy with the amount you have paid for the item then all good.
If you ask eBay to look at the auction you may never get the car. (depending on results of their investigation, and if they cancel the transaction) catch 22 situation.

Or wait until you have received the item then report the problem, doesn't matter what the result you have the item. (as long as the price was right).
Cheers :)
Hope this helps
Damage
10-09-2009, 04:13 PM
Youll be paying by PP if you go ahead so even if the item is pulled you will still have recourse. Despite the shilling, did you get it for a price you were happy with? Takes the bargain element out of it I know. Cant stand dishonesty but it looks to me like the seller is dodgy from the info you have provided.

I have found lately that eBay are less likely to remove listings due to a sharp decline in listing numbers over the last 12-18 months.
Richard Poole
10-09-2009, 04:51 PM
I'm relatively happy with the amount but as we would all agree, a fair bid price is better than an inflated one. I've paid for the amount and depending on how quickly, and well packed, the item arrives I'm probably going to leave it. they only bumped it up about US$15.00 so no huge fuss. Just looked suss to me.
Robert Murphy
10-09-2009, 04:53 PM
Its B.S. Rich, but ebay dont care.
Rob.
Maximus
10-09-2009, 06:27 PM
That happened to someone on here years ago.
He was prepared to pay TOP DOLLAR for a model and bid accordingly.

There was 2 other bids.

1st one was for $1000 and it got removed at the request of the person who bid and the 2nd bid from the same user was $1 less than what the guy was prepared to pay.
The guy put in a dodgy high bid to find out what the other guys bid was but I dont think anything ever happened.

I would still contact Ebay as they dont want stuff like that happening.
Damage
10-09-2009, 09:01 PM
If you report it and the seller has been shill bidding, the listing might get pulled, but I doubt it. Even if he did get a violation, as a Powerseller he's allowed 4-7 per month depending on his level (bronze, silver etc) and I'd say with 10,000+ FB he knows how to avoid detection.

Most of the time, all a successful report does is get the (larger volume) seller's fees back when the listing is pulled anyway. For the smaller fish on a 1st offence, they might get a 7-14 day selling restriction and/or have to do a tutorial before being able to list again. Further violations for the same thing can get you a suspension.

I really think eBay are a bit more lenient these days as many buyers and sellers have left and listing numbers, revenue and share prices are down compared to a year or two ago.
model_mad
11-09-2009, 09:11 AM
Shouldn't they be able to determine shill bidding, by the IP address when you logon? i.e. same computer
<Jonboy>
11-09-2009, 09:30 AM
you would think so, as long as they care enough and have the logs
HRT 1-2
11-09-2009, 10:09 AM
I raised a very similar issue with ebay a while ago, it seemed as obvious as the nose on your face that it was a couple of shill's but, they did nothing!!:rolleyes:
Leigh
11-09-2009, 10:40 AM
Shouldn't they be able to determine shill bidding, by the IP address when you logon? i.e. same computer

I've reported a few incidences exactly as Richard describes. Some have been binned by ebay, others haven't. I suspect the difference is that the ones that were binned used the same IP, the ones that weren't were different IP's.

Pretty easy to change your IP if you really want to, or you could just get a mate to bid on your item.
jojokinkaid
11-09-2009, 11:19 AM
There is a forum I found on the internet that is free, and helps with Ebay, PayPal, business and the law. Just post any question, the experts will answer it if it has not already been answered!

The forum has a lot of expert advice on it. http://www.modeeworld.com/forums I found advice there about how to avoid EBAY suspensions, get past PayPal limitations, also lots of detailed help on creating your own business, getting past trademark violations, VERO and lots more. Plus general advice on how best to sell on EBAY, what sells the best, how to get the best price for your product, really everything related to EBAY and internet business.

Also advice about how EBAY really works and how PayPal really works. The inside scoop.

Beautiful forum. I was made a moderator of the forum and I love it!
Damage
11-09-2009, 11:42 AM
I am familiar with Modee and the Aspkin forums and eBook (of which I think that is a spin-off) so is that what you are trying to peddle? If so, a wealth of knowledge there but also a grey market in user ID's, circumventing suspensions and PayPal limitations, "stealth" accounts and helping people repeatedly trade in fake gear with incorrect contact details IMO.

Modee does know what he is talking about for US eBay which is a little different to ours but I think the wrong people get the information and use it to other peoples detriment in some cases. Modee's help is also not "free"...
Damage
11-09-2009, 11:47 AM
Looks like modeeworld was setup after aspkin.com became paid subscription access only...
Maq
11-09-2009, 02:45 PM
Where possible I bid in the last 20 seconds or so of an auction. It does sound suss this one.
Damage
11-09-2009, 07:03 PM
Post #13 = Spam.
Kashmir
11-09-2009, 07:25 PM
Post #13 = Spam.

Lol,just read it.
barnart
11-09-2009, 07:32 PM
WELCOME to EBAY, I sold 2 model doors. Listed as "Dick Johnson Racing" in the photos you could clearly see the rear door had Luff and the frt door had 18 on it. I sent them to the buyer, he then stated they weren't the doors that he had purcahsed. Paypal refunded the amount and to this day I got neg feedback, lost the money and never got the doors back. Well Paypal & Ebay won't do anything, but I know where the buyers house is. Could be a nice ride for the club members coming up
yap
11-09-2009, 11:28 PM
WELCOME to EBAY, I sold 2 model doors. Listed as "Dick Johnson Racing" in the photos you could clearly see the rear door had Luff and the frt door had 18 on it. I sent them to the buyer, he then stated they weren't the doors that he had purcahsed. Paypal refunded the amount and to this day I got neg feedback, lost the money and never got the doors back. Well Paypal & Ebay won't do anything, but I know where the buyers house is. Could be a nice ride for the club members coming up

I assume he is now on your "banned bidders" list
jojokinkaid
11-09-2009, 11:59 PM
Just trying to offer help with EBAY matters via Modeeworld forum. :-)
Damage
12-09-2009, 08:21 AM
OK, I'll bet I'm not the only one who thought you were a bot...
barnart
12-09-2009, 10:20 AM
I assume he is now on your "banned bidders" list

No people to visit list :D
smokey_dj
13-09-2009, 09:12 PM
OK, I'll bet I'm not the only one who thought you were a bot...

as i said to you elsewhere after that first post i was going to ask "are you a computer or a human"
8hype
13-09-2009, 09:27 PM
Shouldn't they be able to determine shill bidding, by the IP address when you logon? i.e. same computer
as far as i am aware if you disconnect your modem and turn it back on the ip address changes anyway.
model_mad
17-09-2009, 07:32 AM
I got a -ve feedback from buyer, because they didnt pay, what can i do, i cant leave negative back, this new system is ------
Damage
17-09-2009, 09:33 AM
If you havent opened an unpaid item dispute, do so now. If they dont reply to it and you close it on the 8th day, the neg will be removed.