Auction Scam Beware. I got scammed.

[max-list]

I caught this by accident. Right above "Place bid" are the bids. Clicking that shows all the bidders. Bottom of page shows any bid retractions. Example: if you click on 6***4 (6) it shows details about them, bidding habits and more (92 bid retractions 100% bids with this seller), but it changes the anonymous 6***4 (6) to v***4 (6). The name changes but the feedback score (6) doesn't.

That 6***4 (6) was the highest bid but retracted it right before my final bid. So I went to the seller's sold items and found 3 more bidders. They had 23, 75 and 83 and the 92 bid retractions. All 4 bidders drove up the bid on ALL his items (100 items, $100 - $500 just in the last 4 months), and retracted many times. That's a lot of money and he's been selling here since 2017. (Estimate) $250 x 300 items yr = $75,000 x 4 yrs = $300,000. Ebay makes 12.5% = $37,500.

All I had to do was look for the (6) or the (14) or whatever and it would show the same # of retractions & bids so I know it's the same person. I looked up "Shill bidding". It says "How do I report shill bidding?" - "If you think that another member is shill bidding, you don't  need to report it to us. eBay has a number of systems in place to detect and monitor bidding patterns and practices." Really....

When I reported the seller to Ebay they agreed it looked suspicious and said the seller already has other cases they're looking into and "Thanks for reporting this." But ummm, the seller is still selling high $ items everyday. Will Ebay refund all the people that got scammed before and after I reported this? No. Hopefully, eventually they'll boot this guy, but maybe they won't, what's the rush? He's making them a lot of money.

[max-list]

@cainb94 

It's because you're new with no feedback. Read this for non payment:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items?id=4137

Just be patient and try to get some feedback. Eventually you'll sell something then build from there.

Sometimes it takes a while.

[buyselljack2016]

if someone maxes out my bid and then retracts their bid I would not buy the item. At the moment I am outbid I am not obligated to purchase the item.

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Seems from what I have read that statement may not be in line with eBay policy:)

[robda_7908]

Man did I go down the ebay rabbit hole tonight.Con from hell,and Ebay capitalized on every shill bid ran up.So yea why would they stop it.I just signed up and started using EBAY  and no lie,I wouldn't in a lifetime had thought that EBAY would continue to allow this crap.Speaks volumes about who they are as a company. One reason I've stayed off Ebay and before that PayPal,is because the horror stories from company startup years ago.Im truly sad to see its STILL a nightmare.Im in my upper 30s,Ebay started when I was like 15......looks like even after all this time for growth,development,and responsibilities only one of us grew up.....I appreciate the forum guys.....I only been on a couple weeks and every auction I felt like I was getting robbed and baited.....I won a few....but I also ran some cards up because I'm hard headed and able.....however....I don't think I'll be utilizing this platform anymore for buying or selling.Ebay get your **bleep** togethe..

The business of business should not be about money. It should be about responsibility. It should be about public good, not private greed. (Since we wanna be sophisticated)

[jennch7399]

same thing happend to me....many tiems, report to ebay....not work, I can not get my mongey back. At first, I dont know this is Scam, and one week later, same bidder doling this again...so I know, I report to ebay, but nothing happend

[jennch7399]

what happen, if,  you ree not outbid, they ues another id ,and just bid under you, so you win with very high price, will you pay for that

[mudshark61369]

@jennch7399,

  "what happen, if,  you ree not outbid, they ues another id ,and just bid under you, so you win with very high price, will you pay for that".

What you are describing is that you placed a bid for much more than you were willing to pay which we call Nuclear bidding.  Doing that is always risky since other bidders may try to do the same thing. It often ends up with someone paying much more than they were actually willing to pay. The winner's only choices are to pay, ask a seller to cancel (which they may not do) , or to not pay, and get an unpaid item strike. 

Unfortunately, buyers trying to report another bidder for invalid bid retractions does not work.  Even a seller reporting a bidder for uncovering another bidder's maximum bid then retracting their bid, which is a policy violation seemingly does not work.  However, ebay has never disclosed what happens when reports are filed about policy violations. As a seller who lists 99% of my items in the auction format, when I have bid retractions by a bidder, I block and report them, since it can be seen as me using a shill.  On a couple of auctions, it has caused others to retract as well, ruining the auction.

Most of the time when this activity is brought up, it happens on chinese sellers .99¢ starting bid auctions. One of the first few bidders (possibly a shill) places an automatic bid, then retracts it if other bidders bid up the auction high enough for the seller to be happy. Other times a bidder bids against an early automatic bid to uncover it, then retracts if it is more than they are willing to pay.

Other times it is a bidder who is violating ebay's bid retraction policy who do that on their own.  They place an early high maximum bid hoping to dissuade other bidders. If the price goes over their true buying price, they retract.  Those tactics lead many to believe shills are at work when they are not.

The best way to avoid shills or serial bid retractors, is to place one bid, at the very end of an auction, so shills or other bidders do not have time to react and bid again, or retract an earlier bid.  

[darina_lock]

I wouldn't say it's a scam, I won't pay for something more than what I'm willing to pay for it. If someone bids higher than I want to pay, I just move on and they're left with the highest bid being from a shilling account. But if not, like if I'm willing to pay the $100 that I offer, then it's not a scam, I agreed to pay for a product that I'm getting. 

[ta_174555]

The ideas behind auction is to get us to pay more then we would like to by bidding contest.. it not fun. if you got time to waste and try to out bid someone who also want the same item. most item are not rare.  its like lottery, stock market, casino it a ponzi scheme. great for ebay and seller cause they profit a lot as a buyer you can get screw if u let ya feelings overwhelm you and dont walk away when u are outbid.. this is why i avoid auction like any scam that not design to benefit the buyer who are looking for a bargain. oh wait. i mean pay anything just to get it. i guess i am not the kind that would pay way more then the item worth. right.  i prefer buy it now or offer since i have more control of price and if i need it.. often i dont..  i dont like to fight why anyone who want the same item for that price. because rarity is a scam and is not true. their maybe more in the future or similar one. for example gold and silver, not rare but we are told it rare.

[ta_174555]

if set price is reasonable i buy no need to play a game of who will pay more. lol often funny to seller who the one that benefit from all this bidding contest. it up to the seller to set price and if you can pay it rather then a game of bid bid bid to see who win when time run out. i am just tire of it. i quit years ago.. i dont have time to waste anymore.

this item maybe worth 1 dollar, 100 or none if you dont need it.. that how it work. it just money, and exchange like barter at the end of the day. trades. not about getting rich.

[jenny8611]

Ebay will not bite the hand that feeds them.

[nh7235]

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@jenny8611 wrote:

Ebay will not bite the hand that feeds them.

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To be able to bite, eBay would need to have teeth.

[susanvaldo · Accepted solution]

Very helpful, thanks. I wonder if I’m thinking about the same guy. Anyway, I generally don’t buy in auctions anymore because of this. 
The buyers board is monitored by sellers oddly. Some will defend the sellers no matter what. You have/had nothing yo apologize for. Some seem to ignore what buyers write. Others seem to be here to be genuinely helpful though. When I’ve posted here, I’ve had a lot of the former but also a few of the latter offering good information & helpful solutions, & a bit of sympathy. : )

Anyway, I knew nothing about bid retractions much less how to find them, & never thought to compare seller’s other auctions, so thank you so much for that info. The vintage jewelry seller is still at it, & starts very low but sells at a high price. Ebay is now removing negative & even neutral feedback on sellers, so we don’t even have that to go by. 
I just buy at set price or best offer now. Thanks again tor your helpful info! (I found this thread via google search, so doubt that only “1% of buyers” read here.)

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.