Buyer left with lack of support or protection

[chatmen4]

Bash every word of advise I have to offer, if you will.  I am doing nothing but trying to right a wrong.  Not only for myself but also for hundreds of people who have been taken advantage of.  Calls and item reports just get sweep under the carpet by ebay.  

Originally I noticed suspicious activity when bidding with a certain seller and now I have come to realize that the problem is with a group of sellers.  

They run bids up.  Again, say what you will, but I KNOW for a fact that they use bidders who will run bids up then retract the bid once they get a bidder beyond the price they are after.  These bidders are also ALWAYS the winners of their low auctions.  The group of bidders circulate through the sellers I am refering to, they are on every single one of the sellers listings, their auction wins and retractions are not reflected in their profile, and they frequently change their profile.

The sellers feedbacks are full of  legitimate buyers saying exactly what I am saying, yet they keep  selling every day.  

I've learned a valuable lesson about just how much ebay protects their buyers, sellers and themself.  I've learned that letting competative bidding get the best of you can really screw you over.  I've learned that some are able to manipulate the system without reprecussions.  I've become jaded with the whole ebay experience.

Now, don't tell me about not bidding on their auctions - I don't!  And, there is pain everytime I witness another buyer scammed by these unscrupulous sellers.   I've tried to get ebay to help - they don't!  

So, critique every word I write and make unfounded and uninformed judgements about me,  but just know that if sellers are allowed to behave this way - I am at risk and unprotected and so are you.  Because, if these people are able to bypass and manipulate fair bidding through ebays systems, what are their limitations with any of your personal information?

And, if after looking into this as much as I have, and coming to any other conclusion - you're wrong!

The one thing you need to take away for this is that no matter who is doing the bidding and retracting - it IS against the rules, policies, and regulations of fair, safe bidding on ebay. 

Try to cancel a bid within the last twelve hours of an auction and tell me how it turns out for you.

And, if you have all the answers, tell me who these sellers and bidders are and how they do what they are doing.

[chatmen4]

I am sure that could be, but if the case is the seller "canceling" the bids, wouldn't it be wiser and easier on their part to just block the "sport bidders" or competition bidders.    

I'm not referencing just my own auction experiences, but rather in observing dozens of auctions on any given day with that seller.  

And, it doesn't explain the particular bidders being the winner of all of the low price auctions, over and over throughout the day.  

[takikawa4]

Thank you, I did look at your attachments where it says the bids were  CANCELLED and not retracted. Perhaps you need to look at your attachments again.

[divwido]

I think it all comes down to interpretation.  I just ran up a bid on an item, but I wanted to see how high the other bidder was going.  After a certain point-I realized they were willing to pay much more than I was.

Did I run the bid up?  Yes.  Does it look suspicious?  Yes.  Did the seller benefit from my trying to outbid someone?  Yes.   But it was not done maliciously. 

[missjen831]

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@chatmen4 wrote:

I am sure that could be, but if the case is the seller "canceling" the bids, wouldn't it be wiser and easier on their part to just block the "sport bidders" or competition bidders.    

I'm not referencing just my own auction experiences, but rather in observing dozens of auctions on any given day with that seller.  

And, it doesn't explain the particular bidders being the winner of all of the low price auctions, over and over throughout the day.  

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No it would NOT be wiser to just block them! Blocking them simply prevents them from bidding again. It does NOT automatically remove their active bids so the wise thing to do is block them AND cancel ALL of the bidders bids so that they don't WIN and then tie up the item for 6 days mimimum while the unpaid item process plays out. 

[chatmen4]

I really just want to step away from all of this, but the issue is that bids were
either retracted and cancelled after it is not allowed by ebay policy.

[missjen831]

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@divwido wrote:

I think it all comes down to interpretation.  I just ran up a bid on an item, but I wanted to see how high the other bidder was going.  After a certain point-I realized they were willing to pay much more than I was.

Did I run the bid up?  Yes.  Does it look suspicious?  Yes.  Did the seller benefit from my trying to outbid someone?  Yes.   But it was not done maliciously. 

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Yes it was done maliciously and it falls under malicious interference IMO and the seller may NOT benefit from this and could very well up with an angry bidder accusing HIM of using a shill and they may decide not to pay!

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@chatmen4 wrote:
I really just want to step away from all of this, but the issue is that bids were
either retracted and cancelled after it is not allowed by ebay policy.

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There is no rule for win a seller can cancel bids.  If the seller feels they don't want to do business with that bidder for whatever reason they can cancel the bid. 

[takikawa4]

If the bids were cancelled (which, according to your attachments they were), then there's nothing in ebay policy that prohibits it. Sellers can cancel right until the end of the auction.

[pikabo-icu]

[thatsallfolks]

OK, so you found a few sellers who shill bid. Are you expecting us to say it doesn't happen? Don't hold your breath.

But it's rare, it happens mainly with sellers from a certain country, and can be minimized by not buying from that country, or at least bidding at the last second so they can't shill you.

[newnewnewmann]

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@chatmen4 wrote:

The one thing you need to take away for this is that no matter who is doing the bidding and retracting - it IS against the rules, policies, and regulations of fair...,

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I don't doubt you that rules are broken on ebay, they are.

Rules are rules right?

So leaving a positive for a buyer with a vey negative and malicious comment is also against the rules, yet people do it, right? Should you be reported? After all, is not allowed by ebay policy.

[divwido]

If you want to bid to a point where no one else will outbid you-that's not the problem. I STILL want the item, I'm just not willing to pay so much.

That person who bid so high, doesn't get to complain. They put in their max knowing this might happen. WE ALL DO THAT.

[deep-garnet-red]

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@missjen316 wrote:

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@divwido wrote:

I think it all comes down to interpretation.  I just ran up a bid on an item, but I wanted to see how high the other bidder was going.  After a certain point-I realized they were willing to pay much more than I was.

Did I run the bid up?  Yes.  Does it look suspicious?  Yes.  Did the seller benefit from my trying to outbid someone?  Yes.   But it was not done maliciously. 

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Yes it was done maliciously and it falls under malicious interference IMO and the seller may NOT benefit from this and could very well up with an angry bidder accusing HIM of using a shill and they may decide not to pay!

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I have to disagree with you on this one. Nibbling is not malicious. Normally I snipe. Occasionally I will nibble if I am looking for a deal. 

I do agree that sometimes we get buyers on here who think all nibblers are shillers, but they are wrong. Not much can be done about that.

[papermoneyforme]

Bid more so you will win!