I believe that a simple solution can be implemented for the bots that sabotage auctions made by people angry that they can't get an item at a specific price.
THE PROBLEM:
There are some stores that special order items at a premium and resell them on eBay higher than MSRP. These stores aren't using bots. But they are being accused of being scalper bots. They have their auction sabotaged and aren't able to sell. Buyers aren't able to buy. eBay makes no commission.
TYPICAL SCENARIO:
- Auction is about to end.
- Bots bid around 3,000 dollars or some outrageous price so that no one can buy the item.
- The seller is charged a fee based on the sale up to 10%, and then eBay has to refund this fee.
-This costs the seller time and money. This causes eBay to lose time and money. And this prevents customers from being able to buy the item.
Another side effect is that, ironically, this keeps the price of the item high because eBay users, oblivious to what is happening, see these items sell at those high prices and then believe they are worth a higher price than they are, which encourages scalping. Making the issue even worse by the people who in their minds are "fighting it."
THE SOLUTION:
Sellers need a way to block bots preemptively. Bots are generally going to fall into these categories: A user registered within the last 30 days. A user with zero feedback.
The first step would be to give sellers a way to block users in this category without blocking legitimate new users. If all users in this category are blocked, that will discourage new users to eBay.
So give the seller an option. "Block unverified accounts from bidding if they have zero feedback and or have been registered within the last 30 days."
Then give the buyer two options.
Option 1. When a new buyer visits an auction that has this setting enabled, they will see a message "This buyer doesn't allow bids from users with zero feedback that have been recently registered. Click here to verify that you are a legitimate nonautomated eBay user."
The eBay buyer will then send a message to the seller requesting to be added to a white list of bidders with zero feedback. The buyer can then bid on that seller's auction. This is a good option for eBay users who are already recently registered.
Option 2: Become a verified user. When an eBay user is registering, give them the option to become a "verified user" which could be done several ways. Link their eBay account to established Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. An account that has existed for more than a year. Then have an eBay representative call the eBay user and verify their information. This will take less time than it takes to deal with every instance of sabotage.
This gives the buyer the ability to block automated bots. It still gives the user the ability to bid on an auction if they are new, thereby not discouraging new users from joining eBay. Auction final sale values will go down. eBay makes more money. This works for everyone.
