Is shill bidding allowed if there are a lot of sales?

[ears2youdisney]

30-Day Summary
Total bids:	9103
Items bid on:	7303
Bid activity (%) with this seller:	99%
Bid retractions:	7
Bid retractions (6 months):	81

[usmc*usnmom]

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@ears2youdisney wrote:

30-Day Summary
Total bids:	9103
Items bid on:	7303
Bid activity (%) with this seller:	99%
Bid retractions:	7
Bid retractions (6 months):	81

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Well that certainly doesn't look kosher.

No, shill bidding is NOT allowed.

[gymbo_limbo]

Right but do they do anything about it I wonder...

[savanna.dance]

No shill bidding is illegal, like against the law. Snipped this from another site:

Shill bidding was included in the definition of criminal fraud in the 2006 Fraud Act.
http://www.addleshawgoddard.com/www/view.asp?content_id=2448&parent_id=2439

Specifically:
"The Fraud Act could be used to criminalise(sic) conduct which may previously only have amounted to a breach of contract or other civil law or moral obligation. Examples may include:
(SNIP)
'Shill bidding' on online auction sites. This is where sellers bid up the price of their own items using a second identity."

[gramophone-georg]

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@savanna.dance wrote:
No shill bidding is illegal, like against the law. Snipped this from another site:

Shill bidding was included in the definition of criminal fraud in the 2006 Fraud Act.
http://www.addleshawgoddard.com/www/view.asp?content_id=2448&parent_id=2439

Specifically:
"The Fraud Act could be used to criminalise(sic) conduct which may previously only have amounted to a breach of contract or other civil law or moral obligation. Examples may include:
(SNIP)
'Shill bidding' on online auction sites. This is where sellers bid up the price of their own items using a second identity."

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Having a law is one thing.

Getting it enforced is something else entirely.

[savanna.dance]

I also found this:
Shill bidding may be a common practice on eBay. In his book Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay, Kenneth Walton describes how he and his cohorts placed shill bids on hundreds of eBay auctions over the course of a year. While many sellers consider shill bidding a harmless act, some believe that it may violate federal or state laws. ***Walton and his associates were charged and convicted of fraud by the United States Attorney for their eBay shill bidding. "***

[tryno2]

Report it to EBay AND to state and Federal authorities.  Probably nothing will happen but you will have done all you can do. 

[ears2youdisney]

I've reported to eBay dozens of times and nothing happens.  I guess they don't want to lose the final value fees--they aren't big ticket items but you get volume that adds up.....

[popo-lomo]

Yeah, I don't think they have any interest in going after anyone who does that as it increases sale price and their 10%..

[gopetersen]

7 or 9 retractions per month on a bidding average of about 8,000 per month is a low retraction rate. It's only 1/10th of 1%.

I've never bid on 8,000 items per month but I have bid on many 100s per month, looking for deals, back in the days when eBay was almost all auctions. I never did any shill bidding and I spent a LOT of money on eBay in those days.

Do you know for certain this person is a shill bidder? Or is it someone trying to win low-cost auctions and maybe reselling the items?

[llllady]

Griff told me once when it was quite clear that shill bidding was taking place that sometimes it only looks like shill bidding. 

Translation: We know. We don't care. It puts money in our pocket. That's the way it is. Don't waste your time. We won't do anything about it.

[gymbo_limbo]

It was a lot easier to spot before bidders ID's were scrambled.

[luckythewinner]

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@gopetersen wrote:

7 or 9 retractions per month on a bidding average of about 8,000 per month is a low retraction rate. It's only 1/10th of 1%.

I've never bid on 8,000 items per month but I have bid on many 100s per month, looking for deals, back in the days when eBay was almost all auctions. I never did any shill bidding and I spent a LOT of money on eBay in those days.

Do you know for certain this person is a shill bidder? Or is it someone trying to win low-cost auctions and maybe reselling the items?

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gopetersen, 

I find it stretching credulity that a bargain hunting buyer would bid on 7,000 auction listings from the same seller in a month, and not bid on more than a handful of items from any other sellers. 

Unlucky

[llllady]

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@gymbo_limbo wrote:

It was a lot easier to spot before bidders ID's were scrambled.

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Yes, indeed.

[mustanggt52]

I have been reporting shill bidding for weeks now about a seller. This seller is a power seller and i believe ebay is protecting this seller. If you click on their items for sale, it is obvious when you look at the bids and most of them have either no feedback ratings or very few.  Again ebay in my words is protecting them.  I also believe that shill bidding is a federal offense. Ebay is not protecting us, buyers.  James Carey