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Buyer with (0) feedback price gouge on item I bought
Probably a fake user with zero feedback (now at 1 feedback) increased the price by over 15% with 2 seconds left in the auction. I still won but wonder if there’s a way to dispute that specific bid and get a partial refund through eBay. (Seller has not answered).
 
9 comments
lady_madonna
Mentor3 years ago@gluzz100
There is nothing wrong with the bidding activity and nothing to dispute.
There was another bidder (134) that also increased the bid level.
Remember, never bid more than you are comfortable paying.
This is not what price gouging is. Price gouging refers to sellers trying to take unfair advantage of consumers during an emergency or disaster by greatly increasing prices for essential consumer goods and services.
gluzz100
OP3 years agoIs it not against the rules to create new fake accounts to inflate auction prices? It’s a selectable option when reporting an item and this seems like that exactly. Also I’m keeping the item regardless thought it would have gone for 3.5k-4.5k. Just would rather not have spent extra from the co-signer inflating the price.
lady_madonna
Mentor3 years ago@gluzz100
What makes you think it is a "fake" account? They have feedback.
gluzz100
OP3 years agoThey didn’t when they placed the bid. They probably ordered something for $2.00 from a large companies account that gives auto positive feedback on any purchase for the 1 feedback that they got in the last 12 hours. It obviously pays itself back a couple hundred times over. Accounts with no feedback don’t randomly bid on for multiple thousand dollars items. This scenario seems textbook for seller using fake accounts to inflate the price. What exactly is the correct scenario to look for when that happens if this isn’t it??
woodland_gnome
·3 years agoNo, they don't "randomly" bid. They see something they want or need, decide how much they are willing to pay, sign up, and bid what they are willing to pay.
YOU are the one who seems unwilling to pay what you bid. There is absolutely nothing suspicious about that bid.
gluzz100
OP3 years agoLike I said this is an example of of “seller using other accounts to inflate the price of an item.†That quote is taken directly from the report page which is on the bottom of every item on eBay. (Listing practices - Fraudulant Listing activities - ). I’m willing to pay more than other real bidders, even if it ended much higher, but not more than someone inflating the price of an item. It’s unfortunate some sellers still do this.
lady_madonna
Mentor3 years agoDo you have proof?
disneyshopper
Mentor3 years agoSellers cannot use another account to bid on their own items. ebay's software prevents that from happening by blocking the seller's IP address from doing so.
woodland_gnome
·3 years agoNo it isn't. Your seller did NOT do this. There is no reasonable basis to suspect that s/he did.
Were YOU shilling when you bid on something before you got your first feedback? Simply because the underbidder had 0 feedback at the time and bid like a good bidder (other than bidding a very round number; s/he bid his/her maximum amount even though it was well above the "current bid" during the last few seconds; someone seriously getting into eBay auctions can find out that is the best strategy and tactics with minimal effort)?
A shiller is very unlikely to be bidding in the last second--the purpose behind shilling is not to win, it is to raise the price for the leader up to close to his/her hidden maximum bid or to set a minimum below which s/he wouldn't be willing to sell without setting that amount as a Starting Price or paying for a Reserve Price and for the latter s/he would want it out there early to encourage those who don't bid optimally but rather "nibble" at what it takes to get in the lead and then stop expecting to rebid if outbid.
Further this particular bidder has bid 4 times on various items from 4 different sellers in the past 30 days. There is absolutely no reason to suspect shilling here.