SHADOW BIDDERS.
SOMETIMES SELLERS USE SHADOW BIDDERS TO RAISE THE PRICE OF A BID.
THIS IS USUALLY ILLEGAL IN MOST, IF NOT ALL USA STATES.
IT SHOULD BE AGAINST eBay IF IT ISN'T ALREADY.
This is why eBay should stop using anonymous bidding. Shadow bidders are unknown phone or anonymous in an auction who keep bidding on an item just to get you to raise your bid. They will keep bidding until the auction is almost closed.
In eBay auctions, they will start a bidding war with you or bid up your item a few hours or minutes before it ends in an effort to make you bid again.
DON'T FALL FOR IT. DON'T GET INTO A BIDDING WAR WITH THEM. SIMPLY WAIT UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE END OF THE AUCTION AND THEN SUBMIT YOUR FINAL BID. AND IF THE SAME SELLER KEEPS DOING THIS, REPORT THEM TO EBAY AND/OR THE FBI AS A SCAMMER.
marnotom!
·7 months agoIf a shill bidder wins the auction, the seller has to go through all the rigmarole of cancelling the sale and reposting the auction if they don’t want to pay Final Value Fees to eBay.
Keeping that in mind, if I were suspecting shill bidding on an auction, I’d place my maximum bid somewhat before the last possible second. Which is what I tend to do anyway. I’ve outbid a number of last-second bidders (“snipersâ€) this way, believe it or not.
simba6
·7 months agoMost bids come in just before the auction ends. A snipe bid is the best way to keep others from "nibbling" at it. Shilling is more rare than most people think. You can stick to fixed price / buy it now listings.
Yes shilling is breaking the law in all states.
theteamsetguy
·7 months ago@leehurst ,
I buy and bid on a lot of collectible items on eBay. I don't care what the starting price of an auction is. I will bid the MAXIMUM I will to pay right away. If I get great if I don't I move on to the next item I want. I win my fair share of them. Every now and then I will get a bargain.
If an item is desirable you will almost always get multiple bidders and snipers. What you describe are nibble bidders who are afraid to pay too much. They just keep on bidding and increasing their bid by small increments.
habibwahab
·8 months agoAnonymous bidding does raise concerns, but it’s also meant to protect bidder privacy. eBay already has systems to detect shill bidding, and sellers caught doing it face serious penalties. The best approach for buyers is to set a maximum bid they’re comfortable with and stick to it, rather than reacting to last-minute bids. If there’s clear evidence of manipulation, reporting it to eBay is the right step.
mudshark61369
·8 months ago@leehurst ,
What you are describing is known as Shill bidding, someone in cahoots with the seller placing bids in order to raise the price. Proving that that is happening is not easy to do, and in many cases it is inexperienced members or those who do not bid on many auctions who bid one increment at a time which make people think that they are shill bidding for the seller.
If you click on a suspected shill bidder's scambled ID (a***2) you can check to see if they bid on a seller's items often and how many bids they have placed on the auctions. However, even if they do, there's no way ebay or the FBI, can prove that there was collusion between the bidder and seller unless they are really dumb.
I do not know about you, but when I plan to bid on an item I already have a maximum price in mind. If it has been surpassed by the time I'm ready to bid, usually in the last seconds, I don't bother. I do not care what has happened before placing my bid. If I'm out bid when sniping I don't care if someone valued it more than me, and neither should you unless you are not placing a bid for the most you were willing to pay for an item.
bonanza125
·8 months agoThere is no proof that the items you are bidding on are being bid up by the seller. You are just making an assumption. A lot of times buyers with low feedback will make multiple bids on an auction to bid you up. They can just click one button so Ebay encourages quick bids. You are correct if you really want the item just bid at the last few seconds your highest bid and hopefully you win. Just keep in mind if the item is really in demand others are going to do the same thing so you will have competition for the item.
"This is why eBay should stop using anonymous bidding."
Just so you know Ebay makes bidders anonymous so that bidders don't contact other bidders.