If you won an auction then realized the other bidder was a shill what feedback would you leave?

[jeffc9265]

After winning the auction I noticed there was only one other bidder, there were 5 bids in under 90 seconds three hours before the end and no higher than what was shown, so I looked and the other bidder had no feedback and no history as a buyer. The other bidder bid it up then left it at that, not trying to win it.

What I paid was not really overpriced but on the high side of average.

[divwido]

First, that doesn't make them a shill.  It means they were not willing to pay anymore.

Second, I decide how much I'm going to bid, no matter what anyone else does, so that's not a factor either.

So Iwouldn't leave any feedback making untoward claims about that seller or that bidder.

[bonjourami]

Doesnt sound like much proof of shilling, do you have an item number?

[nobody*s_perfect]

Nibble bidding is common for new bidders, who sometimes don't even realize that they can bid any amount they choose to enter, rather than bidding the minimum increment each time.

The bidding pattern you describe could just be somebody who gave up after being tired of getting outbid every time. Maybe he bid up to the amount he was willing to pay. I see no strong evidence of shill bidding.

[house*of*paws]

Hi @jeffc9265 

About 98% of people who have posted about 'shill bidding' have been mistaken when the auction was checked out by experienced eBayers.  

eBay has an algorthm that checks the personal information of individual bidders with the seller's ... and immediately weeds out shilling.  [Not saying it's impossible to miss something, but it's HIGHLY unlikely.]

I wouldn't dream of ruining a seller's reputation unless I were 110% certain that they did something wrong.  You do NOT have proof of shilling ... and would be wrong to have it influence the feedback you leave.

What you described assumes that the other bidder KNEW what your max bid was ... and was able to stop short of bidding over it. 

Our max bids are secret from EVERYONE ... including the seller and eBay.  Without any other evidence to the contrary ... I would assume it was merely a coincidence.

[If you want to include an Item Number ... I will check the Bid History and tell you what I can see.]

[jeffc9265]

Item number:

165282537513

[lamber9347]

My goodness. You don't know this was shill bidding at all, you merely suspect as much. When I buy, I also wait for those last few seconds to start bidding up. If I get marked as outbid after a few tries, then I leave. I am trying to win it, but I usually give up after 2 attempts. So, if you look at my bidding history you would accuse me of being a shill for a bunch of nameless faceless sellers out there? SMH....

[glasser]

If you go to the bid history and click on the username of the under bidder you can see their history of bidding, including how many bids they have with the seller. I all they ever bid ion is items from this seller (assuming they have bid more than once on eBay). They MIGHT (say might) be a shill. They could also like what the seller sells.

Many people, bid numerous times trying to find a high bid they can live with. For example, if the item is at $20 and they are willing to bid $30 instead of bidding $30 they bid in small increments hoping maybe it ends at $28. It makes little sense but that's what some people do.

The couple of times, long ago, where I was shill bid. The seller through another account out bid me and then emailed 30 seconds after the item was over saying the high bidder had dropped and would I like the item. Those were reported to eBay.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Thank you for providing the listing number.

The other bidder placed their bids three hours before you placed your bid.  And your bid was placed 16 seconds before the auction ended.

I do not understand why you concluded that he was "not trying to win it". After all, he increased his bid several times, even though there was no competing bid when he placed his bids. That's not how a shill would bid.

[nobody*s_perfect]

" I all they ever bid ion is items from this seller (assuming they have bid more than once on eBay). They MIGHT (say might) be a shill."

The bidder's ID history shows that he has bid on only one item in the past 30 days. So naturally it shows 100% bidding with this seller.  

[house*of*paws]

@jeffc9265 

Thanks for the number.

You were the SECOND bidder.  All of the other bidder's bids had been placed before you came to the auction.  You then bid twice in order to take the lead.

NOTHING in the Bid History suggests shill bidding.  [Except someone might have thought that YOU were a shill bidder just looking at the pattern of bids.  I'm not accusing you ... just saying that other posters have been suspicious of bidding like yours ... thinking that the seller was trying to keep the auction from ending with too low a bid.]

The other bidder has a Feedback Score of 8 ... not zero.  This is the ONLY auction they've bid on in the past 30 days.  They would have won the auction if you hadn't bid.  

I'm so glad you posted here before taking any action against the seller.  It would have been a terrible injustice.

[jeffc9265]

I do not know how the bidding system came up with me placing two bids, I placed one bid at the end of the auction. If you look the lower bid was placed at the exact same time as the winning bid.

Seems many do not know the difference between shill bidding and sniping.

[fab_finds4u]

No one on God's green earth can make you bid an amount you're not willing to pay.

[house*of*paws]

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@jeffc9265 wrote:

I do not know how the bidding system came up with me placing two bids, I placed one bid at the end of the auction. If you look the lower bid was placed at the exact same time as the winning bid.

Seems many do not know the difference between shill bidding and sniping.

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@jeffc9265 

My mistake.  I had 'Show automatic bids' checked ... so it looked like you placed 2 bids.

You would be surprised at how much confusion there is about shill bidding ... especially from new members.  And, yes ... many have thought a 'sniper' was the seller ... swooping in to steal the auction away from them to avoid having to sell too low.

[downunder-61]

It does not look like shill bidding, it does look like a proxy bid, so any neg you left will likely be removed upon the request of the seller.

Just FYI - feedback is the final part of a transaction, describing the quality/description, etc of an item purchased once received.

As others have said you can not be forced to bid more than you want to.

If you want to report a seller for sometihng you can do so using the correct channels, but be very careful you are 100% certain in your assumptions as this can be seen as malicious reporting to eBay if the seller is faultless.