Shill bidding running rampant these days on eBay

[simba6]

Stick to fixed price listings.

[rock.star]

I haven't seen any shill bid in a long time .

Shills do not bid to win.

[mudshark61369]

@password9019,

Perhaps you could expand on your statement.  While there is no doubt some shill bidding does happen on this site, it is by no stroke of the imagination "rampant".  Maybe if you were to post the item numbers of a couple of the listings you feel had shills at work, we can tell you if it is true or not.  Often the accusation of shill bidding is a misinterpretation of the info available.

[zip-a-deedoodah]

Give us an item no. for an auction that you thinks is being shilled.

[donsdetour]

very doubtful to your claim.....

[password9019]

I don't need to do any such thing.  When you test out the waters, and bid on dozens of items in a week (variety of locations, categories and item conditions), and notice that in 70% of the auctions, your bid is being outbid within minutes (if not seconds) - with each bid you place - over and over and over, it is common sense what is going on.

In most cases, it is someone known to the seller, and probably not far away from the seller, either.  It can even be the seller him or herself, operating from another account on another system.  A tell-tale sign, is being outbid almost immediately...and over and over in succession throughout the day.

Seeing this a WHOLE lot, lately.  What would you expect otherwise, in a world where the economy has your dollar worth nothing?

[house*of*paws]

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@password9019 wrote:

A tell-tale sign, is being outbid almost immediately...and over and over in succession throughout the day.

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@password9019

The more likely explanation is that you are biding against high proxy bids when you’re outbid almost immediately.

[donsdetour]

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@password9019 wrote:

I don't need to do any such thing.  When you test out the waters, and bid on dozens of items in a week (variety of locations, categories and item conditions), and notice that in 70% of the auctions, your bid is being outbid within minutes (if not seconds) - with each bid you place - over and over and over, it is common sense what is going on.

In most cases, it is someone known to the seller, and probably not far away from the seller, either.  It can even be the seller him or herself, operating from another account on another system.  A tell-tale sign, is being outbid almost immediately...and over and over in succession throughout the day.

Seeing this a WHOLE lot, lately.  What would you expect otherwise, in a world where the economy has your dollar worth nothing?

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I suspect you do not know how ebay works.

To shill bid one is trying to get the most money for an item. In other words  raise the price to the max one of the other bidders has. 

 Such is seen by retractions and a bid then placed right under the bidder max to drive it to max.

What you describe is just plain some one willing to pay more for the item than you are....

Welcome to eBay 101.  Two bidders with more money than brains makes for a great auction.... Just are not willing to lose...

[password9019]

That wouldn't explain an auction in which eBay gives notice of outbid, with prompts to increase bid.  That is what I see a lot, but it's more often that i have placed a first bid or high 'next' bid, first bid..and then am outbid.  It's the timing of it....and, of course, the outbidding stops in the final minutes of an auction, of course.  Bidding software might do what you're speaking of, but anything outside of that, I don't know...

I'm not saying it is ALL auctions I have come onto lately, just roughly half or so.  What would you expect, when you have people selling things that are *supposed* to be worth 20/30% less when they were purchased (some categories of items, not all), yet are worth less than half of what was paid because the dollar bill is THAT much worthless?  Nothing is appreciating, that is supposed to appreciate.  This is no surprise to me, honestly. 

We have all heard about used car prices being to the moon (never mind the "average" new car price is now at $46K (absurd, imo).  So, how can a used car salesman sell a used car that's really worth 3K.... for 8K?!?!  You tell me.

[gemre778a-42]

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@password9019 wrote:

I don't need to do any such thing.  When you test out the waters, and bid on dozens of items in a week (variety of locations, categories and item conditions), and notice that in 70% of the auctions, your bid is being outbid within minutes (if not seconds) - with each bid you place - over and over and over, it is common sense what is going on.

In most cases, it is someone known to the seller, and probably not far away from the seller, either.  It can even be the seller him or herself, operating from another account on another system.  A tell-tale sign, is being outbid almost immediately...and over and over in succession throughout the day.

Seeing this a WHOLE lot, lately.  What would you expect otherwise, in a world where the economy has your dollar worth nothing?

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You don't know what you're talking about.

[password9019]

give it a try....find out for yourself. 

[password9019]

it could be, and while shill bidding is hard to prove, it's rather obvious when the bidding is constantly elevating right after a last bid - with days left to go in an auction.  Smart bidders and snipe bidders who are experienced in winning auctions DO NOT bid this way.  They wait until the end, try to keep the prices a low as possible.  But constantly being outbid in minutes or seconds over and over - especially with days left, is not an experienced auction buyer NOR a person willing to pay more....It is most likely a shill.

[donsdetour]

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@password9019 wrote:

That wouldn't explain an auction in which eBay gives notice of outbid, with prompts to increase bid.  That is what I see a lot, but it's more often that i have placed a first bid or high 'next' bid, first bid..and then am outbid.  It's the timing of it....and, of course, the outbidding stops in the final minutes of an auction, of course.  Bidding software might do what you're speaking of, but anything outside of that, I don't know...

I'm not saying it is ALL auctions I have come onto lately, just roughly half or so.  What would you expect, when you have people selling things that are *supposed* to be worth 20/30% less when they were purchased (some categories of items, not all), yet are worth less than half of what was paid because the dollar bill is THAT much worthless?  Nothing is appreciating, that is supposed to appreciate.  This is no surprise to me, honestly. 

We have all heard about used car prices being to the moon (never mind the "average" new car price is now at $46K (absurd, imo).  So, how can a used car salesman sell a used car that's really worth 3K.... for 8K?!?!  You tell me.

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Do you know how to look at prices of completed items???

[password9019]

Been here for over 20 years...this is not new to me.  Why would you think, with a dollar bill being really worth 30 or 40 cents today, that this activity wouldn't be going on constantly nowadays????  18 months ago, your dollar was worth guess what...practically a whole dollar.  Now it's not worth hardly HALF a dollar.  lol 

It's common sense that it is happening more than EVER....if you don't agree, that is fine...we can agree to not.