SELLER USING A BUYER TO ARTIFICALLY RAISE BIDS ON ITEMS

[lionelflyerdave]

I have discovered a seller that is using a particular bidder to bid on any items they feel are not selling for what they think they should. i suspected this when bidding tonight on some antique Lionel trains from a very large volume seller. The auction had bene at a very low dollar amount all week, until about an hour before it ended. The bidder had very high number of transactions, as compared to the rest of the few bidding. I was next highest, but not even close to them. 

Of course, as i suspected, no one else bid and I had to pay more than  the items were worth to get them, I needed them for an original boxed set that was missing a few items to make it complete. 

When it ended, and I saw how much higher the late bidder had put, I clicked on their 'name' which shows all their bidding activity for past 30 days. For someone with very high number of transactions, they had spent the last 30 days ONLY bidding on this sellers items, to the tune of over 1,100 items, and they had bid almost 1,000 times just in the past 30 days. The small section Ebay shows bid activity, this person had bid on items from this seller across a vast variety of their auction listings, and 100% was bids on their items. I have bene on Ebay since 2002,a nd have seen this countless times, but i am tired of this, it is blatantly against Ebay policy, and I want to know how to proceed with a complaint. I have been trying to find any reference to this activity and so far have come up empty, what a surprise. I would appriate if anyone knows where or how to turn this seller and buyer into Ebay for this illegal activity. I am tired of getting ripped by these people. Thanks

[heckofagame]

As the bidder ID is not shown to you, you have no way of knowing whether or not it's the same bidder. You are speculating. 

[itscalledapostingid]

Here's the policy and it answers your question about reporting:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-practices-policy/shill-bidding-policy?id...

[lightlily_arts]

This is called shill bidding and is definitely against eBay policy. You can report this, but eBay will not disclose any information or actions they may take.  See link below for the eBay policy and reporting link.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-practices-policy/shill-bidding-policy?id...

[simba6]

Keep in mind that most bids come in just before the auction ends and some collectors will bid on a lot of a seller's items.  Those trains are very popular and often do sell at high prices. So, it might not be shilling at all.

[dbfolks166mt]

As the bidder ID is not shown to you, you have no way of knowing whether or not it's the same bidder. You are speculating. 

     Actually the bidder ID(s) are viewable if you are the seller. You can also look at their profile, feedback, etc. 

[wes-4507]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

As the bidder ID is not shown to you, you have no way of knowing whether or not it's the same bidder. You are speculating. 

     Actually the bidder ID(s) are viewable if you are the seller. You can also look at their profile, feedback, etc. 

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obviously, but the OP isn’t the seller, so how is that relevant?

[wes-4507]

 

@heckofagame wrote:

As the bidder ID is not shown to you, you have no way of knowing whether or not it's the same bidder. You are speculating. 

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They’re looking at the bidder’s activity info (e.g. frequency of bids with that particular seller), which is visible to everyone. For example:

 

[meme6253]

Speculation, But with Good reason!

[pennysdream]

I wish there were a block seller list... 

Just don't bid on that person's stuff anymore.  

Don't bid more than you want to pay. 

(gonna get bashed for this one but... Yes, I know...)

It is still a toy... Is it worth the aggravation?

[standardrecovery100]

Thanks for posting this so that I can add you to my blocked bidders list. Dont bid higher than what you want to pay. Problem solved.

[ga_open_box_llc]

I've ran quite a few auctions with only two people bidding back and forth.  I have 1 buyer that usually wins a good amount of most of the auctions he bids on. Just because the seller has 1 buyer bidding against you and happens to bid on just his listings, doesn't mean it's shill bidding. This could mean that particular seller has exactly what the guy is looking for and provides quality products and good customer service, so the bidder bids what he wants to bid and it just happens to be more then what you want to bid. I know it can be frustrating, but that's the way auctions work. 

[house*of*paws]

Hi @lionelflyerdave 

There are at least two factors that suggest that shill bidding is NOT taking place:

1.  The bidder has a high number of transactions.  [Shill bidders don’t risk having long-term accounts suspended.  It suggests they are PAYING for their wins.]

2.  Shill bidders try to raise the winning bid … NOT win the auction.  [Are you seeing that the items that your suspected shill bidder wins are being relisted?  It would increase your point if they are.]

[wes-4507]

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@standardrecovery100 wrote:

Thanks for posting this so that I can add you to my blocked bidders list. Dont bid higher than what you want to pay. Problem solved.

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I never bid more than I’m willing to pay. Does that mean I should be okay with paying more if a seller artificially inflates the price?

[huntfishdie45]

This may be shill bidding, but it's almost impossible to prove unless the seller and shill are using the same IP address which eBay has access to. That said they will not tell you the outcome of their investigation. Treat a shill like he treats you, drive up the price then quit while the getting is good and screw up the seller's auction. But think long and hard on that approach because the seller may not even know who your competitor even is. The bidder could be sourcing from this seller for his own shop somewhere, so he follows all his listings. Maybe the other bidder thinks you're a shill?