How do ya'll feel about shill bidders on Ebay?

[War_in_D]

Been in the market for a fixed bridge Carvin CT6 for a little bit, and came across one on Ebay.  Long story short, the seller is obviously shilling his Ebay auctions and I reported him to Ebay for it.  If you look at this sellers auctions, there are either one of two people winning ALL of them currently and when you check the bid activity of these two high bidders, it clearly shows that they ONLY bid on this sellers auctions. 

https://www.ebay.com/usr/top40powertrio?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

I can't abide by dishonest sellers on Ebay. 

 

[swarfrat]

It's the norm. I expect it. I loathe it. Even though disputes are often sided with the buyer, when it comes to shill bidding - the seller pays the fees and shill bids increase fees. So Ebay lets it slide because it increases their profit.

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

I prefer buy it now.  But if I have to bid on something I know how much I'd rather pay I set the price and that's that.  If some chill outfits me oh well that's the way it goes. 

 

[aarontunes]

I prefer buy it now.  But if I have to bid on something I know how much I'd rather pay I set the price and that's that.  If some chill outfits me oh well that's the way it goes.

Did somebody say "chill outfits"?

 

[AirCap]

So Ebay lets it slide because it increases their profit.

They are making so much money from honest folk they don't give a crap about the ne'er-do'wells. They used to have a customer service department, but it was costing them too much, so now they let an algorithm handle customer disputes for the most part.

 

[BigSteve22]

I prefer buy it now......

I only use Buy it Now auctions. Can't be bothered with bidding, too much associated BS!

 

[rgand]

I'm also in the buy-it-now crowd. Once in a while I'll make an offer if that option is available but I refuse to get in bidding frenzies.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I generally avoid eBay at all cost, both as a buyer and a seller. It’s a terrible place to do business. Reverb is far superior for gear. However, sometimes you need an HVAC control console from a 2005 Toyota Sienna and, well, you gotta do what you gotta do....

 

[War_in_D]

I'm probably split 70/30 on "buy it now" vs. auction bidding.  I buy the majority of my stuff with the "buy it now" button.  When I do bid on an auction I set a price and then stick with it, but I have to admit...  I'm a sniper 110%.. I won't even think about bidding on anything early, and I wait until the very end.  If it surpasses my self imposed high water mark at some point prior the auction ending.. I just sink back into the shadows and wait for my next target of opportunity.  LOL 

I've bought on Reverb before too, but for selling Ebay gets you much more exposure IMHO.  One of the good things Reverb did for the selling market on Ebay, is it forced Ebay to drop their selling fees to 3.5% on musical items to match what Reverb was doing.   

 

[DangerousR6]

I prefer buy it now......

I only use Buy it Now auctions. Can't be bothered with bidding, too much associated BS!

Exactly, that's the only way to go on feebay these days...

 

[War_in_D]

I know you all probably think it's stupid for me to even give this a second thought.. but it just really pisses me off.  This guy "sold" several guitars yesterday, including that Carvin CT I was looking at.. and less than 24 hours later they are relisted today (including the Carvin), all with BIN prices this time... most of which are higher than what that sorry POS shill bid his auctions up to in the first place.  I guess nobody fell for it, thankfully. 

I know that in reality it all boils down to Caveat Emptor, and do your research before you buy/bid...  But this guy is so blatantly crooked, and Ebay just turns a blind eye to it even after being reported.

It is what it is, I guess.. but all I gotta say is that Karma is a bitch.. He'll get his one day.  :icon_thumright:   

 

[stratamania]

If it bothers you to that degree and you have evidence of him or an accomplice bidding against his own auctions report it to E Bay.

 

[War_in_D]

If it bothers you to that degree and you have evidence of him or an accomplice bidding against his own auctions report it to E Bay.

I did report him, said that in my first post.  The problem, is that Ebay isn't willing to do anything about it because they make money off this guy because he does sell a decent amount of "buy it now" stuff and revenue is king.  So, that makes Ebay just a guilty for turning a blind eye. 

I don't know, I guess in today's world.. doing something like this is just seen as the "norm" or maybe "not that bad".  To me, wrong is wrong no matter how you slice it and what this guy is doing amounts to fraud.. plain and simple. 

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I don't know, I guess in today's world.. doing something like this is just seen as the "norm" or maybe "not that bad".

It’s manipulative and presents false pretense to potential customers. I think it is “that bad”. There have been shysters for as long as people have been exchanging things for other things, and they aren’t going away any time soon, but that doesn’t make them any less scummy.

 

[Cagey]

Not to defend a cheater, but it's possible (s)he just doesn't fully trust/understand how auctions work. The beauty of them is that they keep the market honest. An item will either not sell or the price will naturally rise to meet balance point between supply/demand. But, if you don't start your bidding right or have a realistic view of the a thing's value, there may be some fear that a sale at a lower price than desired will be forced. It may be a legitimate fear, but there's little you can do about it. The worth of a thing is the price it will bring.

You see it with older or "custom" gear sometimes. There are those out there who believe extended age or large sunk costs=high value, even though the item may be less desirable than imagined. Such a person could be tempted arrange unrealistically high bids to "fool" the market into over-paying. It rarely works, but people try it anyway. That may be why Ebay isn't taking any action on the activity. The worst thing that can happen is the seller gets stuck with an item. Ebay gets to bill for the listing in any event, so it's no skin off their nose if a seller is disappointed.

 

[swarfrat]

If it bothers you to that degree and you have evidence of him or an accomplice bidding against his own auctions report it to E Bay.

I did. I showed evidence of the same 3-4 accounts bidding only against this one sellers auctions, the incremental bids followed by high bid retraction onde the 2nd buyers bid was discovered. And they were a dollar short of winning every time but never one. And ebay did absolutely nothing about it. It's largely why I think ebay is actually in cahoots, even encouraging bid discoceryb and shill bidding. It only increases their fees.

 

[stratamania]

All I can say to those that have experienced this and reported it etc. I don't agree with the practice either.

Not to defend Ebay or any shyster, but this is not just happening on Ebay and as in most things buying and selling a certain amount of caveat emptor applies and also as a seller one has to be aware of less than straightforward folks.

Ultimately you can also of course vote with your feet as it were and not use a platform.

 

[War_in_D]

First of all, let me apologize for bringing this back to the top..  I'm usually not in the habit of necroposting, but I just have to blow off some steam here!

So, I posted here about this obvious shill bidder nearly a year ago.  I've reported this seller numerous times through the normal reporting channels on Ebay, and he's still doing the same thing at the same time every week.. just like clockwork.  A little more recently, I discovered the Ebay Discussion Boards, and brought my concerns up there regarding the shill bidding that this guy is doing and I just wanted to share my experience there.  After posting on the Ebay board I'm thoroughly convinced that, not only does Ebay not care about shill bidders, they downright protect them as long as they are profitable.  My posts regarding this seller have been censored to remove content/screenshots that prove my theory (edited by the board Mods), and last night when I provided physical proof that the shiller has been leaving fraudulent feedback for the shilling accounts.. I got a one day suspension from the board.

So, just a heads up that if you use Ebay.. Research your sellers before you buy or you may be paying more than you would have otherwise.  Spotting an obvious shiller, like this guy, isn't that hard if you just look at the other bidders history with that seller.  It's blatantly obvious now, that Ebay has zero intention of doing anything about shill bidding.  They are too worried about making that dollar, than doing what is right.     

 

[BigSteve22]

After posting on the Ebay board I'm thoroughly convinced that, not only does Ebay not care about shill bidders, they downright protect them as long as they are profitable......

I have absolutely no doubt that this is true. And it's not just eBay putting $$$ above their customers, Amazon has sellers consistently posting deliberately deceptive offerings, that have been reported by numerous customers, which they have totally ignored.

To quote Uncle Trent: "God Money's not looking for the cure...."  :evil4:

 

[spe111]

People doing that kind of stuff are obviously scumbags, but they always have and will always exist. I established by bid philosophy a long time ago, I put whatever I'm willing to pay in for a maximum bid and don't worry about it after that. If someone fake bids it up and you still win, it will be at or less than what you were willing to pay. If I was trying to get something really cheap or far below market value, then I'd wonder how bad I really wanted that thing.