Zero feedback bidders

[DirkO]

Hi,

 

Some of us already heard of shill bidding (bidding by zero feedback users to drive up the price) and know what to look for in an auction, but here's a small explanation on a real live example where the winner in the end possibly paid a lot more than needed.

 

(all the seller's info has been removed to protect this forum)

 

So let's start here. The bidding has ended and with 8 bids the total was 2850. So far nothing special.

 

 

 

But if we click on "bids" some small warning lights should start to go off.

 

 

 

We see that the 2nd highest bidder has 0 feedback. So someone who has never bought anything on eBay suddenly wants to splash out 2800 USD ? Weird ...

 

If you click on that zero feedback bidder we see this :

 

 

 

So although he has no prior history on eBay, he did bid 12 times and all on items from the same seller. So what are the odds of an unknown being interested in both Nihonto and Scuba gear from the same seller? Although this isn't direct proof, one could/should make his own conclusions if you see this kind of behaviour. So if you're bidding on eBay, please be carefull and do your research.

[Mark Green]

Great post Dirk!!!!

 

If I had won a bid that looked like this, I would be talking to the seller before he got paid.

If he ever got paid.

And I would report all these findings to Ebay. To see if it worried them or not.

 

I should hope Ebay will keep the bidding stats as close as they can. Have they now removed the time stamp from the report? I didn't see it above.

Nice job!

Mark G

[ironron]

Its funny that you should post this..i allso looked at that sword..though i am not allowed to bid..seeing that i am in the uk,

 

I have noticed this on quite a few items that i have bid on..these private auctions are manna from heaven, for shill bidders.

[Brian]

I'll go one further, and say that it is very possible the high bidder was also a shill bid, and the seller possibly has more than one shill account. Reason for this is that in the last 30 days, he has only bid on 2 items, both from this seller, and only has a 16 feedback rating. Last (winning) bid was placed a few days before the end of auction, and none right at the end in case of snipe bids? Just speculation, but see if this item is relisted in a few days.

 

Anyways, I have heard from more than one seller that "Yes..I shill bid my auctions, everyone does, and tough luck"

 

Of course, it is also illegal....

 

Brian

[lionel]

is that not a risky thing to do...When a seller does that why does his ebay account not get flagged so ebay can kick him off , do ebay not check

[moss]

Lionel,

 

Ebay don't give a rats'

The higher the finished price the bigger their commission.

 

I had a recent experience where a well known(At least to the board) seller was caught with his pants down by me.

They were schill bidding for sure as the exact same piece I bid on and ended up 2nd.

It came back up after 60 days,yep,after 60 days the records are gone unlees you save them.

Even had the sellers same ID stock # ,after asking why this happened I was given a very weird convoluted reply about a non-payer.

I enquired why no second chance offer then checked Auto bids and could see why...They had been schill bidding from the beginning.

After that I was promptly banned from his site.

I won't mention who it is ,just that the seller is in Japan.

You will work it out,there are enough clues.

 

Now I may do a few annoying questions and answers on my wifes account,anything to waste his time (Will the colour look nice,do you think it makes my bum look big,can I return it if I have a change of mind)

 

Cheers

Moss

[Justin Grant]

I had this happen the other day. I was bidding on a Kabuto. All was well for a few day and I knew it would go up at the end. Two days before the auction end with no movement a bid came in and jumped my minimum bid up past my max by 200US. I wanted the item and rebid and the next day it jumped again 200US. I looked at the bid history and it was the same person with 0 feedback. I let it go seeing it was someone running up the price. It "sold" for the high price and I am sure it will be relisted.

 

Just put a reserve on it, the fee is much less than selling it to yourself through a shill bid for a high price.

[Curran]

For the most part, the 0s are suspect as shill bidders.

Not always. Sometimes they scare away bidders, and they know it.

 

I had an antique electric fan up for sale recently with 50 watchers and an insane number of questions. Possibly an unusual size and model# of a collectible antique. Then a "brand new" 0 feedback bidder came in and would outbid anyone who bid, yet he did so in small bids. He ended up winning it and paid for it. He definitely scared off some people and got the item at a discount.

 

Just because it has a fin out of the water doesn't make it a shark.

If ever I find something I ___really gotta, gotta, gotta win__ on ebay and want to scare away competition, I might try that "brand new, 0 feedback" tactic.

[nihonto1001]

For the most part, the 0s are suspect as shill bidders.

Not always. Sometimes they scare away bidders, and they know it.

 

I noticed that too.

 

Jon

[gtstcactus]

I live in New Zealand, we have out own auction site, so I've only just started using ebay. I now have +1 feedback, but it can be really hard for legit buyers like me with under 10+ feedbacks to purchase stuff due to lack of feedback. So it's a nasty cycle, can't bid due to lack of feedback, can't get feedback because can't bid!!!!

 

I know with patience I'll get there but it can be frustrating.

[Sporkkaji]

Just buy some little things like paperback books, earplugs, fish food, or replacement blades for your razor. Your feedback will increase to a respectable level in no time.

[Brian]

I doubt bidding is a problem with little feedback. Selling..yes. But if I was a potential bidder, I would just send the seller a brief note explaining I am new to eBay, can provide references, and will provide him with a pleasant transaction should I win. Should be no problem after that.

 

Brian