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Selling coins on ebay


Tooeygeotrashed

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I have no objections to coins being sold on ebay, heck I sell many there myself. But I think it's below the belt to blatantly trot coins for others to inflate their value. Listings may appear 'private' and bidders names are not given, but their feedback score is and it is a simple matter of tying the two together to see who is responsible.

 

I realise noone is forced to make a bid, but trotting auctions in this way is pushing up the perceived value of coins, I'm not impressed with this practice, which I think is underhand - if not dishonest. What think you?

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I list a lot on ebay myself with various personal items and some of our store stuff. The only reason I list the bidders privately is to keep out solicitors because it has happened quite a few times where someone has gone and send the bidder a message to try and sell them something else. Most of my auctions are buy it now anyway so no bidding.

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I list a lot on ebay myself with various personal items and some of our store stuff. The only reason I list the bidders privately is to keep out solicitors because it has happened quite a few times where someone has gone and send the bidder a message to try and sell them something else. Most of my auctions are buy it now anyway so no bidding.

All my auctions are listed privately also, I don't have an issue with that, my issue is with people that trot the auction for a friend.

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ahhh i got ya. Yeah i've seen that before, ticks me off. I actually hear rumors that ebay was thinking about changing their format and going to where if someone bids the auction extends for 5 minutes. It will keep extending until there is 5 minutes of no bids. I think that would make what you are talking about 10x worse! I rarely bid on anything anymore myself, i normally just use buy it now auctions and once in a blue moon depending on what it is i will bid if i can't find a buy it now.

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I was going to say that sounds HIGHLY dishonest, if not illegal. I would hope there are repercussions for such actions.

 

It is very illegal. Not sure what the exact term is but yes you can report it to ebay and they will ban the person. But like above post, you have to prove it. My question would be how do you prove it's their friend or something like that? I have seen a few auctions that were very questionable in the fact that the person bidding was a new user with 0 rating but what can ya do to prove it? I guess if they are from the same state or maybe you can have ebay look into one that you are concerned about and maybe they can match ips or a pattern of that account always bidding on the one sellers auctions on a regular basis?

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I think its happened to me as a bidder before with the 0 feedback and the retracted bid etc but its hard to prove. Also hard even with the same isp to prove. For instance I am selling some benefit coins. I would dearly love to have a couple but have no way to bid on them unless someone here does it for me. That could look like shill bidding but in reality its not because I really want the item.

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The "0" feedback makes sellers nervous too, btw. But I have found recently that they are legitimate new eBay accounts and usually from overseas.

 

Don't rule out the favorite sellers list option. I ship to numerous repeat buyers weekly, several of whom are in these forums, who would rather buy from me. So unless you have absolute proof, be very careful about the accusations that you make.

Edited by AtlantaGal
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I think its happened to me as a bidder before with the 0 feedback and the retracted bid etc but its hard to prove. Also hard even with the same isp to prove. For instance I am selling some benefit coins. I would dearly love to have a couple but have no way to bid on them unless someone here does it for me. That could look like shill bidding but in reality its not because I really want the item.

 

No that would not be shill bidding. 0 feedback is not usually a problem, there was someone in Europe a while back disrupting auctions with bogus highly inflated bids that were never paid, those accounts get closed pretty quickly. The shill bidding I am talking about is between regular sellers who can afford the listing fees and final valuation costs when the shill bid wins (there is no reall transaction in that case, its bogus), although more often than not some poor sucker out bids the shill.

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The "0" feedback makes sellers nervous too, btw. But I have found recently that they are legitimate new eBay accounts and usually from overseas.

 

Don't rule out the favorite sellers list option. I ship to numerous repeat buyers weekly, several of whom are in these forums, who would rather buy from me. So unless you have absolute proof, be very careful about the accusations that you make.

 

Why would I need to be very careful? I am not making accusations against any particular person. It is not difficult to research bidding and buying history - in fact the article on ebay linked to earlier in this thread gives an excellent account of how this can be done. The evidence is there for anyone who cares to look for it.

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The "0" feedback makes sellers nervous too, btw. But I have found recently that they are legitimate new eBay accounts and usually from overseas.

 

Don't rule out the favorite sellers list option. I ship to numerous repeat buyers weekly, several of whom are in these forums, who would rather buy from me. So unless you have absolute proof, be very careful about the accusations that you make.

 

Why would I need to be very careful? I am not making accusations against any particular person. It is not difficult to research bidding and buying history - in fact the article on ebay linked to earlier in this thread gives an excellent account of how this can be done. The evidence is there for anyone who cares to look for it.

 

That article link was not present in this thread when you made your accusation and I can easily punch holes in a lot of the statements in that article. As any long time eBay user can. Except for a few of their examples, it's a pretty gray area, IMO.

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I believe this is what you are looking for. Groundspeak has nothing to do with ebay policy and cannot fix it for you. We also cannot control people's honesty and integrity, nor do we maintain their reputations. If they want to smudge their own good name, that is up to them. No one has to buy from them.

 

With that said, I am going to allow this thread to stay open for discussion, as long as the guidelines are followed. I don't want to see names mentioned or any one person in particular discussed. If this is a problem on ebay, then our community needs to know about it. So far, we're doing well in that regard.

 

I don't purchase anything through ebay, but I do know one thing I was told early on when I looked into into something I wanted: "You never bid until the last minute" I was told. Otherwise the price would just keep going up, and you end up bidding yourself a higher price. This is what the shill bidders are hoping for I guess.

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Eartha,

 

This may be a stupid question, and may be considered personal, but are you a coin collector, too?

 

It's funny, most of us know who FSM really 'is,' but you've managed to keep most of us in the dark, who you really are is a closely guarded secret, hehe, so I won't go so far as to ask that, but I am curious...

 

Are you as big a coin nerd in real life as the rest of us are?

 

Naomi :rolleyes:

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The "0" feedback makes sellers nervous too, btw. But I have found recently that they are legitimate new eBay accounts and usually from overseas.

 

Don't rule out the favorite sellers list option. I ship to numerous repeat buyers weekly, several of whom are in these forums, who would rather buy from me. So unless you have absolute proof, be very careful about the accusations that you make.

 

Why would I need to be very careful? I am not making accusations against any particular person. It is not difficult to research bidding and buying history - in fact the article on ebay linked to earlier in this thread gives an excellent account of how this can be done. The evidence is there for anyone who cares to look for it.

 

That article link was not present in this thread when you made your accusation and I can easily punch holes in a lot of the statements in that article. As any long time eBay user can. Except for a few of their examples, it's a pretty gray area, IMO.

 

So what is the gray area IYO, that it happens at all or whether it can be proven?

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Some people (like me) are just useless ebayers too. :huh:

 

Of my top 3 favourite sellers, two are regulars on the this forum, and I like to buy from people I know and trust. I also trade with these people, but sometimes they will want to sell a coin rather than trade, and I am happy to oblige. When I have the cash!

 

I also have a history of being vague, so I need to bid way in advance, otherwise I forget. I have heard of the automatic bdding, but I tried it once and was very unhappy with it.

 

And you northern hemisphere people have auctions ending at strange times for us southern hemisphere people!

 

But the point I am trying to make is that I probably come across as a shill bidder too, but I'm not. You know the saying...a fool and their money are soon parted? Well I have made quite a few people on here happy because I am a fool :rolleyes:

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Eartha,

 

This may be a stupid question, and may be considered personal, but are you a coin collector, too?

 

It's funny, most of us know who FSM really 'is,' but you've managed to keep most of us in the dark, who you really are is a closely guarded secret, hehe, so I won't go so far as to ask that, but I am curious...

 

Are you as big a coin nerd in real life as the rest of us are?

 

Naomi :huh:

 

It's not a stupid question. :rolleyes:

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Some people (like me) are just useless ebayers too. :huh:

 

Of my top 3 favourite sellers, two are regulars on the this forum, and I like to buy from people I know and trust. I also trade with these people, but sometimes they will want to sell a coin rather than trade, and I am happy to oblige. When I have the cash!

 

I also have a history of being vague, so I need to bid way in advance, otherwise I forget. I have heard of the automatic bdding, but I tried it once and was very unhappy with it.

 

And you northern hemisphere people have auctions ending at strange times for us southern hemisphere people!

 

But the point I am trying to make is that I probably come across as a shill bidder too, but I'm not. You know the saying...a fool and their money are soon parted? Well I have made quite a few people on here happy because I am a fool :rolleyes:

 

I nibble away myself, adding bid after bid, I'm pants at being brave and shoving in my highest bid, although for some coins I have been known to be brave. But there is a pattern to shill bidding, which until recently I knew existed but didn't take that much notice of, now it's getting to the point of being almost obvious - although it is necessary to delve a little deeper into bidding history (which can only be done on active auctions - not those that have ended) to see the bigger picture. Now I know why there are so many people in these forums that don't like to mention the e word !

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Eartha,

 

This may be a stupid question, and may be considered personal, but are you a coin collector, too?

 

It's funny, most of us know who FSM really 'is,' but you've managed to keep most of us in the dark, who you really are is a closely guarded secret, hehe, so I won't go so far as to ask that, but I am curious...

 

Are you as big a coin nerd in real life as the rest of us are?

 

Naomi :huh:

 

It's not a stupid question. :rolleyes:

Quite a few people know who Eartha is. I don't think it is a secret as much as it just isn't something that matters much.

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So what is the gray area IYO, that it happens at all or whether it can be proven?

 

Whether it can be proven.

 

I'm not anywhere near as vested in this topic as you seem to be for whatever reason, but I tend to get annoyed when people tend to generalize things.

 

As one bidding example from that article it mentions the amounts a person bids. I laughed when I read it cause I tend to bid like that a lot of the time with full intentions of purchasing the item, and I typically don't know the seller personally either. According to that article, I am shill bidding. I call BS.

 

Another example from the other side could be where a coin sells for way more than it typically sells for. According to that article, it's likely a shilled auction. Funny, but it could also actually be two people who really wanted the item and duked it out. I have two items that sold like that recently and both shocked me as the seller. But both were indeed legitimate auctions between two individuals who I don't even know of outside of ebay.

 

I am not going to go through that article point by point, but it is a dated article for starters and there are often times things you may think are fraudulant that are actually 100% aboveboard. That's why I am saying to be careful about making accusations unless you are absolutely sure.

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OK, hands up - who is a shill bidder??? :huh::D

 

...and I have my own opinions as to who Eartha really is, but I will keep them to myself :P

 

Pghlooking - it IS important!! :huh::rolleyes:

 

Yeah AG - I have had some items on eBay go for an absolutely massive amount, while there are still the exact same Buy It Now items going for a quarter of the cost. I thnk some people get excited about bidding :D

Edited by Cheesy pigs
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I think what is being referred to are friends jacking up each others auctions in order to get these crazy amounts. What I don't understand is how they cannot help but feel guilty in doing so, and now that some of those buyers from ebay have found there way here, it won't take long for them to put 2 and 2 together.

I both sell and buy on ebay and have paid a crazy price for a coin here and there, but once I caught on to who is doing this I stay away from bidding on their auctions. I have also given the name of this forum and the site where you can go to get the coins directly from the vendors to at least five people from ebay who were buying many coins from me and others because it was just crazy the money they were throwing out the window. I mean, you got to have some integrity somewhere right?

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OK, hands up - who is a shill bidder??? :huh::D

 

...and I have my own opinions as to who Eartha really is, but I will keep them to myself :D

 

Pghlooking - it IS important!! :P:rolleyes:

 

Yeah AG - I have had some items on eBay go for an absolutely massive amount, while there are still the exact same Buy It Now items going for a quarter of the cost. I thnk some people get excited about bidding ;)

 

I couldn't agree more, I get too excited myself sometimes and bid waaaay too much :huh: I once sold a Stonehenge coin for a staggering amount, the buyer didn't collect geocoins, he was a collector of anything and everything he could lay his hands on about Stonehenge and someone else must have really wanted a Stonehenge coin!

 

There will always be auctions that are not typical, items sell for a lot less than expected at times as well as reaching dizzy heights.

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So what is the gray area IYO, that it happens at all or whether it can be proven?

 

Whether it can be proven.

 

I'm not anywhere near as vested in this topic as you seem to be for whatever reason, but I tend to get annoyed when people tend to generalize things.

 

As one bidding example from that article it mentions the amounts a person bids. I laughed when I read it cause I tend to bid like that a lot of the time with full intentions of purchasing the item, and I typically don't know the seller personally either. According to that article, I am shill bidding. I call BS.

 

Another example from the other side could be where a coin sells for way more than it typically sells for. According to that article, it's likely a shilled auction. Funny, but it could also actually be two people who really wanted the item and duked it out. I have two items that sold like that recently and both shocked me as the seller. But both were indeed legitimate auctions between two individuals who I don't even know of outside of ebay.

 

I am not going to go through that article point by point, but it is a dated article for starters and there are often times things you may think are fraudulant that are actually 100% aboveboard. That's why I am saying to be careful about making accusations unless you are absolutely sure.

My reason is as I stated in my OP, I don't care for this practice which appears to be on the increase. And I state again - why should I need to be careful - I am not making accusations against any particular person.

Those ebayers that conspire to drive up prices do harm to this community and take advantage of people that are ignorant and know no better. Some may say more fool them and no-one is forced to place a bid. I would have thought as an active seller on ebay that you would have a vested interest in this subject. I'm not generalising either - there is a practice of shill bidding which I don't like - how is that generalising the issue?

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I have just recently gotten into collection geocoins. After looking on the sites that sell coins, and buying more than a few :rolleyes:, I've realized one thing. If you snooze you lose. With the limited number of coins minted at one time if you aren't fast on the trigger you will lose out on buying one from the original site. Ebay is the only alternative for some. That is especially true in my case. There are so many coins out there that are long ago sold out. Deadliest Cache, DaVinci, Compass Rose, Four Musketeers, Dragonfly to mention a few. If I want those coins I have two choices. Trade or Ebay. It's kind of hard to trade when you don't have a coin anyone wants. I was lucky enough to get in on Tsun's Dragonfly coins (traded a set for DaVindi :huh:. The other one's, well, I had no choice. If I wanted the coins I had to go to Ebay.

That being said, I am more than aware of shill bets on Ebay. Been burned one too many times. If I see a coin I desire I will enter a bid. It doesn't matter to me how much time is left. I just enter a bid that is my maximum amount I am willing to pay and forget about it. I don't keep going back to see where the bidding is. I just wait for the email to tell me if I did or didn't win the auction. I've lost more coins than I've won, but I do not lose hope. I am confident that the coins I desire will keep hitting the auction block :huh:

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I think what is being referred to are friends jacking up each others auctions in order to get these crazy amounts.

 

I am sure this happens, but putting 2 and 2 together sometimes adds up to 4. I have friends who bid on my auctions and I bid on all kinds of auctions (including friends). There is too much random behavior and weirdness to devise shrilling most times, how do you explain selling an APE coin for $150 (twice no less!) then the next week it goes for $25? The market, bidders, and sellers all change.

 

I have also given the name of this forum and the site where you can go to get the coins directly from the vendors. I mean, you got to have some integrity somewhere right?

 

I do this too, especially when asked.

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I would have thought as an active seller on ebay that you would have a vested interest in this subject.

 

I do. I don't like seeing people falsely accused based on speculation without absolute proof. Again, I have no clue what brought all this on or who your beef is with. But I've been selling on ebay a long time. And when someone wants something, sometimes they pay through the nose for it. And I am speaking of things other than geocoins too.

 

See, I think broaching a subject such as this also ruins the integrity of regular, honest auctions as well.

Edited by AtlantaGal
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with a little care and thought, most of the problems mentioned can be avoided

 

1. pay attention to feed back - that is why it is there

a seller with a low number should be treated with caution

same goes for buyers - if you are bidding against somebody with a low number, assume that they may be a problem - perhaps more due to inexperience than evil intent, but the outcome may very well be the same

 

2. read the auction description - carefully - twice

is the coin trackable ? activated ? in mint condition ? actually in the sellers possession ? etc ?

if it does not say what you want to hear in the description one way or the other, assume that it is the most negative possibly answer

 

3. pay attention to shipping/handling charges

these can greatly inflate the price that you pay

hidden/hard-to-determine shipping/handling is almost sure to be excessive

 

4. never bid more than you are willing to pay - duh

if you get outbid - oh, well

if you wind up paying close to your maximum - don't be surprised

 

5. bid late in the auction - as in seconds before it is over

this does at least two things -

A. keeps another bidder (shill or not) from outbidding you

B. holds you to your maximum amount (no chance to change your mind)

 

6. remain calm

eBay wants you to get emotional and go into a bidding frenzy

so does the seller

this is how both of them make their money

play the game your way, not theirs

if you don't get what you were after, remember that you still have the money

 

7. do other research

eBay had some good documentaton and FAQ pages

it is not the whole story, but it is a good start

you can also find the experiences of others on the internet

 

8. treat it like any other retail transaction - buyer beware

and especially so on the web

 

9. best possible solution - buy the coins that you want when they first come out - from the original maker - at original retail price - that way, you will avoid eBay entirely

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I am one of those bidders you are probably talking about - when an auction is meant to be a charity auction - then I put my maximum bid early hoping to increase the money. The problem with some of the coins: if you are reading the forum you know about it but it was not always mentioned in the item's description. So it might look strange to other bidders.

 

Then there is the Time-zone problem. If I really want to get a coin I stand up early but with other coins I just bid when I have got time.

 

Once I refrained from bidding even my personal maximum because I thought I was somehow betrayed - but on the other side - it IS my maximum and if I really want the coin I will pay the price and I won't really check how it came to it.

As others said before: check your maximum. If it's worth it than there is no problem.

It is just luck to get a thing below that price :rolleyes:

Edited by Chiroptera
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I would have thought as an active seller on ebay that you would have a vested interest in this subject.

 

I do. I don't like seeing people falsely accused based on speculation without absolute proof. Again, I have no clue what brought all this on or who your beef is with. But I've been selling on ebay a long time. And when someone wants something, sometimes they pay through the nose for it. And I am speaking of things other than geocoins too.

 

See, I think broaching a subject such as this also ruins the integrity of regular, honest auctions as well.

 

Strange since earlier you stated - "I'm not anywhere near as vested in this topic as you seem to be for whatever reason, but I tend to get annoyed when people tend to generalize things."

 

No one is being falsely accused of anything, you as good as admitted that you knew it happened in an earlier post but that proving it is another matter. I don't need to prove anything, ebay has far more sophisticated technology at their disposal and a great deal more experience to determine what is and what is not malpractice.

 

Yes people do pay through the nose for something they want, that is why shill bids are made, to take advantage of those very people who are prepared to do just that.

 

Broaching the subject does nothing to ruin the integrity of regular honest ebayers. It brings to light a practice some may not even be aware of and I think the people that are responsible for this are just extracting the michael, (for those that need to have that expression translated go visit the other forum).

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Sadly, shill bidding is a fact of life at Ebay and you have to be aware of it.

 

It should, if found, be taken seriously and reported to appropriate authorities, it is deception.

 

A few years back (when Ebay allowed you to see more about buyers and sellers than you can now), I spotted that I was constantly being outbid by the same group of folks, very similar sounding names and so on, some investigation showed them all registered at the same address.

 

Ebay were not that interested but Crimestoppers here in the UK were and sent the local police around, they collected a lot of information and went on their way.

 

The end result was that even though Ebay hadn't listened to me, they listened to the cops. :)

 

Anyone who says shill bidding doesn't exist is sadly deluded.

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Sadly, shill bidding is a fact of life at Ebay and you have to be aware of it.

 

It should, if found, be taken seriously and reported to appropriate authorities, it is deception.

 

A few years back (when Ebay allowed you to see more about buyers and sellers than you can now), I spotted that I was constantly being outbid by the same group of folks, very similar sounding names and so on, some investigation showed them all registered at the same address.

 

Ebay were not that interested but Crimestoppers here in the UK were and sent the local police around, they collected a lot of information and went on their way.

 

The end result was that even though Ebay hadn't listened to me, they listened to the cops. :)

 

Anyone who says shill bidding doesn't exist is sadly deluded.

 

Ebay are actually working harder than ever now to eradicate dishonest dealings. They realise that if they don't address the problem buyers will lose confidence, then everyone suffers the consequences.

 

It isn't that difficult to spot when you know what to look for.

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It isn't that difficult to spot when you know what to look for.

 

Indeed, and I refrain from bidding when I think I see anything that might be going in that direction.

 

Of course, life being as it is, sometimes there are coincidences over which nobody has any control ... I almost had kittens last year when a geocacher from the same hometown as me bid on a coin I was selling, I couldn't get "what does this look like" out of my head! It was a one off so I need not have worried so much! :)

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This is a very interesting discussion. I foolishly was not aware this was happening. I followed Tooey's advice, and checked out some active auctions - checking the bidders out - I found one bidder with a low number who has bid 100% on one seller's coins. Could be coincidence, or part of a scam. I will be much more careful in the future.

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This is a very interesting discussion. I foolishly was not aware this was happening. I followed Tooey's advice, and checked out some active auctions - checking the bidders out - I found one bidder with a low number who has bid 100% on one seller's coins. Could be coincidence, or part of a scam. I will be much more careful in the future.

 

The bidding history on a lot of the ended auctions makes for some interesting reading also !

 

Once you place a bid it can only be removed by a bid retraction, having a history of bid retractions isn't great so tends to be avoided, but once an auction has ended there is no way to remove those bids, they remain there for all to see :)

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This is a very interesting discussion. I foolishly was not aware this was happening. I followed Tooey's advice, and checked out some active auctions - checking the bidders out - I found one bidder with a low number who has bid 100% on one seller's coins. Could be coincidence, or part of a scam. I will be much more careful in the future.

 

The bidding history on a lot of the ended auctions makes for some interesting reading also !

 

Once you place a bid it can only be removed by a bid retraction, having a history of bid retractions isn't great so tends to be avoided, but once an auction has ended there is no way to remove those bids, they remain there for all to see :)

 

I buy on ebay and at real life auctions. It's not unusual to have someone "run" the bids in real life auctions , it's just a part of the price setting process and very similar to shill bidding in many ways. The knack is to know what you are prepared to pay, never bid a penny more than that figure and not to worry about how the price reached that level.

 

Lifes to short to obsess about these things, auctions are there to set a price between two or more parties. The practice of sniping makes a nonsense of this process as it stops open competitive bidding. I would suggest that the real problem ebay has is sniping, as long as this is possible it's easy to see why some sellers may resort to their own tricks to bolster their prices. I seriously think it's time that ebay moved to a system of bid extension or closed tender to make things fair for both buyer and seller.

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...

 

Anyone who says shill bidding doesn't exist is sadly deluded.

 

Ebay are actually working harder than ever now to eradicate dishonest dealings. They realise that if they don't address the problem buyers will lose confidence, then everyone suffers the consequences.

 

It isn't that difficult to spot when you know what to look for.

 

well do i feel dumb. i don't know what to look for.

 

i have only considered this once, when i was consistantly oubid with nano seconds left - but i found out that is just the way this bidder plays the game. never bids until it is too late to be outbid and bid BIG! to overwhelm me, the competition. '

 

c'est la guerre

 

you can send me an email to tell me what to watch out for if you would like! education is always good.

 

lara

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I buy on ebay and at real life auctions. It's not unusual to have someone "run" the bids in real life auctions , it's just a part of the price setting process and very similar to shill bidding in many ways. The knack is to know what you are prepared to pay, never bid a penny more than that figure and not to worry about how the price reached that level.

 

Lifes to short to obsess about these things, auctions are there to set a price between two or more parties. The practice of sniping makes a nonsense of this process as it stops open competitive bidding. I would suggest that the real problem ebay has is sniping, as long as this is possible it's easy to see why some sellers may resort to their own tricks to bolster their prices. I seriously think it's time that ebay moved to a system of bid extension or closed tender to make things fair for both buyer and seller.

 

uktim has it right here...this is common even if underhanded! I know personally several auctioneers, I've been to many an auction!

 

I have often bid on objects being placed for bid by friends, I even bid on that Imagine coin being sold for Tod (hey, if someone's going to steal it, might as well be me. I would have then gifted the coin in the future). I've bid on objects that I have even put up for auction...the hiking stick donated for our Lazy Hayes Days comes to mind right off! If I want it, I'm going to bid it up to where I would normally bid! If someone else wants it, then outbid me!! I'm not bidding up the price, I am trying to buy the item for myself...period! I make sure to mention I might be in the bidding for items like this!

 

Bidding on an item to raise the price to your liking though....not a good practice!

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Briefly read through the comments and only have a couple things to contribute, take them for what they are worth :)

 

I don't spend much time on ebay so I only know a few of the players....

 

However here is a situation to consider. I may list on average 2 coins a month (and most of the time they are for charity and my designs). Anyhow, I noticed that when I would list a coin, there were at least 1 to 2 people who 99% of the time bid on my auctions (granted, I always start them at .99 cents). It got me wondering why they were bidding on my stuff all the time when I knew they had the coin I was offering for sale. So, I dropped this person a note asking why they always bid on my stuff even though they had the coins already. (I was worried it would look bad if someone saw the same person bidding all the time). Turns out this person bid because of the following reasons and I'm paraphrasing here; 'your coins go for good money or make good traders, so I put in a bid for a certain amount-cause it would be a good deal. If I get the coin, great, if not, then no big deal'. I was kinda surprised at the answer, cause I thought maybe they thought they were trying to help me out and it turns out it wasn't the case at all. It was all coin business to them, so now when I see them bidding, I know why they are.

 

However, I know shill bidding does go on.

 

I don't know what it is about ebay that causes people to lose brain cells, lol. I'm even guilty of paying more for coins than I had anticipated because I got all competitive :anicute: I don't do that anymore :D

 

The best way to deal with ebay is put in your max. bid and leave it alone. There will always be another one listed down the road. As far as shill biddiers, I can only hope that the people who are in cahoots get what's coming to them but I ain't gonna worry about it because it requires too much time and energy.

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'your coins go for good money or make good traders, so I put in a bid for a certain amount-cause it would be a good deal. If I get the coin, great, if not, then no big deal'.

 

Hey! No singling out! :) I admit I do that a lot with many different coins. Who doesn't like a deal? If I can trade $100 worth of coins for a coin I picked up for $60 then why not? Altho in your case Steph I would bid on your coins just because it's you.

 

Edit for spelling.

Edited by avroair
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'your coins go for good money or make good traders, so I put in a bid for a certain amount-cause it would be a good deal. If I get the coin, great, if not, then no big deal'. I was kinda surprised at the answer, cause I thought maybe they thought they were trying to help me out and it turns out it wasn't the case at all. It was all coin business to them, so now when I see them bidding, I know why they are.

 

 

It is also an expedient way of tracking the market :lol:

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However, I know shill bidding does go on.

 

The best way to deal with ebay is put in your max. bid and leave it alone. There will always be another one listed down the road. As far as shill biddiers, I can only hope that the people who are in cahoots get what's coming to them but I ain't gonna worry about it because it requires too much time and energy.

 

If everyone chooses to ignore the problem innocent people continue to be taken advantage of.

 

I've never seen any auction of a Tsunrisebey design by any seller where there were shill bids - your coins attain high prices on their own merit :lol:

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Just my quick .02. Here's another reason you see some people place a lot of bids on .99 auctions. You can check and see what percentage of bids a person has with a particular seller. If it is an inordinately high percentage, they either love the seller or it could be a shill bidder. By placing a bunch of .99 bids on a multitude of other seller's coins, their percentage drops and looks like they are bidding on lots of sellers coins.

 

That's why I see who they have won auctions from and look at their bid history. It helps to root out who is being sneaky and boosting their prices up.

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However, I know shill bidding does go on.

 

The best way to deal with ebay is put in your max. bid and leave it alone. There will always be another one listed down the road. As far as shill biddiers, I can only hope that the people who are in cahoots get what's coming to them but I ain't gonna worry about it because it requires too much time and energy.

 

If everyone chooses to ignore the problem innocent people continue to be taken advantage of.

 

I've never seen any auction of a Tsunrisebey design by any seller where there were shill bids - your coins attain high prices on their own merit :D

 

I didn't say "ignore", I said "worry". I honestly don't have time to investigate what people are doing on ebay and trying to figure out who is bidding on what and if they are a shill bidder or not. Like I said before I don't spend much time on ebay. I do agree with your comment of "ignore the problem..." sentiment however that is a battle I choose not to get involved in because I have other issues I prefer to engage in that I feel are important. I just can't take on every battle :laughing: I'll leave that to those of you who ebay alot or feel very strongly about it to take on that fight and thanks for doing it for the rest of us :D. You can thank me for taking on other battles that are of less importance to you :lol:

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...

 

If everyone chooses to ignore the problem innocent people continue to be taken advantage of.

...

 

i started reading some of the bidding history on certain coins and on coins where i paid a little too much, and yes, it is very interesting. my interest in buying coins on ebay has changed drastically. i will no longer buy from certain sellers.

 

now that may be no big deal, but if enough people get wise to what is going on, then sellers that use shill bidding to inflate coin prices will lose more than they gain. it is pretty easy to figure out the "coded" name in the bidding history so i know who to watch for.

 

RedShoesGirl

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...

 

If everyone chooses to ignore the problem innocent people continue to be taken advantage of.

...

 

i started reading some of the bidding history on certain coins and on coins where i paid a little too much, and yes, it is very interesting. my interest in buying coins on ebay has changed drastically. i will no longer buy from certain sellers.

 

now that may be no big deal, but if enough people get wise to what is going on, then sellers that use shill bidding to inflate coin prices will lose more than they gain. it is pretty easy to figure out the "coded" name in the bidding history so i know who to watch for.

 

RedShoesGirl

 

RSG, I disagree. I have one buyer who has bought almost, if not all, of my TGF coins. If it wasn't a violation of privacy, I'd tell you his cacher ID so you could ask him. When I asked him after the third one, I was told buying more at a lower price makes the first one's overall cost less. Then he gives them away to kids. Do I question why this has been done, sure. But that doesn't change the fact that it's 100% legit and the person has money to burn.

 

Tooey, bottom line is you can suspect folks all you want. That's your right, but you honestly do not know with absolute certainty why someone bids/buys a certain way unless you ask every single bidder and buyer individually. And to be quite honest, it's really none of your business since it doesn't directly involve or effect you. I cannot stress enough just how incorrect you are about many of your suspicions, which have now trickled through the grapevine, btw. I also think many of the acusations you've made privately about several people are very slanderous in nature.

 

I hope everyone else is smart enough to think for themselves. Because this thread has done nothing but disgrace honest activities.

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And to be quite honest, it's really none of your business since it doesn't directly involve or effect you.

 

I hope everyone else is smart enough to think for themselves. Because this thread has done nothing but disgrace honest activities.

 

I disagree with your statement that it doesn't directly involve someone else such as Tooey or any other bidder. For instance if I really wanted to buy a coin but a shill bidder took the price out of my range that definitely directly affected me. Or if I listed a coin of my own on ebay based on the selling prices of the last couple that have sold, I am directly affected if those prices were artifically inflated by a shill bidder.

 

I personally don't see where this thread has disgraced any honest activites. In fact it has shown others that shill bidding MAY BE taking place and to just be aware. If someone thinks it is happening on a coin they want they can wait as there will be other coins to come around. If someone is honest there is nothing to worry about. If someone has something to hide then there are ways to do that I'm sure ......

 

Prior to this thread I really hadn't bothered much to look at the bid history only the final selling prices. About the only time I checked out the bids was when someone paid what seemed to be an outrageous price for some coin or if I wanted to see if it was a bidding war of sorts before listing one. After this thread started I looked around a bit and found some bidding history that could be suspicious or could be completely legit. I have no way of knowing. I see this thread as being a head's up.......

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