Ebay Fraud

i know nothing · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:06

Not just another Ebay thread...

The Sunday Times said:
CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to boost profits.

An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of artificially driving up prices — known as shill bidding — is widespread across the site.

No surprises there! Full article here.

ArmyofHarmony · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:11

sounds fair game to me

Steve09 · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:21

Me and my mates do it for each other.

Ripper · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:21

Every occasional seller does it. I'm doing it right now for an item ending today, big deal.

Rotty · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:27

Always happened afaik

Morba · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:28

Ripper^ said:
Every occasional seller does it. I'm doing it right now for an item ending today, big deal.

actually it is a good deal, the new ebay 'safety' rules stopping you seeing each bidder and their history has now stopped people from seeing if there is some shill bidding going on :/

zain · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:36

Probably started a day or two after eBay did, nothing new!

Now scammers using PayPal abusing their fraud prevention system to benefit only the fraudster, thats a story that needs telling!

Will_3rd · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:46

its common knowledge that this goes on, more stupid FUD

norm · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:47

Another reason to use an auction sniper tool.

Jez · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:48

I dont see the issue, the customer makes the choice whether to purchase or not, they can clearly see the asking price, its not as if you can accidently bid on something.

Morba · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:49

norm said:
Another reason to use an auction sniper tool.

because that stops you being done by a shill bidder?

snipers are for those without any control at the end of an auction.

dirtydog · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:50

Morba said:
snipers are for those without any control at the end of an auction.

I don't understand what you mean by that?

Morba · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:51

Jez said:
I dont see the issue, the customer makes the choice whether to purchase or not, they can clearly see the asking price, its not as if you can accidently bid on something.

the problem is this: you bid on something to the maximum you are willing to pay, most of the time you will not pay this price, you will pay something below it (or lose out on it). If the seller wants a minimum price then they should set the start price or reserve accordingly.

Its an auction, not a shop.

Jez · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:55

Morba said:
the problem is this: you bid on something to the maximum you are willing to pay, most of the time you will not pay this price, you will pay something below it (or lose out on it). If the seller wants a minimum price then they should set the start price or reserve accordingly.

Its an auction, not a shop.

It doesnt matter which way you look at it, its not fraud, because you are not defrauding anyone. They are getting the item as described, at the price they chose to pay for it.

Morba · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:55

dirtydog said:
I don't understand what you mean by that?

sorry, missed out 'good'. they are good for those who have no self control, as you can leave them to do their thing at the end of the auction, rather than needing to sit and watch the item finish and potentially bid more and more.

sid · 28 Jan 2007 at 12:02

Morba said:
the problem is this: you bid on something to the maximum you are willing to pay, most of the time you will not pay this price, you will pay something below it (or lose out on it). If the seller wants a minimum price then they should set the start price or reserve accordingly.

Its an auction, not a shop.

Except that setting a reserve cost money on ebay AFAIK and puts buyers off for sure.

Shilling is to make it look legit.

sid

dirtydog · 28 Jan 2007 at 12:04

Morba said:
sorry, missed out 'good'. they are good for those who have no self control, as you can leave them to do their thing at the end of the auction, rather than needing to sit and watch the item finish and potentially bid more and more.

They are also for people who can't be around for the end of the auction to bid in person. Plus (I've never never used them but I assume) they bid at the last possible moment, to avoid any human error. I once sniped manually and bid a fraction too late, and lost as a result

Morba · 28 Jan 2007 at 12:04

sid said:
Except that setting a reserve cost money on ebay AFAIK and puts buyers off for sure.

Shilling is to make it look legit.

sid

i know that perfectly well, but if the seller doesnt want to have to relist (causing further cost) then they should set the reserve accordingly, reserve prices do not cost that much!
i bet most shill bidders accept paypal!

dirtydog · 28 Jan 2007 at 12:06

Jez said:
It doesnt matter which way you look at it, its not fraud, because you are not defrauding anyone. They are getting the item as described, at the price they chose to pay for it.

It could be defrauding ebay in fact. If the item doesn't reach the amount the seller wants, he can get his ebay commission back.

dirtydog · 28 Jan 2007 at 12:07

Morba said:
i know that perfectly well, but if the seller doesnt want to have to relist (causing further cost) then they should set the reserve accordingly, reserve prices do not cost that much!
i bet most shill bidders accept paypal!

Reserve prices put buyers off - I don't waste my time bidding on any auction with a reserve. In an internet auction they are pointless; just set the starting price for what you want.