Shill Bidding?

[sidthelamp]

It's simple to create a second account. As a test I've just created a second account and it went through fine.

I have reported it to eBid so I'll see what they do.

ok its simple to do but any account holder that trys to use it and the other party suspects and reports that suspicion will have the second account restricted, if you do it again both accounts will be restricted

[barrydixon]

ok its simple to do but any account holder that trys to use it and the other party suspects and reports that suspicion will have the second account restricted, if you do it again both accounts will be restricted

Yes, I understand that, and have no intention of using it. It was just that so many people say that you can't do it on eBid so I wanted to give it a try to see if they were right. It turns out it is very simple.

It just reinforces my suspicion about the auction I was referring to.

I have been an eBay user for many years and have never had an instance of the seller bidding on an item as far as I know. If they did, it wasn't as blatant as the one on eBid.

[sidthelamp]

Yes, I understand that, and have no intention of using it. It was just that so many people say that you can't do it on eBid so I wanted to give it a try to see if they were right. It turns out it is very simple.

It just reinforces my suspicion about the auction I was referring to.

I have been an eBay user for many years and have never had an instance of the seller bidding on an item as far as I know. If they did, it wasn't as blatant as the one on eBid.

ive seen a lot of ringing of auctions on feebay , were theres a vested interest in a group of sellers pushing up a price to what to them appears a market price thats acceptable to them, thats what happens when the site allows multiple accounts held by the same person, it distances the cuprite s from seen involvement, of course with even more changes over there to how you can see bidding history its impossible to see any patterns, you cant check user names against a given auction, coupled with multiple accounts it is a shillers paradise, it really can not happen on ebid to anywhere near the extent it happens on feebay, its very easy for ebid to compare accounts with information they have that will show any shilling activity

[cornishmaid1961]

Yes, I understand that, and have no intention of using it. It was just that so many people say that you can't do it on eBid so I wanted to give it a try to see if they were right. It turns out it is very simple.

It just reinforces my suspicion about the auction I was referring to.

I have been an eBay user for many years and have never had an instance of the seller bidding on an item as far as I know. If they did, it wasn't as blatant as the one on eBid.

We all know you can open a second account but if you don't give a good reason and seek permission then you are likely to be locked out.

I've come across shill bidding over on TOS several times in the past but when they changed the system and hid identities and introduced the bidder1, bidder2, etc it became much more difficult to spot. At least here, if it isn't a private auction, you can see a bidder's location. I would say it is a jolly good thing that it can be spotted easily here !

[cerealmunkee]

I thought they could put a reserve price on it, or at least set the starting price to the lowest price they will accept.

It's just a waste of time for buyers if people do this and if they are bidding against themselves with another account isn't that against eBid rules?

I see that practice as fraudulent. If my bid was, say, £150 and the highest but I had put a maximum in of £400, if they then bid on it they could boost the price up to £400 so on winning the auction I would end up paying £400 whereas if they hadn't boosted the price themselves I would have got it for £150.

I'm new to eBid and if that is the sort of practice that goes on I don't think I'll bother.

What you describe is not a figment of your imagination....but is as you know it to be......fraudulent bidding activity....the same thing happened to me recently here when i decided to bid on an auction....as we all know auctions run on Ebid tend to not really attract much interest so i knew that i was safe in placing my bid.....oddly within an hour of me placing said bid a new user popped up and outbid me ....this also happened with another listing from the same seller.....needless to say i continue to stay away from this sellers listings despite actually wanting to buy their items.....and instead have to send my money elsewhere.....i say this....if it barks like a Dog.....smells like a Dog.....and looks like a Dog....then its a Dog.

To address your last point about not bothering with Ebid....then its worth remembering that the majority of transactions carried out here are the result of fixed price listings.....auctions aren't really so popular.

[squern]

It is possible, of course, that you were one of two people who were keen on the sellers items.

[cerealmunkee]

It is possible, of course, that you were one of two people who were keen on the sellers items.

I'm not so sure....this is the usual "you're being paranoid" statement....yet....as we all know its not particularly likely that there's much chance of a bidding war on this site...and when you get that uneasy feeling about something there's usually grounds for this.

[JanetB]

ive seen a lot of ringing of auctions on feebay , were theres a vested interest in a group of sellers pushing up a price to what to them appears a market price thats acceptable to them, thats what happens when the site allows multiple accounts held by the same person, it distances the cuprite s from seen involvement, of course with even more changes over there to how you can see bidding history its impossible to see any patterns, you cant check user names against a given auction, coupled with multiple accounts it is a shillers paradise, it really can not happen on ebid to anywhere near the extent it happens on feebay, its very easy for ebid to compare accounts with information they have that will show any shilling activity

I totally agree. Shill bidding is rife on TOS

[JanetB]

................... I'm new to eBid and if that is the sort of practice that goes on I don't think I'll bother.

Shill bidding is not the usual sort of practice that goes on here. No site is 100% perfect, and we do get the occasional/rare member slipping through under the radar and practicing unethical/dubious transactions here. I appreciate that you have come onto the forums to inform us about your negative transaction and reported it to eBid, only this way can we keep eBid as safe as possible for sellers and buyers alike. Many of us know that eBid will act swiftly and make sure said seller will hopefully be banned. After all is said and done, I hope you do stay with eBid and give other sellers a chance,

[bluebedouin]

.... It was just that so many people say that you can't do it on eBid so I wanted to give it a try to see if they were right. It turns out it is very simple........

Seems confusion has arisen between "can't - not physically possible" & "can't - not allowed".