Unchuffed Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I'm fairly certain that someone is using the private listing thing to shill some kits I'm bidding for. If the same kits turn up on this seller's listing again it'll pretty much confirm it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
6959 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 If you suspect shill bidding, send a message to ebay. They will tell you they cannot disclose what they do about it but they do take action. I know someone who was using his wife's account to bid up some of his items. Someone must have complained because, wthout warning, ebay cancelled both their accounts. They had to re-register and set up all the accounts again. I have reported suspicious activity several times and once I knew the seller and bidder were father and son because I had dealt with them by post from a magazine advert. If you are suspicious enough, without going paranoid, you can watch for strange patterns and multiple listings. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unchuffed Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 (edited) I don't want to kick things off yet as it's all at the fairly low end of things, so I may just be getting paranoid. Edited September 25, 2011 by Unchuffed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dube Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 (edited) It`s got so expensive to sell things on eBay I doubt anyone would try shill bidding as you still have to pay the selling/listing fees Edited September 26, 2011 by dube Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
multiprinter Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 It`s got so expensive to sell things on eBay I doubt anyone would try shill bidding as you still have to pay the selling/listing fees You are joking, aren't you? Shilling is rife. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 26, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 26, 2011 You are joking, aren't you? Shilling is rife. But in some respects it is irrelevant unless there is someone daft enough to pay the artificially inflated price or you think you are losing sight of a potential bargain. Don't think I approve of it because I certainly don't but you cannot ignore the fact that at auction, any sort of auction, an object will only fetch what someone has decided they are prepared to pay for it - (illegally) push the price past that level and it's a 'no sale' and it will cost the seller a lost sale if nothing more. (Mind you I knpw that 'bidding fever' exists, and it can sometimes result in ludicrous prices - and that is where shilling can become pernicious.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dube Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 You are joking, aren't you? Shilling is rife. and now eBay give free listing every few weekends (you can list at any price for free) surely this makes shill bidding even less likely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wummyock Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 What is shill bidding?Im a tad peed off as I just lost out on a 33 to a bid in the last 5 seconds way over what my high bid was and looked to see Private buyer.I was already over new price for a 33 just that this 33 EMoB in blue has sentimental reasons for me to do with my grandad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Belgian Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 What is shill bidding?Im a tad peed off as I just lost out on a 33 to a bid in the last 5 seconds way over what my high bid was and looked to see Private buyer.I was already over new price for a 33 just that this 33 EMoB in blue has sentimental reasons for me to do with my grandad. If you were 'shilled' you'll probably get a 'second chance offer' to buy at your highest bid, ie, the one you were pushed to by the shill. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wummyock Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 So shill bidding isnt coming in in the last 10 seconds then?Is that right?I dont know how people manage to come in with bids so over the highset bid so close to the end. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted November 12, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 12, 2011 (edited) You are joking, aren't you? Shilling is rife. Opinion or fact? - if fact can you enlarge on this statement please? So shill bidding isnt coming in in the last 10 seconds then?Is that right?I dont know how people manage to come in with bids so over the highset bid so close to the end. Snipe program - the only way to bid on ebay (in my opinion) Edited November 12, 2011 by PhilH 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wummyock Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 How do you get the snipe program phil? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 (edited) I'll second that Phil. Not only the only way but the best. You pay a small fee to get a computer to bid on your behalf. So you do not have to be there sitting waiting at some ungodly time of day to poke your digit at the keyboard. Also your bid remains hidden from everyone until it is actually posted - and is not even posted unless your bid is over the current bid in the last 5 seconds. Yet another great advantage is that you can make conditional bids. So when several items come up and you miss the first one then the next one will be bid on, you cannot do this using ebay. It doesn't mean that you win every item, it just seriously increases the chances. Your maximum bid still has to be realistic. If everyone had to use one it would eliminate shill bidding at a stroke and ebay would be a much more civilised place. With effectively all bids hidden there would be no race to the end or falling foul of the temptation just to add a few pence more over what you already said was your fair maximum price. There are quite a few around I use two of them but find EZ Sniper the better one. Edited November 12, 2011 by Kenton 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted November 12, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 12, 2011 Download something like this (which is the one I use) It lets you have 5 bids a week, the free version (again, the one I use) bids on your behalf 8 seconds from the end of the auction (paid ones bid closer to the end). You simply put in your maximum bid and forget about it. The program will bid up to your maximum, you don't get tempted to go over it, if you get it you get it, if you don't you don't. BUT - you never come away thinking I should have dropped out earlier - you put your maximum bid in in the cold light of day, you don't get caught up in bidding fever. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 google auctionstealer, its the one I use, it is free for up to 3 snipes a week, or you can pay a small fee for unlimited snipes and other useful features. It has saved me considerable amounts of money over the years! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wummyock Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Cheerz Kenton,PhilH and Titan I'll get one installed cant go through that again!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 when there are private bidders does it not list them as private bidder1, private bidder2 etc? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natalie Graham Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 It is easy enough to bid manually in the last few seconds of an auction too. There's not necessarily anything sinister about it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 (edited) So shill bidding isnt coming in in the last 10 seconds then?Is that right?I dont know how people manage to come in with bids so over the highset bid so close to the end. It simply means that they have put in a much higher maximum bid than yours which isn't necessarily shill bidding, but a perfectly legitimate thing to do - ebay will only show the most recent bid amount which is above the previous bid so there could be a half dozen buyers with bids over your maximum, and ebay will sell it to the highest biddder inside the last (if there is one) - work on the basis that they obviously wanted/valued it, more than you did, and move on! Edited November 25, 2011 by shortliner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essex2Visuvesi Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I have used this site www.gixen.com for many years and have never had a problem I like to bid in the last seconds but that's not always possible due to time differences Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 All I do is put my maximum bid in and leave it, if somebody thinks its worth more then they win, if not then I win it for a bit more than their highest bid, if the price goes above my maximum then I go find something else. Snipe programmes dont really do much for me as I just set my maximum and leave it at that. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted November 25, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2011 All I do is put my maximum bid in and leave it, if somebody thinks its worth more then they win, if not then I win it for a bit more than their highest bid, if the price goes above my maximum then I go find something else. Snipe programmes dont really do much for me as I just set my maximum and leave it at that. The point about the snipe - although I'm not a user - is that they don't declare your hand until it's too late for anyone to respond. Putting in your max bid hours or even minutes before the end enables others to trump it, that's all. Snipe, if it's free, doesn't increase your cost of purchase - just your chances. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 The point about the snipe - although I'm not a user - is that they don't declare your hand until it's too late for anyone to respond. Putting in your max bid hours or even minutes before the end enables others to trump it, that's all. Snipe, if it's free, doesn't increase your cost of purchase - just your chances. But if I put my max bid in and somebody wants it more then they will win it whether they bid a day before the end or 10seconds before. My maximum is just that. Of course the other side of the coin is that if your snipe bid is too low then you wont have achance to increase your bid either, swings and roundabouts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted November 25, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2011 So shill bidding isnt coming in in the last 10 seconds then?Is that right?I dont know how people manage to come in with bids so over the highset bid so close to the end. Shill bidding is where the seller through a second account, or through a relative / trusted friend conspire to artifically increase the selling price by making the item apear more on demand and force genuine bidders to place evr higher bids. Should the seller / relative / friend end up 'wining' the item no money or goods actually change hands and the same item will often reapear on e-bay later. Shill bidding is prohibited by e-bay and those suspected of it should have their accounts closed. Sniping is where the wining bid comes in in the last couple of seconds. This is perfectly legal and is the electronic equalivalent of someone in a traditional acution room putting their hand up once the auctionear has said "going one, going twice" but before he has had a chance to say "sold to ......." and allowes any potential bidder to remain hidden untill the last minute. This can help keep the cost of the wining bid down by simulating a lack of interest in an item but in the e-bay format also allows the entry of a killer bid before anyone else has a chance to respond. As others have said there are computer programs & 3rd part websites avalable (some charge for their services) which allow the placing of a user defined bid seconds before the auction ends automatically. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted November 25, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2011 But if I put my max bid in and somebody wants it more then they will win it whether they bid a day before the end or 10seconds before. My maximum is just that. That is absolutely true and often overlooked. I was bidding at (a live) auction yesterday for some original RCH Junction Diagrams, 37 of them in a folder and before I went to the auction I researched current prices on the 'net, factored in the commission and VAT and decided how much I was prepared to pay for them in that (very good) condition. As it turned out someone was after them via internet bidding so I had to go nearly to my limit but fortunately that would also seem to have been in the vicinity of his limit as I secured them at one bid below my maximum. I know 'bidding fever' can take over but generally we tend to place a value on things and should use that to set what we are prepared to pay - and EBay, as i understand it, does allow the equivalent of live auction commission bidding - which could be the thing which outshoots the sniper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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