Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)
  • surprised this hasn't been up …
  • scaredypants
    Full Member

    but a quick search says no:

    naughty ebay seller

    zaskar
    Free Member

    I assumed people hacked up bidding with mates or false accounts.

    But then again I wouldn't use fleabay from the horror stories on the forum and media.

    2hottie
    Free Member

    This is why I never use ebay. I know of people doing this with family and friends to bump up the prices, I reckon it's common practice to some.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    higgo
    Free Member

    But then again I wouldn't use fleabay from the horror stories on the forum and media.

    Really?
    You make decisions based on what this shower of idiots (I include myself, obviously) and the daily express say?

    Jamie
    Free Member

    But then again I wouldn't use fleabay from the horror stories on the forum and media.

    ….you better not leave the house either going on what is in the Daily Mail.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Yeh, it's pretty well-"known" to go on widely but I think he'd the 1st prosecution

    higgo
    Free Member

    This is why I never use ebay. I know of people doing this with family and friends to bump up the prices, I reckon it's common practice to some.

    It's not like they can make you pay more than you think is a fair price though, is it? And if they bump it up too high they just end up selling it to one of their dummy accounts and have to start all over again.

    I'm sure I've seen it done to me and I've walked away. It's likely it's been done to me and I've not known but I've still not paid more than I was willing to.

    Coyote
    Free Member

    And that's why you set yourself a limit on what you'll pay and if it gets bumped up, walk away.

    falkirk-mark
    Full Member

    Thats one reason I would not touch something I lost in a bid(have you been bidding against his alter ego and he has won). Tell him to ram it.

    dmiller
    Free Member

    Plus ebay still makes a cut if your fake account wins don't they?

    B.A.Nana
    Free Member

    Like said above, it's up to you to decide what price you want to pay for that item and stick to it, don't set your heart on it and be prepared to walk away, there'll be others.
    88 purchases on ebay, not one problem.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    88 purchases on ebay, not one problem

    and if someone told you that several sellers had artificially inflated the price to you by, say, 10% ?

    after all, I might decide on the maximum I'll pay but I'd rather pay less

    zaskar
    Free Member

    Higgo – Member

    But then again I wouldn't use fleabay from the horror stories on the forum and media.

    Really?
    You make decisions based on what this shower of idiots (I include myself, obviously) and the daily express say?

    Ok not completely but I know a few stw'ers and loads of others I know have bought stuff, not described properly and complaining to paypal etc.

    Ok a few scammers ruined it for the masses.

    dmiller
    Free Member

    Oh and those auction snipe sites do my head in!

    eldridge
    Free Member

    What's the difference between a Nigerian email and an e-Bay transaction?

    In a Nigerian email, there's only one scammer

    higgo
    Free Member

    Oh and those auction snipe sites do my head in!

    They're not that difficult once you get the hang of them.

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    See, there's another way to look at this – If you want say a minimum £50 for an item you can put a reserve price on it. No problem there. But Ebay, the theiving gits, will charge you for putting that reserve price on. So the alternative is to list the item without a reserve, and get someone to bid on it for you, or use another screen name yourself, up to £50. In fact, being as you're saving the reserve fee, you might let it go for £49…..

    Now, shoot me down in flames, but what's wrong with that?

    The only people that suffer are Ebay, and I for one won't be shedding a tear over them: I've nearly stopped selling on there because their charges have risen so much. It's a shadow of what it was 4-5 years ago. Very few private sales left….

    EDIT
    Before you shoot me down, consider if you've ever bought anything via Paypal 'as a gift please'…. Same thing. 🙂

    GaryLake
    Free Member

    and it is important for people to understand that there is not, nor has there ever been, room for illegal activity on our site.

    Surprised no one picked up on this line from the article…

    Given their unhelpfulness over clearly stolen bikes and the amount of counterfit goods on there. I call bollox on this statement. Even this clamp down on shill bidding is bad for their bottom line but they won't admit it.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Now, shoot me down in flames, but what's wrong with that?

    Erm…it's fraudulent?

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    Ebay has its place – several things I would have taken to the tip in a previous life have been sold on there (including a desk just last weekend – I got £16 and didn't have to put it in my car and spend time/effort binning it).

    And as has been said above – set a limit and stick to it. We just bought a pushchair and set ourselves a limit of £40. Loads were going for £50 and £60 but I knew they were just not worth it and more often than not they end up being relisted. In the end we won one for £36.

    Drac
    Full Member

    Now, shoot me down in flames, but what's wrong with that?

    Fraud. dishonest and against the T&Cs of the auction site you chose to use.

    toys19
    Free Member

    Shill bidding is good for ebays profits, they charge a commission on a % of final sales value, so higher prices equals more comission.. Gits.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    they charge a commission on a % of final sales value, so higher prices equals more comission.. Gits.

    Isn't this what all auctioneers do? Sothebys charge 25% just for buying sommat dunno how much the seller gets charged too – now thats a rip off.

    Shill bidding might not send you over your limit but it still bumps up the price, if you were in an auction room and no one was bidding against you, you wouldn't up your bid to your preset limit would you?

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    Fraud. dishonest and against the T&Cs of the auction site you chose to use.

    OK, but it doesn't affect the buyer does it? And who gives a toss about Ebay?

    D0NK
    Full Member

    OK, but it doesn't affect the buyer does it? And who gives a toss about Ebay?
    Hmm, PP is selling item X
    PP puts in shill bid for £19.99
    I have a £50 limit so I put in a bid for £20
    PP puts in shill bid for £30
    I bid £31 and win.
    PP has just fraudulently bumped up the price by £11, still under my limit but that's 11 pounds worth of cake and beer I now can't buy for after saturdays ride.

    I can see your point about putting a no reserve sale on and immediatley* shill bidding up to your intended reserve and I don't have much of a problem with that but I'm sure my example has happened plenty of times and I'd feel pretty pissed off about it happening to me.

    *can you even do that? I thought it was all proxy bids (don't use ebay myself but know a few regular users)

    Burls72
    Free Member

    It's about time somebody prosecuted ebay and paypal for their often illegal practices, bunch of hypocritical thieves!

    dooosuk
    Free Member

    OK, but it doesn't affect the buyer does it? And who gives a toss about Ebay?
    Hmm, PP is selling item X
    PP puts in shill bid for £19.99
    I have a £50 limit so I put in a bid for £20
    PP puts in shill bid for £30
    I bid £31 and win.
    PP has just fraudulently bumped up the price by £11, still under my limit but that's 11 pounds worth of cake and beer I now can't buy for after saturdays ride.

    But it's still £19 cheaper than you're willing to pay on Ebay and it'd certainly be > £19 cheaper than you could buy anywhere else or you wouldn't be on Ebay.

    You're getting a bargain on Ebay (if you do your research and stick to your max amount for a second hand item) and you're complaining it's not a good enough bargain?

    I think that if the sellers didn't shill bid, other bidders would more than likely increase the price anyway in the majority of auctions.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    But it's still £19 cheaper than you're willing to pay on Ebay

    I don't think you understand what an auction is, auction selling prices are decided by the potential customers not the seller. Ebay is an auction site not a haggling site.

    dooosuk
    Free Member

    I understand perfectly well, but I'm a realist and don't expect something for nothing.

    As I said, if the sellers didn't shill bid other bidders would more than likely increase the price anyway in the majority of auctions anyway.

    Would you rather they cancelled the item before the end of the auction then?

    D0NK
    Full Member

    I'm a realist and don't expect something for nothing.

    me too, but auctions carry an inherent risk, it's a gamble, if a couple of people forget about their own preset limits and must have your item then they'll bid up and pay way over the odds for it. Likewise if only one person shows interest then you either accept selling it for less than you wanted to or pull it last minute and accept the consequences/charges from ebay.

    Alternativley sack ebay off, stick it on classifieds and haggle.

    dooge
    Free Member

    I will admit that I have seen Shill bidding before and can admit to helping friends out in the past with it. It is a very common, but when you consider what else happens in the world its a small part of breaking the law. Anyone ever sped? Anyone found a fiver and kept it rather than handing it in to the police? Anyone pee'd in some woods on a ride? Shock horror, you are breaking the law!

    What seems to me that is more important is the fact he did it on everything. He cant say he did it on every item as he realised after he had listed every auction that the price was too low? Also, I wouldnt mind paying a fiver or tenner extra on something for £50 if I thought it was worth it. If you are paying a few thousand and he bumps it up by another £500 that a bit different!

    Its all in relative to what you think its worth, just like any other bidding war on Ebay. Everyone knows if you put the money and time into a decent auction you will see a decent return as people cant help themselves once bidding has happened.

    Another thing to consider is what if shill bidding occurs 'to get the ball rolling'? I have for example put a fiver down on a friends auction on the first day, to get the ball rolling. I know its not right, and I wouldnt do it now, but the item was worth £100+.

Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)

The topic ‘surprised this hasn't been up …’ is closed to new replies.