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Revealed: eBay sellers fix auctions


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#1 Rogerdodger

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 11:24 AM

Revealed: how eBay sellers fix auctions
The Sunday Times January 28, 2007

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.
Shill bidding is against eBay rules and is illegal under the 2006 Fraud Act. However, the resulting higher prices on the site boost the value of eBay’s share of the sales.
Last November eBay changed its rules to conceal bidders’ identity — making it even more difficult for customers to see whether sellers are bidding on their own lots.
Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses — ranging from overseas property agencies to car dealerships — have placed bids on their own items using fake identities.

The cases raise questions about whether eBay, the world’s biggest auction site, is doing enough to protect consumers.


In a conversation with an undercover reporter last week, Paraskevaides claimed shill bidding was commonplace on eBay.

He claimed eBay would never follow up a complaint against him for shill bidding because he generated about £15,000 a month in commission for the company. “Are they going to ban somebody who’s making them the best part of 15 grand a month? No,” he said.

#2 colours

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 01:32 PM

Add to that the way some sellers try to stick you with shipping charges that equal and/or exceed the cost of the merchandise . If the initial bidding price looks like a bargain but there is not a price shown for shipping and a firm date of delivery , know that you are about to be screwed .

#3 arbman

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 01:44 PM

He claimed eBay would never follow up a complaint against him for shill bidding because he generated about £15,000 a month in commission for the company. “Are they going to ban somebody who’s making them the best part of 15 grand a month? No,” he said.


I would wonder if the power sellers are even allowed to see the maximum bid amount... :o

#4 gwaco

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 01:58 PM

I believe that is reflected with smaller sellers not power sellers. My brother does over 1 million a year in sales on ebay and would not risk shill bidding. He has policies in effect that forbid employees from bidding on his auctions. Ebay traces users via ip addresses. Yes it is easy to shill bid but troublesome if you have 1000 auctions a week. The bigger problem is the exploding fraud on ebay via second chances etc. We get over 20 phishes a day for paypal and ebay alone.

#5 nimblebear

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 02:06 PM

That is why I never have nor ever will buy something from e-bay. You really don't know what you're gonna get whether its the product or getting screwed on the price or shipping. As someone once said. " You get what you pay for." And sometimes not even that.
OTIS.

#6 calmcookie

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 02:23 PM

That is why I never have nor ever will buy something from e-bay. You really don't know what you're gonna get whether its the product or getting screwed on the price or shipping. As someone once said. " You get what you pay for." And sometimes not even that.


I've bought and sold literally hundreds of things on eBay with absolutely no problem. Just look for HIGH feedback scores (over 100 happy customers) ... and a max of maybe 1 or 2 negatives (there are always some unreasonable or even psychotic buyers). If someone has a feedback score of over 99% positive, and over 100 feedbacks ... you are at VERY low risk. Sellers do not want to hurt their reputations and if they've worked to get a high feedback number ... they want to protect this in any way they can. Just common sense.

But, lately I have been buying a few things from craigslist.com ..... that is far more risky .... but again, there are ways to protect yourself.

Best to all, C.C.

Edited by calmcookie, 28 January 2007 - 02:25 PM.


#7 scott in Wisconsin

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 02:31 PM

I believe that is reflected with smaller sellers not power sellers. My brother does over 1 million a year in sales on ebay and would not risk shill bidding. He has policies in effect that forbid employees from bidding on his auctions. Ebay traces users via ip addresses. Yes it is easy to shill bid but troublesome if you have 1000 auctions a week.
The bigger problem is the exploding fraud on ebay via second chances etc. We get over 20 phishes a day for paypal and ebay alone.



I've bought so much on ebay, including a Dodge Durange, that I could get screwed my next 20 purchases and still be WAY ahead.
The one problem I had with a faulty VCR/DVD player, Paypal gave me my money back.
Toner that sells for $33 at Staples: $12 shipping included.
Router that's $89 at Best Buys: $22 shipping included.
2GB Thumb Driver, $50 vs $25.
I could go on and on.

Scott

#8 OEXCHAOS

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 04:38 PM

That is why I never have nor ever will buy something from e-bay. You really don't know what you're gonna get whether its the product or getting screwed on the price or shipping. As someone once said. " You get what you pay for." And sometimes not even that.





You know pretty well what you're getting and you should ALWAYS ask about shipping. I get more than what I pay for, on a regular basis. I'll tell you Ebay and Amazon get most of my business. FAR superior to bricks and mortar stores in most (but not all) instances. I've bought ram, flies, phones, shoes (I'm in some brand new K-swiss sneakers that I bought for an 80's party for $22 delivered...and I love them), chico's shirts for the wife, watches, fishing equipment, waders, boots, auto parts, a BMW, and all sorts of ancillary items. I've got few complaints. Occasionally slow shipping, or a cheaper item than I'd thought, but I'd say that I've saved thousands and gotten screwed for less than $20 since I've been on Ebay. I can live with that.

I think that everyone should try it from time to time, but use some care on security issues and be thorough with research.

Mark



Shoot, I forgot, my keyboard lists for $149. I bought it for $45 delivered. I also have decided to start cleaning out the closets with Ebay.
:o

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#9 Rogerdodger

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 04:52 PM

Craigslist is an interesting site.

Recently a local hooker listed her services there.
The dummy included her phone number which the cops used to visit her.

Then there is this most famous Craigslist bicycle seller who went to jail thanks to Bank of America,
From Clarkhoward.com:

By now, you've probably heard the story of the San Francisco man who was arrested and jailed when he tried to verify the validity of a check at Bank of America branch. Clark found out about this story recently and today talked with the man, Matthew Shinnick, who spent about $14,000 in legal fees to clear his name. It all started when Shinnick posted two bicycles for sale on Cragislist and received a check from a man for more than the cost of the bicycles. He went into a BOA branch to see if the check was legitimate and verify that there was money in the person's account. The check was drawn on a BOA account. The teller told him it was a valid account, so he cashed the check. At that point, BOA employees called police and Shinnick was arrested on fraud charges because the check was actually fraudulent. Matthew had no idea that the real criminal had used the name of a legitimate company to fake a check. So, Matthew sat in the bank branch for hours while police figured out what to do with him. Then, they took him to jail where he spent the night. Once he got out and a judge let him go, he had to clear his name legally so the arrest would not come back to haunt him. He had to hire attorneys to do this and it cost him nearly $14,000. He then went to Bank of America and asked that the bank cover his fees because it was the bank's error. But BOA turned him down. This kind of treatment sends the message that banks only care about their bottom line, not about their customers. It's unacceptable and Clark thinks it's time to fight back.


EDIT: Note that I spelled it "Craigslist" whereas Clark Howard spells it "Cragislist".
I think his is a typo.
But here is a blog from Craig which claims that 25% of Craigslist is owned by eBay.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 28 January 2007 - 10:28 PM.


#10 selecto

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Posted 28 January 2007 - 05:34 PM

LOL, when one buys suff that fell of the truck, its supposed to be below retail.