Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions

Brianpore, Wes, ty for the tip on the regional box for shipping. Seems like a much better option. Just to clarify, is it the A1 seen here that you will typically use for sc/suits?:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...Id=P_RRB_A1&categoryId=subcatMSS_RegionalRate

Also, I'm assuming that during the process of purchasing shipping and printing the label Ebay will auto select the correct rate based on zone. Am I correct?

Thanks!

It was not another buyer faking a shill account to ward off other buyers because they tried to hide the shilling by bidding randomly on other items from other sellers. And its not typical for actual newbies to do what concealed suggested... Something fishy was definitely going on with that auction. Though I will concede that it might not have been the seller who was behind it. I won the item, paid for it, and reported it to Ebay to let them figure it out.

I still think that the seller was shilling. I had messaged him before the auction. He must have checked my feedback history to try to determine my marginal value for that item because my winning bid was coincidentally around the same as I'd paid for similar items. The (shill) bidding stopped almost immediately after the price had reached that point.I know that correlation =/= causation but again there are too many coincidences, and the simplest explanation for all the suspicious bidding patterns is that the seller was shilling.

concealed said:

how can you tell it was the same bidder?

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30-Day Bid History

Odzież, Buty i Dodatki > Koszule weekendowe


Kleidung & Accessoires > Jeans

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Coats & Jackets

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Coats & Jackets

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Coats & Jackets

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Coats & Jackets

Kleidung & Accessoires > Shorts & Bermudas

Abbigliamento e accessori > Abbigliamento per lo sport

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Coats & Jackets

They all have similar bidding history and patterns (abnormally high 30 day bid count given a low feedback score, high retraction count, and they bid in the exact same increments). And they are all from Germany as evidenced by the German text in their bid history page. German text shows for items that are listed ONLY on the German Ebay site. English is for items that are listed internationally (including the German site)

I know its not conclusive but its convincing enough for me. The weird thing is that this item ships from the UK. This is a very obvious indicator that the seller used a German proxy ip address.

kloss said:

It was not another buyer faking a shill account to ward off other buyers because they tried to hide the shilling by bidding randomly on other items from other sellers. And its not typical for actual newbies to do what concealed suggested... Something fishy was definitely going on with that auction. Though I will concede that it might not have been the seller who was behind it. I won the item, paid for it, and reported it to Ebay to let them figure it out.

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I am so confused.

almosthandsome said:

Brianpore, Wes, ty for the tip on the regional box for shipping. Seems like a much better option. Just to clarify, is it the A1 seen here that you will typically use for sc/suits?:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...Id=P_RRB_A1&categoryId=subcatMSS_RegionalRate

Also, I'm assuming that during the process of purchasing shipping and printing the label Ebay will auto select the correct rate based on zone. Am I correct?

Thanks!

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Get the other A, the one that's like 12x9x3 roughly

DanM said:

I am so confused.

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I was conceding that their explanation for the suspicious bids may be possible. But their explanation is awfully convoluted, isn't it. It much more likely, and much simpler to explain the suspicious bids by saying that the seller was shilling.



DanM said:

 I am so confused.

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Are you shill posting?

Yes DanM and I are one and the same. I made that post to support my own hypothesis.

Brianpore said:

+1 What about that guy who bid 80? times on the Robert Graham shirt a few weeks ago and then lost

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Yeah, I still never figured that one out. He seemed to be an experienced buyer too. Of course it was all RG shirts, so what do you expect.

I have a bidder with zero feedback. What is some of your guys normal actions with new accounts? He is top bidder, so not sure what my options are. I do see where some of you ask that low feedback guys contact you before bidding...what do you ask them?

Stewie said:

I have a bidder with zero feedback. What is some of your guys normal actions with new accounts? He is top bidder, so not sure what my options are. I do see where some of you ask that low feedback guys contact you before bidding...what do you ask them?

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a buyers gotta start somewhere

Yea, I get that...but since this is a relist with the previous buyer with similar feedback not paying, it's just got me a bit gun shy I guess.

almosthandsome said:

Brianpore, Wes, ty for the tip on the regional box for shipping. Seems like a much better option. Just to clarify, is it the A1 seen here that you will typically use for sc/suits?:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...Id=P_RRB_A1&categoryId=subcatMSS_RegionalRate

Also, I'm assuming that during the process of purchasing shipping and printing the label Ebay will auto select the correct rate based on zone. Am I correct?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

You want box "A2" which is the flat long box. Link Below. Ebay will auto select the rate, BUT you need to make sure you have the correct ship from zip code! Even if you have the correct return address you have the option to change the ship from zip code and if that is different (dont ask how I know this ) it will be the wrong price


https://store.usps.com/store/browse...Id=P_RRB_A2&categoryId=subcatMSS_RegionalRate

This is a great thread, I am feverishly taking notes except I forgot everything after reading the entire 200+ pages in a day...

Brian, I am hoping you can summarize your posts into one grand post if you could. For instance your recommendation for how to ship a single tie (i.e. wrap it in tissue paper, put it in a poly mailer (with or without bubble wrap???), stick it in a Priority Mail Flat Rate Padded Envelopes). How to ship in the U.S.; is it cheaper to go through ebay or USPS.com... I think you should turn it into an ebook

I will pay for it with a nice Brooks Brothers tie I found at the Red, White & Blue in NJ

Single Tie:
Multiple Ties:
Shirt:
Multiple shirts:
Sports Coat:
Suit: A2 box
Shoes:

I bought 2 pairs of pants dirt cheap that had minor pee stains on the interior of the crotch, hoping the dry cleaner could get them out. No luck. I plan on auctioning them at 99 cents with full disclosure and pics of the "area." The stains aren't that bad, but I figured someone will buy them for something. Has anyone tried this - what were the results? Am I better off just re-donating them?

"Are you the discerning gentleman that's got an eye for a deal? Well then, these Samuelsohn trousers with a lemonade stain in the groin are sure to be a bargain for you."

"Samuelsohn trousers - great condition, although the previous owner must have spilled some lemonade in his lap because there's some yellow staining on the inside of the crotch."

"You're probably asking yourself why these pants are so cheap. Is the crotch soiled? Sure. Is there another unidentifiable red stain that appears all throughout the legs that makes these pants basically unwearable? Maybe - what's it to ya?"