Ebay strategies

[cuffthis]

Gotta snipe to win.

Period.

 

[Carlo]

They could solve this if they changed the auction end a little.

Auction ends at 9:30 plus first 30 second period with no further bids. So if three people snipe the two lower bidders have an opportunity to rebid at the end like a real auction, going once, going twice....

Regarding shill bidding - it is highly illegal and unethical and I know someone who got nailed for it (wasn't me). If the seller's opening bid price is realistic then you don't see this. If a seller starts 10 new Kiton suits at a buck each then if bidding is slow they have three options - shill, pull the auction or take a loss. IMHO that is a stupid position to put yourself in. The guy who had 50 NWT Belvest's a while back who killed all of his auctions in the last hour (started all at $1 to avoid the fees of starting them where they should have been) got slaughtered here and had a number of complaints made to Ebay. Recently they changed it to where you can't pull an auction in the last 12 hours. Of course, being Ebay, they set it up so that even if you have a good reason you can't pull it. Example - I accidentally relisted an item twice (thought it failed the first time) so I had two identical auctions for one item. Called Ebay's power seller support, explained it, they understood it... they still could not/would not fix it. Thankfully only one got a bid.

 

[Get Smart]

shill bidding.....too much of this goes on. for example my gal put a snipe on a 50s heywood wakefield piece of furniture, there were no bids within 6 hours of auction end. next morning it turned out she lost by another bidder who had made their profile literally seconds before putting in the bid and had enough savvy to put in a really high proxy so that my gal's snipe, which was considerably higher than the starting bid, still lost. then, lo and behold, within the day she gets an email from the seller saying the high bidder backed out and she could have it for her high bid. we said "no" and offered to pay her opening price (which was high and a fair price to begin with) but she said no and re-listed it. needless to say we ended up winning it after all for that opening price. but there was another item we bid on where the same thing happened, a last minute profile and bid who mysteriously backs out. and i know of plenty of folks on my musicians forum that have encountered the same kind of shill bidding scams on instruments.

 

[kitonbrioni]

shill bidding.....too much of this goes on. for example my gal put a snipe on a 50s heywood wakefield piece of furniture, there were no bids within 6 hours of auction end. next morning it turned out she lost by another bidder who had made their profile literally seconds before putting in the bid and had enough savvy to put in a really high proxy so that my gal's snipe, which was considerably higher than the starting bid, still lost. then, lo and behold, within the day she gets an email from the seller saying the high bidder backed out and she could have it for her high bid.

Same thing happen to me. It made me rethink ebay and I haven't won a auction in years--no regrets what the so ever. Let the shills have it.

 

[Get Smart]

yea shill bidding is technically illegal but easy to get away with

these sellers make a 2nd profile to bump the bidding or bid on their own item to insure a certain price if they feel that their item hasnt gotten the attention it "deserves" since they can file a "nonpaying bidder" thru ebay and get their final sale fees refunded back to them.

funny thing is my gf experienced this on 2 separate auctions for the same type of item...

 

[gorgekko]

I just wait until the last 30 seconds to place a bid. If I get it, cool. If I don't, oh well.

 

[Heron]

Isn't that, like, highly illegal?

Shilling is against eBay rules but it happens all the time.

2nd chance offers are frequently the result of a shill bid - they drive the price up and then contact the second place bidder saying that the winning bidder backed out and that they will now sell to them for their last bid - run, do not walk, away from sellers that do this.

Lots of fake feedback sellers out there as well, I believe someone here referred to it as ePrey and they're not far off - ya gotta watch for scams like these.

 

[Stu]

Quote:

(Stu @ Mar. 25 2005,08:13) Isn't that, like, highly illegal?
Shilling is against eBay rules but it happens all the time. 2nd chance offers are frequently the result of a shill bid - they drive the price up and then contact the second place bidder saying that the winning bidder backed out and that they will now sell to them for their last bid - run, do not walk, away from sellers that do this. Lots of fake feedback sellers out there as well, I believe someone here referred to it as ePrey and they're not far off - ya gotta watch for scams like these.
Last summer IIRC someone in South Florida got popped big time by the feds for shill bidding on some boats.

 

[hitemup]

Not to turn this into something else, but my bosses husband almost fell for the second highest bidder thing on a very expensive sled (snowmobile) but sensed something was up a little later and ended up not buying it.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Yes, in theory, you shouldn't be upset if you are outbid because the final bid price is higher than the highest price you were willing to pay. Â As I have discovered, however, there is something about the heat of competitive bidding at the very end that often leads to irrational exuberance and overpaying. Â That said, I like to snipe when I have access to a computer at auction's end. Â Call me sick, but I enjoy snatching an item away from someone who was expecting to win. Â

 

[Carlo]

I still maintain that you should view the bidding as a test of manhood - I'm not gonna let that SOB outbid me.

Show hom who the MAN is, outbid that sucker til the price is 5 times retail just to prove your point.




...sometimes I wonder how confused people get if they read my posts and don't know me.

 

[Stu]

I still maintain that you should view the bidding as a test of manhood - I'm not gonna let that SOB outbid me.

Show hom who the MAN is, outbid that sucker til the price is 5 times retail just to prove your point.




...sometimes I wonder how confused people get if they read my posts and don't know me.

Spoken like a true Ebay retailer. Just shout "go get 'em tiger," and sit back, grin and let the crowd work itself into a frenzy.

 

[norcaltransplant]

Yeah, now all I have to do is find a supply of Lobbs for less than $300 in size 7-8 E UK and sell them to Japanese bidders. The prices those guys are willing to pay is incredible.

 

[A Harris]

2nd chance offers are frequently the result of a shill bid - they drive the price up and then contact the second place bidder saying that the winning bidder backed out and that they will now sell to them for their last bid - run, do not walk, away from sellers that do this.

Hadn't thought of that, but please note that there are legit reasons for second chance offers. I send them to bidders sometimes when I have more than one of the same item, and occasionally when a bidder doesn't pay.

Shill bidding is pretty easy to spot, sellers are really stupid to do it...

 

[odoreater]

For me, sniping serves two purposes: First, I think that it results in a lower price because you don't get into competitive bidding with other bidders (gee, maybe that item really is worth $50 if that guy is willing to pay that much for it), so I think it ultimately results in a lower price. Second, I think it forces me to come up with my actual maximum and not get suckered into bidding more than my maximum because I bid in the last 10 seconds and there isn't time for me to try again if the previous bidders maximum was higher than the amount I entereed. That being said, I think sniping is the way to go.

Btw, I have a lot of time on my hands.