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Buyer Beware!

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You know it had to be happening, I dont use ebay all that offten, But when you get outbid constantly by people with 1 or 2 feedback's on higher dollar items....It could only be one of two things.
Nice to see they are trying to take care of the issue though
 
Shill bidding only affects inexperienced bidders who bid in small continual increments and then get caught up in the "bidding war". If all bidders would simply place one bid at their maximum amount, then shill bidding would do little to raise prices.
 
Thats the only way to do it. Figure out what its worth and then bid preferably at 3 second or less before it ends. If you win you win if not oh well.
 
Steve nailed it!! You've got to know that it was going on.
Caveat emptor!! Know what you want, what it is worth and how far you are willing to bid, and just go no further!! Shilling would quit if bidding stopped short and sales were affected. Beginners who get into the bidding frenzy need to keep in mind the true value of items!!
 
Stewart said:
Thats the only way to do it. Figure out what its worth and then bid preferably at 3 second or less before it ends. If you win you win if not oh well.
Click to expand...

I agree. Though I don't generally leave it quite so late as 3 seconds....
 
All of which is why I don't bother with ebay anymore. Between the shill bidding (let's face it, that's been going on forever on ebay), the false buyers (for those of us who have tried to sell stuff then had a buyer "change their mind"), having to change your schedule around to try and not get out-bid at the last second, and the sheer amount of mis-described garbage....I just don't think it's worth the hassle anymore. I'd much rather buy directly from a reputable dealer and pay more and just have done with it.

I guess I've just had a run of lousy ebay experiences. YMMV.

-Wm.
 
I suspected this was happening to me when I chose several items and was constantly out bid. I even tried the rebid and was told I instantly was out bid. Then a day later the item is offered to me as a relist. I wouldn't deal with people that do business in this way. I am now selective about what I look for on Ebay, then go to my local store or dealer and negotiate. Works for me.
 
Hi LL,
What you’re describing sounds like you were underbidding some one else’s maximum bid, which is normal. The relisting <u>may</u> have been a dead beat buyer, not a bad seller.
 
I have found and bought some decent stuff on ebay. You just have to KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SPEND and stick to it! If it goes higher, let the other buyer (or shill) have it!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
Its been happening forever - the new ebay procedure for "protecting bidders' identities" just makes it easier!
 
tony barnhill said:
Its been happening forever - the new ebay procedure for "protecting bidders' identities" just makes it easier!
Click to expand...

If you query to get details on the current bids, they'll show you a list (Bidder1, Bidder2, Bidder1....) and there's a link to the right of each for more info. If you hover the mouse over that, you'll get a popup that shows how often the bidder has bid for items from the seller, and how often they've bid in the specific item you're looking at.

I think that helps some, although the crooks can always use multiple eBay id's.

This is an issue in traditional auctions too, except it's the "chandelier" that bids the price up.
 
Oh, yeah! They now tell you the bidder has been a member for "6 months or less"! Whoopee!! The old system told me the guy had registere the day before the auction started & had only placed 1 bid in his ebay existence...can you say "Shill"?

Seems ebay is working with them!
 
I seem to find this more often with the car parts lately. It really helps to view the sellers history and look at what they are selling and who "won" it. I had one guy who sold a MKIII supra motor four times to the same bidder... /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif hmmm I don't think we will bid on that one. I know they keep the bidders anonymous now (I think this is to keep down those fraudulent 2nd chance offers) but it does make it harder to see who's bidding against you and what their bidding record is. (I often check out the guys who are bidding against me to see wha tother things they have bought or sold recently)
I know e-bay is becoming a lot more difficult than it used to be and I find myself going to catalogues, junk yards and swap meets more and more to find parts.
 
When they offer it to you as a relist at 50 bucks tell em no but you'll go 20, thank you very much.
 
I don't like the way eBay does certain things but I have no major issues with it. I bid what I'll pay - one time. If I get outbid or miss the reserve, so be it.

I bid on a car the other day & was outbid yesterday. I won't pay a nickel more so I've "lost" it. That's fine with me. I hadn't exceeded the reserve anyway. That's fine too - this car isn't worth any more than I bid - to me anyway.

At the same time, I've sold things for far more than I expected. Where I live, there's little market for much of this stuff so eBay gives me a worldwide market.

In my view, eBay - with all its problems - has transformed the classic car hobby like few other things have. I've been scrounging parts for these things since I was a kid and the change is enormous. In the sixties, I needed headlight covers for a Berkeley. I had to write to several places in England before I even got a response. The whole effort took about 4 months. Now, I find and buy similar things in a matter of minutes.

Meanwhile, I've sold a bunch of small Jaguar & Corvair (don't ask...) parts easily that I otherwise would have pitched. They weren't worth enough to advertise in Hemmings but were too good to throw out - & some guy in Florida now has some neat NOS stuff for his Jag restoration.

To some degree, the net itself provides all this, but I think eBay is a major player. I doubt that PayPal (another boon to car nuts) would have taken off as it did without eBay.

There is a downside, though. I think eBay has facilitated some large rises in parts & car prices, but that's another issue.
 
You hit the nail square on the head as I see it John C!!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
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