eBay

ca_cunn · ‎02-05-2015

I recently bid on an item.. A day before it closed a low number bidder placed a bid, I out bid him, this was repeated several times until I gave up and let the item pass. On the first day after closing the seller contacted me and said the original buyer was not responding to requests to pay for the item and was located somewhere in Malaysia. He advised me that I could have the item for my highest bid. My thought is that since the original buyer and I were the only two bidding on the item, that the first bid I placed was now the only valid bid since there was no other bidder. He responded by saying I would be allowed to buy the item at my highest bid. He has contacted me again tonight to say the same and wants to know when I will be paying. If the other bidder has been removed,should not all his bids also be removed?

I do not want the item at the higher price since the bids were obtained under false pretenses any way

decal-fx · ‎02-06-2015

You are under no obligation to pay for the item, unless you accepted a second chance offer sent through the eBay messaging system. While shill bidding is hard to prove, the situation you described is highly suspect.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎02-06-2015

@ca_cunn wrote:
I recently bid on an item.. A day before it closed a low number bidder placed a bid, I out bid him, this was repeated several times until I gave up and let the item pass. On the first day after closing the seller contacted me and said the original buyer was not responding to requests to pay for the item and was located somewhere in Malaysia. He advised me that I could have the item for my highest bid. My thought is that since the original buyer and I were the only two bidding on the item, that the first bid I placed was now the only valid bid since there was no other bidder. He responded by saying I would be allowed to buy the item at my highest bid. He has contacted me again tonight to say the same and wants to know when I will be paying. If the other bidder has been removed,should not all his bids also be removed?
I do not want the item at the higher price since the bids were obtained under false pretenses any way

This is problematic and Ebay doesn't seem to give a hoot about stopping it. It really is a sore spot for reputable sellers as this sort of nonsense does nothing but undermine buyer confidence.

There is a retail electronics seller located in my home city here who does this all the time.He has been reported numerous times by many people and yet his account and the shenanigans persist.

The important bit here is that you are under NO OBLIGATION to purchase from this seller so don't sweat it.

Cheers.

mater721 · ‎02-06-2015

I agree with the others. Do not pay at the highest price. And if seller offers lower price, only pay when a revised invoice comes through payPal.

Best option may be to see if item is re-listed. Then wait until near end of auction and bid your original price.

patken123 · ‎02-06-2015

why would you want to even consider buying from a seller who has already tried to trick you once?unless you are not sure if that was their intention.
BUT,if you must have that item,then I would only offer my very first bid as the final offer.

ypdc_dennis · ‎02-06-2015

@ca_cunn wrote:
... On the first day after closing ... If the other bidder has been removed,should not all his bids also be removed?

Once an auction has closed a bidder and bids CAN NOT be removed. Only if an auction is still active can bids be rolled back.

Sounds like you have a second chance offer, iirc good for 48 hours. You don't have to accept.

pierrelebel · ‎02-06-2015

"I do not want the item at the higher price..."

That is easy - do not buy it. Simply decline the offer by the seller.

"... since the bids were obtained under false pretenses any way"

False pretenses? Shill bidding?

Those are unfortunate assumptions on your part. You are damaging the reputation of a seller on what you think may have happened, not on facts.

Based on your description of the bidding, this was most likely NOT "shill bidding". Why? Because sellers involved in "shill bidding" usually do not end up buying an item by having the highest bid. Sellers must pay fees on that transaction.

femmefan1946 · ‎02-06-2015

Actually, I doubt this is a case of shill bidding.

The Singapore bidder won.

In shill bidding, the shill would retract his bid once the underbidder stopped bidding but before the auction ended, leaving the underbidder as the winner.

The seller has a bad buyer (from Singapore) to whom he does not wish to sell. Why? Chances of fraudulent Claims , would be my first guess.

However, that is not your concern.

You don't want the item at the price you were willing to bid. You are under no obligation to do so.

Move on.

patken123 · ‎02-06-2015

Ca-cunn,it looks like your best bet is to walk away from the deal as suggested by a few who replied but I definitely did not think your question has damaged the reputation of the seller at all ,you (rightfully so )did not even mention the name of the seller or the item# ,and therefore should not be made to feel guilty or bad for asking a question .