eBay

comquot44 · ‎07-23-2015

Three times in 2 days I have received a Bid cancellation notice. I was declared the new high bidder and there was only 2 minutes or so left in the auction.

So even though I had bid on something else and was no longer interested in that item was forced to buy it.

I could not find a way to cancel my bid so why was it that someone else could cancel their bid 3 times.?

This happened to me a few weeks ago with the same buyer.

I am wondering if it is some kind of a scam to get people to bid higher by putting in false bids and when the bidder drops out declare them the winner afterall.

Because of this I am now the proud owner of 4 red bracelets when I wanted only one.

I have tried to find a way to inquire with E-Bay but there does not seem to be a way to do this.

Has it happened to anyone else or am I a bit paranoid?

femmefan1946 · ‎07-23-2015

Just because your paranoid does not mean that you are not being followed.

There is a (banned) practice called 'shilling' in which the seller or his agent bids on an item until he is outbid. Then, since that reveals the underbidder's maximum bid, the shill Retracts the bid and the underbidder wins.

The way to spot this is that the shiller bids often on the seller's auctions, but never wins.

The way to be sure that this does not happen to you is to "

Bid once. Bid your maximum. And usually bid late enough in the auction that no one has time to enter another bid.

So even though I had bid on something else and was no longer interested

As you have learned this is not the same thing as cancelling your bid.

I have tried to find a way to inquire with E-Bay but there does not seem to be a way to do this.

The Site Map is at the bottom of every page -- over on the right.

The Bid Retraction link is on the left of the Site Map , near the bottom.

http://offer.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?RetractBidShow

There are few reasons given for Retractions, but do your best. (There really should be more, including, I changed my mind.)

However, although shilling is possible, that you were able to bid on and buy four similar items leads me to think these were not scarce or expensive items . This reduces the chances of shilling, since the labour cost of shilling is quite high.

View solution in original post

femmefan1946 · ‎07-23-2015

Just because your paranoid does not mean that you are not being followed.

There is a (banned) practice called 'shilling' in which the seller or his agent bids on an item until he is outbid. Then, since that reveals the underbidder's maximum bid, the shill Retracts the bid and the underbidder wins.

The way to spot this is that the shiller bids often on the seller's auctions, but never wins.

The way to be sure that this does not happen to you is to "

Bid once. Bid your maximum. And usually bid late enough in the auction that no one has time to enter another bid.

So even though I had bid on something else and was no longer interested

As you have learned this is not the same thing as cancelling your bid.

I have tried to find a way to inquire with E-Bay but there does not seem to be a way to do this.

The Site Map is at the bottom of every page -- over on the right.

The Bid Retraction link is on the left of the Site Map , near the bottom.

http://offer.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?RetractBidShow

There are few reasons given for Retractions, but do your best. (There really should be more, including, I changed my mind.)

However, although shilling is possible, that you were able to bid on and buy four similar items leads me to think these were not scarce or expensive items . This reduces the chances of shilling, since the labour cost of shilling is quite high.

comquot44 · ‎07-31-2015

Thank you for the information.

Since my inquiry I have again become the default winner of another item with this seller. (The bid had been placed earlier)

The items were not expensive however there is a principle involved and I will not be paying this time.

lady.stark · ‎08-01-2015

You can report the seller for "possible" shill bidding. On every item, there is a link that says "Report item". Click on it. Then chose the following:

Report Category: Listing practices

Reason for report: Fraudulent listing activities

Detailed Reason: Seller is using other accounts to inflate item price

comquot44 · ‎08-01-2015

Thank you, I will report the seller.

comquot44 · ‎08-01-2015

I cannot find that link to "report item". Can you please help me? I do want to report this seller.

Thank YouI

momcqueen · ‎08-03-2015

On each listing, active or ended, there will be a tiny text link on the right-hand side of the page about half-way down that says:

Report item which leads to three drop-down menus where you would choose

Report Category

Select One Listing practices

Reason for Report

Select One Fraudulent listing activities

Detailed Reason

Select One Seller is using other accounts to inflate item price

The seller, a member or the seller's family, a co-worker of the seller, or one of the seller's friends placed a bid on their own listing.

Before reporting an item, please review the eBay Listings Policies .

If you still feel this is potentially the case in these listings you've mentioned this is process you would follow for each one.

lady.stark · ‎08-06-2015

@comquot44 wrote:
I cannot find that link to "report item". Can you please help me? I do want to report this seller.
Thank YouI

If the listing has ended, you will need to click on "See original listing" first. After that, below the pictures, on the left, you will see the "Description" tab and the "Shipping and payments" tab. At the opposite side of the screen (on the right), you will see the "Report item" link.