I'd Really appreciate ur help: does seller knowingly have person(s) bidding on their items?

[luham_8853]

I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP

I have spent too much time searching all over the internet and discussion boards , this "community" and I cannot find the answer or help for my  problem anywhere ...

- will someone pleeease put me out of my misery and educate me!!

I have reason to believe a seller I have been watching is getting a lot of

'suspicious bids' on their items .. (by friends? other eBay users that seller has some type of arrangement with? A bot? who knows..)

THE POINT IS: I have just noticed some patterns that don't seem natural...

 <AND> this is starting to concern me because I'm seeing all this AFTER HAVING WON AN AUCTION FROM THIS SELLER within last 24hours - item is still in my cart and I haven't paid yet - I want to figure this out first!

This is some of the SELLER & BIDDING ACTIVITY

I need help understanding:

* @ Any given time store has 80-175 items

* seller lists items for .01 cents - averages 6 auctions ending everyday

* immediately after listing, most (or all) get a couple bids - some w/4 bids

* after day 1, the bidding sits idle... until the last 24-48 hours of auction -- then they all slowly start receiving higher bids - & the price creeps up

* bids increase across multiple items like clock-work: occuring @ 30 minute increments -- and once I saw 2 auctions doing this in tandem!

* items average 6-9 bids by the time the auction is near ending  

So.. am am I crazy !? or being manipulated ?!

(by some 'sneaky seller' with either conspirators or an algorithm ! Lol)

i just want to know before I PAY  -OR-   before I CONTACT the seller with these facts & have them cancel my order (if warranted)

.... and maybe guilt them into adding a "gift w/purchase" or something? Lol

I WILL BE WAITING FOR SOMEONES REPLY! Thanks

Below are some screen shots of the seller's auctions I have questions about

Auction #1

Auction # 2

Auction #3

Auction #4

Auction #5

Auction #6

Auction #7

page 2page 3 

Auction #8

Auction #9

page 1page 2page 3

[ypdc_dennis]

Auctions (if they get any bids) generally get bids near the start and a lot more just before they end.

Never bid more than you are willing to pay. If you are outbid, then you can assume the other person overpaid.

Shill bidding is the term for an item being bid up by persons associated with the Seller. They do not want to win the auction.

[femmefan1946]

You can't pay more in an auction than you bid. (Plus shipping).

Shills do not want to win an auction.

They want YOU to win an auction.

Bid once, bid your maximum.

Most will also say Bid Late -- in the last five minutes or less. You can use a sniping service to do this for you.

If you see a bidder nibbling up your bid, then retracting his bid when he passes yours, THAT is a definite sign of shill bidding.

 item is still in my cart and I haven't paid yet - I want to figure this out first!

Did you pay more than you intended?

Was there a bid retraction?

You bid, you won, you pay.

seller lists items for .01 cents - averages 6 auctions ending everyday

On the first auction (the only one I read).

Were you the winning bidder?

If so, which was your first bid?

Do you understand how automatic bidding works? I'm vague on increments, but that looks like the winning bidder was bidding against an automatic bid of $2.50 set some time before.

Then there is the economics of the auction.

The seller probably has a Basic Store, which allows him to list up to 250 different auctions each month for $25.

That's 10 cents an auction.

And he pays fees of 10% on your payment to eBay. (On both selling price and shipping price).

On that first example he pays 25c in fees plus 10% of shipping - maybe another dime?

Then he pays 30c + 2.7 to 4.4% of that payment to Paypal.

That's at least 75-80c in fees. 
If most of his listing sell for $2.50, he's losing money on them.

Since you are bidding with him often, I have to think his items are something people buy often.

Beads? Scrapbooking?

Ah-- low value stamps and coins?

Such sellers depend on multiple sales to a single customer, so they can collect a reasonable sum  (over $10 ) and combine shipping which lowers their cost.

But if you are still concerned there are a few ways to be more comfortable.

• As suggested, bid late and bid your maximum.  This makes it difficult for a shill bidder to bid against you and then retract.
• Don't bid in auctions. Set your budget and only look at Fixed Price listings, which make up 85% of transactions here.
• If you look for Newly Listed in Search, instead of Best Match (it's a dropdown menu), you can often use a Buy It Now on an Auction.

... and maybe guilt them into adding a "gift w/purchase" or something? Lol

If the seller, as I believe, is running an honest business, that would get you on to his Blocked Bidder List almost immediately, followed by an Unpaid Item Dispute rather than a cancellation.

Politely.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds