same person keeps outbidding me. Then they withdraw and item is won by me. But the price is very hi

[rinslo_0]

Is this a fraud?  How can they get away with it?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

It sounds very like shilling.

It's not a worry if you were being outbid by another bidder, who then pays for his purchase. That just means you have a rival with deeper pockets than you.

But if the other bidder is retracting his bids (or if the seller is constantly cancelling his bids) that's a pretty good sign that your suspicions are correct.

You can't see exactly who the retracting bidder is, but you can Report the seller, who is likely in cahoots with the shill bidder, to eBay at the bottom of this page.

I am presuming that in every case the seller is the same person, right?

You may prefer not to bid with that seller in future. You may also find that Fixed Price listings, which don't allow shill bidding (or really any bidding) are more comfortable for you.

[rinslo_0]

Hi,
Yes it is the same person. And he retracted dozens of items that I had to buy because I was now the top bidder. I tried to contact ebay, but all the help took me to questions that did not match my problem. there is no direct email to get hold of them to complain. it looks like I have to return the items once I receive them as there was no way to cancel the items out of my shopping cart, except to pay. I know its some kind of scam and would like to report all this.

[rinslo_0]

It took a lot of time but I finally got ahold of ebay and they are looking into it, but wont let me know what is going on. In the meantime they said to contact the seller and request a refund. It looks like 'shilling' will continue on ebay.

[reallynicestamps]

In the meantime they said to contact the seller and request a refund. It looks like 'shilling' will continue on ebay.

Okay.

That's the first step.

But don't get into a conversation.

All you want from the scammer is a refund and/or a Return Shipping Label.

If you don't get one or the other, immediately, ask eBay to step in and escalate to a Claim.

When the items show are re-delivered or if the seller refuses the RSL, you will be refunded.

Note in the Claim (and in the Dispute) that you believe that the auction was being shilled.

Note also that, you did not pay more than you were willing to pay, since only you set your maximum bid, just that someone played the system with those retractions.

You will be opening 15 or so Disputes. Annoying.