More Shill Bidding on eBay.....

[ponylady]

I am really surprised since ebay has actually proof (IP address) that they have not closed this persons account down. If the ebay rep. told you it came from the same computer then I have no doubt it did.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html

It makes me wonder anymore if I should actually put my trust in Ebay anymore for anything  .

[Rosette]

I am really surprised since ebay has actually proof (IP address) that they have not closed this persons account down. If the ebay rep. told you it came from the same computer then I have no doubt it did.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html

It makes me wonder anymore if I should actually put my trust in Ebay anymore for anything  .

The representatives I spoke to told me they only did the reporting and verified that something was a solid case to investigate.  This case has been, supposedly, forwarded to the team that does more in-depth investigation.  I will never get an update on the case, though, so I'm skeptical, too.  Financially, shill bidding helps eBay so long as members don't leave the platform because of it.  Do they take action against shill bidders or just add notes to accounts and move on?

I'm thinking selling locally with Craigslist or hosting a Pony Meet is the way to go. 

Also, PayPal refused to act as well.  I've called and spoken (for hours!) with representatives for them both.  They just wanted to thank me for my report and send me on my way.  :/. Frustrating.

[Rosette]

UPDATE:  Did eBay do anything with the knowledge that a seller placed shill-bids, or had someone in his/her household place shill bids on the MLP item I purchased--changing the winning bid from $100 to $250?

I don't know.  But shortly after I received the item, the seller changed their username.  And, browsing through some of his/her finished auctions, I see the SAME SHILL BIDDING ACCOUNT placing bids on items.  Obviously, the account hasn't been blocked or shut down and eBay has done absolutely nothing.  (After all, they make more money off buyers like me who get ripped off in financially rigged auctions.  Why should they take action??)

So, I don't mind giving you the new username so that you can avoid the kind of fury and fraud that I had to deal with.

New Username:  jessines.attic.23
Old Username:      i.dont.make.my.own.bed.said.meaghan.cakes

:sighs:  Seeing that eBay, despite confirming my suspicions on the phone and promising they'd take action, has done nothing drives me bat-crazy.  I officially hate eBay...and by extension, PayPal.  Let's go back to the days of well-concealed cash, shall we?  Grrrrrr.

[Teddy]

Wow, I'm so sorry Ebay did nothing at all to help you with this situation. It's just horrible!! But I do thank you for letting us know about this seller/shill bidder! It's just a shame neither of their accounts was closed down because they're just going to continue to rip people off. Bad form Ebay!

[ponylady]

Thanks for the ID's song. I will definitely be adding those to my blocked list.

But seriously disappointed that they did nothing. It doesn't surprise me though, ebay is greedy.

[bagheera86]

isn't there a consumer watch dog?

[tulagirl]

It is a buyers choice to put in high bids early in an auction.  When the high bid is placed it gives a shiller the time and ability to bid up an item.  If the high bid is placed at the end of the auction in the last few seconds it will be much harder for a shiller to respond to the bidding.  If a service is used, it will eliminate a shiller to up a bid completely. (Providing there are not a bunch of bidders bidding in the first place)  I do agree that shilling is totally wrong and I am upset that not more is done about these cases. 
I have decided for the most part with my bidding style that I will not be bidding high on auctions.  I watch auctions very closely for shilling.  Its just awful that a bidder can't just be a bidder anymore.  We all have to take this responsibility that shouldn't be ours as bidders.  The system has failed us.
I am sorry this has happened, but we have seen in the past that not much is done.  So, I only mention that we all may need to change our bidding styles to protect ourselves against these people.  Its getting so much worse now.  It seems like the scammers are everywhere.
In the past this behavior was totally stopped and sellers accounts were closed often.  Now things seem are out of control.  This is just awful now that a buyer has to treat an auction like a bin in order to avoid these people. 
That is unfair, but its our only option at this point.

Post Merge: July 26, 2013, 05:15:59 AM

Another thing too is what is the point in having a rule, if you are never going to enforce it.

[bluerose9978]

UPDATE:  Did eBay do anything with the knowledge that a seller placed shill-bids, or had someone in his/her household place shill bids on the MLP item I purchased--changing the winning bid from $100 to $250?

I don't know.  But shortly after I received the item, the seller changed their username.  And, browsing through some of his/her finished auctions, I see the SAME SHILL BIDDING ACCOUNT placing bids on items.  Obviously, the account hasn't been blocked or shut down and eBay has done absolutely nothing.  (After all, they make more money off buyers like me who get ripped off in financially rigged auctions.  Why should they take action??)

So, I don't mind giving you the new username so that you can avoid the kind of fury and fraud that I had to deal with.

New Username:  jessines.attic.23
Old Username:      i.dont.make.my.own.bed.said.meaghan.cakes

:sighs:  Seeing that eBay, despite confirming my suspicions on the phone and promising they'd take action, has done nothing drives me bat-crazy.  I officially hate eBay...and by extension, PayPal.  Let's go back to the days of well-concealed cash, shall we?  Grrrrrr.

This sounded like how eBay reacted when I turned in a shiller. The person on the phone said it looked like they were shilling but asked why I cared. Seriously, eBay does not care. In fact, they seem to encourage shill bidding.

[Brandi]

Another thing too is what is the point in having a rule, if you are never going to enforce it.

Simply to make it appear that they care when they really don't. eBay profits from thieves like this, which makes them just as bad as these scammers themselves.

[Ringlets]

I'm so sorry you had to deal with this and had no help from ebay.  I'm glad you were happy with your item but seriously annoyed that ebay has yet again let someone get away with shill bidding    Like Bluerose and yourself I reported an obvious shill bidder ( I was the buyer and it was a similar situation to yours) ebay agreed, said they'd investigate further and take action...but never did and the person with both their accounts continued to do it again . I've seen it happen with another person too, but yet again ebay didnt do a thing

[blonde2themax]

How can you tell if they are a shill bidder? I think I've just faced off with a shill bidder but how would I know?

[bluerose9978]

How can you tell if they are a shill bidder? I think I've just faced off with a shill bidder but how would I know?

How I could tell was this same bidder had put bids on all of the seller's auctions that already had bids and had bid up all of the auctions to the max. And this person had also won several of the auctions and those same auctions then were relisted right after this person had won them. Some of these auctions were relisted multiple times. Sometimes you have to watch a seller for a while to catch on or see if you see any multiple bids from any bidder that is bidding up an auction.

[hokuspokus]

hmm.. so sad people need to bid on their own auctions to make extra money :/ sorry to hear this... how low are they to make money in such a dishonest way??!! (& ebay let's it happen while they know about it??!!)

This case stinks. Big time.