Do E-Bay Sellers Hire Bidders??

[FJ and G]

I know this dude who bid up his own item. He was tossed from eBay permanently.

I've never used eBay (but may in future), but have 2 friends who make a living off of buying and selling on eBay. Read that: They don't have a job, it pays their salary.

One lady I know has a 1-yr-old girl. She buys clothes on big sales, lets kid wear them, then sells them for more than she paid.

I often see trains on eBay selling for far more than they're worth. perhaps some trainiacs are doing this too.

[Anonymous]

Regarding auction ends, the last 20 seconds is the most important. This is where decisions are made regarding who is willing to pay the most for the item. I can go down as close as 3 seconds before putting in the last bid as a sniper and it is still fair and square if my bid is more than yours.

I dont think ebay sellers want to hire bidders for this sort of work. The large artillery is firing and the fat lady is singing while the music reaches it's last bars. It's over when it's over.

[lionelsoni]

Shill bidding and sniping seem to have gotten confused in this thread. Sniping is simply bidding at the last instant and is perfectly legal within Ebay's rules. The incentive to do it comes from some bidders' reluctance to put in their real highest bids. Shill bidding is using a third party to drive the bid as close as possible to the amount that the highest bidder will pay, regardless of whether any bona-fide bidder is willing to bid that high and without any risk to the shill, who won't have to buy the item in any case. It is against the rules.

[Anonymous]

WELL GP if you want to follow "rules" why don't you put your max bid in early?? Whether I win the thing or not I put in my highest bid in pleanty of time!! I don't "whine " about anything, if it or you or anyone bothered me that bad I wouldn't be there in the first place.
The most of you "snipes" haven't even put in the first bid to start with, and further more you don't
have the will to do it, you had rather "sneek" to win without any concern!! I hope E-bay will put a stop to this and have no bids during the last couple of minuets .
You remind me of the Army snipers--One Shot To Kill--no respect for anyone or anything but themselves and their kill---
If you can't "remember" you do a good job of it., at last 10 seconds---Is 10 seconds all your memory is good for??
I personally -you coldn't hire me to snipe for any price!! I do my bids early and thats that..
Obvious maybe you and others need medication to help "re-develop" your train of thought---
Watch out for "trip wires" they can hurt you--Take it from a Army vet pro----
PS: My internet connection ain't all that great either, but I still get my bid in, plenty of time!!

[seacoast]

Ebay is multi billion dollar corp. and I have bought on the site in the past, but
do some sellers ? yeah maybe - very easy to generate interest in a boring item by placing false bids..

[Anonymous]

One of the train auctions extended the time if a bid came in the last 15 minutes. The auction was open for another 15 minutes to let others bid and so on. The last bid had to ride out a 15 minute wait.

Bet the sellers really liked this system. It would eliminate the sniping and sellers and ebay all would make more money.

Charlie

[GPJ68]

Well, it looks like I goofed up and missed the "Don't Feed the Trolls" sign.

expog.........

forget it.... You're trolling, I fell for it once, shame on me. Not again.

Have a nice evening.

[lionelsoni]

Great idea, expog6, no bids in the last two minutes! But wait--then the snipers will just bid a few seconds before the last two minutes. Okay, no bids in the last 4 minutes--no, 10 minutes--no, the last day. Okay, everyone bids in the first 5 seconds. There. That solves the problem.

[Anonymous]

I am both a last second bidder and also have been caught by others who do the same thing. Most of my last second bids are not planned, but only happen as a result of just signing on and seeing an item that I would like to add to my collection. I very rarely go through the list of items and plan my attack as a result of when the item will close.

So yes, my frustration level does rise when I get outbid at the final gun on a one of a kind, mint condition old relic. I also try to enter a max bid early in the process (when possible) so that when outbid in these situations, my bank account doesn't suffer as a result of over paying for any specific item.

Thanks

[AntonioFP45]

Hello Crew,

I'm glad this thread was brought up. Some of you guys are right! I've seen items won and yet the next day re-posted for bidding. Not common items, but hard to get items so I have gotten the strong impression that some of the sellers (including hobby shops) bid up on their own products.

As for sniping. Yes, I'm guilty. If it's an item that I really would like and the price is still reasonable I go for it. I keep the shipping costs in mind and watch If the bid price gets to within $5 of what the item costs at the LHS. If it does, I don't go for it and support my LHS.

I've also been sniped. One person sniped me by one penny on an Atlas U-Boat! What could I do? Wish him the best.

Peace out!

[Anonymous]

The attitude displayed by GP pretty much illustrates the reason I have no interest in eBay. Used to play there in the start-up days, but no more.

[Anonymous]

WELL GP, IF i AM A A troll--by definition-a dwarf, live in hills,or mounds, stumpy, humpbacked
inclined to be a THIEF, etc. then you HAVE to be one of the most LOW-LIFES on this planet by
your own definition and what you do and the way you do it!!
Now this is supposed to be a train forum and we were both wrong , I simply started asking about info snipes and you have your opinion and I have mine.
WE can keep on with this or we can take it to a HIGHER level if you so desire outside of the
forum---
You leave it alone and I will like wise!!
Have a nice day.[:)]

[GPJ68]

Why am I gonna step in this again....

No, certainly not the literal definition from childrens books and folklore. I reserve that for my last girlfriend...

From Dictionary.com:

troll

An electronic mail message, Usenet posting or other
(electronic) communication which is intentionally incorrect,
but not overtly controversial (compare flame bait), or the
act of sending such a message. Trolling aims to elicit an
emotional reaction from those with a hair-trigger on the reply
key. A really subtle troll makes some people lose their
minds.

Unfortunately, I allowed your ill-informed comments about "sniping" and the character of such bidders to get my goat - something I've usually just shrugged off in the past (and will continue in the future after this pointless fiasco). Some might even say I trolled you, although that was definitely NOT the intent, it was an ill-timed over-the-top reply to your less-than-complimentary comments about closing minute bidding. I prefer to treat others as I want to be treated - not so sure about you, reading the bitter vitriol you've directed at me for something as silly as this "discussion". If you truly weren't trolling for a gullible goob like me to stir up, then I apologize.

Incidently, I did a bidder search on ebay for "expogs6" and found a gentleman whose recent purchases mirror what you've mentioned in previous posts here. What's interesting is that bidder's bid history on items doesn't exactly reflect what's been said here about placing early bids, placing maximum bids, not bidding in the closing few minutes (even if it was to protect the high bidder status on a UP Berkshire steam engine, 10 times, first time an hour before closing, last time 19 seconds before the end of the auction). That ebay bidder appears relatively new to the system and perhaps not real sure of how the proxy bidding system works, judging by the number of times he's bid in several auctions raising (or protecting) his own high bid, especially towards the end of some auctions. I've noticed over the years that's a pretty common occurence (multiple bids one right after the other) with new ebay folks, until they get the hang of the system.

Now that could very well be someone else, and I mean no insult to you or him if it is or isn't. But if it is you, one shouldn't throw stones at last minute bidders if one has done so himself, for whatever "justifiable" reason.

And feel free to search for "gpj" on ebay - I've got a solid feedback rating, have bought alot and sold some, and try to follow what I preach. Although I have been guilty of occasionally raising a bid slightly if not successful the first time (and when I do, I usually feel a little guilty for breaking my own "one-time-max-bid" rule). Everyone's gotta slip sometimes. The most anyone can say about me on ebay is that I'm "cheap".

That said, I consider this whole unfortunate event closed. My apologies to any (including CTT) who have been offended by my tone or opinions. Forums can be difficult to appropriately express emotions and opinions. And I can be one sarcastic bugger. And replies can come off as having much more attitude than intended. Maybe "the other forum" actually has the right idea about ebay-related posts......

[Anonymous]

I make quite a few purchases on ebay and I often do, as many of you have suggested, just put my max proxy in the max I am willing to pay. I do some research before hand because I've seen people pay more on ebay than for what they could have gotten from a business or hobby shop. I have seen some supicious activity, however, and I stay away from them.

It is interesting that the dynamics are far different on the German ebay (ebay.de). They are very good at waiting until the very last minute to start the final auctions. I know some Germans that put multiple windows up to make their bids. My German wife got torqued at me for missing out on something she really wanted (a special Faller kit...yes, my wife really supports the model train hobby...that's why I love her so much)...I wasn't fast or savvy enough...I thought I had a bid that was high enough....oh well.

[Anonymous]

Hi GP, will consider this case closed as well! Sometimes we all have a
tendency to over extend our mouths.
My apologys to you and anyone else for being offense.
I will say this I give you credit -I learned quite abit about this bidding go round!
Good Luck![:)][:)]

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't you know it...just a couple days after I made the post above, I won two small Preiser sets on ebay....the knucklehead seller wanted to charge me $11.50 to ship it to me....talk about a padding job...

[underworld]

Hello Hutchman,
Yes some sellers do charge a lot for shipping. I always try to find out what shipping is before I bid. I also know that some of the high shipping fees are a fault of eBay itself. Ebay charges fees on the final selling amount....but not on the shipping and "handling" amounts. I do know of dealers that sell items like cell phone batteries for cheap.....like .99 US but then charge $10.00 for shipping.

[TurboOne]

I just enjoy ebay. If I win, whether a early bid or sniping, I win, if I lose I lose. Sometimes I made a good buy, sometimes a poor judgement buy. But it was fun. And isn't that why we all are into trains, for the fun ? Glad everyone made up, hopefully we all learned more about how to bid on ebay.

Take care all

Tim

[lionelsoni]

Charging more than the actual shipping and handling costs is against the Ebay rules.

[jkerklo]

I have been suspicious of some sort of shill bidding, but in a special way.

I have placed "my max bid" for an item early in the auction and the auction stays well below it for a few days. Then, in the last few minutes of the auction, my winning bid amount goes up by small increments. Sometimes I win, but very close to my max amount, and sometimes I lose, but to a bidder just over my max bid.

The details of bidding by the same bidder don't show in the bid list, just the results, so I can't be sure if anything is funny. It could be a rival bidder just trying to go over my max bid by just a little, or it could be a seller shill trying to up the bid to my max.

John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

[Anonymous]

To all of you who don't think sellers bid on their own items. I am bidding on a tyco ho scale track. I set my max bid to 20.00. I was the only bidder and the bidding started at 1.00. One day I noticed 5 new bids. I was suprised to see that I was now the current high bidder. Someone had placed five bids 2.00,5.00,10.00,15.00 and 20.00. Since my bid was placed first I am the lucky winner. The bids were all placed by the same bidder. The bidder did not have the same name but it was the seller or a friend of the seller. I sent a message to the bidder and told then all they have to do is bid 20.50 and the item is theirs. I have recieved no reply and I am still the high bidder. It is like the bidder knew what my maximum bid was and did not bid above that.

[lionelsoni]

The bidder did know what your maximum was. Each time he bid, your bid automatically went a little higher, until he bid $20. The fact that yours did not increase told him that you had bid a maximum of $20.

[palallin]

I do that all the time, macaste, but I am not a shill bidder, nor do I do it on the items I am selling. I'm just trying to get something on the cheap.

QUOTE: Originally posted by macaste

To all of you who don't think sellers bid on their own items. I am bidding on a tyco ho scale track. I set my max bid to 20.00. I was the only bidder and the bidding started at 1.00. One day I noticed 5 new bids. I was suprised to see that I was now the current high bidder. Someone had placed five bids 2.00,5.00,10.00,15.00 and 20.00. Since my bid was placed first I am the lucky winner. The bids were all placed by the same bidder. The bidder did not have the same name but it was the seller or a friend of the seller. I sent a message to the bidder and told then all they have to do is bid 20.50 and the item is theirs. I have recieved no reply and I am still the high bidder. It is like the bidder knew what my maximum bid was and did not bid above that.

[FJ and G]

I've never used eBay (yet) and only had time to read about half of your responses, but I've got an idea for eBay (perhaps they already are doing it).

On eBay, I assume there's a posted deadline time.

Instead of a deadline time, why not post a deadline date, and program a random time generator that would cut off bidding at an unknown time during the deadline date. That way, there's wouldn't be last minute snippers, colluding bidders and scallawaggs.