Shill bidding, stupidity or something else?

[JoexBondo]

I currently have a Carl Hagelin Anthology Treasures 3 Color Auto RC FS for 79.99 BIN or BO. I was searching complete listings for similar sales and came across this.

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=271008340086

Common sense says if your bidding on a card, you looks for similiar auctions before you bid, right? So why would any bid 95.00 for a card they can have for 79.99 (or less) and why wouldn't the second bidder buy it, knowing he could snag it for 16 bucks less? Has anyone else run into this on one of thier items? Do people really put in max bids above what a similar card would sell for?

[Fred Bear]

All the time! This is why a lot of auction results need to be taken with a grain of salt when using them as a basis for 'pricing'. We can see what it 'sold' for, but we don't know if the transaction was legitimate or not. eBay auctions are too easy to manipulate that cards with only a handful of sales can be entirely misrepresented.

I recently bid on a low-end young gun I needed. The seller had 2 (same YG) listed with a starting price of $0.99 plus shipping. He had a couple others I needed, so I bid on the lowest one and figured if I won it, I'd place larger bids on some of the others to take advantage of his combined shipping discount. I got outbid with about 4 hrs left in the auction (I usually snipe, but for a YG with ~100 listed, I didn't see the need) and thought it was a bit odd... since the other listing had 0 bids... He ended up 'selling' 1 for $1.05, having one go unsold at $0.99, and re-listing two the following week... (along with going on my blocked list)

On the other side of the aisle is another favorite of mine... I have listed items with BIN/BO at less than what an auction has recently ended at (usually started after my listing) and then I get an offer for 50% of my asking price...

[htram9]

All the time! This is why a lot of auction results need to be taken with a grain of salt when using them as a basis for 'pricing'. We can see what it 'sold' for, but we don't know if the transaction was legitimate or not. eBay auctions are too easy to manipulate that cards with only a handful of sales can be entirely misrepresented.

I recently bid on a low-end young gun I needed. The seller had 2 (same YG) listed with a starting price of $0.99 plus shipping. He had a couple others I needed, so I bid on the lowest one and figured if I won it, I'd place larger bids on some of the others to take advantage of his combined shipping discount. I got outbid with about 4 hrs left in the auction (I usually snipe, but for a YG with ~100 listed, I didn't see the need) and thought it was a bit odd... since the other listing had 0 bids... He ended up 'selling' 1 for $1.05, having one go unsold at $0.99, and re-listing two the following week... (along with going on my blocked list)

On the other side of the aisle is another favorite of mine... I have listed items with BIN/BO at less than what an auction has recently ended at (usually started after my listing) and then I get an offer for 50% of my asking price...

This is happening with basketball cards a lot lately. Which brought 90's serial number cards prices higher then ever (except maybe when they first come out).

[Wickabee]

I see it constantly. 2 identical, unsold cards, 1 with a 9.99BIN and one sold on auction that started at 0.99 and ended at 16.49, or some such scenario.

Personally, I think it's a case of people getting sucked into the "I have to have THIS one" mentality.

[JWinn]

I just want to say I don't think shill bidding was involved in the one example you gave. The seller, ALL C's, is a store in Aurora I go to every once in a while. They deal mostly in coins and comics as well as cards. LOTS of supplies for a variety of hobbies.

I have dealt with the card guys a few times, and although anything is possible, they have always seemed like honest guys to me, and given me some terrific deals over the years.

It would really surprise me if they were shilling their own auctions.

[13stepper]

Also the search results have a lot to do with it as well.

[13stepper]

Also while on the topic of eBay, why don't buyers read item descriptions?

[JWinn]

Also while on the topic of eBay, why don't buyers read item descriptions?

Probably impulse buyers.

I always read everything. Get as much info I can on both the item and the seller. Look thru feedback, other sales, how they respond to negative feedback, everything I can access.

[MatsSundin13Rocks]

I do believe it is shill bidding because look at the person who lost the auction:

	Bidder Information Bidder: y***9( 1451) Feedback: 100%Positive Item description: Item Title: CARL HAGELIN 2011-2012 PANINI ROOKIE TREASURES GU JERSEY #108 #D 170/199 RANGERS Bids on this item: 12		30-Day Summary Total bids: 197 Items bid on: 126 Bid activity (%) with this seller: 7% Bid retractions: 11 Bid retractions (6 months): 125
Who has 125 bid retractions in 6 months??? Probably shill bidding for a few different sellers. Has 7% bid activity with this seller. Very sketchy indeed.

[Goose97]

OooH Nathan! Good catch on that, and that is a dead giveaway example of a shiller!

I do believe it is shill bidding because look at the person who lost the auction:

	Bidder Information Bidder: y***9( 1451) Feedback: 100%Positive Item description: Item Title: CARL HAGELIN 2011-2012 PANINI ROOKIE TREASURES GU JERSEY #108 #D 170/199 RANGERS Bids on this item: 12		30-Day Summary Total bids: 197 Items bid on: 126 Bid activity (%) with this seller: 7% Bid retractions: 11 Bid retractions (6 months): 125
Who has 125 bid retractions in 6 months??? Probably shill bidding for a few different sellers. Has 7% bid activity with this seller. Very sketchy indeed.