AGGHHH--- Stupid Ebay Newbie Screws up my auction

[rbudrick]

Hi Folks,
I was bidding on this item

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3608&item=3001253776&rd=1

And I put in a high bid of $100 thinking it will never go that high (didn't think I'd be able to check it before it ended). Then some fraud (suspected) with 0 feedbacks comes out of nowhere and bids exactly up to this point. Smells VERY fishy to me. Someone is screwing me and I can't prove it and there aint jack I can do...I
l'l pay for the auction, but I'd like to boot that newbie right in the ass. I feel like he bid high just to piss me off.

Thought I'd vent. Thank you.

-ROb

[rbudrick]

The previous bidder only has 15 feedbacks...hmmm....

[Raedon]

retract your bids if you don't feel like paying the 100.00..

[MankeyMan]

The seller may have used that account to raise your bid to the maximum. I'd retract your bid if I where you.

[rbudrick]

Unfortunately, I can't. It too close to the end of the auction...they won't let me. :-(

Thanks tho :-)

-Rob

[Britboy]

pay the money, wait 89 days and 23 hours. Then, leave feedback calling him a shill bidder and he wont be able to leave you negative feedback in return

[Raedon]

That is a pretty flagrant shill bid when you look at the bid history, I'd contact the seller and get yourself removed from the auction..

[bargora]

pay the money, wait 89 days and 23 hours. Then, leave feedback calling him a shill bidder and he wont be able to leave you negative feedback in return
Revenge IS a dish best served cold. >)

[rbudrick]

WHat's a shill bid?

Thanks!

-Rob

[bargora]

WHat's a shill bid?

Thanks!

-Rob
A shill bid is a bid placed by the seller or someone associated with the seller, placed solely to drive up the bid price.

The series of bids by the n00b is pretty suspicious looking. Maybe you should do what Raedon says and contact the seller.

If that bidder had placed a series of bids, but retracted the first bid that was higher than your bid, then that would definitely be enough of a smoking gun for you to get out of the auction. (For this reason, you may want to make future proxy bids non-round numbers, so that a shill would be more likely to overshoot you.) As it is, you might still want to have (or threaten to have) ebay look into the auction.

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

[rbudrick]

Thanks Bargora!

For the info and link. Very useful!!

Yours,
ROb

[chad]

I'm not quite sure why you would bid that high if you aren't willing to pay that much? x_x

[Tritoch]

^That's what I was going to say. You deserve to have that happen to you if you're going to whine about actually having to *gasp* pay what you bid.

[Chunky]

nothing else he's sold looks to be shilled. but again, don't bid that high, just make sure your around and snipe. if ya don't you pay! and bad.

[Captain Wrong]

Yeah, I have to admit, I've learned through trial and error the best thing to do is add an item to my watch list and bid as close to the last minute as I can. Seems like I get stuff cheaper this way and if I forget about it, it must not have been something I wanted that badly anyway.

[rbudrick]

I should have clarified:

I'm perfectly willing to pay that amount. I just didn't want some 10 year old jerk making me pay more (yes, I'm being sarcastic).

It's just the principle of it, ya know? I feel like he just did it to piss me off. It's obviously a new account (fake?), so it's no skin off his ass if he doesn't pay.

"Well if I can't have it, then this meanie is gonna pay more, nyah!'

Ya dig?

-Rob

[IGotTheDot]

http://www.stationsoftware.com/home/index.php

Now you don't have to be home.

[qaotik]

Is it better than http://www.esnipe.com/

[MrRetroGamer]

Your bid of $100 initially made the reserve amount, which I'll guess and say it was $50. Many people assume the worst when they see a (0) bidder bidding against them, but the fact of the matter is that new people are discovering EBAY every day, they join and start bidding. The problem is that they are so new to the process that they go hog wild bidding on the first item they really want because they have no idea how to do a little quick research, like are there any others for sale, what did closed auctions for the same item cost, etc. Newbie bidders also seem to place many bids close together rather than just one proxy bid, again because they don't understand the process. Not every (0) bidder is a 10 year old with an AOL account, but it does seem like that sometimes! :/

A quick unrelated side note, people like to bid in round numbers, but I usually like to round UP a few more dollars and cents higher. If I think I want to pay $20 for an item, I'll put in like $23.19 or something, just to make sure. And NEVER bid a max of like $99.99 or something, because MR Round Numbers will bid $100 and win by 1 cent! That is frustrating.

[Griking]

I agree with those who said to pay it and be done with it.

Unless you can 100% prove that there was shill bidding involved then you have no valid reason to not pay or leave negative feedback. The odds are the other bidder was just like you, willing to pay $100 max and not a cent more.

[bargora]

Yeah, I've won several auctions where my max bid of 10.50, 20.50, or 31.00 was the final price. In other words, go at least one bid increment over the round number.

Now that I've given it away, I'm going to have to go to 11.00, 21.00 and 32.00. :/

[Captain Wrong]

A quick unrelated side note, people like to bid in round numbers, but I usually like to round UP a few more dollars and cents higher. If I think I want to pay $20 for an item, I'll put in like $23.19 or something, just to make sure. And NEVER bid a max of like $99.99 or something, because MR Round Numbers will bid $100 and win by 1 cent! That is frustrating.

I thought I was the only one who did this! I've won auctions on crazy amounts $18.73, $21.46, etc. Even if I don't win, it throws everything off balance for the people who are bidding in round numbers so the winning bid will be really funky looking. :)

[buttasuperb]

A quick unrelated side note, people like to bid in round numbers, but I usually like to round UP a few more dollars and cents higher. If I think I want to pay $20 for an item, I'll put in like $23.19 or something, just to make sure. And NEVER bid a max of like $99.99 or something, because MR Round Numbers will bid $100 and win by 1 cent! That is frustrating.

I thought I was the only one who did this! I've won auctions on crazy amounts $18.73, $21.46, etc. Even if I don't win, it throws everything off balance for the people who are bidding in round numbers so the winning bid will be really funky looking. :)

hehe, I do the same thing. I usually check the time, and whatever minute it's at his how much change I bid. There has been a few times in the past where i'll bid 20 bucks right at the end, and it turns out the other person bid 20 as well and since they bid first, they win. It actually amazes me how almost everyone else bids in whole dollar amounts.

[autobotracing]

I dont think you were shilled .that person also is bidding on this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3001534447

[rbudrick]

I suppose it's perfectly reasonable that a newbie was legit, however, the chances of that are very slim, imo. I usually do bid odd bid amount, but I guess I figured it prob wouldn't go that high, and if it did, certainly not right to the penny! I wouldn't feel bad at all if an established bidder did that to me, but man--A STUPID NEWB?

Heh heh

-Rob

[m1keb0ssy]

LOL @ the noob calling someone else a noob. It looks legit, be smarter about how you bid. Sniping is the only way to go and always bid odd amounts. No sense in overpaying for anything.

[MrRetroGamer]

I suppose it's perfectly reasonable that a newbie was legit, however, the chances of that are very slim, imo.

If believing that make you feel any better, than so be it. Just about everyone else who replied has said otherwise, though. x_x

[rbudrick]

I'm hardly a newb. I've been doing Ebay for over 3 years. I usually do snipe, but I was almost positive I wasn't going to be able to. As it turned out, I was able to but it was too late. I use all the same tricks...odd bid amounts, etc.

Like I said, if it were an established bidder, I wouldn't even bat an eyelash over the whole thing...I just pretty sure it happenned because the bidder had no clue (or did and didn't give a crap...perhaps just being vindictive). Sure, I'm to blame for not being available to snipe, but that damn newb! :-)

Also, with knowledge of Esnipe, it shouldn't be an issue anymore. What a great idea for a site!

-Rob

[Mother]

No I think your a newb. I find it amazing that you have been on ebay for over 3 years and didnt know what a shill auction was, or hadnt heard of sniping programs :-D Its okay to be a newb, im a newb and it hasnt affected the way ive turned out yet. And please quit calling us '"damn newbs" after all he wasnt the one that paid 100.00 for the auction.

Have a cookie and youll feel right as rain :D

[mitmoe]

:o Retract the bid. Seems kind of fishy.

[Captain Wrong]

*shakes head*

Damn newbies!

:P

[rbudrick]

No I think your a newb. I find it amazing that you have been on ebay for over 3 years and didnt know what a shill auction was, or hadnt heard of sniping programs Its okay to be a newb, im a newb and it hasnt affected the way ive turned out yet. And please quit calling us '"damn newbs" after all he wasnt the one that paid 100.00 for the auction.

Have a cookie and youll feel right as rain


Hey, some people are just easily amazed. What can I say? I know what a shill auction is, I had just didn't know there was a name for them. And also, I never refered to you as a 'danm newb.' I have no clue why you took it so personally. Unless you feel guilty for being a newb or something.

-Rob

[bargora]

No I think your a newb. I find it amazing that you have been on ebay for over 3 years and didnt know what a shill auction was, or hadnt heard of sniping programs Its okay to be a newb, im a newb and it hasnt affected the way ive turned out yet. And please quit calling us '"damn newbs" after all he wasnt the one that paid 100.00 for the auction.

Have a cookie and youll feel right as rain


Hey, some people are just easily amazed. What can I say? I know what a shill auction is, I had just didn't know there was a name for them. And also, I never refered to you as a 'danm newb.' I have no clue why you took it so personally. Unless you feel guilty for being a newb or something.

-Rob
Please use the "quote" function if you want to include someone else's words as part of your reply. Doing otherwise is the mark of a...n00b. Plus it confuses me and makes me feel stupid.

[rbudrick]

You know, I cut and pasted that part and meant to erase it. Sorry for being such a stupid newb. I know I broke many hearts ;-) j/k
-Rob