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Author
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Topic: Fraudulent eBay bids on space memorabilia
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Beau08
Member Posts: 159
From: Peoria, AZ United States
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 03-29-2013 09:23 AM
   
Just wanted to put out a warning for all who sell space related items on eBay that there has been a rash of (0) zero feedback members that have been bidding up items then never paying or communicating. This has happened to me several times as well as Maarten. We know of at least 4 others that this has happened to. In one case two (0) were bidding against each other making the prices go absurd and no intention of paying. I have started canceling any (0) bidder unless I approve them first. I don't know if collectSPACE would allow for a posting of confirmed dead beat bidders so others can block them or not, but at least be aware that someone is doing this for reasons unknown to me. |
p51
Member Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 03-29-2013 11:47 AM
This comes in bursts. I have a standing condition on my listings that you have to have a certain # of feedbacks or permission from me directly to bid, otherwise I'll throw your bids out. |
NASAgoob
Member Posts: 96
From: Dallas, Texas, USA
Registered: Oct 2008
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posted 03-29-2013 02:23 PM
Thanks for the heads-up. Also great to know as a buyer. |
mama04
Member Posts: 151
From: Haarlem, N-H, Netherlands
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 03-30-2013 02:47 AM
Unfortunately Beau is right. Fraudulent bids by phantom bidders with (so far) always a zero feedback score are a real annoyence at the moment. I really do not understand what the 'fun' in doing this is all about. Must be real strange people...It really is no fun for either seller or buyer. I have had this happen to me a number of times in the last few weeks and have seen the same with other sellers. I have tried to warn those sellers where I noticed strange bidding but I am sure I have missed a great deal more. Anyway, I have now blocked those bidders that I know to be fraudulent and have imposed a rule that zero feedback bidders must contact me before bidding or their bids will be removed. I have long hesitated doing that, because new buyers have to start sometime and not all are fraudulent. But to protect both myself and potential other buyers I have decided to do so anyway. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-31-2013 09:33 PM
By an interesting coincidence, I recently lost an eBay auction in the last few seconds to a crack-shot sniper with zero feed-back. If I lodge a complaint with eBay, would they be able to trace Mr Zero and block him, or could he just start up again under an assumed name? (But perhaps this is only relevant if he actually doesn't pay...) |
Beau08
Member Posts: 159
From: Peoria, AZ United States
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 04-01-2013 12:16 AM
Maybe contact the seller and make them aware of what's been going on and if they have trouble getting paid to offer you the second chance offer to the item. |
Ross
Member Posts: 472
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 04-01-2013 07:47 AM
A second chance offer, if at the buyer's maximum bid, is all very well but it almost certainly means the buyer will be paying more than he should. The seller should offer it at one bid above the maximum offer of the third best bidder. |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 04-01-2013 10:08 AM
I think some sellers have a second ID as a zero bidder. They use the a zero bid account as a way to drive up the price. They bid it up to a price that they can live with and then offer the second place bidder a second chance offer at his last bid. Meanwhile if the zero bidder had not intervened, the item would have sold for far less. I have had this happen to me numerous times. It will be me and the zero bidder and then I will get a second chance offer (or I will win the item but the price has been inflated by the zero bidder). I have reported it to eBay several times but have never heard back from them. I did notice one seller that seemed to have a lot of his items sold this way is no longer a registered user. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-01-2013 10:15 AM
Fred, what you describe is called shill bidding and it is something eBay does take seriously (from experience, I can say they've acted quickly and strictly after being alerted to confirmed shill bidding activity). |
garyd2831
Member Posts: 640
From: Syracuse, New York, USA
Registered: Oct 2009
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posted 04-01-2013 12:40 PM
I'll tell you what I'm not having fun with on eBay: people who FAIL to READ my listings CLEARLY. Lower 48 states... |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 04-02-2013 06:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Blackarrow:
If I lodge a complaint with eBay, would they be able to trace Mr Zero and block him, or could he just start up again under an assumed name?
That's really the seller's responsibility to lodge a complaint, assuming the winning bidder doesn't pay. The next highest bidder often doesn't know if the high bid was legitimate or not. After all, we all started out with zero feedback at some point.I would only contact eBay with a complaint if there is evidence that the zero-feedback bidder is shill bidding for the seller. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-03-2013 06:00 PM
No, I don't believe that is the case. I think the seller was every bit as much a victim as I was, so I suppose it's his call. |
Liembo
Member Posts: 583
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013
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posted 04-23-2013 06:59 PM
A lot of space-related items I was selling was bid and won by a non-paying 0-feedback buyer who never responded to any queries. Annoying. I really want to believe the runner up wasn't shill bidding, but there's no way to know.I am torn on the second chance offer price: If the runner-up willingly put in a maximum bid they were going to pay in good faith if they won, is it irrelevant if the winning buyer flaked? As far as they know, there was some other issue with the winning bid that led to the second chance offer. The person who I extended the second chance offer to insisted I charge the maximum bid HE won which was essentially the third-to-the-last-price. eBay has no mechanism for this so we took the payment "offline". As a buyer, I can sort of see what he's saying, but he DID make a good faith maximum offer. |
Liembo
Member Posts: 583
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013
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posted 04-23-2013 07:01 PM
I suppose this opens up the can of worms that the SELLER is shill bidding... |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-24-2013 05:06 PM
quote:
Originally posted by garyd2831:
I'll tell you what I'm not having fun with on eBay: people who FAIL to READ my listings CLEARLY. Lower 48 states...
If you don't want to do business with foreigners, it's your item and your business. But why discriminate against your fellow citizens from Alaska and Hawaii? |
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