More eBay Humor

OC Engineer JD Jan 16, 2009

  1. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    Yep. Same has apparently happened with one of the recent MTL weathered cars. It went for an eye-popping price from an established seller (i.e. no shilling) and I've seen more copies out there since.
     
  2. cnw mike

    cnw mike TrainBoard Member

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  3. DrMb

    DrMb TrainBoard Member

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    Is it wrong of me to be cheering for it to reach $300 even though I have absolutely no relation to the seller or even own a GP-30?
     
  4. randgust

    randgust TrainBoard Member

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  5. johnh

    johnh TrainBoard Member

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  6. timhar47

    timhar47 TrainBoard Member

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    OH MY WORD! And on top of all the ridiculous prices and blah-blah info on his page, this is another of those dumb 'we only ship on the second tuesday of next week" deals - For those prices one can afford to ship 8 times a stinking day :)
     
  7. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I noted the private listing part on this or another auction recently. I cannot understand why. Makes me wonder about what the seller needs to hide.
     
  8. pmpexpress

    pmpexpress TrainBoard Member

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    Actually has nothing to do with the seller.

    Sellers create private listings in order to prevent customer information from being revealed to competitors and/or individuals (including non-winning bidders and/or individuals whose offers were declined) who are not engaged in the transaction.

    Once a listing has ended, only the seller needs the buyer, and/or bidder, and/or offer information.

    Finally realizing that bidder and buyer information should not be made available for public consumption (i.e., like all of the other e-commerce sites that have customer feedback systems), eBay has recently eliminated purchased item information from feedback left by sellers and begun masking purchaser IDs when buyers leave feedback.

    Kudos to eBay for acknowledging the fact that personal information is NOT a public commodity.
     
  9. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Perhaps. Perhaps not. For those of us who have been around their site for a while, (16&1/2 years here), it used to be that the only listings we'd see which were private, were those where someone was selling risque items.

    Also, it used to be quite helpful to know who you were bidding against.
     
  10. Pete Steinmetz

    Pete Steinmetz TrainBoard Member

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    The above is not true.

    I can't see bidder ID's in regular auctions. E Bay gives it a X***B format. Plus a feedback number. No way to tell bidder ID's. I always look at "Private" ID's or Auctions like the seller has something to hide. I don't bid or watch "Private" auctions. Something kind of sleezy about them. I look at feedback to see what a seller has been selling before I bid. I can still see what items the seller has been selling.

    E Bay goes to great lengths so people's ID are not visible or public. This is so people can't contact buyers and conduct transaction outside of E Bay. Then Fee Bay wouldn't get their cut. I think the privacy issue is secondary.

    No private auctions for me.
     
  11. johnh

    johnh TrainBoard Member

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    I have to disagree. Ebay has hidden bidders' identities in auctions for quite some time now, sop competitors cannot contact a potential bidder even if they wanted to. I see it as a possible mask for shill bidding. For example, if you see an auction where an item is being "bid up" by a bidder with low feedback, it may suggest that that account was created by the seller or a friend just for that purpose. If the friend overplays his hand, they agree to cancel the aucton and no Ebay fees are paid. It prevents others (including the bidder) from seeing this occur and reporting it to Ebay as a possible "shill" bidder.
     
  12. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thinking on this, it does seem as though we are seeing more folks who are noting potential shilling, these days.
     
  13. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Perhaps this thread on TB is driving the bad sellers 'underground' (private)...lol ;-)
     
  14. pmpexpress

    pmpexpress TrainBoard Member

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    While I used to regularly hear from disgruntled "bottom feeders" (i.e., low ball bidders who were ticked off because they lost an auction due to their placing a high bid that was substantially less than what I or my customers were willing to pay), unless there was an issue with my purchase, in my fourteen years on eBay, except for "second chance" offers through eBay, I have never been contacted by a seller with either a post-auction or post sale offer.

    Though bidder and buyer IDs are not visible in listings (either ongoing or closed), buyer and winning bidder IDs were previously viewable in any feedback that was left.

    As for the overly discussed (and never actually proven) shill bidding cases: Unless a seller (or their friend) uses a different computer, on a different ISP, it is not possible to shill from a seller's listing computer.

    If you are wondering how I know this to be true...

    Through mandatory cookie acceptance, seller (and presumably buyer) computer and ISP IDs are logged by eBay.

    Items cannot be listed if you refuse eBay's cookies and you have to contact eBay (or respond to their phone call) if one utilizes an unidentified computer, on a different ISP to list items.

    Although the aforementioned information applies to computers, I am not certain how eBay manages their authentication process for mobile (i.e., smart-phone and tablet) apps.
     
  15. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I have a feeling you are trying to say this should translate to being an across the board fact. During my sixteen and one half years, as a seller I have yet to ever use a "second chance" option. But I HAVE been contacted.

    "Never actually proven"? To your satisfaction? Or as a stated fact from the hosting company? I'll accept it as fact, if the latter so states, otherwise it's just another opinion. Having a pal bid up an item would be no problem. If it doesn't work, there is no loss, as nothing actually changes hands, neither money nor item. The seller can simply re-list it again.

    Just because it is your experience, in something as large and long lived as eBaY, with so many course changes through their years, doesn't mean someone else has been through something quite different.
     
  16. paperkite

    paperkite TrainBoard Member

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    I have been contacted twice in the last year by seller/s ( thru ebay ) on reloading items. After carefull consideration I bought full retail from an outside ebay store as they had a cheaper price than the ebay seller .. makes me wonder if it was a shill scam or bidding just got out of hand and the high bidder realised they could buy the same item from the manufacture for less .... I have seen that happen on N scale stuff , people think thier stuff is gold for pete sake ....
     
  17. pmpexpress

    pmpexpress TrainBoard Member

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    " I have a feeling you are trying to say this should translate to being an across the board fact."

    While I am not saying everyone's going to have the same experience as me, having purchased thousands of items (in dozens of categories, under various IDs) and having sold thousands of products on a primary eBay account, as a "Top Rated" seller with an eBay store, it is in my best interest to keep an eye out (and report to eBay and others) troublesome buyers and sellers alike.

    "Top Rated" sellers (with or without stores) tend to watch each others backs.

    Along with preemptive blocking, we do share lists of problematic buyers and sellers.

    "Or as a stated fact from the hosting company?"

    While you could have a pal bid and item up from another location, with another computer, eBay computer and ISP tracking is a fact that can be verified by attempting to list your items from another computer, connected to a different ISP.

    The authentication mechanism is designed to prevent unauthorized users from listing items with a hijacked eBay account.

    " If it doesn't work, there is no loss, as nothing actually changes hands, neither money nor item."

    If you or your pal wins, you pay eBay's final value fees for the bogus purchase.

    Withdraw an auction item early (i.e., assuming you have not paid for the reserve price option), you pay eBay's estimated closing cost final value fee.
     
  18. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Being a shill is as easy as my sitting here and bidding up in item via the automatic bidding function. Then sit back and watch those who want the item out bid me. The seller wins, e-pay wins and I might get in on the take. Understanding, I can only be a shill if I'm in cohoot's with the seller.

    We each have a user name and I.D. number, easy to follow. All you have to do is watch and see who does the high balling and then (after the item has allegedly sold) watch to see if the same item shows up again. It won't show as re-listed, although it could. Looking for proof...if it happens again and it's the same bidder ....what more are you looking for?

    You sometimes, have to look at the obvious and let your gut and nose tell the story. A rat usually looks like a rat, smells like a rat and when cooked tastes like a rat...can you deductively reason and assess it is a rat? I wonder why?:wideeyes:

    Does this mean that those that read this are now going to be rat's? I said shaking my head and wondering why in the wide, wide world of sports I told everyone how...!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 6, 2013
  19. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    When someone is going to try shilling an item, it will usually be something having higher end value. Compared to what can be gained, fees on an unsold item become inconsequential, and an easy write off.
     
  20. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, chances are that it might be a duck which is pooping all over your lawn and keeping you awake.....
     

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