eBay shill bidder convicted in UK

umcelinho said:
Andy, nowadays I think more or less like you, but I'd bid up to $250, tops tops. It's within what paypal covers, so worst case scenario it's not a big damage...

The most expensive thing I've ever bought on eBay was my Ricoh GX100, GBP200 total with shipping. Camera is still working perfectly and everything went alright. Beginner luck or not, I'm glad I didn't get scammed.

But I'd never bid on something like an BP M3/M4 or a pretty expensive lens, the risk is too high IMHO.
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I've bought and sold a number of things on Ebay over the years (most expensive being a $350 synth), but it just doesn't seem worth it anymore. I'd much rather deal with the RFF classifieds for camera stuff! :)
 
Beemermark said:
While I do not like the seller's attitude, I do see his point.

I guess my thought process is a lot different than most bidders on eBay. I bid the maximum amount I'm willing to pay for an item. I rarely ever bid again. If someone outbids me by a penny so be it. If it's a shill bidder I could care less since I buy it for what i was willing to pay.

Too often I think buyers, especially of camera gear, are more interested in getting a "steal" rather than actual getting something useful.
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That is the point of OhBoy. You might get the item cheaper than the max you are willing to pay. I often do. If a shill ruins this chance by scamming, you are paying more than you could have. It's the same reason people go to yard sales, antique shops, I suppose photo shows - you want to find a great item at a low price. If you had to look up each find at a yardsale in some "Big Value of Everything Book" and pay the suggested retail price, it wouldn't be much fun, would it?
 
RayPA said:
Yes, the next highest bidder is required to pay.

In my case I was the only bidder, so there was no demand for the item. So, I while I understand the seller's thought process (that it shouldn't matter because I won the auction), I was going to be the winner anyway. He had a sale. He just didn't like the price and wanted more. I felt I shouldn't have to pay a shilled-up price, regardless of my maximum bid, because there was nothing driving the price up (besides the seller's shilling).

Seller's have lots of methods to ensure that they get a certain price for an item (setting starting bids, reserves, BIN, etc.). Shilling is an ebay offense, which obviously doesn't mean squat to ebay. So, it's just another thing that buyers have to protect themselves against.

I don't try to get "steals", just a fair price on an item. Going forward with ebay, I'll be a lot more careful about when and how I use the max bid feature, because I think shilling is fairly common. There's a difference between what I'm willing to pay and what I want to pay. I'm willing to pay $3/gallon of gas, but I'd rather not. If the market is at $2/gallon, it's foolish to pay $3/gallon.


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That sucks. Caveat emptor definitely rules.

I now tend to bid in the last 20 seconds of an auction. I think that may allowed me to avoid shill bidding as the seller can't bid and withdraw a bid in sufficient time.
 
chris00nj said:
That sucks.
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Not too bad. It only cost me some time in back-and-forth emails with the seller and ebay. I didn't buy the item. I resisted paying and the seller and I agreed to part ways and never deal with one another again. Besides, he thought he could get more for the item than the extra $200 he shilled out of me. :)

:)
 
The point I was trying to make earlier is that when I really want something I bid the maximum I'm willing to pay. If I get it for that I'm happy. Other people just like to bargain. I think a lot of people buy stuff (not just cameras) just because they think they got a bargain. I just lost a bid on a non-camera item on eBay because my maximum bid was about $75. The item sells new for $145 at a number of stores. Locally they turn up a lot cheaper. The bid went from $65 to $128 in the last couple of seconds. Was a shill bid involved? Maybe, but the bidders were caught up in the bidding trying to get the cheapest price but still trying to be the winner - nuts IMHO.

KEH, Igor camera, I can name a half dozen stores that have better prices then eBay, give a better description and a guarantee to boot. But people spend months bidding on eBay trying to save a couple of dollars (and rarely do). Then they come here and whine because the item wasn't as listed, it isn't like new, it doesn't work like they think it should, etc,etc,etc.

Ya get's what you pay for.
 
Simple solution to all this - use BIN option and dont worry about a shill bidding. I really dont get why so many people so many problems with ebay. Its not that complicated.
 
Ebay is just fine

Ebay is just fine

Andy Kibber said:
To be honest, I don't know why anyone would buy or sell something over $50 on Ebay. Scams, silly pricing, etc.
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To be honest - statement above is just plain misleading. I can give you a zillion examples of great prices and honest sellers. I'm one of them. Or you call me a scammer too? Its just plain rediculous to generalize like that. If you use Paypal with a Credit Card - never a problem. Well and some common sense.
I have purchased many very expensive items and never a problem. I love ebay. You can find rare items, lots and lots of good deals if you know how to look. and depending on what I want - either good price for a good item from a reliable seller or if you feel like a gamble (and I do at times) - its there too. At times it pays off - and sometimes it doesnt. Once again - common sense.
Sure, you can always shop at B&H or KEH for camera gear, yet they dont always have what you may want.
 
I bought a 4 year old car from ebay. Now that was taking risk. It went well though. I drove over to seal the deal.
 
if is see an item i like from a seller i don't know about through word-of-mouth/forum networks i use a sniping application to bid, not to grab the item for a steal, but so i'm not divulging any information about myself or my bid until the last 5 seconds.

if it's a trusted reputable seller i just bid what i'm comfortable paying for the item and am not unhappy if someone bids over that to win. there'll be more auctions tomorrow.
 
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