Ebay's Worst Offerings

[Peckris 579]

What do people thing of this? Extreme Shill bidding?

This is what I don't understand about eBay. Here you have:

j***e £870.00 28-Jul-13 20:39:55 BST

j***e £870.00 28-Jul-13 20:39:12 BST

j***e £870.00 28-Jul-13 20:25:11 BST

j***e £870.00 28-Jul-13 20:22:57 BST

j***e £870.00 28-Jul-13 20:22:37 BST

j***e £870.00 28-Jul-13 20:03:25 BST

j***e £870.00 28-Jul-13 20:01:15 BST

e***r £850.00 28-Jul-13 20:00:04 BST

Now, e***r has an unsuccessful bid of £850 at 8 PM. In the next 39 minutes he (or someone) seems to have had seven attempts to outbid j***e. Yet there aren't seven increments of £5 between £850 and £870!! How do you explain that?

On the coin itself, I wouldn't rate it as a £870 example. The hair detail of the strike just isn't strong enough, though it's good in all other respects.

Nobody has tried to outbid j***e, the additional seven bids were all made by j***e, probably to ensure a bit of headroom to cover any last minute bids.

Then why are they all for the same amount?

[Chingford 166]

They all look the same but could be increases of a few pence or a few pounds each, as you can't out bid yourself only the next bid increment shows no matter how many bids you place.

Edited August 1, 2013 by Chingford

[Nick 329]

Nobody has tried to outbid j***e, the additional seven bids were all made by j***e, probably to ensure a bit of headroom to cover any last minute bids.

Then why are they all for the same amount?

Because if you are already the highest bidder and you increase your maximum bid, that new maximum should not be divulged to anybody.

[Coinery 1,153]

Still looking a little 'wrong' though, not that I can fathom it?

Who places a bid, and then thinks, 'shit', I'm going to UP my bid to be sure and, THEN thinks, 'hmmm', I'm going to UP it again and, then thinks...

[Nick 329]

Still looking a little 'wrong' though, not that I can fathom it?

Who places a bid, and then thinks, 'shit', I'm going to UP my bid to be sure and, THEN thinks, 'hmmm', I'm going to UP it again and, then thinks...

It happens a lot. I think it's called bid stacking and is somehow supposed to deter other bidders from trying to beat the current high bid.

[Paulus 1,975]

Still looking a little 'wrong' though, not that I can fathom it?

Who places a bid, and then thinks, 'shit', I'm going to UP my bid to be sure and, THEN thinks, 'hmmm', I'm going to UP it again and, then thinks...

It happens a lot. I think it's called bid stacking and is somehow supposed to deter other bidders from trying to beat the current high bid.

That's the opposite effect that a shiller would want!

[Peckris 579]

Still looking a little 'wrong' though, not that I can fathom it?

Who places a bid, and then thinks, 'shit', I'm going to UP my bid to be sure and, THEN thinks, 'hmmm', I'm going to UP it again and, then thinks...

It happens a lot. I think it's called bid stacking and is somehow supposed to deter other bidders from trying to beat the current high bid.

That's the opposite effect that a shiller would want!

Exactly my thought too! A shiller would NOT want to win the item.

[Nick 329]

Still looking a little 'wrong' though, not that I can fathom it?

Who places a bid, and then thinks, 'shit', I'm going to UP my bid to be sure and, THEN thinks, 'hmmm', I'm going to UP it again and, then thinks...

It happens a lot. I think it's called bid stacking and is somehow supposed to deter other bidders from trying to beat the current high bid.

That's the opposite effect that a shiller would want!

Exactly my thought too! A shiller would NOT want to win the item.

Ergo - not a shiller then!

[Paulus 1,975]

Still looking a little 'wrong' though, not that I can fathom it?

Who places a bid, and then thinks, 'shit', I'm going to UP my bid to be sure and, THEN thinks, 'hmmm', I'm going to UP it again and, then thinks...

It happens a lot. I think it's called bid stacking and is somehow supposed to deter other bidders from trying to beat the current high bid.

That's the opposite effect that a shiller would want!

Exactly my thought too! A shiller would NOT want to win the item.

And of course a shiller would not want to put other bidders off either - obviously! But isn't there a school of thought that if an item has lots of bids it makes it somehow more attractive (to some)? I have seen sellers add info like 'this coin has 31 watchers' etc to the item, description ...

[Gary1000 41]

A shill bidder may want to by it to prevent it going to cheap. That's a problem that arose when the revserve was upped to £50.

[Peckris 579]

A shill bidder may want to by it to prevent it going to cheap. That's a problem that arose when the revserve was upped to £50.

Yeah, but if it was going too cheap, why wouldn't the seller just withdraw it from sale? An over-enthusiastic shiller would cost more in the long run.

[Gary D 76]

A shill bidder may want to by it to prevent it going to cheap. That's a problem that arose when the revserve was upped to £50.

Yeah, but if it was going too cheap, why wouldn't the seller just withdraw it from sale? An over-enthusiastic shiller would cost more in the long run.

But you don't know what it's going to go for until the last 10 seconds, ttat's cutting it a bit fine to pull the auction. I'm not suggesting you should chase a buyer up but just place an approprate bid early on in the process. Just a bit of insurance.

[azda 979]

I had 1 Guy last Year make about 12 bids one After the other. I basically cancelled his bids because i thought he was a piss taker. I emailed him and explained my reasoning for cancelling. He replied and was shocked, he explained that he did this quite often in order to put other bidders off bidding, his 12 bids were only £1 each time

[azda 979]

A shill bidder may want to by it to prevent it going to cheap. That's a problem that arose when the revserve was upped to £50.

Yeah, but if it was going too cheap, why wouldn't the seller just withdraw it from sale? An over-enthusiastic shiller would cost more in the long run.

It would depend on how much time is left Peck. I think if there's 12hrs or less you cannot pull an auction

[azda 979]

What do people thing of this? Extreme Shill bidding?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1908-EDWARD-VII-GREAT-BRITAIN-SILVER-HALFCROWN-HALF-CROWN-COIN-PCGS-MS64-/360699556860?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=lwoW94bIzNFaHgBs%2BW1cUSuae4I%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Jefstenbon i think his name was, a Canadian slab number buyer by the looks of it.

[azda 979]

Saying all that though, coin Sold on the 28th July and Sent to Canada within 3 days as FB was left in the 31st. Smells of bullshit to me now

[Nick 329]

Saying all that though, coin Sold on the 28th July and Sent to Canada within 3 days as FB was left in the 31st. Smells of bullshit to me now

I saw that early feedback too and thought it might be somewhat iffy.

[DaveG38 405]

Apparently this is a 'nice grade.'

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1914-KING-GEORGE-V-BRITISH-GB-FARTHING-COIN-NICE-GRADE-/161073593496?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item2580bbfc98

[RLC35 288]

Another "Detector Find" Dave! No bad, considering it has been underground since 1915! LOL!

[Peckris 579]

A shill bidder may want to by it to prevent it going to cheap. That's a problem that arose when the revserve was upped to £50.

Yeah, but if it was going too cheap, why wouldn't the seller just withdraw it from sale? An over-enthusiastic shiller would cost more in the long run.

It would depend on how much time is left Peck. I think if there's 12hrs or less you cannot pull an auction

Yes but it's still Hobson's Choice - either you have to let it go cheap, or you end up buying your own coin. In both cases you lose.

[Rob 3,152]

Of rather more use is the message it conveys. If someone is acting underhand thinking they will not be rumbled, you can rest assured that in a face to face situation they are probably acting in a similar manner whilst still trying to maintain an air of respectability. A leopard doesn't change its spots. Either way it is likely you are being ripped off.

[azda 979]

*name removed* has overtaken Platt in the shilling game, which is not easy to do, but every Gold coin he lists is shilled. I'm fairly confident he also does the Same with the silver. He also reads these boards.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Chris Perkins

[RLC35 288]

I think you are right Dave...there are a lot of people read these boards, that are lurkers only! I talked to a buyer the other day about the Forum, and he said he looks at it all the time, but has not become a member...he said he doesn't like some of our language! Can you imagine that! LOL! (BTW...he was trying to buy my 1877 Narrow Date!).

[azda 979]

Just Hope your buyer does'nt go to the Pub, he's Never Drink again. I listed some of *name removed* shilled auctions last Year, it was a Lot of money, £5500 i think his shill bidder had pushed his Gold coins to, 30 mins after posting the thread Rob had taken a look and the ones i'd listed which were shilled had gone, thats why i know he reads These boards and is also. Member here, because i'd posted my thread in the members section

[Rob 3,152]

I think you are right Dave...there are a lot of people read these boards, that are lurkers only! I talked to a buyer the other day about the Forum, and he said he looks at it all the time, but has not become a member...he said he doesn't like some of our language! Can you imagine that! LOL! (BTW...he was trying to buy my 1877 Narrow Date!).

People should join and complain about the language if they get offended. Virtually all of the 'offensive' language is used with particular reference to individuals who are taking others for a ride in the mind of the speaker(s). Nobody is going to be castigated for not saying something offensive. Far better that more people contribute to a debate than abstain as everyone has something to bring to the table.

The question then would be, 'Who will be the first person to get a warning point?'. Personally, I quite like the concept of cyberstocks but need to think through how it would be applied.

Edited August 4, 2013 by Rob