Something Smells

[ColoSwiss]

Something stinks! 'u**j' just placed over 30 bids on an item I was bidding on; ran it up to my maximum bid; and then promptly cancelled his bid. He's had 59 bid retractions in the past month.

Bidder Information
Bidder:   u***j( 58)
Feedback:   100%Positive
Item description:   Ebel 18 k gold steel knife Rare wenger
Bids on this item:   31
   
30-Day Summary
Total bids:   628
Items bid on:   262
Bid activity (%) with this seller:   4%   
Bid retractions:   59
Bid retractions (6 months):   75

[comis]

Something stinks! 'u**j' just placed over 30 bids on an item I was bidding on; ran it up to my maximum bid; and then promptly cancelled his bid. He's had 59 bid retractions in the past month.

Bidder Information
Bidder:   u***j( 58)
Feedback:   100%Positive
Item description:   Ebel 18 k gold steel knife Rare wenger
Bids on this item:   31
   
30-Day Summary
Total bids:   628
Items bid on:   262
Bid activity (%) with this seller:   4%   
Bid retractions:   59
Bid retractions (6 months):   75

Don't know this person, but does this bidder has any successful purchase?  Does he seem to be related to any of those sellers of 59 retractions?

I can't imagine someone just took the time to outbid probably hundreds, only to retract them all at the end.

[detron]

thanks for the heads up, and I would sure think that was weird.

hate people who corrupt a working system. 

[theonew]

I've been using Ebay since it started and have never retracted a bid. I would think 59 bid retractions in a 30 day period should rise to the level of account suspension and inquiry. Allowing behavior like this I can only imagine would open themselves up to costly legal action.

[felinevet]

Sounds like shell bidding to me. It has come up here before and is quite insidious. Sorry Karl.

[gregozedobe]

I'd only pay the amount you would have paid if this smurf-hole hadn't bid at all - if they have retracted their bids then everything from them bidding (including raising your bid) is null and void.  If the seller objects then offer to report it to eBay as shill bidding (assuming the bidder was in cahoots with the seller somehow).

[enki_ck]

Wow, he drove it 4x the initial price since he started to bid. I think it may be the seller here or someone working for him driving the price up as he had it for sale for a bit under $500 BIN before and couldn't sell it, and now it was sitting at $27 a few hours before the bidding ended.

[Joe58]

This sorta thing really chaps my hind end. I just can't abide people setting out to gouge folks out of their money that they've worked hard for, and are bidding in good faith.

Anymore - I bid my max first thing and if it goes past that, oh well. And sellers with only a few feed backs I'm leery of.

I'm sure most sellers are completely above board but guys like this give the whole system a bad name.

Hate it!

Joe

[nsa-x-file]

Not great at all. I've been on eBay since 2000 and have seen many scams over the years.
This seems to be the most common of late.
Plus these people will have at least ten or more eBay accounts which is half the problem.

[sawman]

I've had it max out my bid at the very end of the occasional auction. I thought it was peculiar but never gave it much thought until now... 

[Joe58]

I was thinking that if you retract too many bids that would raise some sort of flag with eBay. But as you say, these low life's have several accounts and raise their own auctions. If one account gets suspended, they just make another.

If seems as though in some cases if these guys spent as much time actually working instead of figuring out how to beat the system, they could make a good living. But that's our society today sadly.

Joe

[nate j]

Definitely report this clown to eBay.  Can't imagine they wouldn't act when it is this obvious.

[felinevet]

I hate to sound skeptical but my experience has been that eBay either can't or won't deal with problems.

[ColoSwiss]

The seller is in Turkey. The jerk who ran up the price is a 'jasonxujason' out of China. I'd already paid for the item before I discovered the ****. I've asked the seller for a partial refund, but don't have a lot of options.

[Joe58]

Wasn't there a seller awhile back that seemed to be buying up every SAK that wasn't nailed down? I think that guy was legit though. I recall that if I seen him bidding I didn't even bother as it seemed he had some deep pockets.

Deeper than mine anyway - considering I don't even have pockets. 

Joe

[felinevet]

Yes, that guy was legit and has bought directly from me on many occasions.

[enki_ck]

Hm, he started buying on the 28 or July and has been buying SAKs exclusively so I doubt he's connected to that seller. Still a rotten thing to do.

[nate j]

It's a shame eBay doesn't seem interested in policing things a bit better.  I would have thought that many bid retractions would have been grounds for some action, whether that buyer is connected to the seller or not.

[Jailbird]

I've gotten pinched on a few things the same way in the past. I placed a bid on a whim, had second thoughts, then gotten out bid. At the last moment the high bid was retracted and I got stuck with it. It is truly a shame ebay doesn't go after these people.

On a side note, I've been asked a few times by "friends" to run up bids on things they were selling. Imo, that's just as dirty.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[stressmaster5000]

"Collusion"  is rampant on eBay and is not only wrong it is illegal. I doubt eBay will do anything though since sales with higher prices mean more money in their coffers. I had this same thing happen to me for an item and while I do not think the bidder was in cahoots with the seller I sent him a message stating what happened. He acknowledged it looked fraudulent but refused to do anything so I paid him but refused to leave any feedback, good or bad, and told him when I got the item and was happy with the item.

I use the "Report" button quite often but usually I find no action that I could see from eBay. I am sure their are lots of reasons given but where else are you going to find a global marketplace with the chance to find just what you want. I still buy on eBay but not as much and I am choosy about sellers I use now.

Sorry to see this is hitting you more than once Karl. Hope this guy gets the boot or at least finds some other way of getting his jollies.

[ColoSwiss]

The dealer in Turkey canceled the sale and refunded my money, so that's squared way.

However the SOB in China just pulled the same stunt on me again on another item. I've reported him to ebay, but from previous discussions here, doubt anything will happen. May have to look into a sniping program if this keeps up.