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Rampant Shilling That eBay Ignores
Does eBay ignore traders who shill ?
It took me 10 MINUTES with ZERO system access to identify a trader who (I suspect) has placed 170 shill bids in the last 30 days all for items worth a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. ... yet eBay doesn't look or turns a blind eye or doesn't want to know. After all ... it makes eBay more money ... why would they want to stop it ???
In fact ... it is NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to report it, when you try.
Does anyone care at eBay ... do buyers care they are being ripped off by a licensed dealer ???
29 comments
kh-stanley1
·3 years agoHi everyone,
The Community Guidelines actually state:
No naming and shaming. We will not tolerate posting member details or listing information for the purpose of shaming another member. Additionally, a members’ ID or contact information may not be published. Any posts containing such information will be edited or removed.
As the OP has now established the appropriate method of alerting eBay to the activity described, this thread will be locked to further comment.
eBay Moderation Team
sugar249
·3 years agoYou claim you have evidence, why are you scared of providing an item number? Or maybe you h=are just blowing of steam because you missed out on an auction.
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoThanks sugar249 ... I have the sellers actual personal details ... not evidence. Read what was previously written about proof if you wish to come up to speed.
I won't provide that info to random anonymous people and post it in a public forum just because they ask. I will conduct this as (I have learnt) eBay wants it done.
How do you know I'm scared ? What power do you possess to "know" this ?
And same question re "blowing off steam" ?
And why am I even replying to you ???? (Rhetorical)
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agodavewil1964
·3 years agoWhy are you even replying? Diety knows, none of us do.
Why did you ask your question when you are only going to get responses from anonymous people, ie board members with a grasp of how eBay works? Diety knows. I don't, and given your lack of willingness to provide even a hint of proof, none of 'us', board members, can have a chance of knowing.
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoFurther on REPORT THIS ITEM link ....
The link disappears when the item ends, making it impossible to report an item after that time.
As the suspected shill seller places bids 1 - 2 hours before auction ends ... this is the "window of opportunity" to alert eBay to any possible shill bid activity.
Seller ends bids (in listing sequence) at same time each day. Unfortunately for me, that is 3am - 4am my time. But I will jump through all the hoops eBay makes me jump through to bring this to their attention.
TIPS FOR SIMILARLY AGRIEVED EBAY USERS :
The location of the Report This Item link is to the right of the About This Item and Postage, Paymens and Returns tabs on the auction listing page.
Click on Repot This Item Link and you wil be taken to the File A Report page of preset drop-down respones -
On Report Category select Listing Practices
On Reason For Report select Fraudulent Listing Activities
On Detailed Reason select Seller Is Using Other Accounts To Inflate Item Price
I hope this helps others with similar concerns.
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agoHi... can you provide just one item #.
Btw if I place 170 bids on 170 different items with the same seller in 30 days I too would have 100% activity with that seller ,,, does not mean that I am shill bidding.
I abhor shill bidding. However it only succeeds when others bid in response to the shill bid.
Which is why I place my one & only bid 2 seconds from the end of an auction.
farnarkles
·3 years agoI suggest you read this whole thread for better context.
And how often have you legitimately bid on more than 100 items with the one seller ?
Please enlighten us all.
sandypebbles
·3 years agowould'nt need to be more than 100 items
Could be half a dozen or less and would still show as 100% activity with the seller
Responders have read the thread an largely been personal opinion from the OP and not much each
And the request for an item number (so IF there is obvious shilling) more people can report it being ignored does'nt exactly show too much concern
Or even reporting the claimed fraud to the relevant authorities if eBay is not doing anything
Pretty much like when people use other accounts to comment and back themselves up if they don't get the replies they want to hear from other members
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agoThank you Sandy.
Saves me the trouble of replying.
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoI can supply item numbers, account name of seller, link to suspect account, sellers REAL name and REAL address, REAL trading name and VAT number.
First, you would have to identify yourself and the role you would play in looking into this issue for me to post this info here.
And you are ?
imastawka
·3 years agoThe only thing you can name on these boards is the item number (or one of them)
You've been asked for that, but haven't given us one.
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoWho is "us" .... please identify yourself.
That would be the professional way to conduct an information request.
domino-710
·3 years agoLOL.
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoSince my original post, I have learnt the eBay way to resolve this issue, which I will pursue in the way eBay has documented and wants it done.
Thanks to the "community" for your help which has ranged from useful to ridicule. This has been a learning process in many ways.
If that amuses you domino-710, then you must get a lot of laughs in here.
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agoThe professional way for you would be to read the Community Guidelines.
All we are asking for is one item # in order to help.
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agoRead the reply from stawks as to what you can post.
Who am I?
An eBay member just like you & the others on this thread.
sandypebbles
·3 years agoYou posted on a member to member forum and other members have responded
The only thing you were asked for was the item number
You agreed not to post the other information when you signed up
An awful lot of nonsense (again) from you in reply to the most simple questions
sandypebbles
·3 years agoHave you made contact with a supervisor with proof of shill bidding?
You have said eBay don't look, but then say (in capital letters) it is nearly impossible to report it
(eBay don't just check listings, and there is a report button on every listing)
As for buyers caring if they are being ripped off, maybe as much as you cared when you bought from two different dodgy as sellers in Hong Kong who you've negged
That is just a big part of the issue, many buyers simply don't care who they buy from and most don't even bother to look at feedback
I doubt very much eBay care, you would need to ask them
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoI can not find a link that leads me to a human being to report it. I do get (repeatedly) directed to FAQ style information that provides no solution.
Thanks for pointing out the "Report this item" link ... I think I am about to use it profusely. This British trader does $1million - $2 milllion per year in AUD ebay "auctions" and shills on a significant amount of those auctions. As a licensed precious metal dealer in his country, his practices are most likely illegal, not just a TOS breach.
Indicators of a shill account :
1. Shill account has placed 170 bids on 170 items in the last 30 days
2. 100% bid activity with the same eBayer
3. All bids placed 1 - 2 hours before auction ends, but ONLY on items from the same seller that are not performing well and only places one bid per item, though bids can cover a range of bids.
4. Old feedback shows seller tends not post items sold too cheaply. However, shilling works to avoid this. Seller trades in Sterling Silver items ranging from GBP50 -GPB15,000. It makes business sense not to supply at a loss, despite auction outcome. It also is highly rewarding to boost values as the account sells >GPB500,000 per year. This is a MAJOR trading account. We are not talking nickels and dimes.
Of course, with user level access, proving anything in this regard is not possible.
Any day of the week eBay could run a system report to identify all accounts that have stats that may involve shilling over a certain number of items wiht the same seller ... say, 100% acivity on more than 100 bids per month ... then dig deeper.
How fraud on this scale "gets through" eBay security is beyond me if they are serious.
padi*0409
·3 years agoHow do you suspect that they are shill-bidding ?
Yes, it does happen but I suspect it's not as prevalent as some people think.
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoPlease read my 3 posts on this thread and you may learn more about shill bidding and how to (possibly) identify it and report it.
imastawka
·3 years agoReport shill bidding
We thoroughly investigate every report we receive. Sometimes, though, what appears to be shill bidding may actually be a legitimate transaction. If there's evidence of shill bidding, we take action, ranging from listing cancellation to referral to law enforcement. Our User Privacy Notice prevents us from disclosing the details of our investigation to other members, including the person who reported the issue.
Investigating shill bidding
Our policy against shill bidding applies to all eBay members, regardless of their membership status, and we base our actions on the severity of the violation. To protect the marketplace, we can't talk about how we detect shill bidding or our investigative methods. We also can't disclose certain kinds of evidence if we think that doing so would give someone ideas on how to circumvent the rules.
Suspending sellers
We understand that some members may not know that shill bidding is wrong. So we're open to giving them a second chance, and to ensure they fully understand the seriousness of the violation, we may issue a temporary account suspension or any other action that's necessary. Keep in mind, though, that sellers may be suspended from using eBay permanently, even if it's the first time they violate our shill bidding policy.
Shill bidding policy | eBay
Report an issue with a seller | eBay
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoThanks for that. Good info.
It still means I have to get up at 3am to get that elusive window between the (possible) shill bidding and the items ending. No amount of cut & paste resolves that.
But as I said i will do it.
This is a registered business that is doing this and I don't know about you ... but high-turnover professional traders have no excuses for shill bidding and artificially inflating prices.
gutterpunkz05
·3 years agoWell for someone who supposedly is able to identify shill bidding, one would expect them to be able to figure out how to contact a real live person at ebay.
In addition, you state you suspect shill bidding. guess what ebay will not act on your mere suspicion, so you had better be 100% damn sure of your accusations before contacting ebay.
As for there being no evidence after the sale is complete, what a load of rubbish, any mere mug can still access the sale and all bidding records.
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoThanks for your response ... but I noted you neglected to detail how you would resolve a similar issue with an eBay human being. It's easy to criticise.
Please do not waste people's time with wayward responses.
FYI ... The Report This Item link does disappear after the item ends. You can check that with all the eBay humans you know. They will set you straight, I'm sure.
sandypebbles
·3 years agoI would suggest you take your own advice and see ya later
warehouseclearers
OP3 years agoI will GLADLY supply all the information I have on this to anyone who, first, identifies who they are and what part they play in the resolution/investigation of this issue.
And you are ???
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agoThe community guidelines prevent the publishing of personal details.
We don't know who you are... and that is fine.
One item # would enable us to confirm your suspicions.