Do sellers ever bid on their own items?

[be.be.ce.ce]

Not sure if something suss happened but just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I saw an item 3 months ago I was interested in buying. Not overly keen but kept an eye on it. Saw it constantly have no bids and the seller just kept re-listing it over and over again. Last night I thought I’d give the make an offer a go but all 3 of my offers were rejected. Today I placed the first bid with a few hours to go. I knew I could be outbid and that was fine. 4 minutes left and I was still the only bidder. Had dinner and came back to see I was outbid with only seconds to go. I just find it weird that after months this item had more than one bid on it. Maybe someone had been watching it like I had been? Any thoughts? Was the seller worried that the item would only sell for their minimum amount? 

[lyndal1838]

It is possible that there was shill bidding involved but not very likely.

For a start, the seller cannot bid on their own items from the same account.....they either need another account or have a friend bid on the item.

In the scenario you mention it is unlikely to be shill bidding.....if the seller wants more money they can just cancel the auction with no ramifications.  If they are caught shill bidding they face the wrath of ebay.

You need a lot more evidence of shilling before pointing fingers.....mud does stick.

Keep an eye on the completed auction and see if the seller relists it.....then you can think about shill bidding.  Or see if the buyer leave feedback....then you know there was nothing suss about the fact that you were outbid.

[be.be.ce.ce]

Thanks for replying. I was wondering about it being by a friend or a second account. Might keep an eye on it to see if the seller relists it. 

[*tippy*toes*]

While it's possible shill bidding was involved, I think it was more a case of another watcher realised someone had placed a bid and thought they had better act or miss out. If I am watching something that keeps relisting, and I either forget to bid at the last minute, or I'm at work and can't, when I do get around to bidding, I do so in the last 5-10 seconds. That stops most people from being able to jump in at the last minute. 

In the event a seller is bidding on their own items with another account, the object is not to win the auction. It's to inflate the price. You may see it as someone placing a high bid to see what your high bid is, cancelling their bid, then rebidding just under your high amount. If that happens in the last 12 hours of an auction, then the seller is probably involved as a buyer can't cancel a bid with less than 12 hours to go. Only a seller can.