Some help please with a one off clothing item quickly relisted despite 2 bidders! A tad suss?

[redders_60]

I'm feeling a tad suspicious about a listing titled Hell Bunny Off Shoulder Floral Dress. Ended yesterday. Whilst I was checking the manufacturer's website for sizing (no measurements in the scanty listing) the item ended. It had 2 bidders & was @ $16.50 with $15 postage. A one off; As are all clothing & shoes from this seller. Straight up there was a brand new listing; same item, size & same 2 pics.  

My original thoughts were give the dress a bid & hope it fits when it arrives; But now I'm very concerned about the bid pattern & quick relist. Maybe friends shill biddng? The auction end price for the discontinued style dress is well under the retail value.

Any thoughts from those who can check? I'm no good @ sleuthing this sort of stuff. Thanks in advance for any insights! (BTW - I'm still not sure the dress will fit!) EDIT dress is blue with floral print sz XL, possibly too big for me. 

[gutterpunkz05]

Ask the seller.  Maybe buyer requested cancellation, maybe seller had more than one, who knows.  Seller has 100% feedback and

comments are good.

[kopenhagen5]

Initially my guess would be, winning bidder messaged seller asking to cancel and seller can't cancel less than 12 hours in auction.

They had bid 4 days before and maybe forgot. (Bid was placed 2am in morning so drinkies could have been involved)

Then it was relisted.

XL might be big for your gorgeous figure. 

[melbourneclearance]

ebay is a safe place for buyers, especially for buyers like yourself who don't have any obvious strikes. I wouldn't worry about bidding.

Sellers cancel auctions for various reasons, mostly probably because they're not happy with the price. Even if they have shill bidding as long as you have a fixed maximum prce you are willing to bid and stick to it, you won't be out of pocket. And yes, you should stop as soon as you suspect a shill bidding. Look at the seller's other items, if all of them have the same bidder (eg. s***l(1) ) then stop right there and give that seller a miss.

[melbourneclearance]

After looking at the listing and the winning bid of the previous item, my opinion is this was not a shill bidding. It was genuine.

I also notice that the dress is marked as Brand New. Maybe the seller just has several of the same dress.

[springyzone]

The 2 people who bid on that dress also bid on a couple of other items I think, but not on everything, so they may just be people who are interested in those brand names.

The sold item just below yours in that seller's completed listings (the Voodoo vixen bella sailor dress) was won by the same person who won the dress you're interested in & I noticed that also has been relisted.

I'd be inclined to think maybe the winner dipped out of buying both. I don't think the seller has multiples of the dresses, I just think the buyer is either a shill or non payer (probably non payer who asked for cancellation).

In your case, I'd ask the seller a question about the measurements, you've got 8 days. I'd ask the question now then if you decide to bid, do it late in the game.

It doesn't look as if all the items get a lot of bids, some do but some only get one or two so who knows, you might get it for $15.

[go-tazz]

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@springyzone wrote:

The 2 people who bid on that dress also bid on a couple of other items I think, but not on everything, so they may just be people who are interested in those brand names.

The sold item just below yours in that seller's completed listings (the Voodoo vixen bella sailor dress) was won by the same person who won the dress you're interested in & I noticed that also has been relisted.

I'd be inclined to think maybe the winner dipped out of buying both. I don't think the seller has multiples of the dresses, I just think the buyer is either a shill or non payer (probably non payer who asked for cancellation).

In your case, I'd ask the seller a question about the measurements, you've got 8 days. I'd ask the question now then if you decide to bid, do it late in the game.

It doesn't look as if all the items get a lot of bids, some do but some only get one or two so who knows, you might get it for $15.

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They also bid on the Hell Bunny Black Fox Deer dress that sold on the 28th of Jan to a different buyer,(that one

went for $65).

They placed 13 bids and only with this seller,(the items they did win got relisted and the other one sold for a

"high" price).

A chance that they did shill bid but it's so easy to avoid if you are a buyer,(bid in the last 6 seconds of an

auction at the maximum price that you are willing to pay provided that the item that you bid on is suitable and 

"correct" for the intended purpose).

[lane-ends]

If a seller is determined to get a minimum of say $15 for an item they can do either of two things. Start at $15, or shill bid upto $15, if they go past that they risk not selling even though they are happy with the price. Either way as a buyer you are not going to get it for less than $15. Yes it is deceptive and dishonest, but you are not going to get ripped off or pay more than you are willing to.

A shill bid is no more than happens in a real auction room or house sale.

It is the occasional sellers who get their friends and family to do this. Regular sellers dont as the repeated pattern starts to stand out like a sore thumb.

[springyzone]

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@go-tazz wrote:

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They also bid on the Hell Bunny Black Fox Deer dress that sold on the 28th of Jan to a different buyer,(that one

went for $65).

They placed 13 bids and only with this seller,(the items they did win got relisted and the other one sold for a

"high" price).

A chance that they did shill bid but it's so easy to avoid if you are a buyer,(bid in the last 6 seconds of an

auction at the maximum price that you are willing to pay provided that the item that you bid on is suitable and 

"correct" for the intended purpose).
-----------------------

Ah, I only went through some of the listings but if there is *another* item they won earlier & did not go through and buy, then I am inclined to think shill bidding.

Surely a seller who had a buyer bid then straight away ask for a cancellation would not let the same person bid & win two later items? You'd be putting a block on them, wouldn't you?

If the answer is no, not after one episode, then surely now there have been 3 items unpaid for you would.

So.. if we see the same bidder popping up any more with this seller, I think we have the right to be suspicious.

I am very much against shill bidding because it is unfair to the genuine bidder. Sure, a person might only bid up to what they are prepared to be pushed but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Imagine the outcry if houses went that way & the winning bidder at auction was able to walk away & say i didn't mean it & the second bidder was made to pay the price. I'm okay with the concept of a person withdrawing a bid but if so, all their bids should be withdrawn.

I think the best bet with auctions on ebay is to leave it till the last few hours. Doesn't have to be the last few seconds even. But If you hold off till the last few hours, you'll be better off.

It's safe enough to ask a question about measurements though as the seller won't know whether they suit or not.

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[*tippy*toes*]

Me personally, I always bid in the last 2 seconds. Reason being, if you bid earlier, it gives someone else the opportunity to outbid you. If you leave it until the last 2 seconds, it doesn't give shillers the chance to up the anti.