Those ones are simple as you know that when they list that way you can just ignore them,(that's what I do).
Try these ones where there isn't a clue of the deception till you go into the listing,(scroll down to the items found
from eBay international sellers and select the ones with the "BIN" of $1.31).
When you go into the listing it has a multiple variation and this type of deception is on the increase,(Chinese
sellers are the ones that stated this carp so they could manipulate the search and browse by having the
low price and also have the listed item as a variation but at a higher price).
This search and browse manipulation is going to upset a lot of members and it will see a decline in buyers
IMHO as they get fed up with going into a listing and then finding that the advertised item is not at the
advertised price.
I've searched for items at times and keep coming across those listing and just delete the search as I'm
fed up with those type of "sellers",
In the end the ones that will get punished is the genuine seller who uses the multiple listing variations in
the correct manner,(plus the buyers as they give up and stop buying on eBay).
@teal_27 wrote:One method we could use is to simply spam eBay with reports of listing violations... Eventually they might catch on as to why.
The really stupid thing is eBay can fix it very very easily... Just make "lowest first" use the highest value in their listing. Problem solved. The dodgy listers will go to the end of the queue.
eBay need to put a stop to it and start suspending those sellers,(eg: send out a general Email to all account
holders that anyone that has these type of listings needs to comply with the policies within a month? and set
them up correctly or they will get suspended).
Then they need to do is put a simplified section into the report links so that those that ignore the timeline
can then be reported easily,
@teal_27 wrote:
Sellers are getting wise to that too. They create duplicate listings, but one will have a $1 USB cable. The next will have a $5 phone case. I've seen up to $100 dummy items (when the real products are around $300-$400) which makes it really hard to separate the dodgy ones.
But the actual item prices tend to be fairly consistent, so different prices but same technique means same solution (eg if the item price is in the $300 range, start searches from $200, if it's in the $10 range, start them from $7 or so).
The other method is to refine via keywords, eg if you're looking to by a mobile phone from China and they commonly use a case or screen protector as the bait item, then you would type this kind of search
mobile phone -case -protector
and it works the same way as the price range filter (as in, it eliminates the prices for those item from showing up in listings). It's not perfect, as some sellers will use #1 etc instead of item names in the variations, but it's a lot better than trying to sort through all of the listings.
I have to ask though - am I the only one that sees search results like this? Because it tends to make the listings with bait items really obvious (though there are exceptions, as sellers will have big price ranges for the same item due to quantity options, eg $1 for one, up to $75 for 100).
This listing (and may others that display the same way) came up in a general keyword search with no refinement, and is for a cheap watch. The seller is actually offering a watch for $1 (a really cheap looking silicone band thing), while the $10 watch is what is pictured in the gallery and a little nicer looking.
(Sidenote - when variation listings were first introduced, eBay used to display the image of the variation that was showing in search results, so in the case of bait listings, if the cheap $1 item price was displayed, that item's picture would be right next to it. I wonder why they stopped doing that? 
)
@digital*ghost wrote:
@teal_27 wrote:
Sellers are getting wise to that too. They create duplicate listings, but one will have a $1 USB cable. The next will have a $5 phone case. I've seen up to $100 dummy items (when the real products are around $300-$400) which makes it really hard to separate the dodgy ones.I have to ask though - am I the only one that sees search results like this? Because it tends to make the listings with bait items really obvious (though there are exceptions, as sellers will have big price ranges for the same item due to quantity options, eg $1 for one, up to $75 for 100).
This listing (and may others that display the same way) came up in a general keyword search with no refinement, and is for a cheap watch. The seller is actually offering a watch for $1 (a really cheap looking silicone band thing), while the $10 watch is what is pictured in the gallery and a little nicer looking.
That's the general way they list that Teal is talking about,(one low priced "bait" item and then the actual
listing title item is a much higher price when you select it in the listing).
Generally the bait item isn't even mentioned in the listing title.
(Sidenote - when variation listings were first introduced, eBay used to display the image of the variation that was showing in search results, so in the case of bait listings, if the cheap $1 item price was displayed, that item's picture would be right next to it. I wonder why they stopped doing that?
The Chinese sellers themselves probably found a way around that loop hole or their "managers" may have
requested it's removal?
The other way they now list is as per my post 5 link,where they just have a standard price and it doesn't come
up as a variation listing until you go into the listing,(the ones in question are now $1.28 BIN).
The listing title is for a 6000 LM torch for $1.28 but that price is for the bait item which is a 2000 LM torch and
the 6000 LM torch is actually $2.57
Nothing in the listing title relates to the bait item and it's circumventing the search and bowse policy.
