advice on EBay feedback etiquite

[HughH]

Hi
i am looking for advice on giving feedback on EBay in a very particular circumstance

I bought 2 items last week from the same seller.
The price was fair, the goods were as described, and they were posted quickly and received in good order.

However:]

during the bidding process I was suspicious of some of the other biding activity. The price was being pushed up (in one case until my top bid was revealed and then the other bid was almost instantly removed) by 2 suspicious bidders.

I won both items, at what are fair prices, but not as cheap as i thought I would get them. Before I paid I reported the auctions and my suspicions to Ebay about possible shill bidding.

After that happened, and before I paid, I got an email from one of the shill accounts responding to a question to the seller about delivery / pickup. That confirmed the shill bidding so far as I was concerned.

Ebay responded and confirmed that there were 2 shill bidders involved and gave me the option to discus with the seller to cancel the sales.

Given i wanted the items, I paid and got them instead and they arrived very quickly in good order.

Ebay said it would take action against the seller but could not tell me what action due to privacy but it might include suspension or canceling the account.

I have checked thru the week - the prime account is still operating and he still has items for sale. One of the shill accounts is still there and the other has changed its name to a new name (for the second time) and is still in business.

My dilemma is:

Do I leave negative feedback about shill bidding but positive comments within that about service and description of goods?

If I do that I can expect retaliation type feedback and a lot of hassles I don't need right now - so why should I worry when it is "buyer beware" out there and obviously ebay won't do anything meaningful.

if I don't leave negative feedback he will continue this scam - i checked back and it is a common practice in his auctions - so should I be the policeman for ebay, potentially at cost to me, when ebay wont be?

I have already contacted one of the other bidders who buys lots of similar things and told him directly this seller used shill accounts against us both.

how does any of this help make it safer out there to buy in confidence? luckily these are both small value items.

your comments would be welcome and may help influence what I do on the feedback

[tfmcmahon]

If E-bay confirmed you are right,then let him have it with both barrels! Let him be on the defense and accept what ever comes his way.Stick to your principles and do whats right.The end result is exposing him for what he is and he will have to accept the consequences.There are plenty of people who do it right and you don`t have to deal with the trash out there.As for unintended consequences coming your way,there is a lot of satisfaction in being on the right side of issues big and small, and you can enjoy watching him squirm! Go for it!!! It`s only E-bay after all.

[CurtEgerer]

I can't believe confirmed shill bidding is not AUTOMATIC grounds for suspension by eBay! "it might include suspension or ....."

[bmendel]

if this was confirmed by ebay, perhaps you should tell us who it was, especially if it was porsche parts, since many of us on the boards are forced to rely on ebay for some of the parts we need.

[HughH]

Well I have taken the step and given the negative feedback due to shill biding while saying the goods were as described and delivered OK

I don't think many here would be buying from this guy - the items were 2 minichamps models featured in the thread on the targa florio cars that i just happened to see when i was searching for something on the real cars

the items are Item number: 300160952665
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWN:IT&ih=020
and Item number: 300160953072
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWN:IT&ih=020

if you look at the biding you can see the shill bidders bj1090104 and snappedanother who has changed his ID to silmirab. It was snappedanother who responded when i asked the seller rqo840 if i could pick the items up after i became suspicious of the bidding. ebay confirmed that they are all connected.

i wonder if they will protect my feedback reputation (my wife's account so I am in trouble if they don't)

thanks for the feedback Curt and Tom

PS check out the bidding history (and retraction at the bottom of the page) on Item number: 300160953072

[sithot]

Hugh:

I agree with the commentary regarding your recent e-bay experience and suggest that you do what you can to ferret these rats out.

One option I might suggest is a sniper program. It doesn't let them see you coming until it's all done. Your maximum bid is not disclosed until the final seconds of the auction at which point it is too late UNLESS someone else has sniped it at a higher price.

In your case it sounds like somebody was bumping it up manually.

Good luck,

Tom

[berettafan]

even small dollar collectibles are a tough racket on ebay. i all but gave up in my search for Ninco 356 slot cars at a reasonable price.

[HarryD]

Hugh:

Bravo for you to push back on these deceptive practices.

I believe that e-bay frowns on "retalitory" feedback. If the seller does leave negative feedback for you, I would suggest that you contact e-bay to have them remove it from your account. This should be a slam dunk as you already have the correspondence from e-bay to document that your comments are legitimate.

Another tactic to manage this type of issue is to wait for the seller to leave feedback and then post yours. As best I recall, the seller (or you for that matter) cannot change the feedback once it is posted so this also protects your rating.

As a former seller on e-bay (5+ years ago when e-bay was a "kinder, gentler place), we would always leave feedback to the customer once they sent their money and the item was shipped. As a buyer, I always wait for the seller to post first as I think sellers need the feedback rating more than the buyers and they need to "give to get" ...

Well I have taken the step and given the negative feedback due to shill biding while saying the goods were as described and delivered OK

I don't think many here would be buying from this guy - the items were 2 minichamps models featured in the thread on the targa florio cars that i just happened to see when i was searching for something on the real cars

the items are Item number: 300160952665
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWN:IT&ih=020
and Item number: 300160953072
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWN:IT&ih=020

if you look at the biding you can see the shill bidders bj1090104 and snappedanother who has changed his ID to silmirab. It was snappedanother who responded when i asked the seller rqo840 if i could pick the items up after i became suspicious of the bidding. ebay confirmed that they are all connected.

i wonder if they will protect my feedback reputation (my wife's account so I am in trouble if they don't)

thanks for the feedback Curt and Tom

PS check out the bidding history (and retraction at the bottom of the page) on Item number: 300160953072

[HughH]

Harry

i was waiting, and waiting for the seller to leave feedback first exactly for that reason.

I figured he probably knew there was an issue, so by not leaving feedback he was implicitly threatening to leave negative feedback if i did.

Also he would get away with it if no feedback was left, as one negative feedback is worth a lot of positive ones

I thought what the hell, I am not letting him get out of it that way so i will leave it first

i agree that if he tries to retaliate the best option is go back to ebay - but it really should be up to them to do something in the first place


Tom
Normally i would wait to the last minute - and my wife always does so she gave me a hard time for bidding so early.
But it was an impulse thing, it was local, and small dollars so i wasn't really fussed.

In fact If they had gone much higher on real bidding i would have missed out anyway