• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Beware of Ebay shill bidding

troy mcclure

troy mcclure

Mar 5, 2007
3,299
931
Central Florida
#1
I was buying a fairly mundane replacement part for a Fender Jazz Bass on ebay from the seller who dismantles Fenders and parts them out... ebayers will know the guy strat in the user name.
I noticed when the bidding ended, the guy who bid me up did 92% off his last 200 bids with this seller in 30 days. I would venture to guess that is a shill. As always with Ebay bid the max of what you want to pay for an item and walk away if you lose the auction.
 
#5
It's pretty common among sellers who part stuff out. We get a lot of it in r/c car parts sellers parting out kits, especially on the high demand parts.
 
#8
Once I wanted something, it was at $30, I put in a bid at $60. Somebody got in and ran it all the way up to $62 one bid after another, then backed out leaving me with paying $60. I refused and wrote ebay and told them this was purposeful price manipulation and told them I would only pay for my last bid before this shill ran the price up. They agreed. The seller was less than pleased but it was his own fault.
 
#9
You can still deal with the part out sellers without worry, just only look at their "buy it now" offerings. No bidding and the prices are usually decent. I've bought from the stratosphere but only "buy it now" stuff.
 
#10
Has happened to me with a few pedals lately. Minutes before the auction ends someone comes in, bids it up to near the Buy It Now price and stops.

Like Jokerone said above Ive also put in low bids, then someones bid it up last minute and outbid me. Literally minutes after the auction ends I get a second chance offer.

All prices Im happy to pay for the pedals in question but it really F**KS me off that some sellers do this. If you wont sell below a certain value set a reserve at that value.
 
#15
I tried to buy a hand made Cajun accordion on Feebay. It was a real beauty and I was the high bidder until 5 seconds before the bidding ended and in an instant the bid jumped to near the buy now price. A friend warned about these robo bidders and he was right. Now if there is no buy now price, I won't even consider the item. I won't bid on anything again. Not worth the aggravation. :):cool::bassist:
 
#16
Gaolee said:
Whenever I bid on anything on fleabay, I bid once. That's the price I'll pay. That's it. No problems.
Click to expand...
Yes, bid once when there are 2 or 3 seconds left in the auction and be done. Why wait until the last second? You're more likely to win, and if you do win, you're more likely to pay less. Not everyone is good at the bid once and walk away concept. They'll put a bid in, and when someone beats them, they'll decide the really want the item and bid more. If you don't give them a chance to put in another bid after yours, they can't drive up the price without winning, or outbid you.
 
#18
I have put in several "losing" bids, only to win. I got a Ric for relatively cheap that way. Beats me how it slipped through the cracks, but it did. I recently got outbid by something like $10 for something else, but that was OK with me. The price hit my limit, and that was that. I suspect somebody else put in a higher overall bid sometime after my initial bid, and that person got it for less than their maximum price. Maybe, maybe not, but if it was a shill bid, then the seller got to keep it.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back