shill bidding ?

[debs3759]

I hope I posted this in the correct forum...

I took a look at a listing that might have been suitable for a group buy. Seems that 8 bids from 3 bidders named "Bidder1", "Bidder2" and "Bidder3" have pushed the price up. Is it reasonable to think he is a seller to be aware of? Or is that possibly just names used by "Bid Assistant" (in which case why would the only 3 bidders wanting this item be using a tool I've never seen used on any listing I watched..)?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JOB-LOT-OF-INTEL-CELERON-2-40GHZ-PROCESSOR-SL6VU_W0QQitemZ230149179793QQihZ013QQcategoryZ51103QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I would have bid a significant price myself if I hadn't suspected an artificial price!

[wepwawet]

I don't know at what price but at some point ebay hides the bidders identity.
I guess it is because of too many spoof second chance offers

[debs3759]

I'd not noticed they do that - I guess I've not been spending enough there recently I thought I had seen bidders names available on higher priced lots, but it does make sense - I guess it could be an alternative to having a list say that the bidders list is private

I'll found out when I get a reply to my report (I reported them when I suspected shill bidding, so I should find out either way...)

[JAC]

Bidders identities are protected on some types of auctions and above certain bid amounts. This was to protect people from second chance offer scammers who would contact people who did not win an item.

The scammer would ask for money by western union or other way. As soon as they got the money they ran and people did not get their goods. Second chance offer is a good system, but make sure you only buy from the original seller!

In the past I had some of these scam offers. I havent had any since ebay made these changes.


Find out more here:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/announcement/27.html



You were a little quick to report what looks like to me a genuine seller. The feedback stars next to the bidder1, bidder2 etc names show that they are different bidders with different amounts of feedback. Shill bidders often use accounts with little or no feedback ( no feedback stars. I think you get a red star for 10 feedback). It even tells you in a yellow box on the bidding page:

To help keep the eBay community safe, enhance bidder privacy, and protect our members from fraudulent emails (such as fake second chance offers), eBay has changed how bid history information is displayed. If you place a bid on a higher-priced item, only you and the seller of the item can view your User ID in the bid history. Other members can no longer view User IDs and will see anonymous names, such as Bidder 1.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/announcement/27.html


If I can't see the User ID of the member who outbid me, how do I know that the bid was legitimate?
We've spent a lot of time analyzing how our members use the bidding information today. The Safeguarding Member ID project was developed based on many conversations with members. They told us their needs during the bidding process, as well as their concerns about safety.

While specific User IDs will not be visible, individual bidders will be identified by an alias (such as bidder1, bidder2, etc.). For each bidder involved in a listing, we'll display the number of bids that they've placed in unique categories, a range that their feedback score falls within (i.e. 10- 49, for instance), their percentage of positive feedback, their length of time as an eBay member, and the number of bids they've placed on the item.

Future enhancements are being designed that will provide even more transaction data about the bidders and seller involved in a transaction. We'll continue to update the Community on these changes as these plans become finalized.

Naturally, if you ever suspect any suspicious activity, you can report it as you do today through the eBay Toolbar or through Help on the site.

[gshv]

Click on the number of bids link, and on the next page it will explain why it replaces bidders names with Bidder1, Bidder2, etc:

http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=230149179793

Gennadiy