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EBAY: BLOCKED USER LIST
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Started by HarveySwick,

8,589 posts in this topic

Old_Man_Adam

Old_Man_Adam

Posted
Posted (edited)

If he’s scamming to drive up prices , perhaps the books have defects as well not depicted in the photos . I once bought a book on eBay at a steal of a price only to find out a large piece was removed from the backside of the book ... partially my fault I confess ... to channel my inner dad ...if it’s too good to be true , it usually is 

Edited by Old_Man_Adam
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Turtle

Turtle

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Old_Man_Adam said:

If he’s scamming to drive up prices , perhaps the books have defects as well not depicted in the photos . I once bought a book on eBay at a steal of a price only to find out a large piece was removed from the backside of the book ... partially my fault I confess ... to channel my inner dad ...if it’s too good to be true , it usually is 

I don't think this is the case here.  In this case, these are graded 9.8 books that have a relatively low cost (sub $100) due to a lack of market interest.  I think it's more likely he wanted to ensure he wouldn't get less than he wanted for these books while also avoiding the extra costs associated with placing an official reserve on the auctions.

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Turtle

Turtle

Posted
Posted

I'm a little surprised some of our ebay gurus haven't popped in to tell me to call a number, talk to a rep, make sure to use a key phrase, and really stick it to this guy.  This board has historically been very anti-shilling, but is there really nothing you can do about it when you see it on ebay? 

I think @theCapraAegagrus's advice (and the input is much appreciated :foryou: ) may end up being the way to go, which isn't the worst thing in the world.  I'm just not in love with the idea of seeing a dishonest act and not doing something about it, even something as small as reporting it.  In my mind, if I report it and Ebay does nothing, that's eBay's prerogative and I can rest knowing I did my part as a good internet citizen.  Doing nothing just feels wrong.  rantrant

 

@RockMyAmadeus You likely know more about eBay's policies than anyone I'm aware of.  Is "no shilling" more of a guideline than a rule on ebay with no actionable consequences?  Sounds crazy to me, but maybe that's the way it is. 

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Number 6

Number 6

Posted
Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, Turtle said:

General ebay question:

I just won a couple of comic auctions from the same buyer but lost out on a third.  However, after going through the bidding history, it is pretty clear to me that shill bidding has occurred.  It had all the hallmarks:

  • Bidder had 0 feedback
  • Bidder had 7 bids...100% of them with the same seller
  • Bidder tended to bid $1 below the next $10 increment (i.e. $39, $49, $59), presumably to force a winning bid to hit the mental reserve at a nice, round number
  • Bidder was mostly active in the closing minutes on the lower-priced books

I offered to buy the book that I didn't win should the winning (shill) bidder fall through.  This was mostly a fishing expedition.  The seller got back to me within minutes, which makes sense since he was active on the shill account just minutes before.  His response:

That one sold too low LOL. I have another 9.8. What would you be interested in offering? Last gpa sale was 67. Let me know your bottom line and I can put one up and you can make an offer then combine shipping.

Anyone else shocked to learn he has "another" copy?

 

The question...what is my next step?

Looking through ebay FAQ's, they indicate that you shouldn't report shill bidding because their system already screens for it.  It's doing a bang-up job too.  (thumbsu  So what now?  Attempt to report it anyway?  Confront the seller?  Request to cancel?  Go through with the transaction knowing that this kind of thing happens all the time? 

 

In case it's relevant, I want these books for my own collection, all books in question are under $100 each, and they're not exceptionally rare.  The final prices are within reasonable limits, but still higher than they would have been in the absence of shill bidding. 

 

Looking for advice.  Thanks!

Man, if the shilled prices,  padded shipping costs and lying about a 2nd copy weren’t bad enough, he’s going to send the slabs Media Mail?

All it would take is a heavy-handed postal inspection in transit to make this an expensive headache that the books themselves probably aren’t worth. 

e-bay’s stated policy may be anti-shilling but in reality it boosts their FVFs so I can’t see them being real motivated to do anything about it. I don’t recall anyone sharing a success in connection with eBay shilling but maybe somebody who does will chime in. 

It’s a bitter pill to know that this seller will profit from his shenanigans but I suppose the stand-up thing to do would be to at least follow through with the books you did win. Though I think I would insist on Priority shipping even though he’ll likely inflate the cost. 

But I wouldn’t buy the “2nd copy” he’s offering.  As you said, the books are common, why make things easier for him?  Make him re-list his shilled-up book. 

Him quoting GPA to price his “2nd copy” is too rich. 

While following through on the books you won is the right thing to do, I have to admit, there’s part of me that secretly would like to see how high on his horse he would get if you called him out and walked away from all the books. 

Edited by Number 6
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MustEatBrains

MustEatBrains

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Turtle said:

I'm a little surprised some of our ebay gurus haven't popped in to tell me to call a number, talk to a rep, make sure to use a key phrase, and really stick it to this guy.  This board has historically been very anti-shilling, but is there really nothing you can do about it when you see it on ebay? 

I think @theCapraAegagrus's advice (and the input is much appreciated :foryou: ) may end up being the way to go, which isn't the worst thing in the world.  I'm just not in love with the idea of seeing a dishonest act and not doing something about it, even something as small as reporting it.  In my mind, if I report it and Ebay does nothing, that's eBay's prerogative and I can rest knowing I did my part as a good internet citizen.  Doing nothing just feels wrong.  rantrant

 

@RockMyAmadeus You likely know more about eBay's policies than anyone I'm aware of.  Is "no shilling" more of a guideline than a rule on ebay with no actionable consequences?  Sounds crazy to me, but maybe that's the way it is. 

The first piece of advice was the best IMO.  You bid what you were comfortable paying, shilled or not.  Pay for those and move on.  And don't forget to out him here which would serve as a PSA for us to avoid.

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Mijael.Levy

Mijael.Levy

Posted
Posted

Another thief i want to report - he is a seller too : callingoutallpoors 

He stole me a book , claiming it didn`t arrived.  i refunded him his money after he openned a case . He immediately sent me a neutral feedback "Was Lost or never shipped" . He already received the item , its been two weeks and i still don`t have my money back , he hasn`t removed the neutral feedback

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jokiing

jokiing

Posted
Posted

Had a small bidding war on a comic that I was selling. Auction ended Sunday night... no word or payment from winner. Sent reminder invoice next day and message last night (Tuesday) asking what his intentions are and to please contact or request cancellation if there was a change of heart... not a word, so I opened a case this morning thinking now I have to wait four days until I can offer to the other bidder. His last feedback from another seller claimed that buyer was "a big waste of his time" so wasn't expecting the guy to pay up, but he did tonight... but still no message. It really irks when these clowns, who probably spend most of their time staring at and texting on their phones, can't simply reply so I know what's going on.... I am tempted to cancel this order and tell him that I sold it to the other bidder because I hadn't heard back from him. There is the risk of negative feedback... so what to do with this id iot ?

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kav

kav

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, jokiing said:

Had a small bidding war on a comic that I was selling. Auction ended Sunday night... no word or payment from winner. Sent reminder invoice next day and message last night (Tuesday) asking what his intentions are and to please contact or request cancellation if there was a change of heart... not a word, so I opened a case this morning thinking now I have to wait four days until I can offer to the other bidder. His last feedback from another seller claimed that buyer was "a big waste of his time" so wasn't expecting the guy to pay up, but he did tonight... but still no message. It really irks when these clowns, who probably spend most of their time staring at and texting on their phones, can't simply reply so I know what's going on.... I am tempted to cancel this order and tell him that I sold it to the other bidder because I hadn't heard back from him. There is the risk of negative feedback... so what to do with this id iot ?

Just send him the book and move on.  If you fight every dolt that pops up it's whack a mole.  Just realize that he also has to deal with cell phone gazers that dont GAF.

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jokiing

jokiing

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, kav said:

Just send him the book and move on.  If you fight every dolt that pops up it's whack a mole.  Just realize that he also has to deal with cell phone gazers that dont GAF.

Thanks... just needed to vent.

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Turtle

Turtle

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, KryptoSpidey said:

Until it gets opened and returned to sender for MEDIA MAIL violation.....and it happens

Honestly, I kinda hope this happens.  It would at least give him a minor headache for the trouble.

 

Minor update...I asked him 2 days ago for the cert # for his 2nd copy of the book I didn't win .  You know, the one he said went "way too low".  I ask him for the cert # and he goes quiet. 

The next morning, he asks me if I'm still interested.  I let him know I'm still waiting on the cert # because I like to verify the grading date and page quality.  He says he "sent the code".  I let him know that I didn't receive anything and he should just manually type in the number in the body of his next message.  He goes quiet for another 24 hours. 

This morning I got a message from him asking if I received the cert # and if I was still interested in it.  I don't know how he assumes I'm getting the code.  I sent him a screenshot of our conversation so far.  Nothing yet...

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theCapraAegagrus

theCapraAegagrus

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Turtle said:

Honestly, I kinda hope this happens.  It would at least give him a minor headache for the trouble.

 

Minor update...I asked him 2 days ago for the cert # for his 2nd copy of the book I didn't win .  You know, the one he said went "way too low".  I ask him for the cert # and he goes quiet. 

The next morning, he asks me if I'm still interested.  I let him know I'm still waiting on the cert # because I like to verify the grading date and page quality.  He says he "sent the code".  I let him know that I didn't receive anything and he should just manually type in the number in the body of his next message.  He goes quiet for another 24 hours. 

This morning I got a message from him asking if I received the cert # and if I was still interested in it.  I don't know how he assumes I'm getting the code.  I sent him a screenshot of our conversation so far.  Nothing yet...

Ask him if he's featured in this video:

 

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Kramerica

Kramerica

Posted
Posted
On 1/22/2020 at 9:11 AM, Corona smith said:

I’ve always found it weird that it’s against  usps rules and regulations to ship comics media mail. Meanwhile eBay who’s partnered with the USPS and thus should be aware of these rules isn’t. When I list books it defaults to media mail as the shipping choice. I never ship that way even if requested. 

Yeah, when eBay and USPS entered into their current agreement they made sure that in 99% of the categories that media mail wasn't available when you went to purchase postage. However, with comics books the option was not taken away. USPS does not want to enforce the media mail rule with comics. That "rule" may be in print but it's largely ignored. USPS is happy with the business they get and they will not be enforcing any sort of media mail policing any time soon. They are not in the business of turning down revenue these days. Media mail is a great way for buyers to get lots o books for cheap and unless your local postmaster is a curmudgeon stickler, USPS could care less. I sell everything from shoes to photos to posters to cards. None of them are eligible for media mail through eBay/USPS. With comics they are eligible and it's not going away any time soon from what I can see. USPS realizes that the advertisements in comics from 30+ years ago are no longer valid and the grants & $$$ that they get from the Government for the promotion of literacy is not going to stop. I've also seen packages sent media mail treated differently over the past two years. They are arriving at their destination much quicker and they are not being tossed around and damaged. As a seller, as long as you package safely you can save your customers a lot of money and ensure repeat business by shipping media mail. I'll ship however my buyers wish but I'm finding most are happy to save some $$$ as long as their loot is packaged safely.

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Buzzetta

Buzzetta

Posted
Posted
On 1/22/2020 at 10:36 AM, Turtle said:

General ebay question:

I just won a couple of comic auctions from the same buyer but lost out on a third.  However, after going through the bidding history, it is pretty clear to me that shill bidding has occurred.  It had all the hallmarks:

  • Bidder had 0 feedback
  • Bidder had 7 bids...100% of them with the same seller
  • Bidder tended to bid $1 below the next $10 increment (i.e. $39, $49, $59), presumably to force a winning bid to hit the mental reserve at a nice, round number
  • Bidder was mostly active in the closing minutes on the lower-priced books

I offered to buy the book that I didn't win should the winning (shill) bidder fall through.  This was mostly a fishing expedition.  The seller got back to me within minutes, which makes sense since he was active on the shill account just minutes before.  His response:

That one sold too low LOL. I have another 9.8. What would you be interested in offering? Last gpa sale was 67. Let me know your bottom line and I can put one up and you can make an offer then combine shipping.

Anyone else shocked to learn he has "another" copy?

 

The question...what is my next step?

Looking through ebay FAQ's, they indicate that you shouldn't report shill bidding because their system already screens for it.  It's doing a bang-up job too.  (thumbsu  So what now?  Attempt to report it anyway?  Confront the seller?  Request to cancel?  Go through with the transaction knowing that this kind of thing happens all the time? 

 

In case it's relevant, I want these books for my own collection, all books in question are under $100 each, and they're not exceptionally rare.  The final prices are within reasonable limits, but still higher than they would have been in the absence of shill bidding. 

 

Looking for advice.  Thanks!

 

On 1/22/2020 at 10:43 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

It sounds like a personal moral dilemma. If I were you, I would simply cash out and block the seller. Take your gains and avoid the future 'drama'.

I would take the Non Paying Bidder strikes and say no deal... show him the evidence and give him the opportunity to cancel on his own.  Warn him that if he doesn’t then you will make your case to eBay. 
 

Did that in 2018? with three LEGO lots.  Seller advertised that they combined shipping.  
 

Apparently combined shipping means adding all of the shipping up to one large amount.   No discount... no reduction... so I would have paid say 3x the shipping rate... 

but hey, he offered one invoice 
 

screw that... eBay worked with me on that one after a phone call. 

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