Did I get bid up by a shill account on eBay? 1 1

[OJ Pimpson]

Curious what people think. And before I begin I want to note that I was negligent in protecting myself in this situation regardless of what actually happened, I’m new to Comic buying on eBay as I like many returned to the hobby after a 15 year absence because of the COVID situation. Ok...

 

last month I wanted to place a bid for a book I have wanted for my PC since returning to the hobby. There are only ~75 copies in 9.8 so they don’t pop up often. Based on completed sales on eBay it’s a book that goes for between $125-$180.  As it happened the auction was scheduled to end during a time I would be out of town attending a family funeral. Auction had two days left as I was getting into my car to drive to the Bay Area from the LA area. About a 5 hour drive. Before I left I put in my high bid. I figured I’d go $225 just to make sure, as I don’t mind if I over pay a bit because this isn’t a book I was going to flip or anything, I was buying for my PC. Anyway because I have a fat thumb and I was bidding as I was pulling out of my driveway I accidentally bid $325. I stupidly thought to myself that retracting the bid wouldn’t be needed as this book has never once broke $200. A couple hours into my drive when I stopped to get food I looked at the auction and to my shock the bidding had reached $295. I was surprised but I really didn’t think about again as I was about to be with my family for a pretty tragic situation until I returned home. I paid the 300+ with taxes and shipping and chalked it up to an expensive lesson. 
 

fast forward to a week or so later when I received the book. I open the package and the case was damaged. Which was weird because the listing had 6-8 pics but were taken in a way the hid the scratches. Furthermore I was really disappointed in the condition of the book itself. It’s just one of those books that I’d be terrified to send in for a reslabbing because I’m almost certain it would come back a 9.6. 

so at this point I’m a bit upset over everything and start looking into the auction and the seller. If I remember correctly The Seller  had mostly buyers feedback but it was in the several hundreds with no recent sales. However when I did a completed sales check of this book again I noticed that the Seller had actually “Sold” this book (same CGC number on label) two weeks before I bought it for ~$180 (I actually had bid on it). He then resisted it with all of the same pics and details for the auction I won. 
 

I did look at the bid history and in my auction I was bid up incrementally by an account with a 20 feedback. The account that won the previous auction that was not completed was a different account with a higher feedback score that I cannot recall off hand. 

this definitely isn’t open and shut but I’m leaning towards the belief that I was shilled. I believe he attempted it on the previous auction and got stuck with his shill account winning. I also found it odd that this explosion of bidding occurred two days from the auctions end date as that tends to happen if at all during the final minutes. The bid history also shows dozens small bid increments by the other account before it stopped leaving me at $295. 
 

anyway sorry for the long post, but I’d be interested in hearing what anyone thinks. 
 

thanks 
 

 

[thehumantorch]

You may have been shilled.  Why not return the book because the case is damaged and that damage was not disclosed.

[THE_BEYONDER]

29 minutes ago, thehumantorch said:

You may have been shilled.  Why not return the book because the case is damaged and that damage was not disclosed.

Yup 

 

The cracked case gets you out of this whole mess.  Return to sender.....

[Hollywood1892]

It sounds like you were shilled. On the upside, if you sent it in for a reholder I'd doubt they would re-grade .2, I mean the difference is minimal.

But like everyone else in this thread says- you have a case to send it back, I would be curious to see what the seller says (keep us posted)

On the downside, you said the book rarely comes up and you wanted to add it to your pc. Sometimes people pay more for what they want. I once spent $2500 USD for ASM 50, I really wanted the book!

Edited December 22, 2020 by Hollywood1892

[theCapraAegagrus]

Yes. Just return it.

[Galen130]

Return for sure.  Something smells like the south end of a northbound skunk. 

I’m so glad I closed my account back in May.  It sounds like things have gotten worse in regards to posts I’ve read here in the threads.

Best of luck.  Keep us posted. 

[BoogieWoogie]

49 minutes ago, Galen130 said:

Return for sure.  Something smells like the south end of a northbound skunk. 

I’m so glad I closed my account back in May.  It sounds like things have gotten worse in regards to posts I’ve read here in the threads.

Best of luck.  Keep us posted. 

I still LOVE Ebay. What helps me is that I only bid within the last 5 seconds. If I forget, it obviously wasn't important enough to me. The big benefit to using Ebay this way, at least in terms of auctions, is that when I decide the highest price I'm willing to pay for what I'm looking at and enter it there often isn't enough time to make another bid if someone had a higher reserve, or if someone comes over the top. It's really helpful in controlling my spending and helps me pick up books under market all the time.

[theCapraAegagrus]

I forgot to add that I once spent $150 USD for Superman 75 (Signed). Obviously, I wanted it.

I know that has nothing to do with the thread, but .

[Bob Troub]

4 hours ago, Angel of Death said:

Yes. Just return it.

agreed....dont sweat it...you can return it for no reason.....ebay protects the buyer, simply open a case as not as described, you should be fine.....

[revat]

2 minutes ago, Bob Troub said:

4 hours ago, Angel of Death said:

Yes. Just return it.

agreed....dont sweat it...you can return it for no reason.....ebay protects the buyer, simply open a case as not as described, you should be fine.....

make sure you save pictures posted in the listing as well as the description, and take pictures of the comic you received,

[Math Teacher]

4 hours ago, BoogieWoogie said:

I still LOVE Ebay. What helps me is that I only bid within the last 5 seconds. If I forget, it obviously wasn't important enough to me. The big benefit to using Ebay this way, at least in terms of auctions, is that when I decide the highest price I'm willing to pay for what I'm looking at and enter it there often isn't enough time to make another bid if someone had a higher reserve, or if someone comes over the top. It's really helpful in controlling my spending and helps me pick up books under market all the time.

I do exactly the opposite. I decide the maximum amount that I am willing to pay for a book, I then enter that as my bid, and I then wait until Monday morning to see if I won the auction. This, too, saves me money, because, more than once, I have gotten in a bidding war and paid more the book than I should have.

To each his own....

[Hollywood1892]

7 hours ago, Angel of Death said:

I forgot to add that I once spent $150 USD for Superman 75 (Signed). Obviously, I wanted it.

I know that has nothing to do with the thread, but .

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Hollywood1892

[OJ Pimpson]

Thanks for all of the responses. Yeah I started the return immediately after discovering the evidence that suggested a shill account was used. 
 

someone Above asked if it was really scratched. Yes it is scratched in a few spots. But I’d be lying if I said I’m not using this a convenient excuse for a return because I strongly suspect the bid up. Plus I paid almost double the amount anyone has ever paid for this book is it too much to ask for an undamaged case or at least one where the damage was disclosed before hand. 
 

in the end, Lesson learned, if I can’t be available to bid towards the end of an auction then I just need to pass on the book. 

[Math Teacher]

2 hours ago, Yes I Canada said:

It can also lose you a lot of money because that's the easiest way to get shill bid up to your max. If you snipe no one can shill bid you.

I can see your point. I don't like shill bidding and I adamantly am against sniping. Both of these are my opinions, so it's not necessary to try to convince me that I am wrong. I have gotten a couple of bidding wars, and I always end up asking myself, "Why did you pay so much money for that?" Sometimes your desire to win has a detrimental effect on your pocketbook.

[Math Teacher]

19 minutes ago, Yes I Canada said:

There's nothing morally or ethically wrong with sniping since it doesn't matter when you bid in a set auction. People who say "it's not fair, I don't get a chance to raise my maximum bid" don't understand the definition of the word "maximum".

Another reason to snipe: no bidding wars.

Here's the thing. I didn't say that is was morally or ethically wrong. I said that <I> don't like it, because I feel it's not fair to people who have poor Internet service or circumstances that keep them from sitting in front of their computer for the last 15 minutes of the auction. Some examples of circumstances would be work, family commitments or emergencies, or just the time of day. Let's just agree to disagree and move on.

[MAR1979]

11 minutes ago, Math Teacher said:

Here's the thing. I didn't say that is was morally or ethically wrong. I said that <I> don't like it, because I feel it's not fair to people who have poor Internet service or circumstances that keep them from sitting in front of their computer for the last 15 minutes of the auction. Some examples of circumstances would be work, family commitments or emergencies, or just the time of day. Let's just agree to disagree and move on.

Bidding/Snipping Services have been around a while. Last 16 years I have used eSnipe for any item I am serious about or when I know being able to place a bid will be an issue. Their charges are reasonable and they are kind with what in effect is overdraft protection. 

It's not for everyone, but for Dimez it might have been a perfect answer.  Be aware some services are "sketchy" so best to do research or get recommendations from those who you know to be honest.

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by MAR1979

[Ride the Tiger]

Have you ever watched Storage Wars? It shows pretty much how things work in an auction. People are bidding on abandoned storage lockers. Most of the bidders know they probably won't win some of the better looking lockers but they'll be dammed if someone else is gonna get it for cheap so they keep upbiddiing. Same with comics on eBay. People will up the price just because they can.

[CHASEnBLUE]

You can always call them and explain the situation, but I would wait until you get the approval/return process completed. They will investigate the bidding to see if any wrongdoing took place - though you may never know the outcome.