Auction Frauds

I'm a seller on eBay and there is auction fraud by both sellers and buyers. Some buyers will buy an electronic item, receive it, open an Item Not As Described case and then send back a broken item or a box of newspapers and get a refund from Paypal. Some sellers are scumbags too. The honest sellers try to protect themselves by videotaping themselves packing the box in case a buyer tries to lie about them.

 

In this moment in time, it makes sense to use video when it comes to something like this. A quick video showing people what you are selling is as described. It's quick to do and creates less hassle. We need less hassle in this world.

I would never sell on ebay. if you read the terms it's a joke. And as for buying something. I dont purchase much above iPhone cases. Thats good enough for me. Even then I've been given the wrong case a few times. But it is what it is.

 

I am aware of another type of auction fraud that occurs. When you bid on an item, and the time grows short and you look like you are going to get a great deal, someone often outbids you at the end. You want the item so you place a counter bid. The process repeats. The fraud is that the other bidder is the seller under a different pseudonym. The seller is outbidding you in order to jack up the price. You are caught up in the hype and end up paying more than you would have if the price were initially higher. This happens in real auctions as well - someone in the audience is associated with a seller and will generate hype in order to artificially raise the price.

Unfortunately it is hard to know if this is going on or whether the other bidder is legitimate. There is no downside for the seller because they can "buy" it with their alter ego and give themselves the "seller" a good rating then relist the product if you don't fall for the scam.

 

That is true. If a seller is about to make less then he expected, he will do all that he can to ensure it doesnt happen. This included using multiple profiles in an attempt to outbid the other bidders if the price is too low.

Its a way of protecting the persons projected income. I guess its fraud, but I'm sure most people would do it if possible.

 

I experienced buying from an ebay seller with thousands of excellent feedback a year ago. I bought 3 pairs of sunglasses for my kids. The item was reported immediately shipped. After 3 weeks, I still haven't received the item and I immediately contacted the seller. She told me that refund will be given immediately. In return I will have to give her a 5 star feedback. I don't know if this is the seller's tactic to just collect good feedback, but it works. I hate those kinds of sellers. After receiving the money from Paypal, I gave the seller a 3.

 

I've never been on any auction, but I've heard that the actions we see on the Discovery are all scams, and some people have bankrupted trying to earn money from these auctions. All the contestants are actors. Also, Baggage battles they only show them when they actually buy something valuable, in most cases, they don't find anything that's worth selling.

 

My number one pet peeve with eBay is shill bidding. That is when a seller bids up their own item with another account. I have PROVEN to eBay before that sellers were bidding on their own items and nothing ever happens. To me, that is being complicit in a felony and I can't believe there haven't been class-action civil lawsuits or even criminal charges being brought.

Here is how you catch them. Click on the bidding history and see who is bidding "against" you. If you see a zero feedback score, it is probably the seller, but still could be just a new member. You can also see that person's bidding history. One person I reported to eBay had over 500 bids and they were all ONLY with this seller! They occurred over the course of a long time and over items listed in many different categories. You can't get more obvious than that you were the victim of shill bidding.

Until we start seeing some prosecutions, this practice will continue so unfortunately it is let the buyer beware on any online auction site.

The other sure sign of shill bidding is when they overbid you and "win" the item instead of just bumping your bid higher. If a seller ever contacts you and says the winner backed out and they will "let you have it for your price", you are probably the victim of shill bidding. These practices need to be cleaned up by the online auction sites or we need to refuse to use them.

 

I hate the fact that now only buyers can leave feedback, not sellers. Because there is way too much feedback extortion. Buyers are threatening sellers with bad feedback unless they give discounts or partial refunds. Fortunately there is a "report buyer" button and sellers have started fighting back against feedback extortion. I have started blocking buyers that have a bad reputation for returning too many items or for feedback extortion because I don't need that kind of customer.