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Cast Member Winter 2013 Cross-U Pin Frozen shilled?

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Cast Member Winter 2013 Cross-U Pin Frozen shilled?
Ozzie1988

Ozzie1988

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Location
Anaheim
Seller: v*****2517
eBay item number: 271356451407
Item location: Orlando, Florida
High bidder: i***e (2935 Feedback score)
Ending price: US $212.50
Bid Count: 32
Number of bidders:
Auction duration: 1 week

Seller: v****2517
eBay item number: 271363070692
Item Location: Orlando, Florida
High Bidder: i***e (2935 Feedback score)
Ending Price: Jan 10, 2014 19:44:31 PST
Bid Count: ?
Number of bidders: 7
Auction duration: 1 week

Seller: f************127
eBay item number: 360827184365
Item Location: Orlando, Florida
High Bidder: private listing
Ending price: Jan 08, 2014 09:34:42 PST
Bid count: ?
Number of Bidders: 6
Auction Duration: 1 week

So I was looking to the frozen pin on eBay and I have noticed that it looks suspicious. The first seller has relisted the item twice with the same high bidder, that same bidder was the one that retracted than re-bid on the first auction. The 3rd listing is a private listing so information is limited to the public. Looking at the feedback for the seller buyer i***e has not left feedback nor has the buy left feed back to the buyer. I am sure the pin is being shilled and the final prices false. Also most cross U pins are LE2000+ and will pop up later than sooner; the seller might be trying to make a market to raise the trade value of the pin.
 
It's common practice for ebay users to shill bid, so I am definitely not surprised by your findings.
Disney employees don't really receive bad pay, and from what I've heard, some employees despise working cross-u. (Why? :( )
So maybe this particular seller has a motive other than money for the shill bidding.
 
jennisney said:
What actually is cross u? Please :)
Click to expand...

It's when cast members that are usually located in one area (Say, Disney Stores....but I've heard this is a RARE opportunity for them, please correct me if I am wrong!)
are utilized in Disney parks on heavy traffic days. Days when not many people will be working, say, Christmas day.
It's Disney's way of not hiring too many seasonal people.
 
Moondance said:


It's when cast members that are usually located in one area (Say, Disney Stores....but I've heard this is a RARE opportunity for them, please correct me if I am wrong!)
are utilized in Disney parks on heavy traffic days. Days when not many people will be working, say, Christmas day.
It's Disney's way of not hiring too many seasonal people.
Click to expand...

Oh cool :) thanks!!
 
Moondance said:


It's when cast members that are usually located in one area (Say, Disney Stores....but I've heard this is a RARE opportunity for them, please correct me if I am wrong!)
are utilized in Disney parks on heavy traffic days. Days when not many people will be working, say, Christmas day.
It's Disney's way of not hiring too many seasonal people.
Click to expand...

yup you get the main idea. its when disney pulls you or asks you to work a heavy traffic area outside of your assigned location or department for the benefit of the guests. most people hate that becuse you are out of your homeland and away from your friends. worst of all you have to deal with a large majority of crowds.
 
Ozzie1988 said:
... The first seller has relisted the item twice with the same high bidder, that same bidder was the one that retracted than re-bid on the first auction.
Click to expand...

Maybe I am not looking at the right auction?

But for item 271356451407, I do not see any bid retractions from the user i***e
s.gif
( 2935) who seems to be the high bidder . There are 3 bid retractions from 2 different users though.
 
Merryweather said:
Maybe I am not looking at the right auction?

But for item 271356451407, I do not see any bid retractions from the user i***e
s.gif
( 2935) who seems to be the high bidder . There are 3 bid retractions from 2 different users though.
Click to expand...

i think you are correct the retractor was I**I i mixed that up. the other was myself retracting $76.00. i would have left it if I**I didn't retract leaving me at the second higher bidder, by that time i realized it wasn't worth that much to me so i did the same. i didnt want to get stuck with it
 
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That would DEFINITELY make sense!!! :suspect: I think this is an ADORABLE little snowflake, but I couldn't understand ANYONE wanting to pay THAT much for it?!?
 
Public service announcement: EBay seller “virginia2517” is shilling the Cross U pin(s); just look at the sale history for the sold and current listed item, a buyer with the anonymous ID of i***e (2935*) has bid and retracted on both listings, also note that the seller has not left buyer feedback on the seller and has not received seller feedback from user i**e. Enough time has passed to receive and pay for the pin, this may be a misunderstanding but to add further suspicion a new eBay user with zero feedback has entered the auction as the top bidder. You can look up the items and see for yourself. If you feel needed you can also repot the listing as well the item numbers are as follows;
SOLD CROSS U: 271356451407
ACTIVE LISTING: 271363070692
 
Ok... I get that shilling is used to raise the perceived value of a pin...but I'm rather naiive on the shady side of things. Does shilling mean that the seller creates a fake account and bids? And wouldn't they still be stuck with the fees? How could they get around that if they won their own auction.

Please define shilling for me. I'm not a newbie, but I just don't really get it. :/
 
Nettie I think there are ways to get your fees back if the buyer cancels the sale.

Shill bidders might have legitimately used ebay accounts. For example, if you ask your dad to bid on your item to get others to bid higher, he would be considered a shill bidder even if he uses his account normally as well.

I've been watching these pins too! If not for you all I wouldn't have noticed anything fishy going on. I wasn't really planning on bidding unless the price stayed low anyway.
 
Last edited:
The key is probably the fake account never pays for the item, so then the buyer can just file a case in the resolution center, and have final value fees refunded and then relist the item. The normal buyer base doesn't see this part, and only sees that the pin sold for whatever high amount and so that must be its "value." When in truth, no one really paid that much.

A more elaborate scheme, could be to actually follow through on payment. Yes, you lose on the fees, but if you can then sell the item a 2nd time, you may make those fees back through a higher legitimate sale than you would have the first time.

Example: under normal circumstances a pin sells for $100. A shiller bids it up to $200. Final value fee is $20. Next auction, pin sells legitimately for $150 (buyer is happy because it went for $50 cheaper than last time). Final value fee is $15. Seller has paid $35 in fees on a $150 item so has made $115. If it had sold legitimately at $100 the fee would have been $10 and the seller would have received $90. So the seller made an additional $25.

I'm ignoring insertion fees, because sellers get 50 free per month.
 
I am wondering how this isn't suspicious. 60 bid retractions in 6 months!

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"][TABLE="class: contentValueFont"]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2"]Bidder Information[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bidder:[/TD]
[TD]
s.gif
i***i
s.gif
( 113
iconTealStar_25x25.gif
)
s.gif
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Feedback:[/TD]
[TD]
s.gif
100%
s.gif
Positive [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Item description:[/TD]
[TD]
s.gif
Item Title: Walt Disney World Cast Member Winter 2013 Cross-U Pin Frozen[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bids on this item:[/TD]
[TD]
s.gif
1[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 50"]
s.gif
[/TD]
[TD][TABLE="class: contentValueFont"]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3"]30-Day Summary[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total bids:[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]
s.gif
66[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Items bid on:[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]
s.gif
48[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bid activity (%) with this seller:[/TD]
[TD]
s.gif
1% [/TD]
[TD]
s.gif
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bid retractions:[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]
s.gif
4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bid retractions (6 months):[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]
s.gif
60[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Thoughts on two aspects:

1. Rasputin, I noticed when the original Cross-U listing was up that the infamous bid retractor had 50 retractions. It's gone up another 10 in the past week or so, apparently. I can understand making a typo or reconsidering once or twice, but 50 and 60??? How does eBay even allow someone like that to keep bidding? There should be some temporary suspension or something if you bid and retract, bid and retract.

2. As far as the "behind the scenes" stuff and fees ... I purchased a pin in late 2012 from a reputable seller I had made other purchases from. She posted the tracking # and, as has happened to every one of us at some point, the tracking never updated. Ever. The seller and I were in contact regularly and she offered a refund since it appeared the pin had been lost or stolen at the post office. (If I hadn't dealt with her before, I would have been suspicious. But this was a much lower value pin than the others I'd bought, and she was very responsive and helpful, so I truly believe the seller was not being dishonest.) ANYWAY, the point is: She refunded the money, and then asked me if I would agree if she cancelled the transaction, because it would save her the fees since ultimately it was a non-transaction. I had no problem doing that. So if there's shill-bidding happening, it would be simple enough to cancel the transaction (maybe even before payment is made), as long as both parties agreed (and they're in on it together ANYway), and no one loses. The "public" would never know the difference.

Either way, it stinks!
 
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