eBay shill bidding on pins
I have seen more and more of this practice happening on eBay and it is something that really needs to be discussed. I have mentioned this in the past and been attacked (probably by the guilty sellers) but I honestly do not care, if you want to argue the principles or just need someone to fight with I will ignore your comments, so trolls beware. I know for a fact, not that I suspect or I think I am an eBay detective I know it is happening because I have had THREE sellers flat out admit that they are doing it when I contacted them with my concerns! That along with suspension's and bans of more than 25 sellers that I have reported for shill bidding over the years.
I have been using eBay for years, as in since it first launched. Several of my friends and family members have worked or still work for eBay and that is how I ever learned about shilling. When eBay first launched shilling was a HUGE problem because they could not contain the sheer volume of people doing it. Very quickly they began to track IP address, check the registration info of all bidders against that of the seller both their eBay and Paypal accounts and have now kicked it up even further with techniques that I probably shouldn't even know about. Rest assured if you think you have gotten away with it don't celebrate too quickly, they will track sellers listings for years if they are suspected shiller and should you be caught doing it all of the buyers involved that were essentially bid up on your auctions can get a refund by force even after the 30 days. If anyone has any snarky/sassy remarks or doubts about ANYTHING I have said here please contact eBay Trust and Safety Department to verify it all.
It currently looks like at least one auction of the latest BT's are being shilled on eBay so if you are interested in buying those I suggest you take a good hard look at the bidding history. If you are not clear as to what shill bidding is please ask or read up on the matter. This practice has become a real problem on eBay and it is giving false values to pins as those fake bids never actually PAY for those wins when they accidentally outbid a real buyer. If an auction looks suspicious REPORT IT! The worst that can happen is that eBay will disregard it if your hunches are wrong, at best they will suspend or ban the seller/shillers from the site altogether and the victims of the greedy sellers will get their money back.
To the sellers if you are members here; SHAME ON YOU, greed is not good. You are effectively distorting the "real value" of pins and if you are a collector yourself you will feel the same gouging as you help to set the prices. Allow the market to set the prices not your greedy desires of what they should be worth. This collecting community is so small that eventually you will be found out and identified, is it worth it to be called out as a thief among the people you socialize with and or make money off of? I cant imagine that it would be.
I hope that this can be discussed reasonably and will not attract those looking for a boxing partner. It would be really nice to be able to discuss this in a mature and reasonable fashion as it effects every single pin collector whether they buy on eBay or not. eBay has become the "gold standard" in valuing your pins even when making a trade or trying to purchase pins from forums or other avenues. This hobby is very much a "value for value" trading system and selling community. If the pins you are looking for are selling for inflated prices because of eBay shilling then you will likely not be getting them for less than that. Very bad for all of us and when it happens with very rare pins its even worse as they may not hit eBay more than a couple times a year if that. I have seen my grail pins shilled more than once and now outside sellers or traders think their pins are worth those prices, which I will never pay....ever ever pay in either cash or trade.
In the words of a certain talk show host "Talk amongst yourselves" LOL. Keep it nice homies, no internet gangsta's please.
I have been using eBay for years, as in since it first launched. Several of my friends and family members have worked or still work for eBay and that is how I ever learned about shilling. When eBay first launched shilling was a HUGE problem because they could not contain the sheer volume of people doing it. Very quickly they began to track IP address, check the registration info of all bidders against that of the seller both their eBay and Paypal accounts and have now kicked it up even further with techniques that I probably shouldn't even know about. Rest assured if you think you have gotten away with it don't celebrate too quickly, they will track sellers listings for years if they are suspected shiller and should you be caught doing it all of the buyers involved that were essentially bid up on your auctions can get a refund by force even after the 30 days. If anyone has any snarky/sassy remarks or doubts about ANYTHING I have said here please contact eBay Trust and Safety Department to verify it all.
It currently looks like at least one auction of the latest BT's are being shilled on eBay so if you are interested in buying those I suggest you take a good hard look at the bidding history. If you are not clear as to what shill bidding is please ask or read up on the matter. This practice has become a real problem on eBay and it is giving false values to pins as those fake bids never actually PAY for those wins when they accidentally outbid a real buyer. If an auction looks suspicious REPORT IT! The worst that can happen is that eBay will disregard it if your hunches are wrong, at best they will suspend or ban the seller/shillers from the site altogether and the victims of the greedy sellers will get their money back.
To the sellers if you are members here; SHAME ON YOU, greed is not good. You are effectively distorting the "real value" of pins and if you are a collector yourself you will feel the same gouging as you help to set the prices. Allow the market to set the prices not your greedy desires of what they should be worth. This collecting community is so small that eventually you will be found out and identified, is it worth it to be called out as a thief among the people you socialize with and or make money off of? I cant imagine that it would be.
I hope that this can be discussed reasonably and will not attract those looking for a boxing partner. It would be really nice to be able to discuss this in a mature and reasonable fashion as it effects every single pin collector whether they buy on eBay or not. eBay has become the "gold standard" in valuing your pins even when making a trade or trying to purchase pins from forums or other avenues. This hobby is very much a "value for value" trading system and selling community. If the pins you are looking for are selling for inflated prices because of eBay shilling then you will likely not be getting them for less than that. Very bad for all of us and when it happens with very rare pins its even worse as they may not hit eBay more than a couple times a year if that. I have seen my grail pins shilled more than once and now outside sellers or traders think their pins are worth those prices, which I will never pay....ever ever pay in either cash or trade.
In the words of a certain talk show host "Talk amongst yourselves" LOL. Keep it nice homies, no internet gangsta's please.