WTF? Got a weird bidding thing going on

[ianoid]

So I listed this vintage PC Amstrad PC-20 and I was excited to see it end at $102. Two weeks go by, no word from the buyer, no payment, so I did the NPB thing and got my fees back. I went to make a second chance offer to the 2nd bidder, but there is a suspicious similarity in the bidders:

 

Bidder 1: macjj007

Bidder 2: macintoshjj007

 

Bidder 2 won. WTF? Why would this guy bid against himself?

 

I'm going to do the second chance offer anyway, but I have very low expectations.

 

Let me note that I don't have a lot of trouble with NPBs, maybe only 1 in 50 sales has a problem. Video games are among the worst for NPBs and idiotic buyers.

[+Psionic]

Bidder 1: macjj007

Bidder 2: macintoshjj007

 

Bidder 2 won. WTF? Why would this guy bid against himself?

I dunno...do those usually go for $100? Maybe just some clown messing around, or perhaps he thought he'd somehow increase his chances of winning by bidding twice? WTF indeed.

[Zenoff64]

So I listed this vintage PC Amstrad PC-20 and I was excited to see it end at $102. Two weeks go by, no word from the buyer, no payment, so I did the NPB thing and got my fees back. I went to make a second chance offer to the 2nd bidder, but there is a suspicious similarity in the bidders:

 

Bidder 1: macjj007

Bidder 2: macintoshjj007

 

Bidder 2 won. WTF? Why would this guy bid against himself?

 

I'm going to do the second chance offer anyway, but I have very low expectations.

 

Let me note that I don't have a lot of trouble with NPBs, maybe only 1 in 50 sales has a problem. Video games are among the worst for NPBs and idiotic buyers.

 

Thinking back, I remember there was a scheme where 2 bidders (Both the same person) would bid among themselves to get the price high so no one else would bid, then at the last minute, one of the buyers would pull out saying he entered the wrong amount, dropping the price down very low, leaving the other bidder to win.

 

Its been a while since i've seen something like this, but its possible either the guy forgot to pull out, or ebay changed some things around to make it impossible to do and his plan failed.

[Dino]

I'm going to do the second chance offer anyway, but I have very low expectations.

 

if he accepts, make sure the package is fully tracked/insured. if he is dodgy, he may try claiming that the package wasn't sent!

[video game addict]

Well from the time stamp of the bids, it looks like the final two bids were placed less than 2 minutes apart, but with nearly 8 hours left in the auction. In the closing minutes it's not uncommon at all, but with 8 hours to go, I'd say something fishy is going on. Especially given the similarity of the two user ids.

 

Maybe the user was trying to artificially bump up prices to help sell a similar unit. Either in a future ebay listing, or some other forum.

 

He was the high bidder for $20 until he decided to do this. And his zero feedback id placed the winning bid with bid #2 so why would he need to place the 3rd bid? Sometimes logic makes no sense.

[hhwolfman]

Well from the time stamp of the bids, it looks like the final two bids were placed less than 2 minutes apart, but with nearly 8 hours left in the auction. In the closing minutes it's not uncommon at all, but with 8 hours to go, I'd say something fishy is going on. Especially given the similarity of the two user ids.

 

Maybe the user was trying to artificially bump up prices to help sell a similar unit. Either in a future ebay listing, or some other forum.

 

He was the high bidder for $20 until he decided to do this. And his zero feedback id placed the winning bid with bid #2 so why would he need to place the 3rd bid? Sometimes logic makes no sense.

 

Maybe he is trying to get it for around $20. When you send the second chance offer. His logic would be, well it was @ $20 before that Newbie showed up.

[stingray2772]

I would say screw second chance and relist the item. Sounds to fishy to me. Either the guy was trying to set some prices for his future auctions, trying to get it for less by not letting anyone else bid him out (if you offer second chance), or he is shadey guy that bid and then realized he didn't want to win...

 

I would just relist the item and avoid the guy altogether, send a message to ebay and let them know whats up.

[ianoid]

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your concerns with macjj007 and

macintoshjj007.

 

It is not a violation to have multiple accounts on eBay as long as they

all remain in good standing. It is, however, a violation for members to

bid on one of their own listings. We rely on dedicated members to report

suspicious behavior so that we can investigate a report fully to

determine if a violation has occurred.

 

We thoroughly investigated your report, but at this time there isn't

enough evidence to show that a violation has taken place. We can reopen

the investigation if we receive additional information.

 

Out of concern for our members privacy, we can't discuss our

investigation with other members. I hope that this assures you that your

account history will likewise remain private.

 

To learn more about violations of eBay's Shill Bidding and Previously

Suspended User policies, please refer to the following links:

[dommie]

This is a tactic used by some seller that's offering the same exact item. If the guy is in the least bit smart, both are dummy accounts that can't be traced back to his "real" account where he'd be selling the same item.

 

The idea here is to artificially drive up the prices of all similar items for sale except the one you're selling. In effect, nullifying all similar item sales except your own.

 

It's a pretty scumbag move.