Auction manipulation

[Tahitian_Red]

I know we have always talked about folks getting their buddies to bid up items they have listed, but I have a new twist. 

Sold something recently and for 4 days there was only one bidder, then shortly before the auction ended it went to the Reserve with 12 bids.  I don't really care because I sold the item for the minimum amount I would take, but 10 of the bidders were in $10 increments by a bidder with almost the same user name as the winner.  Hmmmmmm
 

[oldyzman]

Yep, so what you are saying is: to another interested party it may look like its had fake bids therefore it may discourage bidding...

[Tahitian_Red]

Maybe if it hadn't made the reserve. 

I have missed out on items because I was the only bidder and it didn't make the reserve.  He got around that by making a series of small bids, using his second user name, that eventually got his original max bid up to the reserve.  Just sneaky I guess (because he has a second user name), but it got my item sold. What's to keep me from doing the same thing when someone has a low bid on a no-reserve item I am selling??

[Andrew L]

There are programs that do it automatically in increments like that and they know when the resevere is met byer doesn't even have to be at home

[bishboy]

Its the same at any auction.  At house auctions, the auctioneer or the seller put fake bidders in the crowd to drive up the price, supposed to be laws against it but how to check it and also the higher the price the more stamp duty for the govt...

[pancho]

 When I sold our series three RX7 (with a blown motor) we got a price I was satisfied with, as according to the winning ebay bidder he was bidding against another enthusiast who he new. Lucky me!
 
 I started the price at I think $100 , res. $4000. result= last bid $4200.
 I reckoned the engine parts would have been $4000 with the fiished value $8000.  Saved myself a lot of wasted stress
cheers pancho.

 

[Nathan S]

Sounds like a reasonable tactic from the buyer, TBH.

I've been caught on the wrong end of that more than once, and it's bloody annoying - especially when you see the reserve hasn't been met, so you send a message to the seller saying "I am the winning bidder, and my max bid was above what the auction ended at, so please contact me and we can probably figure something out"... and they don't get back to you...