Do you call this something other than "shill bidding"?

Jimmy_Commonpants

This really angers me. Without going into details about what the card is, I bid on auction that started at $1 a few days ago. I missed the same card a few months ago, it sold for $35-$40 or so my best recollection. Two other sellers have offered the same card for months - one guy at $69 and another at $99. These are non-graded inserts with sketchy pricing/demand. So, I had the "winning bid" up to today when all of a sudden, a new bidder has pushed it up over $62. Turns out, the new bidder is the guy who has been offering his for $69 for months(has lowered in to $65). He appears to be trying to stop the card from selling lower than what he is offering. He has three bid retractions in the past six months but over 20K feedback as a seller. I have bought from him before too!! I am waiting for the seller to contact me when the auction is over and offer it to me for my highest bid. Hell, they are probably in it together for all I know. All I will pay now is what my bid was before the shill started. Not playing this game and getting shilled by 50%. It is this kind of stuff that makes me want to just quit this nonsense.

daltex

I don't think this is shilling, necessarily. If I wanted to establish a market price for 1989 Topps wax packs at $10 by buying up all I could find below that price, that seems OK. Should the bidder retract his bid or not pay, that's not OK, but still not shilling. Only shilling if he's doing it at the behest of the owner. Not likely, IMO. It sounds as though this guy is just trying to protect the "value" of his "investment".

Alex Relyea

JKT

I agree w the above post.
No problems w people trying to support a market price.....but the bid retraction/non paying part of it is ridiculous. I absolutely hate this practice and unfortunately it seems to be getting more and more common place. Goes without saying that eBay doesn’t seem to have any interest in policing it.

I’m at a point where I automatically add anyone who retracts a bid to my blocked buyers list. At the end of the day that’s about all you can do as a seller.

perkdog

I’ve read people here over the years bidding on cards they don’t want or need to up the market value because they already own the card. Personally I would never do it, I always root for the person trying to up bid the card to accidentally win it.

Jimmy_Commonpants

@perkdog said:
I’ve read people here over the years bidding on cards they don’t want or need to up the market value because they already own the card. Personally I would never do it, I always root for the person trying to up bid the card to accidentally win it.

The guy won it for $4 less than the one he has been offering with a starting price of $65 with no bites. Nobody but me offered more than $38. We'll see what happens.

JoeBanzai

Bid retractions should not be allowed. EVER!

If you don't want a card at their price, don't buy it. Stick to your guns.

Shill bidding does not bother me one bit. I bid what I am wiling to pay and move on.

1951WheatiesPremium

I find dialogue helps sometimes.

Either the person negotiates toward a deal or gives you reason to be happy to walk away and wait.

ReggieCleveland

I think all of the above posts have been good, solid advice with good perspective. I usually take a different approach: if I'm not in a hurry to pick up the card, I'll do what you're doing and just wait it out. Sooner or later, one will surface that I like at the price I want to pay and I'll get it. But if it's something that I really, really want; something that's going to cause me to get upset over it, I'd just cough up the extra $20 and be happy that I got the exact card I wanted for my collection. Life is so much easier that way.

Arthur

KbKards

You said it was a non-graded card so it's entirely possible that he is buying it for grading purposes. When he gets it he'll look at the card to see if it's worth sending in for grading to receive the advertised/desired grade he's looking for. If it's not worth sending in he will likely return it and then won't be a bidder on the same card when the seller relists it.

daltex

@JoeBanzai said:
Bid retractions should not be allowed. EVER!

I agree. A bid should be a binding contract full stop.

ahopkins

I wouldn't call this shilling. But I would call it nefarious.

Jimmy_Commonpants

@KbKards said:
You said it was a non-graded card so it's entirely possible that he is buying it for grading purposes. When he gets it he'll look at the card to see if it's worth sending in for grading to receive the advertised/desired grade he's looking for. If it's not worth sending in he will likely return it and then won't be a bidder on the same card when the seller relists it.

Not that kind of card, trust me. Non-sport, real niche. There's no "graded market".

72Collector

@Jimmy_Commonpants said:
Turns out, the new bidder is the guy who has been offering his for $69 for months(has lowered in to $65).

How could you possibly know the identity of the bidder? Is it by looking at the feedback number?