question on ebay bidding stats ...

TheHun

I am just curious how to read into the feedback stats of a seller who has bid activity of 25 % with the seller ... with a feed back of (34) ?

I do not want to jump the gun to say there is shilling - but I wonder how some of you determine that its a seller bidding on his own auction.

cheers

storm888

"...I am just curious how to read into the feedback stats of a seller who has bid activity of 25 % with the seller ... with a feed back of (34) ?.."

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Such math can make a great circumstantial case against any suspect,
but it is likely about as "certain" as a dart board.

EBAY uses the math ONLY as:

1. An opening to a search for activity between associated accounts.

OR,

2. A confirmation tool; after activity between associated accounts has been determined.

..............................

TONS of bidders - with TONS of FB - only bid on auctions held by
their few "trusted" sellers.

Using simple math, we might often find such buyers to be "shills."

........

Shilling is much more prevalent in some categories than it is in others.

Collectible sellers are among the worst offenders.

Since all that WE usually have to do OUR detecting with is "math," it
is not unreasonable to use it.

50% of "bidding activity with no wins" might be a reasonable number.
It will catch some innocent dolphins and let some evil sharks go free.

..........................................

The age of the bidding account can be relevant.

The registration location of the bidding account can be relevant.

A comparison of registration dates between bidder/seller can be relevant.

EDIT ADD: Of course, WE cannot easily determine these facts
until/unless FB is left.

................................

While I KNOW that the math will not give me a "for sure" answer, any number
that causes me to have a bad feeling will cause me not to bid.

TheHun

thanks for the math Storm88 - it was worth looking into.

cheers