The not so fine art of...

ajman

shill bidding? I picked up this piece of gold last night while the spot price was dropping like the cast from a William Shatner movie. OK that doesn't make sense, but you get the idea. Please investigate the only bidding to be done on this item. One person other than myself bid on this and it was only on one day. After this fishing expedition they stopped at a price they were willing to accept. I have no proof other than this and the other 4 items that ended last night from this same seller, but they all seem to have this mysterious force inch the bids up. To top it all off they charge $12 to ship it UPS ground. C'mon! nobody ships a coin UPS ground do they?

ricko

Although I have no proof of your concerns, my rule has always been..."If it doesn't feel right, don't do it." Cheers, RickO

ajman

I kept checking what Apmex was selling the same item for and I ended up paying a few dollars less than what they were selling for on their website. Again I'm not complaining cuz it worked out in the end, but it is somewhat strange.

Solo

You knew ahead of time the shipping would be slow and cost $12, but you have no way of proving the other bidder was a shill. Granted it certainly looks like it, but since eBay started hiding user ID's a few years back it is now essentially impossible to prove a shill bidder .

That's why I use a sniping service that bids in the last 5 seconds . You're protected from this type of nonsense and it enables you to win without having to be in front of your computer. The fees are quite reasonable and you'll find that you're spending less overall by using a sniping service IMO.

ctf_error_coins

I have bought thousands of coins on ebay and NEVER once worried about a shill bidder.

Know what you are buying, pick your price, and set your snipe.

ajman

Are there free sniping programs out there? I've never worried too much about it because like most of you I just set what I think the value is and see what happens.

19Lyds

<< <i>Are there free sniping programs out there? I've never worried too much about it because like most of you I just set what I think the value is and see what happens. >>

Yes. But they don't inch bids up. They make a last second maximum bid to discourage other bidders.

ricko

I like sniping myself...in person....lots of fun. Best I have done is a two-second snipe... good deal too...Cheers, RickO