Cancelled Bid BS on Ebay
brian26
Posts: 826
This is one of those auctions that just makes you shake your head.
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&_trksid=p4340.l2565&rt=nc&item=300664585868
I had this on my watch list, as I've always liked the UD 2003 Vintage set in its similarities to the '63 Topps set (and the upcoming 2012 Heritage set).
The auction blew up last night, going from $10.00 up to $325.00!
I checked on the auction out of curiosity this morning and was surprised to see the auction had gone down to $35.00.
Then, I checked the cancelled/bid retractions:
Bid retraction and cancellation history
Bidder Action / Explanation Date of Bid and Retraction
Member Id: 6***k ( 332Feedback score is 100 to 499) Retracted: US $325.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 18:35:46 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 20:31:47 PST
Member Id: 6***k ( 332Feedback score is 100 to 499) Retracted: US $75.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 20:43:23 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 20:52:15 PST
Member Id: b***m ( 1452Feedback score is 1000 to 4,999) Retracted: US $330.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 19:16:02 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 19:17:11 PST
Member Id: b***m ( 1452Feedback score is 1000 to 4,999) Retracted: US $325.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 19:17:41 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 20:35:54 PST
So, we have two bidders both retracting their bids. Perhaps shill bidding here? Or, perhaps just two bidders playing the system? It looks like feedback "332" retracted first his $325 bid first. Then, and hour later, feedback "1452" retracted his $330 bid and $325 bid after that. Then, an hour later, "332" retracted his $75 bid to take it back down to $35.00. All in the course of one day, this seems odd.
The seller has a feedback of over 75,000, so its not out of the question they may have multiple accounts working on Ebay.
Let's look at feedback "332" and his bid history:
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 70
Items bid on: 36
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 48% Help
Bid retractions: 2
Bid retractions (6 months): 2
Let's look at feedback "1452" and his history:
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 210
Items bid on: 84
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 97% Help
Bid retractions: 3
Bid retractions (6 months): 10
Bingo. And, we have winner. They both look fishy, but the "1452' is the smoking gun.
Before the end of the auction, I emailed the seller and asked what was going on. Their reply:
"We believe that they were just plain old mistakes. 2 of the retractions were from a good customer of ours, so there is nothing to worry about there. As for the other, we will monitor his activity on our other auctions. If he continues this similar behavior, we will gladly report him to Ebay. Thanks for the heads up and hopefully this does not continue to be an issue. Should you have any additional questions, please call or email.
Thank you,
West Coast Memorabilia, Inc.
eBay ID: wcm-inc
auction@westcoastmemorabilia.com
T: 858.503.0190
F: 858.503.0195
Hours: M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 pm PST
- wcm-inc"
The auction ended tonight at $214.00. More bids were seen by bidder "332" up to $155.
Summary:
Is it safe to assume that "332" and "1452" are shill accounts for West Coast Memorabilia, who got gun shy less than a day before the end of the auction and cancelled the competing shills to avoid fees and try to artificially take the price back up to something insane?
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&_trksid=p4340.l2565&rt=nc&item=300664585868
I had this on my watch list, as I've always liked the UD 2003 Vintage set in its similarities to the '63 Topps set (and the upcoming 2012 Heritage set).
The auction blew up last night, going from $10.00 up to $325.00!
I checked on the auction out of curiosity this morning and was surprised to see the auction had gone down to $35.00.
Then, I checked the cancelled/bid retractions:
Bid retraction and cancellation history
Bidder Action / Explanation Date of Bid and Retraction
Member Id: 6***k ( 332Feedback score is 100 to 499) Retracted: US $325.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 18:35:46 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 20:31:47 PST
Member Id: 6***k ( 332Feedback score is 100 to 499) Retracted: US $75.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 20:43:23 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 20:52:15 PST
Member Id: b***m ( 1452Feedback score is 1000 to 4,999) Retracted: US $330.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 19:16:02 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 19:17:11 PST
Member Id: b***m ( 1452Feedback score is 1000 to 4,999) Retracted: US $325.00
Explanation: Entered wrong amount Bid: Feb-20-12 19:17:41 PST
Retracted: Feb-20-12 20:35:54 PST
So, we have two bidders both retracting their bids. Perhaps shill bidding here? Or, perhaps just two bidders playing the system? It looks like feedback "332" retracted first his $325 bid first. Then, and hour later, feedback "1452" retracted his $330 bid and $325 bid after that. Then, an hour later, "332" retracted his $75 bid to take it back down to $35.00. All in the course of one day, this seems odd.
The seller has a feedback of over 75,000, so its not out of the question they may have multiple accounts working on Ebay.
Let's look at feedback "332" and his bid history:
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 70
Items bid on: 36
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 48% Help
Bid retractions: 2
Bid retractions (6 months): 2
Let's look at feedback "1452" and his history:
30-Day Summary
Total bids: 210
Items bid on: 84
Bid activity (%) with this seller: 97% Help
Bid retractions: 3
Bid retractions (6 months): 10
Bingo. And, we have winner. They both look fishy, but the "1452' is the smoking gun.
Before the end of the auction, I emailed the seller and asked what was going on. Their reply:
"We believe that they were just plain old mistakes. 2 of the retractions were from a good customer of ours, so there is nothing to worry about there. As for the other, we will monitor his activity on our other auctions. If he continues this similar behavior, we will gladly report him to Ebay. Thanks for the heads up and hopefully this does not continue to be an issue. Should you have any additional questions, please call or email.
Thank you,
West Coast Memorabilia, Inc.
eBay ID: wcm-inc
auction@westcoastmemorabilia.com
T: 858.503.0190
F: 858.503.0195
Hours: M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 pm PST
- wcm-inc"
The auction ended tonight at $214.00. More bids were seen by bidder "332" up to $155.
Summary:
Is it safe to assume that "332" and "1452" are shill accounts for West Coast Memorabilia, who got gun shy less than a day before the end of the auction and cancelled the competing shills to avoid fees and try to artificially take the price back up to something insane?
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