Shill Bidding

[Racoon]

E bay is a major commercial site, as we all know. and You can prolly also figure out that there are some "less than scrupulous" merchants. Yes, if the price is too high then don't bid.. But, is there a serious problem of insider bid-jacking going on?

And couldn't E-Bay, who is a major player in the new world of e-commerce, be more proactive in rooting out unfair bidding??

 

CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to boost profits.

An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of artificially driving up prices — known as shill bidding — is widespread across the site.

 

Last week one of the UK’s biggest eBay sellers admitted in a taped conversation with an undercover reporter that he was prepared to use business associates to bid on his goods for him.

 

Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses — ranging from overseas property agencies to car dealerships — have placed bids on their own items using fake identities.

 

The cases raise questions about whether eBay, the world’s biggest auction site, is doing enough to protect consumers.

 

Shill bidding is against eBay rules and is illegal under the 2006 Fraud Act. However, the resulting higher prices on the site boost the value of eBay’s share of the sales.

 

Last November eBay changed its rules to conceal bidders’ identity — making it even more difficult for customers to see whether sellers are bidding on their own lots. Since its launch seven years ago, eBay’s UK website has attracted more than 15m customers. It sells more than 10m items at any given time.

 

One of the beneficiaries of the boom is Eftis Paraskevaides, a former gynaecologist, from Cambridgeshire. He has become a “Titanium PowerSeller” — one of eBay’s handful of top earners — selling more than £1.4m worth of antiquities a year on the site.

 

In a conversation with an undercover reporter last week, Paraskevaides claimed shill bidding was commonplace on eBay.......

 

Revealed: how eBay sellers fix auctions - Newspaper Edition - Times Online

[InfiniteNow]

I'd do it. Wouldn't you?

 

Got a plasma tv you want to sell, you need $2,000 to pay the bills. The highest bid is hovering at $1600, so you have a friend bid $1800. The friend does this knowing he won't be getting a tv, nor will he be held accountable for the money of that bid. The person who had bid at $1600 now ups the bid to $2,000, because it's still a good deal and they want the tv. They get it for a still good deal (just not AS good), and you pay your bills.

 

If the price goes too high, there's no law saying you MUST bid again. Where's the personal responsibility? Is it eBay's fault that people do stupid things?

 

You're asking eBay to be proactive against human nature (i.e. maximal gain for minimum expenditure).

[Freddy]

I'd do it. Wouldn't you?

 

Got a plasma tv you want to sell, you need $2,000 to pay the bills. The highest bid is hovering at $1600, so you have a friend bid $1800. The friend does this knowing he won't be getting a tv, nor will he be held accountable for the money of that bid. The person who had bid at $1600 now ups the bid to $2,000, because it's still a good deal and they want the tv. They get it for a still good deal (just not AS good), and you pay your bills.

 

If the price goes too high, there's no law saying you MUST bid again. Where's the personal responsibility? Is it eBay's fault that people do stupid things?

 

You're asking eBay to be proactive against human nature (i.e. maximal gain for minimum expenditure).

It is a legal or an illegal practice?

[IDMclean]

Shill bidding is against eBay rules and is illegal under the 2006 Fraud Act. However, the resulting higher prices on the site boost the value of eBay’s share of the sales.

 

That answer your question?