>" My take on ebay in general is that there is a lot of shill bidding and shanangans. There is an MSMBC investigative report out yesterday which coincides with my observation and experience."
With over 500 ebay transactions, about 25% as a buyer, this doesn't coincide with my experience at all. Of course, there are dishonest people out there, but do you think that someone paying double what a coin collection is worth is limited to ebay? Try the local coin dealer (I'm not picking on coin dealers, insert your own product). Someone who spends a hundred grand on coins in an ebay auction, and claims he only bid that much because of shill bidding, is either naieve, stupid or both.
" EBAY encourages it by protecting corrupt sellers and punishing vigilantes."
I have never seen any indication of this in 3 years on ebay. I hate snitches who turn someone in for some of the chickenshit ebay policies set up for the benefit of ebay's bottom line, but I have reported maybe half a dozen obvious impropieties, if not downright frauds, and the auction, within a few days vanished. And I know of at least 2 crooks that were permanently suspended (not because of my complaints, but probably mine and dozens of others). I have never in any way been punished or even slightly intimidated for my actions.
These "detectives", in the article, were making slanderous, unsubstatiated charges in postings on ebay's own message board. Would you have stood for that? I applaud their efforts, wholeheartedly, but they have now done what they should have done in the beginning and started their own website devoted to exposing the evil doers. I'm all for that.
" I often have listed items and had one low bid when a simular item in worse condition sold for 50% more with 15 bids which I attribute to shill bidding."
Why do you attribute it to shill bidding? Just a hunch? Any real evidence? I've seen my OWN auctions, on the exact same item, vary from 20-40% and these are auctions that I know involve no shill bidding because they're MINE. Have you ever been to a real auction? I go to one or two a week, here in Boise. I see virtually the same items sell for double, or even triple, from one week to the next. All it takes is two bidders with the auction fever. As an example, last week on ebay I saw a banjo, identical to the ones which I sell weekly for $115-125.00, brand new, go for $189 and change. And it was slightly used. Why? After some investigation I found that it was two bidders with auction fever, one of which was a 17 year old girl who was using her mother's ebay ID (she'd never bid on ebay before). Hardly a case for ebay's safe harbor.
" Many (not most)large sellers have set up the structure for this with mutual bidding networks."
This is total conjecture. I compete very successfully against a number of so-called ebay "Power Sellers". Sure there may be some of these manipulators out there, but I wonder if it can be correctly described as "many". Certainly not selling vintage bike parts. My solution to this is simple. I virtually NEVER buy from Power Sellers, especially those who give you two lines of item description and two pages of their terms.
" EBAY's greed and lack of service disgusts me but right now it is the only game in town for auctions. Brian in Berkeley"
I couldn't agree with this more. My feelings on this are triple what you've stated. Ebay cares so much about their bottom line and so little about the customers, buyers and, especially sellers, it defies description. I simply feel it is way off the mark to attribute oddly disparate final bids, and seemingly erratic bidding similar items, to shill bidding or some conspiracy by "large" sellers. My 2 cents.
John Dunn in Boise