imogengladheart
Tue 07-Feb-12 21:57:38
Hi
Saw a large shed for sale on ebay, £50, locally, no bids
contacted seller and offered £100, if he could deliver.
He said yes, but Dh didn't check emails and by time I did someone else had bid. Tough cookies for me. Price went up (all by 2 other bidders) to £160-ish. I bid £176 today then had to go out. It went for £182 at lunchtime. Tough cookies for me again. Then tonight he has sent me a 2nd chance offer of £170, delivery and erection (ooo-er).
Is this odd? Why would he not just go for the higher bid? Has he somehow bidded it up, so the one above me was not real? I don't get it???
fergoose
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:14:08
yes he could have used his own or a friend's account to shill bid and take you up to your max. Except that account won the auction and now he is offering you the item. When you click on the bids, then on the winning bidder, it will tell you what percentage of that sellers items they have bid on.
imogengladheart
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:16:27
whats a shill bid?
also - can't now see the original auction which finished at lunchtime?
can only now see the 2nd chance offer?
i don't think it's odd no
the buyer may have pulled out, and that's why he is offering you the second chance
imogengladheart
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:19:22
Yes, maybe I'm being paranoid.
ImpOfThePerverse
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:21:47
The winning buyer might live in Bulgaria and not understand the concept of local pick-up/delivery - this happened to the first (local pick up only) item I ever sold!
fergoose
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:28:16
you can't see the winning auction anymore? It would be in items you didn't win.
You offered £100 and now he wants £176? - seems pretty steep to me.
imogengladheart
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:35:49
Right. Found info, thanks, fergoose.
2 bidders pushed the bid way up. 1 has only made 10 bids in last month, 25% of them with this seller. 3 of them retracted. Winning bidder has made 12 bids in last month, 25% of them with this seller, 4 of them retracted.
Is he getting 2 of his mates to push bids up then, and then 'drop out' if they win?
ImpOfThePerverse
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:37:52
That does sound like a dodgy history, maybe better to avoid.
fergoose
Tue 07-Feb-12 22:41:35
maybe - or he could have multiple eBay accounts himself. I am suspicious of multiple bid cancellations too - most people never cancel bids do they.
i would go onto that ebay live chat thing and ask them about it. that way if it's dodgy they can sort him out!
3point14
Fri 10-Feb-12 08:08:13
I am convinced a couple of items I have bid on recently have been pushed along by bidders associated with the seller.
