Barry, collusion is when two ...
Barry, collusion is when two bidders agree not to bid against each other so that one of them can get the item for a lower price. It doesn't matter if they do it out of kind consideration to each other. Most, if not all, auction houses forbid it because it hurts their sales.
That said, it's very common. It's done all the time at the auctions I used to go to and the auctioneers were aware of it but couldn't do much about it because they'd lose too much of their clientele if they booted the perps. I dunno how the higher end auction houses handle it, though they would be justified in throwing them out. I think when it involves enough money, banning is the answer.
So anyway, yeah, Ebay certainly has the right to hide bidders' names to prevent collusion.
Agreed,Spanky
I have no problem with that,and in fact I think it's a privacy issue as well. I have no problem with most buyers.I must say, it's a few unscrupulous people who can make life miserable.While I think it must happen once in awhile, I don't think shill bidding occurs with regularity.Look for the top rated sellers(99% and up),and you can be sure they adhere to good business practices.I always get leary when I see an Eames chair offered by someone with 0 feedback.
For the record,
I didn't mean to imply that there's anything morally-ambiguous about sniping-- I've done it myself for years.
Sniping is just an unforeseen consequence of internet auctions with fixed end times. If Ebay wanted to make its auctions more auction-like-- and more beneficial for sellers-- the open-ended finish that Zanone initially suggested would be a completely fair & logical solution.
Sniping is just a sneaky loophole-- or a design flaw -- that everyone's discovered.
Wikipedia definition
Collusion is an agreement, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, which occurs between two or more persons to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage. It is an agreement among firms to divide the market, set prices, or limit production. It can involve "wage fixing, kickbacks, or misrepresenting the independence of the relationship between the colluding parties." In legal terms, all acts affected by collusion are considered void.
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The term existed prior to the internet, and if you read this explanation, there are a number of underhanded aspects of classic collusion, none of which involves bidding against someone you know, and after an email chat, one decides to step aside.
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In one case I can recall, two of us were going after the same old record, and I emailed him and mentioned that I already had a copy in worse shape, but I DID already have the record. He emailed me back and said he really needed it, so I let it go. Big *x(@! deal.
It goes both ways on ebay
For years, as a buyer I was at the mercy of sellers who "overlooked" flaws and felt that once a package had left their hands, they had no responsibility. Any flaw was blamed on the post office, and there was always the threat of bad feedback -- just for paying quickly and expecting something that was nearly as good as described.
I have spent ridiculous amounts of money on ebay (don't tell my husband) and been treated like crap. I had a particularly nasty run-in right before the feedback change and would have given it up without that change.
It might be too slanted to buyers now, but for years, buyers were getting shafted.
Shawn Marie--
A novice buyer always operates at a disadvantage-- don't confuse not knowing the ins & outs of Ebay with having a genuine disadvantage as a buyer. Ebay's ALWAYS had systems in place that protect buyers, for as far back as I can remember.
We all made our share of ignorant mistakes in the beginning (for instance, there was a time when I'd nonchalantly pay for things by money order! Oy!).
Prior to the feedback change,
I got an occasional retalitory negative feedback, and although it upset me at the time, I can't honestly say that it affected me in any way. No one refused my bid or payment due to my feedback.
I did get a couple of negative feedbacks removed by contacting eBay and explaining the situation, but again, my feedback had not made it difficult to buy and sell on eBay.
Most of my buyers are pretty...
Most of my buyers are pretty much ideal in all ways, probably because I don't sell the kinds of things (like CDs, DVDs, electronics) that attract twerps.
That said, a shocking number of them still don't read my descriptions. They email questions about stuff that I've clearly described both in the text and in photos. It puzzles me, but whatever. Doesn't usually cause problems in the end.
I did have one sale last December that blew up on me but ended up ok. A buyer bought a small antique item that normally sells for about $30. It ended at $96! I thought it must be somehow different than the $30 ones but nope, it was the same. She paid and left positive feedback two weeks later. Great, right?
No. Three weeks after leaving feedback, I suddenly hear from Paypal that she is disputing it, claiming it had damage that she only JUST noticed. They froze $96 in funds, which is always a pain in the ass. I did a little checking and it seems she did the same thing to a couple of other sellers on things that cost way more than mine. I pointed this out to Paypal along giving them the timeline for shipping, feedback and the complaint. I was dead sure they'd find in her favor but surprise, surprise! They decided she was full of doo-doo and I all my money back! I was stunned.
I think she put in a very high bid thinking that nobody else would go more than $30, but some other bimbo bid her up, I guess not realizing that there were a lot of these things available if he/she would just be a little more patient. So my bidder got stuck paying three times the market price for this thing. Fool!
Moral: Never bid more than you're willing to pay. Also, don't BS Paypal because sometimes it backfires. Ha.
In the "early days" of PayPal
If there was a dispute on a purchased item,PayPal allowed the buyer to both recieve the refund and actually keep the item.-Double porked!
I lost a $1200. sale and an expensive suit that way because the scum complained that the shoulder width was an inch wider than stated!-NICE!
Strange
I win a really nice tall Bitossi jug vase with a long handle, and when it arrived the handle was broken in two places.
The seller would only give me a refund through the post office and they wanted me to return the broken jug vase to the post office.
Since I had reglued the handle, I decided not to return it - I only paid about $35.00 for it, so I still have it.
PayPal was no help in this particular case.
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