[Archive]

Posted By: Don Poley

Here's ebay's response to me registering my concern:

Dear Scott,

Thanks for writing to eBay in regard to the recent change to how
bidder
IDs are displayed on auction pages.

eBay is committed to preventing shill bidding from occurring on our
site. While the public will not have access to User IDs, eBay will
continue to have the same access to information that we have today.

eBay takes the issue of shill bidding very seriously. Shill bidding
is a
violation that, when detected, leads to an immediate suspension or
sanction. In addition, shill bidding is a crime in many states.

We've invested heavily in shill detection systems that enable us to
proactively detect and investigate possible shill bidding. Our
detection
systems collect more information on selling and/or bidding activity
than
the public has access to, so we can detect patterns and ascertain
identities much more accurately.

We also added additional bidding information as a part of this change
so
that members will still be able to detect and report suspicious
activity. While we proactively search the site for shill bidding, we
will continue to investigate Community reports of suspicious
behavior,
and take action where appropriate.

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.

Sincerely,

John V.
eBay Customer Support