Probstein123 Still amazed he is in business

Originally Posted by T205 GB

Really Paul??? This is the first thread he has posted on actually trying to defend himself. There has been numerous of them also. I think all this constant attention has started to hurt business a bit and he's trying to save face. Problem is you can't deny that any bidder with 48% and 108 retractions is not up to something.

I have purchased from the Rick in the past and not had any problems. I will say that I feel some cards could have gone cheaper but I paid what I wanted to get them. I stopped bidding with him after noticing some issues like what we are discussing. I never said a word, but with all this and the blatant disregard till now I will say I won't ever buy via ebay from him. I am sure he won't want my business at a show either and so be it then. More $ for the next guy

Well, first what I am saying is that at least he's communicating. I know other sellers wouldn't even dare try to tread these waters regardless of how the negativity might be effecting their business.

As for the shilling, yes if there is nefarious business going on that is brought to his attention he should certainly take it seriously.

It can't be expected, however, that he will police every single auction. That's why, like I said, it's up to those interested in his items to do some detective work themselves, and then when they have reason to be suspicious, to bring it up with Rick in a professional manner.

I think you and I are on the same page, but it's about everyone working together, not just placing the blame and responsibility on one man's shoulders.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by bubblebathgirl

Well, first what I am saying is that at least he's communicating. I know other sellers wouldn't even dare try to tread these waters regardless of how the negativity might be effecting their business.

As for the shilling, yes if there is nefarious business going on that is brought to his attention he should certainly take it seriously.

It can't be expected, however, that he will police every single auction. That's why, like I said, it's up to those interested in his items to do some detective work themselves, and then when they have reason to be suspicious, to bring it up with Rick in a professional manner.

I think you and I are on the same page, but it's about everyone working together, not just placing the blame and responsibility on one man's shoulders.

Paul, I have no idea if anyone's shilling Rick's auctions, and I'm not going to waste my time analyzing all this crap, but....

If a seller is running a crooked business (shilling his own auctions), then if you politely contact him to report "nefarious activity", how do you expect him to respond?

Stop typing, it was a rhetorical question - here's the answer: if an ebay business is shilling and you bring it to their attention, they will deny it. If you report it to ebay, ebay will do nothing, as any action on their part impacts their profit. If you talk about it here, again - nothing will happen because if you cost the seller business through not participating in his auctions, he will simply up his shilling to make up for the lost revenue.

Give it up - go play in the Mastro thread.

Originally Posted by Runscott

Paul, I have no idea if anyone's shilling Rick's auctions, and I'm not going to waste my time analyzing all this crap, but....

If a seller is running a crooked business (shilling his own auctions), then if you politely contact him to report "nefarious activity", how do you expect him to respond?

Stop typing, it was a rhetorical question - here's the answer: if an ebay business is shilling and you bring it to their attention, they will deny it. If you report it to ebay, ebay will do nothing, as any action on their part impacts their profit. If you talk about it here, again - nothing will happen because if you cost the seller business through not participating in his auctions, he will simply up his shilling to make up for the lost revenue.

Give it up - go play in the Mastro thread.

Well Scott you're clearly not trying to actually solve anything here, you just sound like an angry person lashing out at the hot topic of the day.

There is plenty that can be done about bad things, but having a defeatist attitude like you seem to have doesn't help. When you start to make clearly irrational arguments, it also makes you look foolish and you lose credibility.

So, if you're actually trying to help, then by all means ... otherwise, stand aside and let the adults get to work.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by bubblebathgirl

Well Scott you're clearly not trying to actually solve anything here, you just sound like an angry person lashing out at the hot topic of the day.

There is plenty that can be done about bad things, but having a defeatist attitude like you seem to have doesn't help. When you start to make clearly irrational arguments, it also makes you look foolish and you lose credibility.

So, if you're actually trying to help, then by all means ... otherwise, stand aside and let the adults get to work.

Paul, look in a mirror and read what you just wrote, but remove the name "Scott". You might learn something.

Originally Posted by Runscott

Paul, look in a mirror and read what you just wrote, but remove the name "Scott". You might learn something.

LOL - the old "look in the mirror" comment? Good one!

With originality and intelligence like that you'll go far buddy!

[ngrow9]

Paul,

I've provided a rebuttal to your argument twice in this thread, and both times you have ignored it. For someone who claims to be an adult who solves problems, you seem to have an amazing capacity to ignore any countervailing argument.

Originally Posted by ngrow9

Paul,

I've provided a rebuttal to your argument twice in this thread, and both times you have ignored it. For someone who claims to be an adult who solves problems, you seem to have an amazing capacity to ignore any countervailing argument.

Don't take it personally my friend. I don't always see everything everyone writes.

Per your comment, if you don't want to pay an AH there's nothing they can do other than cancel your account and threat to sue which will only make sense at a certain threshold.

I agree that the bidding retracting policy is rather garbage on ebay, but they do have semi-transparency. I much prefer that to the zero transparency that offbay AHs have.

Ideally, the buyer would have to go through a more stringent process to retract bids, as you suggest - and there would be more sever consequences for nefarious behavior such as a clear pattern of bid retraction to shill items.

There is room for improvement everywhere, and part of the responsibility falls on us bringing it to the attention of those who can actually do something about it.

[rajah424]

Scott-

Yes, Rick got a consignment fee. Some of the cards i consigned went for less than i hoped but a few went for more. Overall, i'm okay with what i cleared. I realize that i might be able get more if i sold them myself but there are several reasons i chose to consign - the time involved to list which i guess could be considered lazy but the main reason is not wanting to deal with scammers and ebays policies of always taking the buyers side. I also feel Rick gets more interest in his bids then i would.

I have sold a few things lately on the BST, i could be naive but i feel it is a safe option. Most of the things i have sold this way have sold very quickly though so i feel i might have listed too low and left money on the table, something a auction format might have avoided. I have consigned some cards to Sterling for their next auction hoping to see if the result are better.

Would i consign to Rick again? I'm not sure, but if i don't it will be because i found a more profitable alternative not because i don't trust him.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Paul, look in a mirror and read what you just wrote, but remove the name "Scott". You might learn something.

+1 ... especially considering all the constructive comments and questions that get ignored when talking about ebay. So to reiterate:

Step 1 (as to ebay) - Make bid retractions go through customer service. No one should be able to have 108 bid retractions.