Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss
Anson, you and Scott are both right. In a traditional AH, you have no idea who the other bidders are. However, you should be able to take some comfort that the bidders are real and have been vetted by the AH. This provides much comfort. That said, while it is a little more difficult, and may take assistance from another party, any lot in a normal AH can be shilled. No doubt that consignors have had friends or associates bid up the consignor’s lot. I even think some AH software allows a consignor to bid on their own lots, which I actually think is legal in most states (Scott knows for sure).
My point is that while ebay is a shit show and PWCC is the star of the show, all AHs are vulnerable to shilling. All you can really do is decide what you are willing to pay and stick to that; be happy if you win and move on if you lose.
I will say this - eBay has become the Wild West or the dark web. I rarely buy off eBay and only from vendors I have bought from before (most of whom I can find off eBay). I don’t think I could ever sell using eBay with all the scams, no-pays, and theft/fraud I read about on this board. I will consign to a real AH
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Everyone is right about bidder ID's but way back in the day and iMHO the reason Ebay stopped showing full bidder ID names was this:
Let's say there are two cards from the same insert/parallel set) #'d to 25 of the newest hottest star (let's call him Shane Spencer).
The first person who has Shane sells it through an active bidding part. The other person holding the #d to 25 card would then message the low bidder and make the 2nd card available *outside of Ebay* for the price they were previously willing to pay. Sale made, EBay gets nothing, Ebay not happy; EBay changes policy on Bidder ID's. Yes it's that simple
Rich