ebay finds that PWCC engaged in shill bidding?

[Eric72]

FOR THE PEOPLE WHO RECEIVED THE EMAIL:

Did you also go to your "My eBay: Messages" page and see the email there?

[Rookiemonster]

I have questions!

1) Anyone surprise?

2) what happens to people who have a collection for sale / in vault

3) past sales that prove to be shilled ?

4) why would they continue to play dirty if they were being watched by The FBI?

[Exhibitman]

I am sure this was a carefully conceived plan:

eBay has a Board Meeting about PWCC:




eBay's outside counsel weighs in:



And the fateful decision is made. The Crackerjack Public Relations Department at eBay Goes To Work and crafts a press, er, release:



Those of us who've long complained about the blatant crooks at PWCC respond:



While those of us who won't buy from PWCC and don't pay attention to PWCC results because they are bull$hit receive the news a bit calmer:



Next Episode: The PWCC Empire Strikes Back

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Carter08

I agree that eBay probably knew about it and its hand is being forced by an outside entity like the government doing an investigation. I called to ask about a large item I purchased a few months back just to see if they could tell me if I was up against a shill. End price was fine with me but it was trending so low and I feel like the seller had a fail safe in place. I also saw pwcc auction a Goudey Ruth two months in a row and couldn’t help but think they had a shill accidentally buy it.

At any rate, not sure if she’s right or actually knows all the details, but the eBay customer service rep said they are removing pwcc from the site completely and that will take some time to do. This was just a customer rep but that’s what she thought was happening.

a normal customer and they would just shut you down with No recourse. Maybe you'll believe me next time when I tell you it's all A "BILLION DOLLAR FRAUD"...Probably Multi Billions. I tend to think they are on a time out, maybe.

[The Nasty Nati]

This is big news. PWCC in many cases controls the market price of cards. If PWCC gets shut down, which may very well happen (hello Mastro Auctions), then prices for cards could come down.

Great news for collectors, bad news for investors.

[nwfsteve]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

What!?!?!??! Did they ever say why they didn't list them?

First response was it was late in the consignment period so they pushed it to March. After that, it was a series of endless "we're looking into it."

My wife's a lawyer, so we had our documentation in order but I figure they sat on my $5,000 plus or minus for 3-1/2 months.

(Excuse for using them: had dealt with them twice, worked out OK, and they were quick with the payouts).

[hatchetman325]

Now i understand the prices those Jordan cards have been bringing. DUH!

[MINES_MINT]

I just got off the phone with eBay and they are telling me that the email is "NOT LEGITIMATE". Apparently the source is not an official eBay email account, so I would avoid any and all links associated with the email.

I'm interested to see how PWCC responds.

[ullmandds]

the plot thickens! could it be from the taliban?

[Jersey City Giants]

I just got off with eBay and they said it was NOT REAL!!!!!!

Must be a real hater to take the time to do this.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by MINES_MINT

I just got off the phone with eBay and they are telling me that the email is "NOT LEGITIMATE". Apparently the source is not an official eBay email account, so I would avoid any and all links associated with the email.

I'm interested to see how PWCC responds.

I'm sure the Ebay investigation on how the e-mail got sent will be much more aggressive than their investigation into PWCC's practices.

[Brian Van Horn]

No e-mail notification so far. Hmmm.

[Zan]

Just got off the phone with my rep at PWCC. There will be no September eBay auction, and it will take them 4-6 more weeks to get their own platform for auctions up and running. PWCC and eBay are separating

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by Carter08

I agree that eBay probably knew about it and its hand is being forced by an outside entity like the government doing an investigation. I called to ask about a large item I purchased a few months back just to see if they could tell me if I was up against a shill. End price was fine with me but it was trending so low and I feel like the seller had a fail safe in place. I also saw pwcc auction a Goudey Ruth two months in a row and couldn’t help but think they had a shill accidentally buy it.

At any rate, not sure if she’s right or actually knows all the details, but the eBay customer service rep said they are removing pwcc from the site completely and that will take some time to do. This was just a customer rep but that’s what she thought was happening.

If it was a fake email, then who did you talk to? If a real customer rep, did they not have a clue and were just speculating? Bizarre.

[toppcat]

There's this now:

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/ebay-accuses-pwcc-of-shill-bidding/


If booted from eBay will the National still welcome them with open arms?

[glchen]

Originally Posted by toppcat

There's this now:

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/ebay-accuses-pwcc-of-shill-bidding/


If booted from eBay will the National still welcome them with open arms?

Did Rich receive separate confirmation from ebay that this email was not a hoax before publishing it in SCD? The folks who called ebay have said that this email is not legitimate, and Rich's article seems to be copying directly from the email with no new information.

As another poster has said, ebay typically messages you in your ebay inbox in addition to any emails you receive. Therefore, if this email isn't also in your ebay messages, then it's more likely to be a hoax.

I did not receive this email, but I'm leaning towards that it is fraudulent.

[The Nasty Nati]

Anyone else felt it was strange that Brent wasn't at The National? At least I didn't see him.

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by chadeast

I got it too, and I think that it is real. There is no other reason that anyone would have to send this email to my particular email address associated with my Ebay account. Even PWCC should not know this email address, so there couldn't be a master PWCC email list somewhere that someone could hack and use to send out fraudulent emails. I'm not surprised, and I also share the lack of confidence that anything will actually come from this.

Correction: PWCC does have my email address. So this in fact could have come from someone with access to their mailing list.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by the nasty nati

this is big news. Pwcc in many cases controls the market price of cards. If pwcc gets shut down, which may very well happen (hello mastro auctions), then prices for cards could come down.

Great news for collectors, bad news for investors.

they def would come down people are too naive

[rdwyer]

Can't wait until Brent gets shill bidded in prison.

[Jcosta19]

Just to recap -
We have someone who claims to have spoken with ebay, and that they confirmed the email and even think that PWCC will be banned completely.

We also have multiple people who have spoken to ebay and claim the email is not legitimate.

We also have someone who spoke to PWCC who stated they are canceling upcoming auctions and separating from ebay.

Crystal clear.
Did I miss anything?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[MINES_MINT]

Originally Posted by chadeast

Correction: PWCC does have my email address. So this in fact could have come from someone with access to their mailing list.

This was my initial thought since I am on their email list as well.

[hcv123]

Hopefully. At some point it would be nice to see integrity matter! That USA today article is the first I heard of any action taken at the National and an update that the FBI investigation is apparently ongoing!!

[notfast]

I did not receive this email but I have plenty of emails from ebay@reply5.ebay.com which is what people have posted as the address this came from.

[Johnny630]

Do you think someone rolled?

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by Jcosta19

Just to recap -
We have someone who claims to have spoken with ebay, and that they confirmed the email and even think that PWCC will be banned completely.

We also have multiple people who have spoken to ebay and claim the email is not legitimate.

We also have someone who spoke to PWCC who stated they are canceling upcoming auctions and separating from ebay.

Crystal clear.
Did I miss anything?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

To quote Greg Popovich:

"Do you know anything at all" - reporter
"I know two sides of an isosceles triangle are equal" - Greg

[Brian Van Horn]

Ever wonder how many auctions, outside of their own on eBay, PWCC bids on? Also, how many auction lots they may or may not be consigning with others off eBay.

[packs]

A room without a corner to put baby into is a room without corners to cut.

[chadeast]

pwcc_vault total # of listings are now dropping at the rate of about 100 per minute.

EDIT: right around 130 per minute actually. It's been very steady for the past 8 minutes I've been watching. Listings are being systematically removed by someone.

1:25 PM PST: 46,424 listings
1:35 PM PST: 45,185
1:45 PM PST: 43,976 and still dropping

[glchen]

Originally Posted by Jcosta19

Just to recap -
We have someone who claims to have spoken with ebay, and that they confirmed the email and even think that PWCC will be banned completely.

We also have multiple people who have spoken to ebay and claim the email is not legitimate.

We also have someone who spoke to PWCC who stated they are canceling upcoming auctions and separating from ebay.

Crystal clear.
Did I miss anything?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Justin, I believe the first statement is incorrect. Reading through this thread, no one has said that they spoke with ebay, and ebay has confirmed the email.

For the second point, two people have spoken with ebay, and the ebay representative has responded that the email is fake.

For the third point, Zan said he spoke with PWCC, and PWCC said that they are separating from ebay.

[Boccabella]

The email was sent by eBay.

"The eBay spokeswoman told SC Daily that those auctions were being taken down and all active listings were in the process of being removed. All of PWCC’s Buy it Now listings had been removed as of Tuesday afternoon."

[Snapolit1]

This won't bring prices down a lick. Everyone with half a brain is not surprised with shilling in their eBay auctions. It's been a given for some time. Cost of doing business.
If certain unnamed AHs at the top of the pyramid selling $500,000 rookie refractor cards came tumbling down and people were walked out the front door in handcuffs. . .well, that would be a huge deal and would be newsworthy and meaningful. This will be another fart in the breeze.

90% of the folks who have done business with them on eBay will continue on a different platform.

As some guy once said, stuff trumps everything.

[Jersey City Giants]

Originally Posted by MINES_MINT

I just got off the phone with eBay and they are telling me that the email is "NOT LEGITIMATE". Apparently the source is not an official eBay email account, so I would avoid any and all links associated with the email.

I'm interested to see how PWCC responds.

The eBay customer service rep told me it cannot be real as eBay does not "out" sellers or bidders in a mass email.

I avoided clicking the link but did go through eBay's regular webpage to get someone from customer service to call me back. Took about ~35 minutes.

[Jcosta19]

Originally Posted by glchen

Justin, I believe the first statement is incorrect. Reading through this thread, no one has said that they spoke with ebay, and ebay has confirmed the email.

For the second point, two people have spoken with ebay, and the ebay representative has responded that the email is fake.

For the third point, Zan said he spoke with PWCC, and PWCC said that they are separating from ebay.

Read post #36 in regard to my 1st point. Although I guess they did not mention confirming the email, its certainly implied based on the conversation.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[packs]

[Redleg25]

No way ebay is doing this for "integrity". There has to be a back story for them to part ways with a client of that size. The only way today's large corporations turn away a money stream like that is if there's probability that they could lose more money by keeping it. Principles be damned. Execs would let Jeffrey Ebstein and Michael Jackson run the day cares in their office buildings if it helped their bottom line enough lol

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by glchen

...no one has said that they spoke with ebay, and ebay has confirmed the email...

Additionally, I don't recall seeing anyone confirm they received the message in their eBay account.

I've only seen reports of receiving the info via email.

If anyone has gotten the message [B]in their eBay account[B], please chime in.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

USA Today article is 2019. Lichtman is no longer PWCCs attorney

[glchen]

Originally Posted by Boccabella

The email was sent by eBay.

"The eBay spokeswoman told SC Daily that those auctions were being taken down and all active listings were in the process of being removed. All of PWCC’s Buy it Now listings had been removed as of Tuesday afternoon."

Wow, I stand corrected. You'd think Brent would have learned his lesson from a couple of years ago when he hired Jeff. How stupid can you be?

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Additionally, I don't recall seeing anyone confirm they received the message in their eBay account.

I've only seen reports of receiving the info via email.

If anyone has gotten the message [B]in their eBay account[B], please chime in.

I did receive the e-mail outside of ebay but not in my ebay inbox, that seems suspect to me too.

[Johnny630]

EBAY IS CYA themselves, that'ts it.

[insidethewrapper]

I think doing any business to avoid ebay fees can get you suspended. If they refer customers to their web site to avoid fees etc. This could be reason enough to be suspended. Maybe they have enough customers now to avoid ebay altogether.

[toppcat]

What's in the message header data? That should indicate where the message was sent from.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Carter08

I agree that eBay probably knew about it and its hand is being forced by an outside entity like the government doing an investigation. I called to ask about a large item I purchased a few months back just to see if they could tell me if I was up against a shill. End price was fine with me but it was trending so low and I feel like the seller had a fail safe in place. I also saw pwcc auction a Goudey Ruth two months in a row and couldn’t help but think they had a shill accidentally buy it.

At any rate, not sure if she’s right or actually knows all the details, but the eBay customer service rep said they are removing pwcc from the site completely and that will take some time to do. This was just a customer rep but that’s what she thought was happening.

This is the post that makes it seem that someone got confirmation from Ebay, but in reading it sounds like it was from some time ago and not today.

[packs]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

I think doing any business to avoid ebay fees can get you suspended. If they refer customers to their web site to avoid fees etc. This could be reason enough to be suspended. Maybe they have enough customers now to avoid ebay altogether.

Wouldn't you need the prices to be public enough that it raises the price of every subsequent auction though? That's the beauty of doing your business on a platform like eBay. Not saying people don't get their pricing lines from other sources (like major auction houses), but it's eBay that is the most common reference for commonly sold cards, right?

[Carter08]

Jim Nonkes: I spoke with a rep today as the email had a link that linked to eBay’s call back feature. Not sure if she knows what she was talking about but, from my perspective, she seemed to know about what I was referring to and said they are removing them.

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Additionally, I don't recall seeing anyone confirm they received the message in their eBay account.

I've only seen reports of receiving the info via email.

If anyone has gotten the message [B]in their eBay account[B], please chime in.

If it is a fake, then it is a pretty big coincidence that all of the pwcc_vault listings are being systematically removed as we speak. Over 2,500 in the last 20 minutes and still dropping steadily.

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by Boccabella

The email was sent by eBay.

"The eBay spokeswoman told SC Daily that those auctions were being taken down and all active listings were in the process of being removed. All of PWCC’s Buy it Now listings had been removed as of Tuesday afternoon."

That is not true about the BIN listings.

There are still 44,000 PWCC bin listings up from their vault account. I clicked on about twenty of them (varied from typical 1948 to 1955 cards), and only two of those listings were no good anymore. My guess is that maybe those two were from people panicking and removing their item from the vault.

Also, I bought one card from them this year. Late June. And have gotten no e-mail or ebay message about this.

The amount of misinformation being spread about this rumor is staggering.

[bobbyw8469]

I got no email from Ebay. Can someone tell me who the sender of that email is??? That is one way to tell if it is a spoof or not.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by cardsagain74

That is not true about the BIN listings.

There are still 44,000 PWCC bin listings up from their vault account. I clicked on about twenty of them (varied from typical 1948 to 1955 cards), and only two of those listings were no good anymore. My guess is that maybe those two were from people panicking and removing their item from the vault.

Also, I bought one card from them this year. Late June. And have gotten no e-mail or ebay message about this.

The amount of misinformation being spread about this rumor is staggering.

i also received no email and have purchased from them in recent past.