ebay seller - probstein123

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

Reread the posts above.

If you were to purchase an item from a Probstein123 auction you would have the following tools at your disposal:

- You would be able to see what collection the consignment came from, allowing you to avoid certain consignors (i.e. The GEM Collection).
- You can see how many unique bidders you are bidding against (a handy tool used to spot shill bidding).
- You can see how many bid retractions other bidders have (a handy tool to decide if you're up against shady characters)
- You can see how often someone is bidding and their bidding patterns (vital to spot shill bidding)

Name one auction house that provides these tools.

Are you saying the onus is on the buyer to root out shill bidding??
And if it is happening, the best way to handle it is to not bid?

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

Are you saying the onus is on the buyer to root out shill bidding??
And if it is happening, the best way to handle it is to not bid?

No, I am saying Rick Probstein provides more tools for the bidder to detect and defend themselves against shill bidding than any other auction house.

Panky aside, Rick has banned shill bidders and he is usually pretty good about it if it's obvious. When was the last time REA or HA or Mile High banned one of their bidders?

[jhs5120]

I am still challenging anyone here to name one auction house that has more safe-guards in place to prevent shilling.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

I am still challenging anyone here to name one auction house that has more safe-guards in place to prevent shilling.

You can't completely prevent shill bidding...the auctioneer will never know 100% if an item is being shilled or not. What you can do when you are made aware of a shiller is ban them from your auctions. One very obvious shiller seems to be immune from banishment.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

I am still challenging anyone here to name one auction house that has more safe-guards in place to prevent shilling.

jhs - one more time, what do you think Mr Probstein would do if ebay did not provide all the protections you have mentioned, would he go through the time and trouble to list all those things himself if he ran his auctions on an independent platform?

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

jhs - one more time, what do you think Mr Probstein would do if ebay did not provide all the protections you have mentioned, would he go through the time and trouble to list all those things himself if he ran his auctions on an independent platform?

Of course he wouldn't...the fact that his chosen platform shows bidder activity is a thorn in his side.

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

I am still challenging anyone here to name one auction house that has more safe-guards in place to prevent shilling.

This is simply deflection. You're trying to make one person's faults seem OK by finding fault with others, others who were not even the subject of this particular thread. Ever hear of two wrongs don't make a right?

My opinion would be the same for any seller who followed these practices, I don't have an agenda for or against Probstein either way. But reading this thread, there seems to be more than enough proof that Probstein is aware of the issue and is choosing to simply ignore it. For you to say Probstein has no accountability only because eBay happens to provide a way to see that shilling is going on is ludicrous. He could stop it from happening altogether and make this a moot point, yet instead he chooses to allow it to go on. I'm positive many bidders do not go through the trouble of looking at bid history and the like. By Probstein allowing this Panky guy to continue shilling, my opinion is that he is banking on the fly-by-night buyers who are going to get shilled and never know it happened to them. That is completely shady. If you have a problem and it's made blatantly clear to you, you fix it, or you suffer the ramifications to your reputation. Sounds like he's made his choice.

Der.ek Oue.llette

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

No, I am saying Rick Probstein provides more tools for the bidder to detect and defend themselves against shill bidding than any other auction house.

Panky aside, Rick has banned shill bidders and he is usually pretty good about it if it's obvious. When was the last time REA or HA or Mile High banned one of their bidders?

Could you please specify which of these tools Mr. Probstein provides? Because these are all eBay's tools, from what I can see.

Also, can you please give any examples of times Mr. Probstein has ended items with apparently blatant shill bidding or any other of the shenanigans that have been pointed out?

How do you know he's banned any shill bidders?

[parker1b2]

Question.. I never dealt with probstein but just realized an item I have been watching is a BIN from him. I know he consigns for others, but is his stuff usually legit? Comes with a COA from Hollywood Collectibles in FL. After reading the posts not sure I want to deal with him, but I like the item.

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by parker1b2

Question.. I never dealt with probstein but just realized an item I have been watching is a BIN from him. I know he consigns for others, but is his stuff usually legit? Comes with a COA from Hollywood Collectibles in FL. After reading the posts not sure I want to deal with him, but I like the item.

Hollywood Collectibles is Rich Altman's operation and I've always understood him to be very reputable.

[parker1b2]

Originally Posted by dgo71

Hollywood Collectibles is Rich Altman's operation and I've always understood him to be very reputable.

Thanks Derek.