Bidding Strangeness - More Probstein123

[sbfinley]

I'm not trying to be an apologist for Probstein (although sometimes I am), but I try to look at it this way:

If I ran my own eBay consignment company that had 500-1000 auctions going off weekly and almost a million in sales quarterly how many of these questions would I honestly answer yes to?

1. I would myself or salary someone to check all completed auctions for suspicious bidding.

2. I would alert bidders/auction winners about suspicious bidding.

3. I would prevent cosigners I believe are shilling from consigning in the future.

4. I would prevent auction winners from immediately consigning their winnings with me.

5. I would not provide my top customers with additional information such as scans or opinions on which cards might be worth a crack and re-submit.

Personally,

1. Probably not. It's a waste of time and resources to police a problem eBay poured gas on by instituting anonymous bidding.

2. Yes would be the ethical thing to say, but the can of worms opened in the process would probably be to much deal with.

3. The only question I could unequivocally agree I would do.

4. No, I'm in the business of selling cards and making money.

5. I would not go out of the way to do so, but if a customer who payed my mortgage the month before requested additional information I would make sure he/she received it.

[hangman62]

I agree

how about...don't bid on his stuff..if your uncomfortable with it

[markf31]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

If I ran my own eBay consignment company that had 500-1000 auctions going off weekly...

Business volume should not dictate ethics. Period.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by markf31

Business volume should not dictate ethics. Period.

It shouldn't, but I'm also a realist. Do I believe some of his auctions are shilled? Duh. Do I believe he is cognizant of the fact? Absolutely. Do I think it's his responsibility to do everything within his power to stop it? No. Collectors want to throw people like him under the bus because of a problem eBay magnified with anonymous bidding. Instead of "I avoid Probstein auctions" it should be "I avoid eBay" if you're all that worried about the ethics of buying and selling collectibles. If you want to close yourself off to the largest majority of the market (eBay) more power to you. I'll just worry about what I'm willing to pay, not what I end up paying because some dirtbag cosigner shills his own items. The guy is making a good living selling sports cards. Wish I could say the same.

Originally Posted by btcarfagno

How about:

6. Someone tells you what is happening with a specific auction and there is verifiable proof that a specific consignor has shill bid one or more auctions.

Tom C

That would fall under #3. Consigner wouldn't be conducting business with me in the future.

[jbbama]

i get pissed off when i see a card i want is his.......i refuse to bid. This shilling , or "bumping along" is a violation of TOS and shenanigans like this are all too common place with old Proby.

[btcarfagno]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

I'm not trying to be an apologist for Probstein (although sometimes I am), but I try to look at it this way:

If I ran my own eBay consignment company that had 500-1000 auctions going off weekly and almost a million in sales quarterly how many of these questions would I honestly answer yes to?

1. I would myself or salary someone to check all completed auctions for suspicious bidding.

2. I would alert bidders/auction winners about suspicious bidding.

3. I would prevent cosigners I believe are shilling from consigning in the future.

4. I would prevent auction winners from immediately consigning their winnings with me.

5. I would not provide my top customers with additional information such as scans or opinions on which cards might be worth a crack and re-submit.

Personally,

1. Probably not. It's a waste of time and resources to police a problem eBay poured gas on by instituting anonymous bidding.

2. Yes would be the ethical thing to say, but the can of worms opened in the process would probably be to much deal with.

3. The only question I could unequivocally agree I would do.

4. No, I'm in the business of selling cards and making money.

5. I would not go out of the way to do so, but if a customer who payed my mortgage the month before requested additional information I would make sure he/she received it.

How about:

6. Someone tells you what is happening with a specific auction and there is verifiable proof that a specific consignor has shill bid one or more auctions.

Tom C

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by btcarfagno

How about:

6. Someone tells you what is happening with a specific auction and there is verifiable proof that a specific consignor has shill bid one or more auctions.

Tom C

Exactly! I don't think anybody realistically expects Probstein to police his own auctions, but I do think people expect to see something done when he's provided proof that his consignors are shilling.

If he would do something about it, he would earn my respect and my business. Until then, I'll stay away from his auctions.

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Exactly! I don't think anybody realistically expects Probstein to police his own auctions, but I do think people expect to see something done when he's provided proof that his consignors are shilling.

If he would do something about it, he would earn my respect and my business. Until then, I'll stay away from his auctions.

Not to defend anyone, I'm just curious. I'm assuming you're talking about Joe P., has anyone been following his activity recently? I haven't. I'm curious to know if he's still at large.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

Not to defend anyone, I'm just curious. I'm assuming you're talking about Joe P., has anyone been following his activity recently? I haven't. I'm curious to know if he's still at large.

Yes, mostly Joe P. No, I haven't been following his activity since eBay made it much harder by hiding usernames. However, there have been other consignors as well (such as the one the OP listed) that have been brought to Rick's attention, and he's failed to do anything about it.

[chernieto]

I feel for the OP who bought the card for more than 32% less than the last time Rick sold it....This criminal activity is so________, .
.
Rightly or wrongly I like a bidding environment where a 32%+ lower price can be had in comparison to the previous sell through price. there were 4 other bidders who were higher than the consignors shill bid.
Rick should let those who consign know that they should never bid on their own items. Seems obvious.
Maybe I shouldn't have removed my name from the Legendary auction bidder and mailing list after all. It seems they were able to keep prices more stable

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by chernieto

I feel for the OP who bought the card for more than 32% less than the last time Rick sold it.

I obviously still will participate in auctions run by Probstein123. However, I am also keenly aware that he has a problem policing consignor shilling. So, I always take a close look at the prior market. Before I even bid I recognized that he was selling the same card that sold several weeks ago again, so I kept my ceiling bid low and it just happened to hit. And then after I purchased it, I noticed that the same guy who won it weeks ago also bid in this one. So, it was pretty obvious to me what was going on. And given the concerns that a number of people on Net54 have with this seller, I thought it prudent to share. Because I think that educating us about the practices of certain sellers is a great function of Net54. How we each react to the information is a personal decision.