the list (of criminals) is revealed

[SteveMitchell]

Beastmode offers some good advice (see boldface and enlarged type for added emphasis). Perhaps not "never" but certainly "rarely" will one be a victim of shilling, if followed.

Originally Posted by beastmode

here's 25001.

I'm surprised so many folks are surprised. In-house proprietary auction houses make little sense from a financial perspective and can be easily manipulated by the ah. Shilling is probably still rampant on the ones that are left. You can't even see the bidders, which is the first clue as to what is going on there.

E-bay has already spent billions building this software platform; and they do all the maintenance, upgrading, hardware, security, power, cooling, etc; for pennies. Does e-bay have shilling? Of course. But at least i have some information to review in bid history to make my own assessment.

lastly, and it's been beat to death, stay within your budget and be patient, and you will never be a "victim" of shilling again.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by SteveMitchell

Beastmode offers some good advice (see boldface and enlarged type for added emphasis). Perhaps not "never" but certainly "rarely" will one be a victim of shilling, if followed.

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The main point I have seen others try to make is that even when following this advice, one can still be a victim of shilling if what they end up paying is higher than it would have been without the shilled bids. Just because you are willing to pay that amount, or would have paid more, doesn't mean you're not a victim. Plus the bar is set that much higher the next time the same card comes up for sale.

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

The main point I have seen others try to make is that even when following this advice, one can still be a victim of shilling if what they end up paying is higher than it would have been without the shilled bids. Just because you are willing to pay that amount, or would have paid more, doesn't mean you're not a victim. Plus the bar is set that much higher the next time the same card comes up for sale.

Exactly. It should not be that hard a concept to understand. That being said, I do not get very bothered if I win an auction at or below what I was willing to pay, even if shilling is shown. That does not mean I find it acceptable behavior to shill, however--far from it.