How to Scam and Make $ on eBay...

[scooter729]

One thing I always watch for when considering whether shilling is occurring is if there are bids which fall just short of milestone prices. Typically, I get leery when I see bids of something like $99.99 or things along those lines. With bids like that, it would allow a bid of $100 to get driven up to its max, without exceeding that bid.

With that said, I know some people do use that bidding mentality. I have someone bidding on a few of my auctions on eBay right now using that strategy, and I wonder why. I'd love to hear a thought if anyone knows why a normal bidder (non-shiller) would use bids of $9.99, $49.99, etc. and not something like $10.05 or $50.02 to try and just beat a milestone number and not fall shy of it.

[scooter729]

Originally Posted by scooter729

One thing I always watch for when considering whether shilling is occurring is if there are bids which fall just short of milestone prices. Typically, I get leery when I see bids of something like $99.99 or things along those lines. With bids like that, it would allow a bid of $100 to get driven up to its max, without exceeding that bid.

With that said, I know some people do use that bidding mentality. I have someone bidding on a few of my auctions on eBay right now using that strategy, and I wonder why. I'd love to hear a thought if anyone knows why a normal bidder (non-shiller) would use bids of $9.99, $49.99, etc. and not something like $10.05 or $50.02 to try and just beat a milestone number and not fall shy of it.

I just saw a perfect textbook example of the shilling example I referenced above - a brand-new bidder just joined eBay and has made only two bids, both from the same seller despite the items being totally different items (a baseball jersey and a presidential item), while the bid was done for $499, in order to drive the other bidder's price up to the $500 threshold.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Benjamin-Harriso...item4aabd1c931

[wheels56]

this thread has been very helpful. thanks for everyone's thoughtful responses. that last example looks totally blatant, scooter. wow. :-(

haven't seen anything that obvious in the battlefield auctions. i've had some of the exact same concerns others have raised though. e.g., they currently have a 56 koufax up. this is at least the 4th one of these they've had. makes me leery of the whole "from my personal collection" bit. when i first started bidding, i contacted a few winning bidders and they all shared similar concerns but had been converted. at one point, I found two 56 koufax scans that I thought were identical. even contacted them about it. happy to share that correspondence with anyone that PMs me.

also, the fact that they have a second account (at least) is another troubling sign. war_eagle_vintage

anyway, i've beat this one to death. buyer beware, i guess. i may send the kaline in to PSA just for the heck of it. if i do, i'll follow up.

again, appreciate all of the thoughtful replies. really glad i joined the board!

jason

[mintacular]

There was also another example where they described this Koufax as "perfectly centered": http://cgi.ebay.com/DON-DRYSDALE-196...ht_2841wt_1139 And another "great centered" card! (LOL): http://cgi.ebay.com/BROOKS-ROBINSON-...ht_2827wt_1139 You might think of this as nitpicking, but if they are grossly exaggerating or lying about things very visible to the eye they are either dishonest and/or incompetent--both of which will likely result in an overgraded card

[CharleyBrown]

Little update about Battlefield..

I decided for S&G to purchase a '55 Topps J. Robinson that they listed as being superb, stunning, etc. just to see how it would grade.

Just got my PSA poppage today - the superb card came back an astonishing PSA 3.

I can't say that I'm surprised.

[vintagerookies51]

Can someone tell me how this has "near-perfect centering as stated in the subtitle? http://cgi.ebay.com/1954-Topps-Ted-W...item2a132bebfd

[brob28]

Shaun can you post a pic of the card? Just curious how it looks and what was the reason for the grade.


One thing that puts up a red flag for me with many sellers is if they only have Nm type ungraded cards and none in lower grade. I mean really, what are the chances that every collection these people buy have only Nm quality cards? I would expect at some point some auctions of lower grade cards/lots or do these sellers not want to soil their reputation by listing the dogs!

[CharleyBrown]

That was their image. Their subtitle also stated: Perfect Centering, Strong Corners, and Stunning Color.

I don't have my own scan of it, though I will scan it in once I receive my submission from PSA.

I saw that it was ending at a price that I'd be willing to pay to simply prove a point, bid on it, and won it. I bid on it from my phone, and only saw the image afterwards. The top left corner looked weak to me, and the centering was definitely not perfect.

When I received the card, I was not exactly amazed by its "stunning color", and the card was not quite as superb as they stated. I had sent them a message prior to receiving the card about the top left corner, and the falsely stated title and subtitle. They stood by their titling, and said that if I was so unhappy with the card, I shouldn't have bid on it, and I could return it. I wouldn't say that they were impolite, but they were definitely adamant about their way of listing things.

My intentions on buying the card were to send it into PSA just to show how off their listings were, and I needed a '55 Topps for my J. Robinson anyway. I figured it would kill two birds with one stone until I felt like upgrading to a much higher grade.

After receiving the card, I figured the card would come back a 4 due to the not so strong corners, and the less than stunning color that it had. I guess even I overestimated the grade of the card.

If there is one thing to take away from this grade, it's to read their titles, and know that the opposite of what they are saying is the actual reality.