Is this suspicious bidding ?

[Percymon]

This is a current RC item on UK ebay - i'm not seling it, or buying it, but I'm interested in the bidding activity - see screenshot picture.

I don't know whether this is suspicious or not, it could be the function of an autobidding system, but some of the bids from the same buyer are very close together (15 seconds in one case, ca 20s in many cases).

I'd be interested to hear what other TC's think of this

Like I said i'm purely interested in the bid activity, and not interested in purchasing this particular item.

[wolfdogstinkus]

Doesn't it show you the automatic bids in grey when you click the button?

Is a**s putting the price up?, and 8**6 really wants it?

[bromvw]

Dave i think hes using the old trick of having two accounts and bidding up on his own item . if you set you highest bid on the other account it will auto bid on your own item . i hate it when people do this . Why not just set a reserve ? I could be wrong but this looks like a scam to me mate

[Gruntfuggly]

Looks to me simply like a***s is trying to find out what 8***6's bid is each time?

[Percymon]

Doesn't it show you the automatic bids in grey when you click the button?

Is a**s putting the price up?, and 8**6 really wants it?

You are correct - there is autobidding on the go - i didn't realise you could show these until after i'd posted the question !

Still seems a bit strange to me though

[TWINSET]

If it's dodgy bidding, there'll usually be a withdrawn bid at some point

Why not just set a reserve ?

Because, as with everything on eBay, that costs;

Sell price £50 - £99.99 Reserve Fee; £1 + 3% of the reserve price

Sell price £100 or more Reserve Fee; £1.30 + 3% of the reserve price, up to £150

If someone bids on their own stuff and 'wins' they just claim non-payment and get their final value fee returned/cancelled.

Starting an auction at £0.99 then bidding on their own stuff is the easiest way to avoid fees

[OldSchoolRunner]

Dirty Dirty! I have seen this before. Ebay really is getting hard to use when stuff like this goes on.

OSR

[bromvw]

I have recently bid on two CC-01's and it was fairly obvious that the sellers were bidding up their own items . I had the good sence to bail on both when they went over my self imposed limit and they both went for silly money . Thankfully a member on here has done me a really good deal on one . From now on i'll always ask in the sales forum first before resorting to auction sites . if we all do the same maybe we can save each other a few quid .

[TWINSET]

It's not necessarily dirty - if you find the auction and look at the seller's other items, they've sold a fair few high £ items and this is the first auction anyone with 32fb has bid.

If you check the 32 buyer, he's only bid on one auction with that seller for the last month, even though the seller's had 9 other auctions in that month.

Could just as easily be that he's not overly familiar with the eBay bidding setups - Who's to say it's not 8***6 doing anything 'suspect' if that's even the case here?

[Tamiya1/10]

Why is it a buyer should pay the lowest price while seller should not be allowed to sell it at the highest price? I agrees not is ethical to bid on your own auction, but thats life so live with it....when it happens see it as a negotation with the seller, where you set the limit you are willing to pay. We hear TC members got good deal because the seller didn't know the true value and is ok, but is not ok if seller is asking for more than what we are willing to pay and we have names for sellers asking for the moon, in our view. Doesn't ebay allow you to set the limit, which allows you to control how much you are willing to pay? There are always good / fair deals around the corner . I am just happy to be in this hobby and have the opportunity to score the stuff i want at the price i am willing to pay. The system is not perfect but neither is anyone of us. Call me the peace maker else update your fire and disability insurance. :-P

[30YrsL8r]

It's not a question of ethics - it's against ebay's rules to bid on your own stuff to drive up the price.

Anyway, some people just don't get the idea of using a maximum bid on an auction and bid just like this (a little at a time).

[bromvw]

Well to me if you have a minimum price in mind then set a reserve or buy it now . Seems to me that a lot of the so called auctions are being rigged .

[TWINSET]

Even if it was 'dodgy' - no-one's forcing 8***6 to keep upping their bid - if they're prepared to pay £160+ then where's the actual problem? - all they've missed out on is a cheap item - if their budget's £160 then they're on to a winner.

It might not be ethical or within eBay's rules to bump-bid, but 8***6 can walk away at any time

[Percymon]

Well to me if you have a minimum price in mind then set a reserve or buy it now . Seems to me that a lot of the so called auctions are being rigged .

well time will tell whether that CC-01 gets relisted ?

[bromvw]

well time will tell whether that CC-01 gets relisted ?

i would'nt be in the least suprised Dave . A lot of auto bidding on that one and it went for well over what it was realistically worth .

[JWeston]

I found the auction within 2 minutes. I don't think there's anything suspicious.

I hope the seller and bidder don't partake in a bit of TC. If it were me, I'd go potty.

[Percymon]

I found the auction within 2 minutes. I don't think there's anything suspicious.

I hope the seller and bidder don't partake in a bit of TC. If it were me, I'd go potty.

The thread wasn't intended to rubbish either seller or buyers - just i was interested in the bid history pattern

At the end of the day people will bid what they feel its worth, or what they think is a bargain if they end up winning.

I'll now remove the image above, since i think the thread is in danger of jeopardising a genuine sale for all we know

Thanks for your views on the bid pattern.