posted on September 20, 2002 08:34:33 AM new
Have you ever bought something on eBay and then wondered if possibly someone is messing with your mind? I bid on a widget that had been listed for several days and didn't seem to have much interest as the counter showed very few hits. I bid what I was willing to pay and forgot about it for a few days and finally the item sold and I found out I was the high bidder and pleased with the amount that it sold for, less than I had proxy bid. Then I looked at the other bidders and found that there was only 1 bidder. This person had changed their ID a few minutes before bidding on the item, bid 7 or 8 times in the next few minutes, and then didn't bid again. This accounted for the bid to raise several times. In checking, I can't seem to find any information on the person that was the other bidder on the item I purchased. Will eBay give me information on the other bidder? It kind of looks to me that I was kind of taken in, however, I am still satisfied with my purchase. Anyone have any comments or suggestions? Thanks.
posted on September 20, 2002 09:17:27 AM new
If you really want to know more you can click on their feedback and at the bottom theres a button that will show you who they were before changing their id and how long they have been on Ebay.
I've changed my id 4 times and the history is all there for anyone to see.
You may already know that, but other than that, what information are you wanting to find?
posted on September 20, 2002 09:22:12 AM new
I did click on the ID and it showed the original name, but never indicated that this person had ever bid on anything before. I was wondering if this was a legitimate person, or someone just bidding for the seller to raise the price.
posted on September 20, 2002 10:28:46 AM new
I agree with you rivercity. It does appear like it could have been shill bidding just to raise the price. I disagree with twelvepole as to you ought to be happy that you got it for less than your max bid. If this was shill bidding, then you got took, & paid more than you should have. To me it is a matter of principle.
posted on September 20, 2002 10:50:55 AM new
Twelvepole:
Money isn't the issue here. I could afford to pay whatever for this particular widget. I could have gone to a merchant and paid twice this amount for the item, but I happened to find one on eBay, the seller had an acceptable feedback, so I bid. However, no matter where I purchase an item, I expect to be treated fairly, and I might add, I have bought several items on eBay, and this is the first time I ever felt that something was amiss. I was asking for advice on whether one could find information on the other bidders in an auction. Is the other bidder, or bidders, actual or a made up figment of the sellers imagination? The item in question has already been paid for and has been shipped, and as soon as it arrives it will be put to good use. Again, not unhappy with the purchase, just the procedure. River
posted on September 20, 2002 10:50:56 AM new
So instead of being happy with paying less than you might of ended up paying, a witch hunt to try to figure out if you got shilled is a better use of time and effort?
Kiara is correct, go to sniping and you won't have that problem.
Ain't Life Grand...
posted on September 20, 2002 11:02:22 AM new
Twelvepole:
As I get older, and the memory fades a bit, I found that placing a bid on an item, and then reading the followup emails, keeps me reminded that there is a widget out there that I want to buy, another toy to add to the overburdened garage, storage shed, extra bedroom, etc., and I have to keep track to see that I am high bidder, etc. In the case of this auction, I had to be out of town for a few days, didn't want to lose the auction, so bid high enough to get the item, which I did, and then was surprised to see that the item sold for less than I expected, especially since there were 8-9 bids for the item, so I checked to see who the other bidders were. All the same bidder with shades and unable to see if this bidder had ever bid on an auction before. Not a witch hunt at all, just curious why this event occurred this way.
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people
who annoy me.
posted on September 20, 2002 11:50:33 AM new
I'd be curious too. I wish we had the auction number so we could look at it but I understand you possibly wanting to be anonymous on these boards.
posted on September 20, 2002 12:09:46 PM new
It is also against the community guidelines to post that info, Tooltimes.
Ask Jackswebb...
Rivercity, I guess contact Safeharbor and let them check into it if it means that much to you.
If you had been forced into bidding more than your proxy, then, yeah I think you would of had a beef, but you didn't so go for that long walk and be happy.
posted on September 20, 2002 12:10:03 PM new
Not ready to pass on the item number as of yet. I sure don't want to embarrass possibly a very good seller until I have all the answers available. It could be just one next door neighbor that thought the widget should sell for more and decided to help out a little. On my end, I just like to know who I am bidding against. I learned many years ago that you don't stand up front at a live auction. 40 years ago I went to a large tool auction and saw two trailer loads of items being unloaded and set up on tables with plenty more in the back in case they sold out. When items started to sell, I wondered why on earth would someone keep the bidding going higher when there were twenty more to sell. Then I looked around, the bidding kept going higher, but nowhere could you find anyone bidding. I never went back to an auction like that again, and neither have any of my 4 kids. Again, not sour grapes, just kind of out of the ordinary.
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people
who annoy me.
posted on September 20, 2002 01:02:52 PM new
if it bothers you ,report to ebay.
the seller should put a reserve on the item if he does not want to let go at a low price.
it costs him one dollar to have a reserve auction but it will be refunded when reserve is met.
posted on September 20, 2002 01:39:41 PM new8.6. Breach. You will breach this Agreement if you:
a) Harass, threaten, or intimidate another member or AuctionWatch staff. During debate or disagreement, always address the issue at hand, not the individual.
g) Post private information about any person that is not readily available to the general public. This includes, but is not limited to, phone numbers, addresses, full names, email addresses, and an auction ID or auction user ID.
During the past year (since the mods have been gone) I have also been guilty of posting links to auctions but mostly if it is about blatant keywork spamming or some such thing.
To post a link to auctions of a fellow poster just because you don't agree with the way they are posting here on a message board is very wrong. That's why many of us changed our IDs here.
posted on September 20, 2002 01:48:02 PM new
You are correct Kiara, but it does go to show that when rules start to get bent or broken, then sometimes they can bite back.
posted on September 20, 2002 01:52:17 PM new
Things have been pretty dull around here lately...I was thinking of posting my own eBay ID (one of them, anyway) to liven things up.
posted on September 20, 2002 01:54:03 PM new
I know, twelvepole. And I have been guilty also, it's a fine line I cross at times. But if someone posted a link to my auctions, the first thing I would do is run to DianaAW and I would demand that it be removed.
In all fairness I have never seen Jack post a link to anyone else's auctions so when it happened to him the other day I thought it was a pretty low thing for the other person to do.
posted on September 20, 2002 02:40:47 PM new
Personally I have never seen anything wrong with posting links to fun or weird auctions or to auctions that disregard ebay's rules so they harm other buyers or sellers.
I don't see anything wrong with anyone of us posting links to our own auctions either if we need help.
If you say that no auction links at all can be posted (as it says in AW's Terms of Service) it will never stop the whackos that just decide to post a link to cause injury to another one here on a message board, will it? I think if they are that hell bent they will do it anyways.
posted on September 20, 2002 02:56:20 PM new
Stopwhining:
I agree with you that maybe I should report it to eBay, but after going through the screens trying to find out what I am complaining about, there is not a canned answer there, unless I accuse the seller of some type of fraud, which I wouldn't do in any case without knowing all the facts. It doesn't seem to allow for finding out the contact info for other bidders in the auction, unless you are the seller. It used to be that you could find out about anybody in eBay and then an e-mail would be sent to that person letting them know that another eBay'er was checking up on them. (I did that once to a seller that was using my write up for an item, down to two mispelled words, and when he called to ask why I wanted his info, I informed him what I really thought of his selling.)Anyway, a little off topic. Does anyone know of a way to e-mail eBay direct? Thanks,
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people
who annoy me.
posted on September 20, 2002 04:20:58 PM new
TWELVEPOLE,,,,THAT GUY IS NOT MY PROBLEM. I HAVE NO IDEA WHO HE WAS NOR DO I CARE. I AM THE LAST ONE TO BE A GO BY THE RULES TYPE. I AM INTENTENTIONALLY RUNNING THIS ALL TOGETHER AS TO CEASE OTHERS FROM READING IT. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I ENJOY TYPING BUT IS TO YOU ONLY ACTUALLY. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT 10% OF THE RULES ARE HERE BUT WHEN I SAW THAT THE OTHER DAY I HAD A FEELING IMMEDIATELY THIS CANNOT BE PERMITTED. THANKFULLY I WAS RIGHT IN MY THINKING. YOU AND I KNOW WHAT THE MEANING OF HIM DOING THAT WAS FOR. IT WAS FOR NO GOOD. WHAT I DO THERE AND WHAT I DO HERE HAVE NOTHING , ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN COMMON............... I AM NOT LOOKING FOR ANY FURTHER DEBATE OR CONVERSATION ON THAT ISSUE. GOOD DAY. NO REPLY NOR RESPONSE IS REQUESTED................. I AM HERE TO ADD WHAT I MAY. HAVE FUN AND LIVE IN PEACE. 99.9% OF ANY LINKING HERE IS DONE FOR EDUCATIONAL OR FUN REASONS. THAT'S WHAT I'VE SEEN ANYWAY. I SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH IT IF DONE IN THAT LIGHT. FOR THE SAKE OF THE OTHER FOLKS HERE DROP THE ISSUE AND CONTINUE ONWARD.I HOPE IT HAS NO EFFECT ON THE GOOD PEOPLE HERE HAVING SOME WELL DESERVED FUN.
posted on September 20, 2002 05:57:58 PM new
I must have missed something while I lay dying in my bed with the flu. 1 week and I hope the end (no pun intended) is near.
Rivercity1-Keep an eye on the sellers auctions and see if it happens again.
If the buyer was sniping he must not know how, but if he was just raising the price I guess that is the way to do it.
eBay has no checks and balances when it comes to registering as by the sound of it if you get NARU you can use a different name, address and credit card and away you go. I think it must be the same with buyers.
Correct me if I am wrong, as according to my husband I am wrong all the time.
posted on September 20, 2002 06:31:08 PM new
I guess you need to read the rules then Jack.
As far his posting, I don't know what his intentions were, nor did I care. I do find it quite amusing and "funny" that when it was your auctions that were posted you went immediately to Diana... now you must know how some of those other sellers feel if they knew their auctions were posted here. But you felt the need to ruin his "fun", funny how that works.
When these boards were modded, you had to notify the seller before you could post the auction link. Obviuosly that is no longer the case and unless someone whines to Admin, the auction is up for scrutiny.
Oh and in case you didn't know, you don't tell me I can't respond or reply... these are public forums and anything posted here is open to debate whether you want it or not.
I don't disagree what he did was wrong, but in reality posting of any auction link here for self promotion or scrutiny is also against the guidelines. I personally enjoy seeing what not to do in an auction, but think if your going to whine about one auction being posted then NONE should be posted.
posted on September 20, 2002 06:54:25 PM newrivercity1, I don't think you can just take a hunch like this to ebay and expect them to do anything about it.
All the same bidder with shades and unable to see if this bidder had ever bid on an auction before.
You can see if he has bid on other things within the last 30 days if you do a bidder search on him.
posted on September 20, 2002 06:56:13 PM new
GET OFF MY CASE AND LEAVE ME ALONE. I ASKED YOU NICELY ONCE I HAVE NO DESIRE TO DEAL WITH YOU IN ANY FORM. YOU KNOW QUITE CLEARLY WHAT HIS INTENTIONS WERE AND I AM TIRED OF WASTING MY TIME WITH YOU. I HAVE NEVER POSTED ANY LINKS HERE AND I DON'T PLAN ON IT.
AIN'T LIFE GRAND. GET A LIFE!
YOU HAVE NOTHING CONSTRUCTIVE TO SAY TO OR ABOUT ME.
posted on September 20, 2002 07:33:17 PM new
Jack
I will give you some free advice, never, ever take things to heart on a message board.
Just as in real life, you run across many types of people.
Some you will get along with just fine, others it will and can be a clash of personalities. Once again, do not take it to heart!
You did address twelvepole so it should not be a surprise if he answers you. We may not always agree with what a poster says, but so what.
AW does have a handy ignore button if you find someone or something not to your liking.
I find the great majority of posters here to be decent people.
Now that said, most of us here do like you and would find this board somewhat ho hum without you.
I don't think there's anything wrong posting links for fun but I don't agree when it is intentionally done to be mean and spiteful.
posted on September 20, 2002 07:42:06 PM new
TRAI,,THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORDS. THANKS FOR THE IGNORE BUTTON INFO. BLINK. DONE.
I HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY LINKING OF ANYTHING. SOME OTHER GUY DID. HE POSTED A LINK TO MY PERSONAL INFO. I IMFORMED A/W POOF THE THREAD WAS GONE. END OF STORY. I DID NOTHING WRONG OR WHATEVER TO ANYONE. THANKS.
