Ebay shill bidding or not?

$299.97 is strange. If you set a buying limit of $300, most people will make that amount odd and just slightly above this limit to hedge out those that type to snipe at the last second using round numbers. If it were me, my bid would have been something like $303.97 or $306.97 just to fend off a $300 or $305 bid. $299.xx is like hoping/expecting to lose IMO.

 

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I buy a lot of coins from eBay. I always bid $20.33 if I figure the coin is worth $20.00. I figure it is worth the extra $.33 not to have to look more for another coin. I am amazed how many I win because someone does not want to pay over $20.00 - i.e. they bid $19.99. I do not understand, but I would guess that as many as 1/3 of the bidders bid that way. I get a lot of coins for $20.33 and do not lose very many because someone has bid $20.55 or similar.

 

Bidder 5 has bid on at least 187 different items. You would expect that they would know better. But then again reason does not always apply. I do agree some people stop at the funniest numbers.

 

It doesn't look like shill bidding to me, but I really dislike the way Ebay has blocked a lot of the bidder's information of late. It has really messed up a valuable tool for situations just like this if it was a shill bid. We could see who they are instead of bidder 5, 6, 7, 8, ...

 

I understand what you're saying. It would seem a little suspect if we extrapolate that the aim was to secure someone else's "winning" bid at $300, just besting Bidder 5.

Based on the activity, though, I think that between Bidders 6 7 and 8 the final answer would have been pretty close to that $300 mark, so Bidder 5 (and 4 for that matter) didn't really play in the ultimate result. Perhaps Bidder 9 might have gotten a slightly better deal at the end, but I kind of doubt it.

For me a more certain clue that shill bidding is taking place is when a bids early on are quickly matched multiple times by the same opponent. I've had this happen to me... bid $x and within 5 minutes Bidder 2 is on top with $x + minimum. Then I outbid Bidder 2, and Bidder 2 outbids me... and then, Bidder 2 is out of luck because I'm done.

 

On the other hand, you can easily open sets from 1999 and on with a small knife or even your fingernail, leaving no trace if you are careful. There is no reason that you would have to damage the case like that to get to the coins, unlike older sets. Still, it's entirely possible that the set has been cherry picked, though with newer proof sets that's still possible even if the packaging is pristine.

 

Moen
Where that packing is cracked really hits me right in the gut---I would wonder if the coins are really SILVER??or if they are clad in the silver coin packing?.....

Speedy



Silver Coins are so obviously not clad coins...

Shill bidding on eBay is so easy to see...... See who is bidding..... have the been eBay (How new) , etc.. Do they bid on each others auctions, Do they all have under 10 FB..... Are they all recently new to eBay........

These are things you need to know and how to investigate if you buy on eBay. These simple ways to investigate both buyers and sellers on eBay are 2nd nature to those who spend more than $5.

Never mind if you suspect both shilling and cracked case changeroo fraud. These crooks don`t last long, and there are remedies.

You should know your way around eBay BEFORE you spend more than $5........

 

I can't see buying it for that price with damage. They have come down in price and have seen them at a coin show for less.

I would punt

 

True--true--but I can also see how easy it would be to take a set of the clad proofs (only worth about 1/3 of what the silver set is worth) and buying a used case and putting the clad in the silver packing and selling it to a new person as Silver Proofs when in for real they aren't.

That has been done many times before and so that is why I posted it---I guess the best thing to do when Moen gets the coins is to open the set up and take a look at the rims...

Speedy

 

Never mind if you suspect both shilling and cracked case changeroo fraud. These crooks don`t last long, and there are remedies.

You should know your way around eBay BEFORE you spend more than $5........


This is my point....

 

O.K. Here is how the whole thing worked out. I contacted the guy, "Bobby" and told him I didn't want the damaged set I won but instead would pay extra for a buy it now set that wasn't damaged. He was really honest and worked with me. I have to agree with the people who said he was a good guy. Now someone tell me why the 1999 9 pc. silver proof sets go for almost 400 dollars?