ebay live auction shill bidding

[Paleo_joe]

ebay live auction 'shill' bidding

Decided not to drive down to a local auction since they were also doing it live on ebay. I just put in some absentee bids ahead of time.

Turns out I should have bid real time. In every case, the floor bidding started $5 above my top bid. The auctioneer apparently wasn't bidding for me beginning with the opening bid and going up, he was starting the floor bidding at my top amount.

I know the guy in person and I go to their sales, so I don't want to crap on the relationship, but I reported it (as best I could given their automated screens) to ebay and I'll be watching dude in person in the future.

 

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[bdsawyer]

Shady to say the least. Been to a number of live auctions with planted bidders myself, when the shill wins the auctioneer would write in down for a number that everybody knew was for the house.
I went to a local auction recently that was so horrible. The ring man and owner of auction co would pick thru boxes, pull out each item he thought was rare, chastise the bidders for missing these "rare" items, then end up being the top bidder on these items and put them in his own box. Mind you these "rare" items were things worth 20-30 bucks.

 

[Paleo_joe]

I bet there are going to be some angry buyers contacting the guy. The bid would jump from $5 to $200 because $200 was the max bid. The buyer might have got it for $100 if the auction was conducted properly.

I will say this: The auctioneer is happy today because he did a LOT better by having it on ebay simultaneously. It brought out some bidders who paid way more for certain items than the people in the room. And, having ebay bidders also seemed to jack the room up. I saw people in the room pay way more than market for an item, it seemed like just because they were competing with the internet.

 

[diggummup]

Sounds very shady to me. I don't see how that is even legal. He should have started at your opening bid if that was the bid showing on eBay. I am anxious to know if ebay does anything about it. I would never bid on an "eBay live auction" event item. I'm kind of getting fed up with eBay altogether actually.

 

[clovis97]

Absolutely no offense meant, but that is how most live and online auctions work.

The auctioneers, at least around here, say "I've got a $210 bid online. Who wants to be $225?"

They use the highest bid they have, whether it comes from the live crowd, or from an online bidder, as their "floor" or starting bid. I've been to a ton of auctions in my life, and that is how they all work.

The only exception is when the auctioneer is trying to create excitement, and will start with a super low price to get the live crowd interested. I've seen them start the live crowd bidding at $5 for a $100 item, even though they have a $75 bid from an online buyer. Sometimes, the live crowd bidding will stall out at $55, and the auctioneer will say "Gotta go just a few more...I've got $75 online."

I was at a train auction once, with almost 800 lots, and every item was started as "I've got a $550 bid online for this item. Anyone want to bid $575?"

This is different than normal absentee bids, where an auctioneer, in order to be good to his customers, will bid on your behalf up to your max bid.

Nonetheless, you should ask every single time you leave absentee bids. Sometimes it is awkward asking. The auctioneer's sole job is to get the most out of an item for the seller, and nothing less.

The best auctioneers will announce that they have absentee bids on an item before it sells. "I've got an absentee bid on this snow blower. Where you do want to start the bidding?" As the price climbs, they will say stuff like "My bidder is still in" and "My bidder is now out."

 

[bdsawyer]

When I read the post, I took it as his was the only absentee bid recorded. If there were other absentee bidders or bids, then the house usually starts at the top bid as Clovis stated.

 

[dumpsterdiver]

I think some of those laws vary state by state. One of the auctions I go to allows the employees to bid. At first I was pretty concerned about it but now I figure its slightly more honest than shilling. At least I can decide if I want to bid against the employees. And most of the employees have some sort of flea market booth somewhere.

 

[Slingshot]

Rigged - like everything else - proceed with caution.

 

[Paleo_joe]

When I read the post, I took it as his was the only absentee bid recorded. If there were other absentee bidders or bids, then the house usually starts at the top bid as Clovis stated.

Mine was the only absentee bid. I can see how if there are two ebay bidders, the price would automatically and instantly increment to the top.

But when I am bidding against another person, to have my opening bid be my max bid simply because I am not there in the room to call BS is not right. It may be legal and it may be how it is done in some places, but that does not make it right. I won't make that mistake again. Had I won an item, I wouldn't have paid for it, and I would have felt perfectly justified. And I would have told the auctioneer that directly.

 

[NHBandit]

Absolutely no offense meant, but that is how most live and online auctions work.

The auctioneers, at least around here, say "I've got a $210 bid online. Who wants to be $225?"

They use the highest bid they have, whether it comes from the live crowd, or from an online bidder, as their "floor" or starting bid. I've been to a ton of auctions in my life, and that is how they all work.

The only exception is when the auctioneer is trying to create excitement, and will start with a super low price to get the live crowd interested. I've seen them start the live crowd bidding at $5 for a $100 item, even though they have a $75 bid from an online buyer. Sometimes, the live crowd bidding will stall out at $55, and the auctioneer will say "Gotta go just a few more...I've got $75 online."

I was at a train auction once, with almost 800 lots, and every item was started as "I've got a $550 bid online for this item. Anyone want to bid $575?"

This is different than normal absentee bids, where an auctioneer, in order to be good to his customers, will bid on your behalf up to your max bid.

Nonetheless, you should ask every single time you leave absentee bids. Sometimes it is awkward asking. The auctioneer's sole job is to get the most out of an item for the seller, and nothing less.

The best auctioneers will announce that they have absentee bids on an item before it sells. "I've got an absentee bid on this snow blower. Where you do want to start the bidding?" As the price climbs, they will say stuff like "My bidder is still in" and "My bidder is now out."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This.. is how it works at every live auction I've ever attended that also allowed online bidding. There is absolutely nothing shady about it. Someone just wanted the item more than you did.

 

[clovis97]

Mine was the only absentee bid. I can see how if there are two ebay bidders, the price would automatically and instantly increment to the top.

But when I am bidding against another person, to have my opening bid be my max bid simply because I am not there in the room to call BS is not right. It may be legal and it may be how it is done in some places, but that does not make it right. I won't make that mistake again. Had I won an item, I wouldn't have paid for it, and I would have felt perfectly justified. And I would have told the auctioneer that directly.

I am confused.

You left the only bid, in person, at the auction house?

And the other bidder was on ebay?

 

[MRBeyer]

This is similar to an auction I went to. I was involved in bidding on an item, when it went higher than what I was willing to pay I turned my back to the auctioneer and started talking to my wife in the row behind me. 5-10 bids later the bidding stopped and the auctioneer and his assistant got my attention and told me I had won. The price was almost double what it was when I stopped bidding. I pointed out the price I stopped bidding at, the fact my back was to him during the last several bids, and that he should go to the last bidder he was working on cause they had won it. Everyone sitting around me was laughing at the auctioneer and commenting loud enough for him to hear that this is the first time someones back had bid for them, etc etc. The auctioneer threatened to have me thrown out. I still refused to pay for it so he had to start over the bidding on that item over again. Surprisingly, the item sold for about what I had originally been interested in paying. After that people would specifically let the assistant and auctioneer know they were not bidding anymore, some turning their backs, others writing down the amounts they stopped bidding at and holding up that number when asked for their ID number. Prices dramatically dropped on what he was getting for them and became much more realistic. People came up to me later and said they hadn't realized how much he was ripping people off until I did what I did, some were regulars at these sales. It only happened because I was a newbie at this sale and he thought I would fold under shaming from him. Stupid and crooked auctioneer. He lost more in his reputation than what he would have made from little old me.