So I spotted an item i need for one of my other collections was listed last night And i placed a bid on it (for the first time lol cause i usually wait and snipe) I have been looking for this item for a long time, i dont really know the value at all price wise, because it is a Non-Pony item so i placed a bid just to see how far it goes so i can gauge the price. and i woke up this morning to see i had not been outbid but almost immediately after i placed my bid it had been bid exactly up to my max by ONE Bid (like they knew exactly what my max was) (i had bid a maximum of 25.00 for the item) and the current bidder against me Has not bid on anything in the past six months (i can't tell if they are new) and the seller has only like 4 items for sale and is not only 90% positive. and their other items have absolutely nothing to do with the item that i am bidding on, and the picture is poor qaulity.

I have absolutely no problem bidding against another collector and paying market value, but i will not appreciate getting scammed on something i really dont know the value of. i dont want to pay too much even though i hardly ever see this item for sale. im worried that this looks a little strange If i get outbid should i place another bid or just forfiet the item? i have never experianced possible shill before. i was just shocked that i didnt get outbid but got bid Exactly to the cent up to my maximum from a bidder who has absolutely no other previous bids.

any idea's guys?

That's so strange indeed... it's been years since I last sold anything on ebay, so I don't know but.. Can the seller see what your maximum bid is?

It's so strange that they seem to KNOW what you were willing to pay for it...

The seller can't see your max bid. Usually with shill bidding, there seem to be lots of small incremental bids to flush out the max bid. And then sometimes a retraction when the shiller gets the winning bid. It may just be a case of someone else throwing in a $25 bid.

ETA:L If you put in a bid of $25.31 and the other bidder put in a bid of $25.12, it will automatically make the current price $25.31, because it jumps it up to the next $.50 increment if possible. And I have to say, I have hit another bidder's price on the head when bidding before. I always pick weird numbers and obviously other people do too, sometimes!

thanks guys i think for now i will just watch it til it ends and do what i usually do if i get outbid if the price hasn't gone to insane.

I agree with hodgemo. I usually bid weird pricing amounts and have hit someone else's max bid on the nose before also. It's possible that it was a coincidence. Although, the weirdest auction I ever experienced is when the same bidder bid 25 times in one dollar increments until they bypassed the high bidder. I'm guessing they were testing out what their max was and didn't want to pay anymore than necessary. ( I was the seller in that listing so I could see all the bid amounts and was kinda )
If I had seen that in an auction I was watching I'd probably think shill. But sometimes people are just a bit nutty!

SunnyDazeAhead wrote:

I agree with hodgemo. I usually bid weird pricing amounts and have hit someone else's max bid on the nose before also. It's possible that it was a coincidence. Although, the weirdest auction I ever experienced is when the same bidder bid 25 times in one dollar increments until they bypassed the high bidder. I'm guessing they were testing out what their max was and didn't want to pay anymore than necessary. ( I was the seller in that listing so I could see all the bid amounts and was kinda ) If I had seen that in an auction I was watching I'd probably think shill. But sometimes people are just a bit nutty!

LOL thats pretty funny.

well so far my bid has held, it still has 4 days left. if i get outbid oh well.. i really dont want to pay more than i have put up anyway.

hodgemo2 wrote:

The seller can't see your max bid. Usually with shill bidding, there seem to be lots of small incremental bids to flush out the max bid. And then sometimes a retraction when the shiller gets the winning bid. It may just be a case of someone else throwing in a $25 bid. ETA:L If you put in a bid of $25.31 and the other bidder put in a bid of $25.12, it will automatically make the current price $25.31, because it jumps it up to the next $.50 increment if possible. And I have to say, I have hit another bidder's price on the head when bidding before. I always pick weird numbers and obviously other people do too, sometimes!

Agreed

In this instance I'd revert to your usual sniping

I believe the big lesson here is to bid what you are willing to pay.

If you end up paying what your max was and feel bad about that, you should have bid lower.

If you get outbid and feel bad about it, then your max should have been higher. If you get outbid and don't care, then the system is working as intended.

Of course, there is no harm in waiting until the final hour or two and seeing how the auction goes. After all, if by that time the bidding is already more than you are willing to pay, then there is no need to bother bidding. Oh, and if there is a Buy It Now on it, and it is at or under what you are willing to pay, then the sure fire way to win is to Buy It Now.