The 2024 eBay Shilling Epidemic

[kingofsnake]

Messed Up Situation Here

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by atk825

Bid what you are willing to pay isn't overpaying. Sorry you didn't get a discount. Another purpose of shilling is someone not selling a card for below comps, which is common in auctions.

So many fraudsters, desperate and corrupt people in the hobby, they say exactly what is said above.

In an auction one is competing against someone else’s legitimate bids.

An auction be definition is ALWAYS the most accurate price at the time an auction ends.

“Comps” are only useful for cards that are not rare.

[atk825]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

So many fraudsters, desperate and corrupt people in the hobby, they say exactly what is said above.

In an auction one is competing against someone else’s legitimate bids.

An auction be definition is ALWAYS the most accurate price at the time an auction ends.

“Comps” are only useful for cards that are not rare.

There's no way to stop this. I almost exclusively buy and am active in auctions. There's nothing I can do about it. That said, I still think I get pretty good deals on the auctions I do win and the thought of a shill bidder being present doesn't really impact what I am willing to bid.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by atk825

There's no way to stop this. I almost exclusively buy and am active in auctions. There's nothing I can do about it. That said, I still think I get pretty good deals on the auctions I do win and the thought of a shill bidder being present doesn't really impact what I am willing to bid.

There are, of course, multiple ways to stop it from happening to you, or at least mitigating its effects.

This includes continuing to call out marketplace corruption whenever possible.

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

So many fraudsters, desperate and corrupt people in the hobby, they say exactly what is said above.

In an auction one is competing against someone else’s legitimate bids.

An auction be definition is ALWAYS the most accurate price at the time an auction ends.

“Comps” are only useful for cards that are not rare.

An auction will always result in a hammer price one increment above the second-highest bid.
Shilling an auction is fraud, and it's not okay.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

An auction will always result in a hammer price one increment above the second-highest bid.
Shilling an auction is fraud, and it's not okay.

Yes, exactly!

I often wonder how often auction houses are blatantly shilling rare cards on eBay…

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

Yes, exactly!

I often wonder how often auction houses are blatantly shilling rare cards on eBay…

Too much, my friend.
But as you said in another post, there are things we can do to mitigate it's effects on us. 🙂

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

yes, thats true. But as a collector, i snipe what i am comfortable paying.

would it be fantastic to stuff for less? of course it would. but winning is what its all about

When you pay more because of a shill bidder, does it make you feel like a winner?

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

When you pay more because of a shill bidder, does it make you feel like a winner?

i won the card for a price i was willing to pay. that is a W

would it have been nice to pay less? of course. did it happen? No.

Will the shilling be stopped? its been this way on eBay since the 1990's, so the odds it ever stops happening is very low.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

When you pay more because of a shill bidder, does it make you feel like a winner?

People who want to inflate the market and want their cards to be more expensive and more expensive for everyone else feel like “winners” in this scenario.

It’s a very non-inclusive hobby practice.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i won the card for a price i was willing to pay. that is a W

would it have been nice to pay less? of course. did it happen? No.

Will the shilling be stopped? its been this way on eBay since the 1990's, so the odds it ever stops happening is very low.

This is correct

Shilling is lame but it’s been going on since eBay was dial up

Posting about it won’t do anything

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i won the card for a price i was willing to pay. that is a W

would it have been nice to pay less? of course. did it happen? No.

Will the shilling be stopped? its been this way on eBay since the 1990's, so the odds it ever stops happening is very low.

Ahh, I understand. You view a purchase at auction as a win, not just as a purchase. It's a competition to win the card, not a competition to buy it as cheaply as possible.
I guess I see it differently.

Buying a shilled card at auction is not a win to me. It's a loss.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

Ahh, I understand. You view a purchase at auction as a win, not just as a purchase. It's a competition to win the card, not a competition to buy it as cheaply as possible.
I guess I see it differently.

Buying a shilled card at auction is not a win to me. It's a loss.

i collect and want to own, buying does that.

auctions are one of the ways to own. BINs are usually overpriced and few sellers accept reasonable offers

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i collect and want to own, buying does that.

auctions are one of the ways to own. BINs are usually overpriced and few sellers accept reasonable offers

I understand, and agree. I collect and want to own too, and it's hard to find people who are realistic about prices these days outside of an auction.
I'm not trying to argue. We're on the same side. I admit there isn't much someone like me could do about shilling anyway. It just sucks though. When I see it, I do everything in my power to avoid being victimized by it.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

Ahh, I understand. You view a purchase at auction as a win, not just as a purchase. It's a competition to win the card, not a competition to buy it as cheaply as possible.
I guess I see it differently.

Buying a shilled card at auction is not a win to me. It's a loss.

Well sure

But the market is the market. eBay is the what it is

Not like I’m going to go to a LCS to find what I want

Buy what you want to own and I’m happy to put in a max bid. If I get shilled? That’s the hobby. My max bid is my max bid. Simple

I don’t have time to cruise around at shows looking for stuff

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by asujbl

Well sure

But the market is the market. eBay is the what it is

Not like I’m going to go to a LCS to find what I want

Buy what you want to own and I’m happy to put in a max bid. If I get shilled? That’s the hobby. My max bid is my max bid. Simple

I don’t have time to cruise around at shows looking for stuff

Yeah, I get this. I mean, sure. Things are what they are. Whaddya gonna do, right?
Totally get that.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

Yeah, I get this. I mean, sure. Things are what they are. Whaddya gonna do, right?
Totally get that.

We all agree it sucks

It’s also been 25+ years of it

Bid what you are willing to pay. That’s the answer

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by asujbl

We all agree it sucks

It’s also been 25+ years of it

Bid what you are willing to pay. That’s the answer

Your answer and my answer are slightly different. Nothing wrong with your answer, it's just not that simple for me.
The thing that seems to be the same for both of us is that we have to deal with it, because it's not going away.

[atk825]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

Your answer and my answer are slightly different. Nothing wrong with your answer, it's just not that simple for me.
The thing that seems to be the same for both of us is that we have to deal with it, because it's not going away.

Also, in theory if all shill bidding went away, there would probably be far fewer auctions as a reaction.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

Your answer and my answer are slightly different. Nothing wrong with your answer, it's just not that simple for me.
The thing that seems to be the same for both of us is that we have to deal with it, because it's not going away.

So what is your answer? Because it will end up being my answer

Unless you just don’t want the card

That’s on you

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by atk825

Also, in theory if all shill bidding went away, there would probably be far fewer auctions as a reaction.

That's surely true. Omg that's something I hadn't even considered, since it seems impossible, but 'what if' all shilling was eliminated? You're right, FAR less auctions. Consigners would take a hit, it would snowball.
Never gonna happen.
It's funny to consider though, isn't it?
I think the best thing for me personally is to do my best to avoid those situations. We're all going to have our own opinions on that though.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by asujbl

So what is your answer? Because it will end up being my answer

Unless you just don’t want the card

That’s on you

My answer is more complex than yours seemed.
If I may, I took from your response that owning a particular card was important to you, that's your "win". If I'm incorrect in my assessment, please correct. But collecting and owning is your goal, I think you said.
My goal is also owning, collecting...but it's more than that. It's about feeling good about my cards. I can't feel good about a card if I feel like I got snookered on the purchase. It's tainted.
It's not just about the money.
We all do this differently

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

My answer is more complex than yours seemed.
If I may, I took from your response that owning a particular card was important to you, that's your "win". If I'm incorrect in my assessment, please correct. But collecting and owning is your goal, I think you said.
My goal is also owning, collecting...but it's more than that. It's about feeling good about my cards. I can't feel good about a card if I feel like I got snookered on the purchase. It's tainted.
It's not just about the money.
We all do this differently

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

So bid your max

I don’t get this post

[JustRachel]

Originally Posted by asujbl

So bid your max



I don’t get this post

You don't have to get it.
If bidding your max is your answer, enjoy.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

You don't have to get it.
If bidding your max is your answer, enjoy.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Word.