> Both wanted the item. Obviously before the end of the auction, they
> communicate and determine who will try to win it. After the
> auction, the
> one that declined to bid writes me asking for another
> identical item (and
> admits to colluding). Is this not an attempt to keep the price low?
Absolutely - and quite rightly too. Dropping out of an auction
so as not to bid against a friend seems absolutely normal to
me. Asking if there is another similar item to purchase also
seems reasonable to me. Just as it seems reasonable to me
for you to point out that you feel the price was rather too
low for your liking and either refusing outright to deal with
this person or to name a price you do like.
I've had people win auctions at a low price and then ask
for a few more of the same if available at the same price.
I simply point them at a few previous auctions that have
gone at what I feel to be a more reasonable price and
name a price *I* am comfortable with. Either they bite or they
don't and that's an end to it.
> That is very true, and is one of the reasons colluding and
> shilling are
> almost impossible to take action against. It is just a fluke
> that I was
> able to "catch" someone.
I guess I'm surprised he stated it quite that way - I suppose
my reaction would have been dependent on the tone of the
email. Either way, I don't see how either of the bidders
have done anything wrong. If the market for that item was
so small, you should have started at a more reasonable
price. If the market is normally large enough that their
behaviour would not have mattered, then they were just lucky.
> Does anyone remember when Ebay allowed one legal shill per
> auction? It was
I've been ebaying since about 1999 and this is the first
time I've heard of this. Was it obvious (i.e. other bidders
would see that the seller had put in a bid)?
Antonio
--
---------------
Antonio Carlini arcarlini_at_iee.org
Received on Sun Feb 13 2005 - 06:40:12 GMT