eBay Bid Retractions

[ssjones]

bernie2: it was good of you to recognize this issue and start the thread. I saw the problem in action on my Charatan buy, but didn't think any more of it until your post. You are obviously well versed in programming, and your explanation makes sense. Hopefully the developers at Ebay can match pace with those seeking to exploit the weaknesses.

No harm was done on my purchase as I waited until the last seconds to place my only bid, and my purchase was less than my max. But I wonder on some of the other auctions if the winning bids weren't inflated because of this problem.

 

[graydawn]

Bernie2, thanks so much for your insight and comments on this issue. What a great forum we have!

 

[sablebrush52]

Thank you for a very interesting thread! Whether there are bot driven explorations of buying opportunities or not, the idea of trying to calculate, influence, or manipulate the market and the amount of effort and ingenuity going into that goal is very human.
I read all of this and the bottom line is that you don't bid more than you're willing to pay, and that the person who wants it most and will pay most will get it, and the rest of all of this maneuvering is superfluous. But the belief in the "something for nothing" deal lives in all of us and dies hard.
eBay could just set a retraction limit of 5 every 6 months with a 6 month suspension of activity for those exceeding the limit and all of this would go away. Unless it's bots who move faster than eBay's architecture can record, which eBay says is not possible. What a lot of effort for such a marginal market.

 

[cigrmaster]

What a great thread and I appreciate everyones involvment in trying to figure out what is going on. I have long watched people like 0***c bid on every item on auctions from Coopersark and Treaurepipes and have complained to ebay a number of times with nothing being done. I have been seeing this for 3 years now and it is obvious to me that Ebay could care less, in fact I am sure they like it because the more something sells for the more they make.

 

[graydawn]

I agree Sablebrush52(Jessee). A whole lot of work for such marginal gains. With so many participants in a global market setting with a full range of objectives, the chance of a bargain is diminishing, especially on well described items and in frequently visited eBay 'stores'. Poking around in the dark corners, mislabeled items, etc. seems to be the only bargain hunting places left. On the other hand, if one is willing to pay the eBay 'market' price the process is rather straightforward...simply the power of the dollar.

 

[ssjones]

This is getting nuts. This tired GBD went to $191. Our phantom bidder bumped it from $33 to $87 than a few more times. Some fool with a 146390 Ebay rating paid $191. I bet it goes unpaid and shows up again, this is a $50 pipe, at best (two pictures, none of the rondell, its a mess)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Smoking-Pipe-Estate-Purchase-GBD-Lucite-Stem-London-England-/191563874962
Why couldn't this bumper been up to his shenanigans when I had a nice GBD 9438 on Ebay....????

 

[gloucesterman]

My guess, shill bidder who didn't know when to stop (maybe a bot). And I'll bet you're right, it will be back in a week or two. When I see this I take note of the seller, they're suspect at best. There's nothing about that pipe that makes it worth anything close to that. I think your $50 assessment is kind.

 

[seacaptain]

Interesting thread. I looked at the 1996 Ashton listing. That pipe also sold back in Feb.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-MINT-1996-ASHTON-OLD-CHURCH-BIG-3-4-BENT-English-Estate-Pipe-360-RING-GRAIN-/400863329638?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d5550fd66
The mystery bidder was there as well. Looks like they picked up some feedback because now their feedback profile reads "private" rather than zero, which is a red flag that this could be a shill account.

 

[seacaptain]

The mystery bidder won this auction.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STUNNING-Lane-Era-Charatan-039-s-Make-EXECUTIVE-XL-SIZE-FREEHAND-English-Estate-Pipe-/361276977525?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&autorefresh=true&hash=item541dc93175&nma=true&si=Q1oZqIu7Bihl5%252FCTiEsg2Uy8W%252FE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
I guess wait and see if this pipe comes up for sale again.

 

[ssjones]

It sure will, good catches.

The mystery bidder won this auction.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STUNNING-Lane-Era-Charatan-039-s-Make-EXECUTIVE-XL-SIZE-FREEHAND-English-Estate-Pipe-/361276977525?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&autorefresh=true&hash=item541dc93175&nma=true&si=Q1oZqIu7Bihl5%252FCTiEsg2Uy8W%252FE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
I guess wait and see if this pipe comes up for sale again.

 

[seacaptain]

A zero feedback bidder won this one.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-UNSMOKED-Ferndown-Bark-LARGE-LONG-SHANKED-CANADIAN-ENGLISH-Estate-Pipe-/201335470843?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ee0877afb

 

[graydawn]

I'll bet that the mystery bidders give great feedback.

 

[seacaptain]

The mystery buyer won quite a few pipes from this seller. Seller left multiple feedbacks here.
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=great-estate-pipes&ftab=FeedbackLeftForOthers
Feedback is left under i***c but if you look at those auctions and bids, the winner was the mystery bidder O***c.
He won thousands of dollars worth of pipes.

 

[ssjones]

I don't see the i**c buyer? (at least not in the first two pages)

I wonder if those disguised names don't change?

 

[ssjones]

Also strange, I don't see my Charatan pipe listed on his feedback. I left positive feedback, and confirmed that from my purchase history. But, that feedback is MIA on his list.

 

[seacaptain]

I don't see the i**c buyer? (at least not in the first two pages)

I wonder if those disguised names don't change?

That's odd. Here's the most recent win by O***c. Maybe you can find the feedback and see what it comes up as for you. I see it on page 1 as i***c.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-MINT-2007-Dunhill-Bruyere-CLASSIC-POT-ENGLISH-Estate-Pipe-CLEAN-MUST-SEE-/400898382706

 

[ssjones]

I see it on the Dunhill bid page. Weird.

 

[gloucesterman]

I'll bet that none of these anomalies show up on low end pipes. The sad fact is that many of us have lost our belief in the Ebay system. Too many unanswered questions and a lot of apparent manipulation. What was once a great resource for pipes we might otherwise never have access to has become a platform for distrust. I suspect current conditions won't last long for Ebay either. Without confident buyers Ebay has nothing to sell. Real or not many of us now feel the system is being manipulated in unfair ways. It's up to Ebay to decide if profit or customer confidence is in their long term best interest. This thread certainly calls into question many practices that are going on and documents them well. Empires rise and fall, trust and confidence is at the core. EBay's is slipping away. Will they move to shore it up or not. It's theirs to decide.

 

[raevans]

Another one to watch out for....c***u. This guy has bid on 486 items over the last thirty days with 7 bid retractions, he has 58 bid retractions over the last six months. Of course feedback is marked private, (probably because of negative feedback from the bid retractions). Currently he is winning this auction. I wonder if he is going to go for the win or retract at the last minute.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271847672026?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[gloucesterman]

The detail shows feedback at 100% 58 retractions suggests he's probably fishing for high bid information. He has retracted about 12% of his bids. That's pretty high. He either makes a lot of mistakes or he's fishing. The 100% feedback suggests the sellers aren't seeing the issue. It looks like he is making those bids long before the auction ends.