Is this the norm on ebay?

[melave]

Hi all

I was bidding on an item on ebay a while ago, and let myself get outbidded as i had just purchased my pendant.

Anyway it (apparently) sold for $265 AU.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/130586566062?ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1435.l2649

So i am bludging on ebay this morning trying to get my bling fix and i see this on there

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Vintage-Edwardian-18ct-gold-and-Platinum-40-points-old-cut-diamond-ring-/150686521328?pt=AU_Vintage_Antique_Jewellery&hash=item23159dd7f0

Now i am thinking, wow looks like the one i was following. But a huge price increase. So i went looking around and saw this
http://myworld.ebay.com.au/beeandtabby/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

So she bought it herself?? is that normal? isn't that shill bidding?

I was thinking of offering her/him what my max bid was

Have you ever noticed this before?

Please delete if this isn't allowed.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Off the top of my head, it could be (1) shill bidding or (2) the first auction had a legitimate bidder who then did not pay.

In my (limited) experience, both private auctions and name changes from a 100% feedback seller are not common, but that doesn't prove something awry. Or in sports parlance, it's more of a yellow flag than a red flag.

One thing I do notice is that the format of the auction changed, from a traditional auction to a B-I-N with Offer option. Perhaps the seller fee structures are indeed quite different between the two on Ebay Australia? Nonetheless, I believe Ebay frowns upon a single person having multiple accounts.

As to your final Q, a seller typically gives a pie-in-the-sky price for "Make Offer" auctions with the expectation of receiving low and lowball bids, so the higher list price in the second auction seems perfectly normal to me. The price in the first auction was determined by the market, whereas the list price in the second is the "overly optimistic yet open to negotiation" of the seller.

Offering your max bid from the other auction seems reasonable, though the higher it had been the better the chance of your offer being accepted. Hope it turns out well for you!

 

[melave]

thanks for the reply Fleur

I don't think i am going to go for this one. I got a few projects on the go at the moment that my fun coupons are tied up in.

I don't know, it just seemed a bit dodgy to me. why not just re list with the first account?

I think i will be wary of this seller from now on

thanks again