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Shill Bidding
Shill Bidding is bidding that artificially increases an item’s price or apparent desirability, or bidding by individuals with a level of access to the seller’s item information not available to the general Community. Shill bidding is prohibited on eBay. Because family members, roommates and employees of sellers have a level of access to item information which is not available to the general Community, they are not permitted to bid on items offered by the seller–even if their sole intent is to purchase the item. Family members, roommates or employees may purchase items from a seller without violating this policy simply by using purchase options–such as Buy It Now–which do not involve bidding. eBay strongly encourages sellers with employees to ensure that their employees are aware of this policy and the possible consequences of violation. Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:
Spend a few minutes taking eBay's tutorial on shill bidding. If you believe that another member is artificially raising the price or desirability of an item by shill bidding please report it to eBay. Please be sure to provide the user IDs and the item numbers in question.
Some Examples
Below are several examples in which shill bidding has taken place. Shill bidding can take place in other situations than those illustrated here. Remember, the key issues determining shill bidding are manipulation of price or desirability, or bidding by individuals with a level of access to the seller’s item information not available to the general Community. Jean operates a very successful business auctioning items on eBay. Ben, an employee of Jean's, wants to purchase several of the items offered by Jean and places bids on those items. Even though Ben really wants to buy the items, his special access to information not available to the general Community creates an inherent, unfair advantage. John is selling his extra MP3 player on eBay. During the auction John’s girlfriend, Jane, places a bid on the MP3 player even though she does not intend to buy the MP3 player. The MP3 player is won by a third person, Bob, whose bid is $5 higher than Jane’s. Sally is selling her car on eBay. During the auction, Sally becomes worried that her car might sell for less than the amount she is hoping to receive. To ensure that no bidder can win her car for less than the price she has in mind, Sally uses another eBay account to place bids on her own car, increasing the volume of bidding and raising the price to the level she feels is "fair." Bob is a high-volume seller on eBay, who wants to be sure that he never sells at a loss. Rather than use eBay’s "Reserve Price" feature to set his minimum sale prices, Bob has an associate place bids on his auctions... in effect, setting a "hidden" reserve price.
Additional Information
Shill bids manipulate auctions or involve bidding by individuals with a level of access to the seller’s item information not available to the general Community. They are placed or caused to be placed by the seller or bidders associated with the seller. Shill bidding is forbidden under the terms of the eBay User Agreement. To review your eBay User Agreement – click here. Shill bidding is also illegal in many places throughout the world, with severe penalties. Reporting shill bidding: Shill bidding reports are investigated thoroughly. Sometimes, what appears to be shill bidding may actually be legitimate bidding activity. If eBay concludes that shill bidding has taken place, a wide range of actions may occur–from a warning and education about this policy, to account suspension and even referral to law enforcement. eBay’s policy with regard to member privacy prevents us from disclosing to you any details or results of an investigation. Suspending sellers: A seller may be suspended permanently the first time shill bidding is discovered. However, eBay recognizes that some members might not understand that shill bidding is wrong. We believe in educating those members and providing them with a second chance. At times, that education may be reinforced by a temporary suspension and other consequences. Seller rules:
Ending listings early: You may end a listing early unless 1) there is a bid which exceeds your reserve price, and 2) it is within twelve hours of online auction end. When you want to end your listing because you’ve changed your mind about selling an item, be sure to cancel all bids before you end it. If you don’t cancel all bids before ending your listing, you will be required to sell the item to the high bidder when the listing closes. Bid History and Bidder Search: The Bid History page provides a view of the bidding and retractions that take place while the listing is active. Bidding patterns that show no advantage to the bidder but significantly increase the bidding price of the listing may suggest shill bidding. Questionable patterns include multiple bids by a bidder in short, deliberate intervals or bidding several times in small amounts even when other bids have not been placed on the item. To keep eBay a safe place for buyers and sellers, eBay limits how bid history information is displayed. When the highest bid, reserve or Buy It Now price on an item reaches or exceeds a certain level, members cannot view or search for member-specific information—such as user IDs—on the Bid History page. The Bidding Details page contains detailed information on bidders, however, all bidders are assigned anonymous names—such as x***y. Only the seller can see a bidder's user ID. Regardless of the current high bid, when a reserve or Buy It Now price is initially set at a certain level, user IDs will appear as anonymous names throughout the duration of the auction, even if the seller lowers the price. Note: The price or bid amount at which user IDs are no longer viewable is determined by eBay and varies by country. Trading Assistants: eBay recommends that, as a Trading Assistant, you do several things. First, include language in your Contract that:
Second, if you do become aware of such activity, you should:
Investigating shill bidding: eBay’s policy against Shill Bidding applies equally to all eBay members. eBay’s Shill Bidding policy enforcement and violation consequences focus on the nature of the offense, not the status of the offender. eBay will apply its consequence guidelines impartially, without regard to whether the member is a long-established and large-scale seller or a new member. In order to protect the marketplace effectively, eBay refrains from any discussion of detection and investigation methods. Discussion of specific methods can provide sellers intentionally attempting to shill bid with information that can then be used in circumventing detection. Consequently, eBay will not disclose specific methods or types of evidence unless they are obvious.
Why does eBay have this policy?
Shill bidding undermines trust in the marketplace since prices are being artificially manipulated. Furthermore, it is illegal in many locations throughout the world. To ensure that buyers’ and sellers’ trust in eBay’s marketplace is appropriately placed, shill bidding is not permitted. Related Help topics
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