Beware, Michael Jackson "Shill Bidding" Scam On eBay

Last week I spotted a new listing for "Michael Jackson Scrapbook" for $199.00 on eBay. I've been outbid in previous auctions, so I waited until the last few minutes on Saturday to place my bid. With 3 minutes left in the auction (and ZERO bids), I saw 1 new bid pop up for $199.00. I figured that person was watching the listing like I was. So I bid $220.00 with 10 seconds left.

Within literally 3 seconds, Ebay auto-bid $200.00, $210.00, $211.00, and finally, $220.01 for the other buyer and I lost the auction. To my surprise -- just 4 hours later -- the same book was re-listed by the same seller for $299.00! Now, I know Fed Ex is fast but they are not that fast to ship the item to the buyer, and return it to the seller so she can re-list it in 4 hours.

Clearly, the greedy seller used a different user name to bid on her own item, and she accidentally outbid me -- a practice known as Shill bidding, which is against eBay policy.

I have no plans to bid on this item again, as I know she is just waiting to drive the bidding price up to my max bid (which is why I usually wait until the last few minutes to bid on anything).

The first link is the original auction that I lost on Saturday. The 2nd link is the same item re-listed by the same seller on Saturday.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-THE-MICHAEL-JACKSON-SCRAPBOOK-SEALED-/...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-THE-MICHAEL-JACKSON-SCRAPBOOK-SEALED-I...

Tags: Jackson, Michael, Shill, bidding, eBay, memorabilia, scams

1 member likes this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by wascher on July 14, 2013 at 6:01am

Can you report the person to ebay?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sandra Rose on July 14, 2013 at 7:32am

I reported her to eBay yesterday. eBay doesn't offer many options for reporting scams. I reported both listings as fraudulent listings.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on July 14, 2013 at 10:04am

And what really irks me is they have the nerve to have IN GOD WE TRUST in their description. Just disgusting!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Innuendo on July 14, 2013 at 10:29am

The more people that report the same user, the higher the chances of eBay taking action. I'm sorry to hear this happened to you Ms Rose. Ill report it as well. You don't even need to be the victim in this case to see it was wrong. Thanks for letting us know.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on July 14, 2013 at 10:35am

It doesn't appear to me as though the seller did anything wrong. It looks like two different copies of the book were offered for sale. Also, there was no shill bidding, as it was the initial bidder who placed multiple bids. You placed a bid of $220 and lost because you tied the highest bid.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bill Morris on July 14, 2013 at 11:48am

Ms. Rose, according to the bid menu, the winning bidder placed their bid 8 seconds before yours. Yours came in 3 seconds before the close of the auction and tied their bid. I could be wrong but I don't think "shill bidding" took place here.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sandra Rose on July 14, 2013 at 5:56pm

Here's a little background on the book: it was published in 1985. The book has been out of print since then. Sellers re-list this book on eBay hoping someone will bid over $1,000 for it. Here's another listing of the same book for $845. http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Michael-Jackson-Scrapbook-/330954549081

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by wascher on July 14, 2013 at 1:40pm

I'm gonna have to agree here, I didn't look closely at the descriptions and photos previously. One has a frayed binding on one corner, and the other does not, so there are two different copies - it looks like.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Innuendo on July 14, 2013 at 1:57pm

Just read over this thread again, and I gotta admit, I blew my top too fast as well. Just went off of Sandra's words without looking into the pics as I should have. I was planning on grabbing a bite to eat before jumping on eBay to look over everything and make a report/complaint. I haven't reported the seller, and upon more investigating, I don't think it'll be necessary to do so. But do know Ms Rose, if you ever come across this scenario again, and its checked out to be the seller's wrong doing, you can count on me to help report them. I'm sure a lot of members here will be willing to do the same.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by wascher on July 14, 2013 at 1:59pm

Ditto!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sandra Rose on July 14, 2013 at 3:17pm

Thanks guys. I'm still highly suspicious of this seller. Her description of the book is way off. The book is not sealed -- unless she means sealed inside a sandwich bag. And it certainly is not in "excellent" condition. I also noticed she dropped the price from $299 last night to $199 this morning.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Darren Ruskin, III on July 15, 2013 at 12:18am

Not doubting that this happened, or could have happened, but just to play devils advocate, because this happens a lot..an ebay flipper will buy an item if they snipe it cheaply, pay for it immediately, and then re-list the item as a Buy It Now on their own without having the item already in hand. They simply grab the photo that was used in the original auction and use it themselves in their auction. They are betting that they receive the item in mail before it actually sells as a Buy It Now and have to ship it out to their customer. This actually happens a lot. Now, if the seller and re-seller are located in the same city or close by, then it may be cause for concern....D