Is It Just Me Or Is There Shilling Going On?

While I don't disagree with Bobby, I do believe some bidders bid emotionally, without a more strategic plan in place. They "nibble bid" because they really want the item but don't want to overpay. It's an irresistable temptation.

A single bid at the top of their range near the end of the auction would be much more strategic, however.

If we all agreed on the logic for bidding, then the systems we employ wouldn't work. It's because of the variations of multi-bidding tiering, highest bidding, snipes, and other approaches that yield both price acceleration and thwarting other buyers, increasing visibility in their algos.

When I truly want the item, I 3 second snipe at the highest price I want to buy it for. If I don't get it then, then I was truly outbid beyond my high, even for a penny. Everything else is a game, and part of the fun.

I have one buyer who is usually the first to bid and often puts in 2 bids then and may or may not bid again later.

By bidding 20 times, the bidder is giving away information about their top bid. It has to be at least 19 increments above their lowest bid. A vindictive bidder could go 18 increments and know they are pushing up the other person without any risk they will have to pay themselves. An interested bidder knows they will have to go at least 20 increments to win.

I'm not sure that's accurate. I think as long as one's bump bid is above the increment it will register, even if a penny over one's second-highest.

In the past I've had impetuous bidders who used that strategy. They were less successful than serious bidders. I have a nickname for them, I call them "woodpeckers".

One guy I remember had dozens of retracted bids, claiming error. He simply wanted to expose the highest bid. I mention it because insecurity, the "fear of missing out", is the driver behind both behaviours.

It's a foolish bidding strategy anyway. Best decide knowledgeably on your one top bid, execute it as close to auction end as possible, and be happy whatever transpires.

As for shill bidders, they are playing a losers' game in the long run. There are a few dealers I know who run "auctions" but shill bid. Experienced bidders detect it as easily as body odour. The shilled item often reappears, at successively lower prices, until the patient buyer bids.

I've seen bidder profiles on ebay that retract literally hundreds of bids monthly. Many have placed well more than 50% of their bids with the same seller. My impression is that many of these accounts are shill accounts, seeking to see the high bid before placing a shill bid.




Some dealers have gotten smarter and place shill bids in the last seconds of an auction. Removes the visible signs of shill bidding by removing most of the shill bids. Agree that many of these lots will reappear. I suspect this is a strategy sometimes also used in conjunction with private auctions.

Shilling or not...... I do the following: Know your item you are bidding on, decide your maximum bid, stick to it! And, late night bidding combined with beer can equal morning regret! lol