[mjewell]

i hope that none of us is doing this, but i want to put the word out just the same.

i am bidding on tail light gaskets, and when i went to check on them, some clown had bid three or four times within a few minutes. apparently, he wanted to see what the max bid was, and finally quit when he became the high bidder. this is a stupid practice...all it does is drive the price up for legitimate buyers, and makes people like me write notes like this.

like i said, i'm sure it wasn't anybody here, but i just wanted to vent. and if this is something that you practice, please just enter a max bid if you really want the item. if you're not the high bidder with your max bid, then just let it go. besides, alot of the items can be bought at ogts for about the same as on ebay, unless you artificially drive the prices up.

thanks for the time.

mike

 

[West Coast GT]

This has happened to me too. I'm thinking maybe the seller is unhappy with the current price, and rather than let the item go too cheaply, would rather run the risk of not selling the item. So he/she bids the price up ???

 

[mjewell]

i don't know that it's the seller doing it, but some chucklehead who just wants to see what the max price is. pretty dumb stunt if you ask me.

 

[jordan]

Ive had this happen to me many times. and I also had a problem with a very picky buyer that really agrivated me.



(buyer) Just wondering why you never left feedback. I paid you quickly! However,On your end the communication was terrible. Then you told me it shipped on the 15th. It was postmarked the 18th. The part was ok,But as it stands wright now you'll get neutral feedback at best. If you give the + feedback you should have givin me weeks ago I'll overlook my end of this deal and return + feedback.


(me)Ohh Im sorry, Usually when I have parts on ebay I check or update my
feedback; but when I dont have parts on ebay I sometimes dont check the
feedback that needs to be posted as often as I should. The reason why it was
post marked on the 18th is because thats when they collect larger packages
to be sent out through US mail (I drop my packages off at the local grocery
store because the larger package US mail van stops there on thursdays
[december 18th])
I personally think you are being too critical about these small
details. It may seem like nothing to some people to leave neutral or
negative feedback to sellers. I take my feedback personally and you can tell
by reading my feedback that every customer I've had has been happy. Usually
when people leave negative or neutral feedback is because some part of the
deal went wrong, the item wasnt explained fully shipping was unreasonably
slow (I bought a huge pipe wrench on ebay about a year ago and shipping took
3 months! though I left positive feedback because I was glad to get the
item; It may be that I am just a nice guy or I am just too easy about
leaving positive feedback. I also sold the SRV 540 engine mounts and to this
day I have not recieved an email or payment from him, though I have not yet
left him feedback.
I felt the necessity to write such a long email because again I take my
feedback personally; though the intent of this message was not sway you to
leave me positive feedback. This was all my opinion that I felt was needed
to be said. Feedback is a matter of opinion, so do as you must.

~Jordan


this had to have been the most obnoxious buyer I've ever had.

 

[Nathan Acree]

Ebay has become a place that all sorts of scum have really brought down.

What you guys are describing is called "shill" bidding. Usually someone has an item for auction and it is not getting to the price they want so they (under an alias username) or a friend continuously bids in small increments until they just outbid you, knowing that you will likely bid again to remain the high bidder.

It happened to me on an Opel item as well, and all Ebay does if they suspect someone of shill bidding is suspend their priveliges for one month (big freakin deal). Ebay is about as impotent as the Better Business Bureau. Even if the seller gets suspended, all they have to do is list under an alias and continue their shady practices.

Ebay has gone from a place that you could get good deals to a place that seedy people can function in complete anonimity and without any type of effective form of reprisal.

Anyway, just venting (been jacked on Ebay about three times in the last six months).


Nathan Acree
Albuquerque New Mexico

 

[davegt27]

I've only bought things of Ebay 4 times

(some Opel side draft carbs

the rest Toyota stuff)

and 3 of them where buy it now

to me its just a big waste

they have this thing where they bid like 5 SEC before the auction closes so you spent all that time watching and bidding for nothing

just buy new stuff

OGTS has tail light gaskets

davegt27

 

[nobody]

You can't look at ebay as a whole one way or another. It is a forum for individuals to sell things. Just like everywhere else in the world, you have to take the bad with the good. Keep an eye on the person you are buying from, little or no positive feedback is a dead giveaway. I have bought and sold all kinds of things there and have never had a problem. I weigh my options first, can I buy it elsewhere? Is it something I can use in used condition? I looked at the item talked about here. Well my thought on it is that 30+ rubber pieces are what most of us are trying to overcome. The other bidder was also an actual buyer.

Personally I like watching the auctions on ebay, some of them get pretty funny. I put the manifolds (exhaust and 3 weber intake) on my watch list just to see what they would do. When they cross over the new price, I find it amusing. I watched a particular GT car through it's last two auctions and I'm waiting for it to turn up again.

Lastly I know some of the people here by what has been shipped back and forth between us. I have met some nice people while buying opel parts. Opel parts alone are to and from 3 countrys and 10 US states on my car. Without ebay it wouldn't be in the condition it is in.

almost forgot to mention that part # 5555 from OGTS is 35.00 for a full new light gasket set ( except headlight I think)

 

[tekenaar]

i hope that none of us is doing this, but i want to put the word out just the same.

i am bidding on tail light gaskets, and when i went to check on them, some clown had bid three or four times within a few minutes. apparently, he wanted to see what the max bid was, and finally quit when he became the high bidder. this is a stupid practice...all it does is drive the price up for legitimate buyers, and makes people like me write notes like this.

like i said, i'm sure it wasn't anybody here, but i just wanted to vent. and if this is something that you practice, please just enter a max bid if you really want the item. if you're not the high bidder with your max bid, then just let it go. besides, alot of the items can be bought at ogts for about the same as on ebay, unless you artificially drive the prices up.

thanks for the time.

mike

NOT to make excuses for anyone here, in- or outside the group, but let me pose another scenario of how this might occur. When you post your max bid on eBay, it is posted as a "proxy" bid. eBay will automatically bid for you until that max bid is reached, IF NECESSARY! BUT, they do that for everybody!

Let's say current bid is $20 with a bid increment of $1 and the current high bidder has a max bid of $32. You place a max bid of $24. eBay checks the current high bidder's max bid and you're outbid at $25. It automatically promotes his bid because it's higher and was placed earlier. It notifies you immediately that you've been outbid and lists your bid as 2nd highest.

You bid again, this time at $28 max bid with the same results as his max bid is still higher. The bid now stands at $29 with him as high bidder and with you now listed TWICE as the next highest bidder. You max bid $35 and now you are the high bidder at $33, but it will appear to him that you're just doing exactly what you described in your post.

NO, I'm NOT employed by eBay!!

 

[odieopel]

I agree with Nobody (sounds strange, doesn't it??). EBay is pretty much what you make it. I think I've done okay, made some good buys and friends in the process. When push come to shove there is no beating Gil and Dennis for great service and the right part. I will continue to EBay daily (my wife says I'm addicted) just because you may miss that killer deal........

 

[Nathan Acree]

Re: Re: ebay etiquette

NOT

Let's say current bid is $20 with a bid increment of $1 and the current high bidder has a max bid of $32. You place a max bid of $24. eBay checks the current high bidder's max bid and you're outbid at $25. It automatically promotes his bid because it's higher and was placed earlier. It notifies you immediately that you've been outbid and lists your bid as 2nd highest.

You bid again, this time at $28 max bid with the same results as his max bid is still higher. The bid now stands at $29 with him as high bidder and with you now listed TWICE as the next highest bidder. You max bid $35 and now you are the high bidder at $33, but it will appear to him that you're just doing exactly what you described in your post.

NO, I'm NOT employed by eBay!!

Otto,

The above is exactly how Ebay is supposed to work (proxy bidding). Imagine this scenario:

There are two days left in a 9-day auction and no bids on an item- the minimum bid is $25 and you bid $32. A few hours later, you check on the item and you are outbid, but you notice that now there are 9 bids from the same person on the item. Looking at the bid history, you see that the person who outbid you is listed 8 times. What this means is they kept placing minimum increment bids until they outbid you (usually by one bid increment).

The seller or a friend has increment to your maximum. They now know what your maximum is, and know that you will likely bid again, so they only bid one increment above your max.

The above is the only way that someone would be listed 8 times in such a short period. If Ebay was simply proxy bidding for the other person, they would be listed once, and either remain below your max or outbid you.

What happened to me was the "other" bidder had zero feedback and the user ID was created the same day the bids were made. The person establised an alias ID to bid on their own items to jack the price up.

Ebay agreed with my assesment of the "other" bidder and suspended the seller and bidders priveliges for one month (big deal)


Nathan Acree
Albuquerque New Mexico

 

[GTJIM (R.I.P.)]

Gee - EBay!

Completely addictive way to get almost anything in the World!

After all most of us are already "opelholics" so I guess EBay is just the next step in the upward spiral to Nivarna!

Seriously, without EBay some of us would neither sell nor buy much needed bits and pieces.

It can be a hell of a "mind game" too with "incremental bidders" ; "snipers" and "shills" and everything in between.

On several occassions I have bid to show my interest, reached the top bid position and be out bid by a sniper at the last second and he/she have not even recorded a prior bid. I have also fallen asleep and only woken up as the auction has finished - missing the opportunity for a last bid! My best Lady has even turned the alarm clock off to "save" me from myself.

When all said and done the high bidder gets the item and we just move on.

EBay allows me to participate in the world market and without some of you guys and girls I would never have been able to get as far as I have with my GT as ALL my bits must be imported!