>>In Response To: Ebay Shill Bidder (Steve Goodrich) I appreciate your input very much. Some people misunderstand how business is conducted on eBay.<<

Conducting business and offering up items at auction are two very different arenas. I sell retail and wholesale items and services as a living. Bottom line wholesale pricing can't be compromised, nor will having friends that you can call on to drive up the selling price change that fact. If you do, there are laws against collusion and price fixing.

>>When we list a chip of good value, sometimes it is to the advantage of the serious buyers if the listing price is low. That way they can put a "TRACKING BID" on it to be able to check on the status of the sell by simply doing a bidder search and not have to wade through the sea of listings. (65 pages) Keep in mind that by eBay's own admissions, people tend to shy away from "reserve bid" auctions.<<

Bull. If a bidder is interested in an auction lot, they can make it a "favorite" site to hit whenever they want to.

No Bull. Reserves do turn people away, BUT if you aren't willing to state up front what you want for your property as a minimum or reserve, using friends as shill bidders in an auction defeats the whole process, and is illegal in most cases. Protection bids, as you call them, have ruined your reputation as far as this collector is concerned. I've sold a chip at $5 face on eBay that books at $35 when eBay was down for an hour. My risk by listing it at face was and is a part of online auctions. Shill bidding is not, and NEVER should be accepted as a part of online auctions, no matter how you want to redefine your shill bidders.

Bottom line, if you want to get a set price for an item, don't offer it for sale at auction with a phony opening bid, then defraud willing bidders by including your friends placing "protection" shill bids.

>>The practice of the "PROTECT BID" is not to the advantage of the vultures who cruise eBay looking to steal something at far below its worth.<<

Let's see what you mean. Someone finding a good buy on eBay is a vulture and they stole something by paying the asking price.

...I'd contend that pumping up the price of an item using shill bidders would come much closer to the real definition of stealing than placing an honest bid. Fraud is a crime, and enlisting your friends in this practice makes them just as liable to prosecution as you might be.

....just some things that you might want to think about.

Bob R-3576