Second chances

[mpmsi.uk.2ifv6oko9q]

Hi everyone,

I have competively bid on for 3 different fragrances, from 3 different Russian based sellers, in the last 7 days, and on all occasions, I have been outbid. By the following morning, I get a message that I have been given a "second chance" to purchase the same. 

The cynic in me wants to believe that there's some collusive bidding going on just to drive the price up, and the secind chance is offered to the genuine bidder who bid the highest. Is my cynicism misplaced, and my experience in the last 7 days is purely a coincidence?

Any wordn of advise would be much appreciated. Thank you. 

[red_magpie · Accepted solution]

The cynic in me wants to believe that there's some collusive bidding going on

You might be correct, but it could also be that buyers have cancelled after realising that import duty and VAT will be payable.

We can't see the bidding histories, but you can. Listings that have been won and cancelled are likely to be buyer remorse. Frequent last minute bid retractions after driving the price up would point to shill bidding (in which a seller uses another ID to push the price up, and then retracts their highest bid to avoid winning their own auction).

Shill bidding used to be reportable to eBay. Now it isn't, as eBay claims to have their own systems to spot it. Ho, ho, ho! Successful shill bidding means higher prices, and higher fees for eBay. Maybe the cynic in you, like the cynic in me, suspects that spotting itmay not be a high priority.

[mpmsi.uk.2ifv6oko9q · Accepted solution]

My cynicism was not misplaced... It's definitely shill bidding! I noticed a bidder making mutiple bids, not like counter offers, with all the products I was bidding on.

[mpmsi.uk.2ifv6oko9q · Accepted solution]

The bidder drove the price up from $11.00 to $49.00 within 2 minutes by making 10 different bids! Going by your counsel, I will not even bother reporting the same to ebay. Thanks for your valuable response.

[arkwebus]

If you buy from Russia you will have to pay duty and VAT when it arrives.  This will add about 1/3rd to the price.  If you feel that something odd is happening with bidding/second chance then have nothing to do with it!

@mpmsi.uk.2ifv6oko9q 

[mpmsi.uk.2ifv6oko9q]

My thoughts exactly. 1 bidder drove the price up from $11.00 to $49.00 within 2 minutes by making 10 different bids and they were not counter-bids!!!