Something that amaze me

[HankMan]

when I saw this listing end I couldn't believe it...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/181788752320?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

there are seller who is selling it new and sealed for a small fraction of that... and yet this opened deck fetch such a premium price..

[Don Boyer]

It's entirely possible that some shill bidding took place.  A seller might create a second account and use that account to bid up the price of the item for sale.  The desired end result could be to get another bidder to pay more, or it could be to establish a higher price point for the item (seller talks to a different buyer, says "hey, it sold for $X on eBay, just look for yourself!").  Shill bidding is a clear rules violation - but that doesn't mean it never takes place.

Sometimes, when the seller shill-bids too high, the buyer gets outbid and stops pursuing the item - but the seller can try to cancel the bid on the shill account, making the buyer pay the top dollar price they were willing to bid to.  However, it's a lot easier to catch such cases and get sellers into hot water for it.  It happened to me once, as a buyer.

[Card Player]

It's entirely possible that some shill bidding took place.  A seller might create a second account and use that account to bid up the price of the item for sale.  The desired end result could be to get another bidder to pay more, or it could be to establish a higher price point for the item (seller talks to a different buyer, says "hey, it sold for $X on eBay, just look for yourself!").  Shill bidding is a clear rules violation - but that doesn't mean it never takes place.

Sometimes, when the seller shill-bids too high, the buyer gets outbid and stops pursuing the item - but the seller can try to cancel the bid on the shill account, making the buyer pay the top dollar price they were willing to bid to.  However, it's a lot easier to catch such cases and get sellers into hot water for it.  It happened to me once, as a buyer.

The seller can use "second chance", offering the item to the real bidder who most likely over bid slightly trying to win. Ensuring the seller gets full price for most items.

I don't believe it's all that easy to catch. Most cases are not this obvious. The better one's are unoticable to other bidders. Unless we are to assume shill-bidding happens more often then not, most never get reported. Leaving it up to eBay to find.

[Don Boyer]

The seller can use "second chance", offering the item to the real bidder who most likely over bid slightly trying to win. Ensuring the seller gets full price for most items.

I don't believe it's all that easy to catch. Most cases are not this obvious. The better one's are unoticable to other bidders. Unless we are to assume shill-bidding happens more often then not, most never get reported. Leaving it up to eBay to find.

Yes, there are many cases that are tough to spot.  Then again, there are enough where it's really plain to see.  The issue is that for the number of auction out there, eBay probably lacks the resources (or desire) to track them all down.  Anything that stops them from collecting a fee or consumes resources but generates no income is not necessarily in their best interests in the short term - and long term thinking tends to be in short supply in most companies, with the largest ones having the tendency to be the most myopic.  They'll be your best friend if you report a problem because they finally shook off their "Wild West/caveat emptor" reputation years ago with Buyer Protection and they'd like to keep it that way, but if you say nothing, they're unlikely to do anything, ever.