No.3 or possibly No.4 in an occasional series on Life on Ebay
Idle Moments BN 4154 near-mint
Yesterday a record that is probably the Number One of my Twenty-Blue-Notes-to-own-before-you-die went under the hammer, for $731. Not to me I hasten to add, but to Ebayer z**z, sold by the highly reputed US Music Matters Ltd premium dealer Jazz5060.
Forever curious about who is behind these bids, it is too early to say yet, but the winner’s profile caught my interest. A score of only 108 I take to be a serious active collector but not a dealer. So far so good.
z**z is a prolific bidder on only records, 182 bids in the last thirty days, an average of six bids every day. I can understand a habit like that, though mine would be closer to six a week, and those mostly unsuccessful. The most interesting figure, however, you see below:
Retractions: 49 in only six months. I don’t think I have even one. What gives: butterfingers? Type a zero too many each time? Currency confusion? Two apparently simultaneous bids a minute before close, sandwich another bidder in second place, so one must be higher than the other? One of his two bids wins, it looks like a “system”. How do you end up with a score of only 108 purchases and nearly half as much again in retractions? And he seems to afford the best at top prices. There is a story here waiting to be written,”Professional Ebay Secrets” and I’m the guy to write it, but I haven’t a clue what it is.
More Ebay stories another time.
I have a clue……and it’s the reason why recently I’m less confortable bidding on ebay…
Enricomaria
What do you think is going on?
I think its called shill bidding…
Having said that the seller is very reputable so I would say its your regular Asian punter getting too overexcited and then backing out.
I agree with Tony. Whether this seller is doing it or not, it’s a very diffused practice, even for 100% positive feedbacks sellers.
If I get this right, some people might think 2***3 may be in collusion with the seller. The record was sitting around $400 and that is where it might have closed, so with twenty minutes to go, 2***3 pushes it up to $721, and z***z – who has the hots for this record – either deliberately or inadvertantly finds himself winning at an increment over $721 instead of the $400 it would otherwise have been.
I may not have articulated it exactly right but that’s what it looks like to me too. It’s a sort of sellers insurance that it doesn’t sell at too low a price.
z***z with all those retractions seems to enjoy playing with fire but runs away to avoid getting burnt.