[TPIN] Ebay Question

[Thomas Meacham]

Technically speaking, bidding on your own item to raise the price may 
be common-law fraud, even if there is not a specific  civil statute 
against it,   If the amount of money involved were high enough, and the 
evidence clear, a lawsuit could probably be brought against the seller 
for doing it, if the winning  bidder found out about the shill bidding.

I have seen one instance on eBay where an antique keyed bugle was bid 
into the stratosphere by two friends acting in collusion with the 
seller.  Complaints were filed with eBay, and I believe eBay took 
action against the seller by suspending his auction privileges.

It is so easy for a seller to simply cancel his auction, saying the 
item is no longer for sale.  Why risk some complicated scheme that will 
only lead to deception and possible eBay sanctions?

Tom Meacham
Anchorage, Alaska

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++

On Nov 3, 2006, at 10:10 AM, William Graham wrote:


----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Cipriani" 
<lvcipriani at yahoo.com>
To: "Andy Del" <trumpetplayer at optusnet.com.au>; "'William Graham'" 
<weg9 at comcast.net>; <cmh25 at aol.com>; <tpin at tpin.okcu.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 03, 2006 3:41 AM
Subject: RE: [TPIN] Ebay Question


>
> Not only is shill bidding and bidding on your own auction items
> dishonest and a violation of eBay rules, but it is ILLEGAL and has been
> decades before eBay existed.  Don't do it.
>
> You should just terminate the auction saying the item is no longer for
> sale.
>
> Larry
>
By, "illegal", I assume you mean that there is a civil law against it? 
- I really don't think so.
    Perhaps you can tell me exactly who would be hurt by bidding some 
minimum acceptable amount on your own item in order to establish a 
reserve? Also, as the eBay guys must know, it is an unenforceable law. 
there is no way they can tell if one of the bidders is a friend of the 
seller.
    Sure. You can terminate the auction. (I guess you can do this, but I 
don't really know) And then you can go through the whole process of 
resetting it up with a reserve. But, other than it being, "against the 
law" what is wrong with doing it my, (much simpler) way?

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