• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Shill bidding on the bay - with seller blueridge1???

Started by Dan Marinelli,

15 posts in this topic

Dan Marinelli

Dan Marinelli

Posted
Posted

Anybody familiar with this seller? He has a lot of f/b, but right now there's a bidder with 102 f/b leading or having bid on at least 20 of his auctions.

 

I was watching this:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=380007020687&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=025

 

but when I saw the guy has 99% of his bids with this seller I begin to wonder...

 

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MikeInFL

MikeInFL

Posted
Posted

"Estate" and "All sales are final" are far more problematic to me than any shill bidding (which wouldn't effect what I would bid in any event). I would have run from that auction before even looking at the bidders...

 

That said, it doesn't seem to be blatant shill bidding in this instance -- it might be, but it also might not be.

 

All IMHO.....Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stgecko

stgecko

Posted
Posted

I am familiar with this seller as I just bought a 1921 Pilgrim coin from him. It looks freekin gorgeous and I can't wait until it gets here. Should I check to see who I was bidding with to help with the shilling theme?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dan Marinelli

Dan Marinelli

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Mike, I agree, I didn't notice the all sales final, but since I was watching a couple of slabbed coins the only risk I would be taking was that the images aren't all that good. I can go wrong, but not too far wrong.

 

With the Pilgram mentioned by stgecko, that image doesn't convey the luster the seller is promising, and with a no-return policy if there's hairlines on that baby you've learned an expensive lesson. Stgecko, if not too much trouble, could you post better images when you get the coin so we can see if you got what you expected?

 

I think James might be correct here, but he's clever and there's several bidders with not all that many feedback, but enough to seem like fairly experienced bidders (100-200 f//b). He does so much volume that even if a shill wins he can just recirculate the coin into the mix in the future and you would never notice unless you were obsessed with tracking his stuff (which I don't have time or inclination to do).

 

Thanks for the inputs.

 

Dan

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BankNote1

BankNote1

Posted
Posted

I wouldn't buy anything from this seller unless it was in a NGC or PCGS SLAB! A lot of the raw coins look very washed out. You gotta wonder why the raw coins aren't slabbed as well? I doubt none of them would slab.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

Posted
Posted

I have bought a couple of coins or so from the seller, but in every case, they had problems that had been carefully hidden by the images. However, I had bid with that assumption, and they were coins that happened to "fall through the cracks". I sincerely hope you'll have better luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stgecko

stgecko

Posted
Posted

As promised here it is. The one thing I notice being a tad different than the photo he gave is the fact that there is some minute "pitting" on the obverse but only when held at certain angles. Overall I'm happy with the purchase and I'm going to send it in for grading with my next batch of coins. Here it is. I included 4 pics as I wanted to get my best ones on there as I'm still a bit of a neophyte when it comes to the coin macro photo.

According to my grading books, the areas to watch for wear look excellent. The detail on the bible hinges and the buttons on his frock make it look like authentic pilgrim wear. lol

55302-1921PiligrimTercentenaryObverse.JPG.1350cad4ea86b7113f104bf69bd8fcd7.JPG

55303-1921PiligrimTercentenaryReverse.JPG.69f5a176fc6d2953ec0e0a43e24311ba.JPG

55304-1921PiligrimTercentenaryObverseII.JPG.a3903feccb8e0a7197ecbe9990d762ec.JPG

55305-1921PiligrimTercentenaryReverseII.JPG.e42066a86e7ae4d38eb9c06075ee0861.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

Posted
Posted
As promised here it is. The one thing I notice being a tad different than the photo he gave is the fact that there is some minute "pitting" on the obverse but only when held at certain angles. Overall I'm happy with the purchase and I'm going to send it in for grading with my next batch of coins. Here it is. I included 4 pics as I wanted to get my best ones on there as I'm still a bit of a neophyte when it comes to the coin macro photo.

According to my grading books, the areas to watch for wear look excellent. The detail on the bible hinges and the buttons on his frock make it look like authentic pilgrim wear. lol

I am glad you are sending the coin in. My gut feel from the images is that it will be bodybagged, but I hope not. Either way, please keep us posted on the outcome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stgecko

stgecko

Posted
Posted

bodybagged? is that the same as a no grade? Also what makes you think that? I'm new at this so I'd appreciate your insight.

I will post the coin once graded. It might end up in a different post by then but I'll get it up there just the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MarkFeld

MarkFeld

Posted
Posted
bodybagged? is that the same as a no grade? Also what makes you think that? I'm new at this so I'd appreciate your insight.

I will post the coin once graded. It might end up in a different post by then but I'll get it up there just the same.

Yes, body-bagged means no grade. It might just be the images, but to my eyes the coin has an unnatural sheen and my guess is that it has been cleaned and will be body-bagged. You are almost certain to get hurt buying uncertified coins of that type on Ebay unless you are expert at grading.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dan Marinelli

Dan Marinelli

Posted
  • Author
Posted

stgecko,

 

Do you have a dealer you can trust? Just take it in to them and ask for their advise for slabbing. It will save you that expense anyways. If you don't know any dealers, and a show is not in your vicinity then I guess sending it in is the only way for you to learn. If you are near a show, you could show it to a couple of dealers and ask them their opinions. You could also compare your coin to coins that are in slabs of various grades and see the differences/similiarities between those and yours.

 

If you've already sent, I would be interested in the result, also.

 

Good luck.

 

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Frank Provasek

Frank Provasek

Posted
Posted

Consignor participation (which ebay calls shill bidding) actually LOWERS final prices. eBay is so obsessed with it not for the reason of "protecting" bidders, but because it LOWERS overall sale prices.

 

The effect of shill bidding upon prices: Experimental evidence

 

Georgia Kosmopouloua, , and Dakshina G. De Silvab

aDepartment of Economics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-2103, USA

bDepartment of Economics, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-1014, USA

Received 3 August 2005; revised 3 April 2006; accepted 1 May 2006. Available online 10 July 2006.

 

 

 

Abstract

This paper explores, through a series of experiments, the effect of shill bidding upon revenues and prices in auctions. We study the practice of shill bidding in a common value framework. Our findings are consistent with the prediction that, if bidders are aware of the possibility of seller participation in an auction, profits will be reduced on average. We also study factors that affect bidder and seller participation decisions. Shill bidding can alleviate the problem of the winner's curse by lowering the price and it can, thus, provide benefits to bidders.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing