Im a long time ebay user (mostly for buying) but there are a couple things i cant understand...

1. What are the rules for a seller removing a listing with the note "Listing removed bc item is no longer available for sell"

I have been following some e-hobby items for the last few weeks and anytime something looks as if it will be sold at a good price the listing is pulled (this is almost always from an Asian seller).

Can people just do this non stop? Im sure alot of Asian sellers have multiple accounts and could just pull from one and relist on another (which im almost certain i have seen but cant prove)

2. This is more of a question about your bidding preferences. I have been seeing alot of people with over 100 feedback starting bidding wars on auctions with an hour or so left lately. To me this makes zero sense... If i have a maximum price of say $50 dollars for something can any good be done by entering that bid before the last minute of an auction?

Im sure that in some cases people bid bc they cant be there (or will be alseep) when the auction ends. But it seems really fishy to me at times. Someone with over a hundred feedback would surely know that they are only driving the cost up and most likely losing any chance they have of winning an auction by bidding with so much time left?

I know shill bidding happens alot, but i doubt this is what im seeing...It just makes no sense to me. Can anyone explain perhaps from another point of view?

Thanks

 

I think you can pull stuff up to 12 hours before the end of an auction which is stupid as thats when stuff tends to go up, I never get the dicks that pull their stuff, if you know what you want for it then use Buy it now.

 

I've been burned on sellers pulling things last minute a few times. It is total crap that you can pull that... especially once bids have been placed. I agree if you know what you want for something list it at that price... otherwise take your chances on the auction format.

Once the bid is placed you have a legal agreement. Realistically you should follow through with it.

 

Shill bidding is common in the Transformers auctions, beware when buying from dealers and make sure to check their auction history.
If you see some people with 100+ feedback doing a bidding war, check his bidding history. Maybe he was always like that(some people just like to win and has loads of money). Maybe he always bid on one guy's auction(shill?) And maybe this is just one item he really want.

 

The fact is that there are a lot of unethical sellers on EBay. There are groups that bid on each others' items. There are plenty of offers accepted to end auctions early. There are a million sob stories about why items never arrive or why you should sell a 1000.00 toy to a guy for 200.00 becasue his little brother just got some rare disease.

You really only have two defenses. Snipe at the last second and stay away from any auction that seems suspicious.