Where do people get off with their prcing?

I have been hit by the scam bidding. It's either kids playing around with throwaway accounts, or it is someone that will find someone selling another one and look at the price that item is being sold for, and then they set their bid to that amount, so they can flip it for more than what the other one is selling for.

Example: if shopgoodwill is selling a widget for $5.99, and Joe Bidder searches eBay for the same widget, and sees Jim Scalper selling the same widget for $50, then Joe Bidder will go back to shopgoodwill and set his bid for $45 on the widget. Anyone attempting to bid, will just be vaporized by his top bid.

I have been on eBay since 2005, and people were not like this up until 10 years ago. I have learned their game plans in how they scam other bidders, and I have played their game with them before. If I would get outbid, I would keep bidding to find out what their highest bid was. Once I got to their top bid, I would immediately cancel my bid, and then re-bid to $1 under their max bid amount. I would still be losing of course, but they would be on the hook for the maximum bid they put in.

Now of course guess what happens when they end up winning the item for their max bid amount and are on the hook $200 for a $10 item? Yep, you guessed it. They do not pay for the item, and the seller has to relist it, or the seller gets fed up, and stops relisting it, leaving the bidder without an item to scalp. The bidder in turn gets a strike on their account and when they have done that before, they can't have too many strikes before their account is banned, which they do not want that to happen.

Since eBay does nothing about bid scalpers, it's up to the buyers to fight back against them and when left to be victims of their own scams, they end up getting punished for it in due time.


Forum Topics & Rules Manuals & Literature	New users Click-here to sign-up

Post# 469242 2/4/2024 at 17:11 by martin187 (Illinois)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Hello all, I am just wondering if anyone else has been baffled by the prices of some units prices recently. I was trying to find a affordably priced Dirt Devil Featherlite(I know people don't like Dirt Devil, but I had a good experience with my Featherlite in the past and would like to have one again) online today and found that the only 2 I see that are what I am looking for are both over 100! I had one I bought new in 2012(?) and it was nowhere near that price. What makes these people think that they are worth that price I wonder? I know everything is crazy with what people think their stuff is worth now, but seriously, what makes these sellers think their big boxed store lower end machines are worth over $100? end of Rant On a side note, If anyone in the northern Chicago area is looking to get rid of a Featherlite like the one in the picture that's in good condition, let me know! View Full Size

Post# 469253 , Reply# 1 2/4/2024 at 18:21 by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)
Checkrate/Likes There has been a massive dumbing-down of the IQ levels of eBay sellers in the last 10 years. Nobody knows how to price things anymore, everyone sees "rare and valuable" and will price it to $200+ Also nobody wants to go to work at a job or contribute anymore, so they look at flipping items as a way to live off their income. This is why so many of them will fight to the death over an object, because if they dont sell that $40 thing for $200 they get their power shut off, or lose their rent. There has been many times that someone will join this website, ask a bunch of questions, and when someone says that is a rare or valuable machine, they disappear, and you see that machine on eBay for $2,000 with all the information they were told listed in the description.

Post# 469258 , Reply# 2 2/4/2024 at 19:43 by Eureka1998 (New York )
Checkrate/Likes *I dont know if this compares but......* Someone listed a NIB 12 amp Hoover Caddy Vac (White model) for upwards of three hundred dollars and something about it seemed fishy when I was bidding the price. Like someone had preemptively set prices to outbid other potential buyers. Like I'd put in a maxbid of $330 and maybe not even one second later the max bid was at like $350. A scam almost. Those vacs back in the day were not anything over $130, and even though I collect vacuums, I cannot seriously pay for anything NIB for a brand like Hoover for over $300. At the end of the day, even though I like vacuums, its ONLY a vacuum so the price on the Caddy Vac was beyond a bit ridiculous.

Post# 469259 , Reply# 3 2/4/2024 at 19:51 by Eureka1998 (New York )
Checkrate/Likes 2 *CORRECTION* I shouldve explained it better. The price would be like $300, someone would put in a max of like $310, and it would go back and forth over time. So at the last minute I put in about a maxbid of $330 and not even a second later SOMEHOW, out bid with a maxbid of $350. Not enough time for another watcher to even put in a price to outbid my highest bid. Almost like something was programmed to prevent other buyers, and it came across as a big scam. Ive ordered other machines off eBay which came in pieces and ive been really focusing on Thrift Stores to find anything I desire as of late. On my end eBay has been a disappointment.

Post# 469261 , Reply# 4 2/4/2024 at 23:05 by repairman (Woodridge, IL)
Checkrate/Likes My favorite is when someone tries to sell a vacuum for the same price that mine sold for. If I sell a machine that was cleaned and has new parts for $150, someone will post the same vacuum for the same price. Usually, they're dirty with broken parts, cuts in the cord, broken belts, and hair all over the brushroll with no bristles left. I also laugh when they have "TESTED" in the title. All you did was plug it in and turn it on. LOL.

Post# 469264 , Reply# 5 2/5/2024 at 01:32 by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)
Checkrate/Likes I have been hit by the scam bidding. It's either kids playing around with throwaway accounts, or it is someone that will find someone selling another one and look at the price that item is being sold for, and then they set their bid to that amount, so they can flip it for more than what the other one is selling for. Example: if shopgoodwill is selling a widget for $5.99, and Joe Bidder searches eBay for the same widget, and sees Jim Scalper selling the same widget for $50, then Joe Bidder will go back to shopgoodwill and set his bid for $45 on the widget. Anyone attempting to bid, will just be vaporized by his top bid. I have been on eBay since 2005, and people were not like this up until 10 years ago. I have learned their game plans in how they scam other bidders, and I have played their game with them before. If I would get outbid, I would keep bidding to find out what their highest bid was. Once I got to their top bid, I would immediately cancel my bid, and then re-bid to $1 under their max bid amount. I would still be losing of course, but they would be on the hook for the maximum bid they put in. Now of course guess what happens when they end up winning the item for their max bid amount and are on the hook $200 for a $10 item? Yep, you guessed it. They do not pay for the item, and the seller has to relist it, or the seller gets fed up, and stops relisting it, leaving the bidder without an item to scalp. The bidder in turn gets a strike on their account and when they have done that before, they can't have too many strikes before their account is banned, which they do not want that to happen. Since eBay does nothing about bid scalpers, it's up to the buyers to fight back against them and when left to be victims of their own scams, they end up getting punished for it in due time.

Post# 469265 , Reply# 6 2/5/2024 at 06:38 by tolivac (Greenville,NC)
Checkrate/Likes The price gouging is hurting our hobby much like what happened to lamps,fans,and radios.Some folks are willing or dumb enough to pay the outlandish prices-not me!!!