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Offline PFG9000

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How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« on: June 11, 2016, 04:19:55 PM »
+1
So earlier this week I was eagerly waiting for an eBay auction to end.  The Simon's Quest wristwatch, one of the more rare CV collectibles, in good shape, working, with the original documentation. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Castlevania-2-Simon-Quest-Watch-Tiger-Electronic-/142009256352?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=f%252BJ8%252FlK3upMDi2KIBEZw7LQaJL4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

The auction hovered in the $50 range for most of its duration, and of course the majority of the bidding took place in the last 5 minutes.  With a few minutes left, the price broke the $100 mark and made it up to $185.  Then in the last few seconds, the price jumped from $185 straight to $600, and finally to $610!

A little background here.  While the watch is rare, it's not outrageously pricey.  A sealed one just sold a few months ago for $200.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tiger-Electronics-Castlevania-Simons-Quest-LCD-Video-Game-Watch-RARE-MOC-/172154065965?hash=item28152e942d%3Ag%3A-2gAAOSw6wRW%7ErQ2&nma=true&si=f%252BJ8%252FlK3upMDi2KIBEZw7LQaJL4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557.  Anybody willing to shelll out $600 for an item that originally marketed for something like $20 will surely do a little bit of research to find out what the going rate is.  And if that item just sold, new and sealed, for $200, nobody in their right mind would pay three times that for an opened one.  Yet supposedly two people were willing to do just that?   Rigggggghhhht.

Coincidentally, the "winning" eBayer is a brand new account.

What really happened?  I'm guessing the seller wasn't satisfied with the price the watch was going to fetch at the end, and had a secondary account and a third, fake account ready to go just in case.  Having two accounts bidding outrageously high is a little less suspicious than just one, after all.  The other possibility is that the dude who bid $600 had a fake account waiting in case the auction actually got that high, because he's a douche like that and just wanted to screw over the auction for anybody that outbid him.  He did originally place a bid of $40, looking at the bidding history.

This kind of shit pisses me off.  Plus, I really really want that watch.   :)

Offline Lumi Kløvstad

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #1 on: June 11, 2016, 05:25:56 PM »
0
If I can't Buy It Now, I avoid eBay entirely for exactly these reasons.
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Offline Shiroi Koumori

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2016, 10:50:49 PM »
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That's why I don't like online auctions.
If it is a new account, then the deal might not push through and the item might reappear again.

Offline JR

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2016, 02:48:50 AM »
0
If I can't Buy It Now, I avoid eBay entirely for exactly these reasons.

Same here. Very rarely do I ever bid on anything.

The only other real rule of thumb I have for ebay listings is to make sure the seller isn't from Hong Kong. Usually you can spot a fake item a mile away, but if I'm unsure, and it's a Hong Kong seller...nope. The item is practically guaranteed fake if that's the case.
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Offline zangetsu468

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2016, 07:29:20 AM »
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I never really bid on Auctions as the seller and other bidders can set "auto outbids" which is complete bullshit. If it's something I really want for peanuts I place a bid and walk away. If I get it, it's for peanuts and it's a win-win.
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Offline X

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2016, 10:11:12 AM »
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eBay has got a lot of shite going on with it at the moment. But there are other venues you could check out that'll be more legit for auctioneering.
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Offline PFG9000

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2016, 08:59:38 PM »
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I'm afraid it's not as simple as "don't use eBay."  eBay is a significant part of the standard when it comes to collectibles.  People casually look up eBay auctions to gauge how much an item is worth, but they don't look into the dynamics of each auction.  And really I can't blame them, as it would be incredibly inconvenient to do so.  So now the value of this particular Castlevania collectible may very well jump up, all because of some irresponsible douchetrout.  It's sad, but this is really how the market works for collectibles these days.

eBay has got a lot of shite going on with it at the moment. But there are other venues you could check out that'll be more legit for auctioneering.
Any recommendations?

Offline X

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2016, 09:32:46 AM »
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I've heard Amazon is also doing auctions. You could check with them and see what they have.
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Offline Ratty

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2016, 03:01:50 PM »
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I'm afraid it's not as simple as "don't use eBay."  eBay is a significant part of the standard when it comes to collectibles.  People casually look up eBay auctions to gauge how much an item is worth, but they don't look into the dynamics of each auction.  And really I can't blame them, as it would be incredibly inconvenient to do so.  So now the value of this particular Castlevania collectible may very well jump up, all because of some irresponsible douchetrout.  It's sad, but this is really how the market works for collectibles these days.
Any recommendations?

Yeah, an unfortunate side effect. But ultimately eBay and similar sites have made it easier to collect things for people generally. If you weren't in a big city good luck collecting just about anything that wasn't currently available at the big-box stores back in the day. The other downside (besides accidental inflation beyond reasonable prices) is god help you if what you're trying to collect suddenly becomes trendy with crowds that have too much money, NES games for example. But a big part of collecting is playing the long game, waiting for fads to die and things to not sell until they're (hopefully) eventually returned to a reasonable price level. Or you come across a fluke low priced one.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2016, 03:04:14 PM by Ratty »

Offline Bloodreign

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2016, 12:57:21 AM »
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This likely may also have something to do with why classic game prices have skyrocketed, that and Nintendoage, and Youtube hidden gem videos.

Offline PFG9000

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #10 on: June 17, 2016, 09:58:37 AM »
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I just noticed the photo wasn't even an original photo.  It was taken from a Castlevania Wiki article about the watch.  Again, this doesn't prove anything, but it certainly looks like this auction was only made to drive the value of that item up.

Offline Jazz Paladin Productions

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #11 on: June 17, 2016, 04:59:02 PM »
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I notice plenty of evidence of rigged auctions in other ways too.

In particular, since I've been hunting for certain rare, OOP board games, I've noticed a few sellers who happen to have multiple copies will set EXTREMELY astronomical prices with a BIN option, and then leave another single identical at a lower (though still expensive) price such that it SEEMS more reasonable by comparison.

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Offline zangetsu468

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2016, 07:55:19 PM »
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Another classic ebay scheme is when people order two items, they send you one and hope you forget.

Seriously this happens with so many international sellers, I've even asked for my refund after one month to a US seller who just refunded the item without even asking. This proves he/she never had the intention of sending the second item.

Long-story-short. If you want two items with an international seller, buy one wait, one day then buy another.
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Offline PFG9000

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #13 on: June 18, 2016, 09:17:54 PM »
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To be fair, I did luck out with a "free" copy of the FDS Castlevania, complete, thanks to eBay.  I bought one that was described as "new and sealed," but when I received it, it was obvious the seal had been opened and re-sealed in the past.  I tried negotiating with the seller, but he wouldn't respond to my emails.  So I went through eBay's dispute resolution process and got my money back, and I got to keep the game.

Offline GuyStarwind

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Re: How to spot a rigged eBay auction
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2016, 01:34:14 PM »
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Yeah, I do the buy it now options and I also look at their overall ranking and feedback.

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