Corey Sherman wrote:
> I may be really naive, but what is up with eBay Motors and the
> auctions regarding Triumph cars...
>
> I see many wonderful, as well as those seriously questionable
> vehicles, offered for sale and purchased by "individuals" with (0)
> or (1) eBay history. The winners always appear to out bid the rest
> of the "seasoned" bidders (those with greater history). I have even
> emailed some of the winners out of curiosity and often receive
> email delivery failures - undeliverable message.
An auction I had on eBayMotors of mine ended last week, and I too was
concerned about the number of bidders with little or no feedback histories.
The majority of the people bidding on my auction had no more than two
feedback posts in their histories. Fortunately, the winner turned out to be
more "seasoned" and promptly completed the transaction.
So is it shill bidding? Well if I were bidding on my own auctions, or
getting my friends to, then it would have been. But the winning bidders on
my auctions have all appeared to be legitimate once the auction completed.
Some may not be very bright or resourceful, as they typically bid well of
the retail cost of the part... but who am I to judge what people do with
their money.
I think the new bidder influx we're seeing is just a result of more classic
car owners catching up with the internet. While many of us on this list
have been around for a long time, we represent only a very small majority of
Triumph owners as a whole. Since I've been using eBay for a few years now,
I've only had one 'bad' auction... it wasn't British car related either. It
stands to reason that British car owners will be more honest about bidding
as the cloak of secrecy is more difficult to hide from in our hobby. If you
own a Triumph, sooner or later someone will see you driving it, see it
sitting in your yard, or end up buying it from you. I would also say a
great majority of owners are members of global and regional marque clubs,
and then again someone would eventually find out if you're a dead beat or
not.
So for the moment the eBay bidders in question have displayed nothing for me
to doubt their legitimacy. I do not doubt that a small amount of shilling
goes on at a small number of auctions, but it is by no means the norm nor
should it be cause for concern unless it is your auction or if you genuinely
have reason to suspect it is happening to an auction you're bidding on.
Kai
--
Kai M Radicke
kai@radiohead.net
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