Shill Bidding & How It Can Cost You Lots Of Money…
This week an eBay seller was the first in the UK to face charges for phony bidding.
An eBay seller in the U.K. could pay up to 50,000 pounds in fines for bidding on his own items to increase their sale price, a practice known to eBayer’s as shill bidding.
The seller pleaded guilty to 10 violations of fair trade regulations, each carrying a potential fine of 5,000 pounds each! The seller had 2 accounts and if his item prices were too low, he would use his other account to bid the price up but also left feedback to himself…
eBay policy prohibits shill bidding to ensure no seller gets an unfair advantage, and defines this practice as “bidding that artificially increases an item’s price or desirability.”
If you are not sure about the rules on Shill Bidding, click on the link below and read the tutorial so you know exactly where you stand:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/tutorial/sbiddingtutorial/intro.html
So if you are thinking about or have shill bidded on eBay before, this story is something to think about. Losing a few dollars on your item is definitely better than losing thousands of dollars for doing the wrong thing!!
Matt & Amanda Clarkson








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