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Strange eBay Bidder ID's - Am Very Curious

by I.M.Retired
5 replies
I mainly search closed auctions on eBay to see what prices some items sell for in certain categories. Several times lately I've seen winning bidder ID's that follow this form, which is a lower case letter followed by 3 *** and then a number.

Tonight I placed a bid on an item - it was a very low cost item that I collect, and with eBay's new countdown feature I watched the item close. With 1 minute left (I was the only bidder) exactly 2 seconds before the auction ended another bid was placed. Okay, this often happens, and I am familiar with sniping bots, etc.

However, when I searched for the winning bidder's ID using advanced search, it said there was no bidder by that ID. Yet the bidder showed up as a winner in my eBay summary with 150 positive feedbacks.

Here are the screenshots to show what I mean:

From my eBay page this shows that I bid $6.00 and the winner was bidder r***7



So I tried to located that bidder and got this message:



Can anyone shed some light on this situation? I'm very curious as to why I've seen so many of this type of winning bidder's user name as of late.
#bidder #curious #ebay #strange
  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    That is not the actual user ID -- the asterisks are there to protect their identity. You'll see this used for all bidders. It blocks others from trying to contact them.
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  • Profile picture of the author JonAlfredsson
    Bidder's name are sometimes kept for their privacy. They have done that most probably in their settings.
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  • Profile picture of the author I.M.Retired
    Okay - I'm not confused any more.

    I see now that when you click on the number of bids in a closed auction, you do see these asterix ID's for all the bidders. It's only when you are logged in that you see your own ID, or the bidder's ID when the auction is in process, I presume.

    I haven't bid on anything on eBay for ages - this is the first time I have noticed the ID thing first hand.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
      Bingo -- that's exactly right. Ebay does this automatically.

      Originally Posted by Val.S. View Post

      Okay - I'm not confused any more.

      I see now that when you click on the number of bids in a closed auction, you do see these asterix ID's for all the bidders. It's only when you are logged in that you see your own ID, or the bidder's ID when the auction is in process, I presume.

      I haven't bid on anything on eBay for ages - this is the first time I have noticed the ID thing first hand.
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  • Profile picture of the author fabfor
    Similarly, I've had a sniping bidder but with the following record:

    "30-Day Bid History
    Category No. of Bids Seller Last Bid

    Dolls & Bears > Harrods 1 Seller 1 21h
    Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Casual Shirts 1 Seller 2 <1h
    Computing > Memory Upgrades 1 Seller 3 <1h
    Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Women's Bags 1 Seller 4 <1h
    Computing > Laptops & Netbooks 1 Seller 5 <1h
    Jewelry & Watches > Wristwatches 1 Seller 6 1h
    Toys & Games > Rocking Horses 1 Seller 7 <1h
    Pottery, Porcelain & Glass > Adams 1 Seller 8 <1h
    Pottery, Porcelain & Glass > Adams 1 Seller 8 <1h
    Pottery, Porcelain & Glass > Adams 1 Seller 8 <1h
    Pottery, Porcelain & Glass > Adams 1 Seller 8 <1h
    Computing > Other Laptop Accessories 1 Seller 9 <1h
    Computing > Batteries 1 Seller 9 <1h
    Computing > PC Memory 1 Seller 10 4h
    Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Suits & Suit Jackets 1 Seller 11 <1h
    Consumer Electronics > Radios 1 Seller 12 2d 7h
    Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Suits & Suit Jackets 1 Seller 13 <1h
    Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Men's Shoes 2 Seller 14 <1h
    Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Men's Shoes 1 Seller 15 <1h


    To keep eBay a safe place for buyers and sellers, member-specific information is not displayed in the bid history."

    It seems strange to me that there was hardly any activity for 29 days and then there were 14 bids within an hour! Is there a simple explanation for this??
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