How to spot fake auction bidders on any auction site (shill bidding)
Hopefully this post helps out a few of you guys, gives you some insightful information, and saves you some money by giving you a little information and knowledge.
Now, the point of this post is not to point fingers at ANY auction site in general, but rather to help you spot potential shill bidding (people bidding on their own auctions from their own accounts or fake accounts to raise the price).
Here are some tips to look out for to help you find potential fake bidders.
(Sorry guys this is a huge thorn in my side as i've got an extreme eye for spotting this, yet with the right training it is soo... easy to spot)
Research Is Key! Here is what to look for!
#1 - Bidding Patterns - if an auction starts at $1.00 and the next bid is $500 then there might be something fishy. Most people at auctions are looking for deals. They are going to bid as close to the first bid as possible. $1 - $5 - $10 - $15 --- they are not going to bid 1000% of the lowest bid.
#2 - Bidding Time - While most people will watch an auction then bid closer to the end of the auction. You will see again a pattern and more bids toward the end of an auction rather than the beginning. Watch the bidding pattern again toward the end of the auction. If alot of people are intersted in the auction then it should have a pattern of lower bids, but more bids. Again, most people are at an auction to save money.. Not Spend as much as they can. $1 - $5 - $5.50 - $10.00 - $15.00 ect..
NOT!! $1.00 - $500 - $900 - $5000 - $9000 -
#3 - Feedback - Most auction bidders will have feedback. Watch for bidders who have no feedback but bidding multiple times with higher bids.
#4 - New Bidder Accounts - Watch for multiple bids on a single auction from multiple new accounts. For instance bidding pattern (new account - new account - established bid account - new account - new account - the next bid is what they are waiting for.)
#5 - Research What your bidding on - let us say for instance your bidding on a website - and you do a little research and find out its newly established, has no real value other than you really like the site, you check the bidding patterns and they look out of whack -- $1 - $500 - $1000 - and the seller might just be setting the hook for the next bid which might lock you in..... BE CAREFUL!
#6 - Seller Feedback - Check the seller feedback and see what others have said about this seller. If all is good, then you shouldn't really worry about it too much, but if the seller has more negatives than positives then be very careful or don't bid at all.
#7 - Check the Negative Feedbacks - although a negative feedback might be relevant, check out what the negative really says. Some negatives can actually be just a buyer that was pissed off at the seller - for instance if the negative says something like "This seller is a jerk" and the sellers response is "You got a full refund and still left me negative feedback" you might be actually dealing with an honest seller, but a spiteful buyer.
#8 - Bidding Pattern - We can not stress this enough.. watch the pattern, even if the auction only has 1 bid and time is ending, check the bidding pattern. Nobody is going to spend a ton of money on something that is not worth what it is selling for.
#9 - Other things to watch out for..
Low prices and high shipping fee's - always check to see what the shipping fee is. This is another way people suck you in. A very low price, but a very high shipping price that is not realistic. ie... $4 item, with a $49.00 shipping - total - $53.00 instead of a similar item that sells for $39.00 with free shipping.
Hopefully this helps a few of you guys out. I've seen this recently on a few sites (names which we will not say) and it really gets under my skin when we list a very valuable "property" and we see tons of other "Properties" that are considered "Junk" to us with potential fake bids in the thousands of dollars range with Patterns that are unrealistic.
One of my favorite shows on tv is storage wars and auction hunters .. watch how the bidding goes on those shows. ie.. the pattern. Once in a while you will see them jump up the bids to shock the other bidders, but only a few hundred dollars, not thousands. An auction that should sell for $100 is not going to get multiple bids of $10,000 or more! It just doesnt happen.:rolleyes:
*Little Secret* - check the sellers feedback to see if the same bidder has bid multiple times on the same sellers auctions. Yes, people buy from the same sellers all the time, but if the buyer is buying multiples of the same thing, multiple times, this might be a shill bidding account. For instance - Pet Rock - $5 -- and the feedback has 40 of the same buyer for the same auction.. this might be a sign to watch out.
Now, the point of this post is not to point fingers at ANY auction site in general, but rather to help you spot potential shill bidding (people bidding on their own auctions from their own accounts or fake accounts to raise the price).
Here are some tips to look out for to help you find potential fake bidders.
(Sorry guys this is a huge thorn in my side as i've got an extreme eye for spotting this, yet with the right training it is soo... easy to spot)
Research Is Key! Here is what to look for!
#1 - Bidding Patterns - if an auction starts at $1.00 and the next bid is $500 then there might be something fishy. Most people at auctions are looking for deals. They are going to bid as close to the first bid as possible. $1 - $5 - $10 - $15 --- they are not going to bid 1000% of the lowest bid.
#2 - Bidding Time - While most people will watch an auction then bid closer to the end of the auction. You will see again a pattern and more bids toward the end of an auction rather than the beginning. Watch the bidding pattern again toward the end of the auction. If alot of people are intersted in the auction then it should have a pattern of lower bids, but more bids. Again, most people are at an auction to save money.. Not Spend as much as they can. $1 - $5 - $5.50 - $10.00 - $15.00 ect..
NOT!! $1.00 - $500 - $900 - $5000 - $9000 -
#3 - Feedback - Most auction bidders will have feedback. Watch for bidders who have no feedback but bidding multiple times with higher bids.
#4 - New Bidder Accounts - Watch for multiple bids on a single auction from multiple new accounts. For instance bidding pattern (new account - new account - established bid account - new account - new account - the next bid is what they are waiting for.)
#5 - Research What your bidding on - let us say for instance your bidding on a website - and you do a little research and find out its newly established, has no real value other than you really like the site, you check the bidding patterns and they look out of whack -- $1 - $500 - $1000 - and the seller might just be setting the hook for the next bid which might lock you in..... BE CAREFUL!
#6 - Seller Feedback - Check the seller feedback and see what others have said about this seller. If all is good, then you shouldn't really worry about it too much, but if the seller has more negatives than positives then be very careful or don't bid at all.
#7 - Check the Negative Feedbacks - although a negative feedback might be relevant, check out what the negative really says. Some negatives can actually be just a buyer that was pissed off at the seller - for instance if the negative says something like "This seller is a jerk" and the sellers response is "You got a full refund and still left me negative feedback" you might be actually dealing with an honest seller, but a spiteful buyer.
#8 - Bidding Pattern - We can not stress this enough.. watch the pattern, even if the auction only has 1 bid and time is ending, check the bidding pattern. Nobody is going to spend a ton of money on something that is not worth what it is selling for.
#9 - Other things to watch out for..
Low prices and high shipping fee's - always check to see what the shipping fee is. This is another way people suck you in. A very low price, but a very high shipping price that is not realistic. ie... $4 item, with a $49.00 shipping - total - $53.00 instead of a similar item that sells for $39.00 with free shipping.
Hopefully this helps a few of you guys out. I've seen this recently on a few sites (names which we will not say) and it really gets under my skin when we list a very valuable "property" and we see tons of other "Properties" that are considered "Junk" to us with potential fake bids in the thousands of dollars range with Patterns that are unrealistic.
One of my favorite shows on tv is storage wars and auction hunters .. watch how the bidding goes on those shows. ie.. the pattern. Once in a while you will see them jump up the bids to shock the other bidders, but only a few hundred dollars, not thousands. An auction that should sell for $100 is not going to get multiple bids of $10,000 or more! It just doesnt happen.:rolleyes:
*Little Secret* - check the sellers feedback to see if the same bidder has bid multiple times on the same sellers auctions. Yes, people buy from the same sellers all the time, but if the buyer is buying multiples of the same thing, multiple times, this might be a shill bidding account. For instance - Pet Rock - $5 -- and the feedback has 40 of the same buyer for the same auction.. this might be a sign to watch out.
Facebook page for inspiration & JV opportunities-
facebook.com/WantrepreneurToEntrepreneur