Forum

Made a huge mistake of shill bidding. Need help.
 

I made a huge mistake of shill bidding an item I had for sell on ebay. I've learned my mistake, and intend on never doing this EVER again. However, I'm stuck on what to do. The seller account I have is very old, and was created on a different computer at a different address, and the buyer account i started is on this new computer new address, but I've recently been logging between both accounts, and even had a change password email on the buyer account that showed my recent IP. Also, I updated the seller account info (address, number, etc) to the new address I have, and the buyer address is nearby friends address.

I just need some help. Whats steps do I need to do (change ip, change addresses, etc)?

"shill bidding"

Did you get suspended or just a warning?

If it's a warning, just take the tutorial and keep your nose clean. I think after 6 months to a year it might even drop off the radar. The Alert on your "My Messages" page goes away after a while.

I used to do it all of the time to have the auction creep up to the reserve.

example:
list an item for $9.99 with a $50 reserve and make several bids and stop just short of the reserve so that the next bid puts it over the top. The funny thing is the item could very well sell for $60 or more, but if starting at $50 no one might even put it an opening bid.

I've never done in to make a customer overpay, because with my luck I'd win.

The problem I'm having is I actually won the auction with shill bidding account, so I dont know what to do, make a dispute on my seller account, or cancel the shill bidding account. Its been almost 2 weeks, so is it possible I could do a 2nd chance offer, or something?

file a complaint... buyer never paid , wont respond to emails etc... Then do the second chance offer.

"shill bidding"

So I wouldnt get caught if I did what you said? I actually never sent an email to the shill bidding account. And also, what about the ip address? Do I need to change the ip address before I log into the seller account and file this dispute, and do I need to log in at another computer or change the ip address to cancel the shill bidding account? I had shill bidded on about 3 other auctions on that account, and I wanted to cancel that account before I file the dispute.

I was wondering if anyone can answer my last post. Thanks

Bottom line is...don't shill bid.

I wont do it anymore. I just needed some help on what exactly to do. I want to cancel the account I've been shill bidding with, and keep my seller account. Do I need to change my ip address and log into the shill bidding account and cancel the account, or log into the seller account and change my ip b4 i log into that and file a dispute?

it depends why you got caught, do you know?was it flash objects, cookies, ip? then we can advise from there...

if you have been logging in both accounts and shill bidding previously under the same ip address and user account then both accounts are basically doomed. I would make sure you keep your paypal cleaned out and have backups ready, you never know with paypal.

What if i change my ip and cancel the shill bidding account?

I would change you ip address and log back in, then just log out. I wouldn't cancel it but I would just stop using it and move on to another account. If you leave it inactive for awhile it may be ok. Just make sure there is no credit card or bank account linked that ebay/paypal can charge.

see i won the item i shill bidded on.

so would i do these steps in order:

- change ip and log in shill bidding account, and log out
- change ip again and log into seller account, and file dispute against shill bidding account, and ask for a second chance offer.

correct but why would you file a dispute against yourself? lol Just send the 2nd chance offer to the person that bidded below you.

So let me get this straight:

- change ip and log in shill bidding account, and log out
- change ip again and log into seller account

then how do I exactly do a 2nd chance offer? The bid happened about 2 weeks ago, so do i need to address anything to ebay, or tell the next in line bidder I never recieved payment and do they want to win the auction?

It sounds like you need to purchase and read the stealth book. I would do so if you have not already and read it 3-5 times b/c you WILL miss something everytime you read it. Worked wonders for me.

If your auction ended over 2 weeks ago, I doubt anyone will buy your item on 2nd chance at this point. The 2nd chance thing is usually only good right after the item ends. They have probably already found another seller by now. I would just let this one go and take it as a lessons learned. But hey, you can still try, its free!!!

You do not need to explain anything to ebay. eBay doesn't care if no one pays for your item, so a dispute is pointless. They still get their money b/c it sold and you have to pay the selling fees.

So is there a way I can mark the item as paid on the buyer and seller side, or can i shut the shill bidding account?

-Do the ip change process
- Pay for the seller fees

I will also take a look at the book you mentioned.

agreed %100......I think this will be the best way out

Now I had a question, I 2nd chanced the item, and it didnt sell, what could I do? Should I mark the items as shipped, and paid on the buyer end, and just pay the fees, or would I have to pay double the fees if I re-list it?

anyone could help?

Do a mutual cancellation on the item and never shill bid again. Not only will you most likely get caught, but your screwing over people. Set a reserve if you dont want to let something go at X price, or start the starting bid at the least amount you'd take for it.

You can always just never pay it either and let it fall off. Take the eBay fees as a lesson learned.

How do I do a mutual cancellation? I also, have an invoice due for this item fees, but I am willing to pay it to learn from this mistake. And also, would'nt I get caught if I try this, since I'm the seller, trying to dispute against my shill bidding account? I thought ebay would trace ip's and find out.

I'm just so stressed out, really. I dont want ebay to come back and cancel mess up and limit my paypal account.

I just really want to know whats the best route to take. If someone can break it down in laymens terms. I'm willing to pay the seller fees for doing this bidding.

If you mark it paid, you will be hit with FVFs. If you flag it NPB again, you'll draw attention. I don't see a good choice for you, either way. If you relist it, you'll pay the fees from before AND fees to list again.

From my point of view: If you flubbed it the first time and it didn't sell the second time - the item is a poor choice for selling or you are doing something very wrong. Either way, if it were me having that issue, I'd forget about handling it in the future. I would also keep it for personal use, give it as a gift to somebody I don't really like very much, or donate it to a charity. My bottom line: No Profit, No Touchie.

How about this, what if I mark it as payment sent on the buyer side, and paid on the seller, and just pay the FVFs? Is that a good route? My only concern is that the buyer account isnt tied to any paypal accounts or nothing, but my seller account is, so I is ebay going to try to find out if my shill bidding account really paid or not on my seller or bidder side.

You might get away with that. But what would you use for the shipping address? The shill account had better not be using the same or even a similar address to the seller account.

Seriously, quit sweating about this. Drop it, eat the loss, and move on. Before you stab yourself in the eye.

Matter of fact, at this point, you should probably just ditch both accounts and never look back. Start over fresh.

I actually used a friends address 20 miles away on the shill bid account. So if I do this, and cancel both accounts later, what about for filing taxes and using any items I bought as a proof of purchase for warranty purposes on there? I made about $600 with ebay so far, so is there anything in particular I need to do before I cancel? I'm thankful for all the help, I was really buggin out over this.

Considering the address factor is covered, you're good in that regard. But if you will be cancelling the accounts, why bother resolving it? Just turn your back and walk away. Let them mop up the mess.

As for filing taxes... Will you be claiming the expense of doing business against taxes, whereby you must claim the income?

For warranty coverage of prior purchases, I am absolutely certain that you don't have to keep the account active. The warranty will remain valid. Make sure you print out any receipts that you may have neglected, before you ditch though.

I might want to make a new legit account in the future, that why I want to resolve it.

For the taxes, I just was an individual selling items, but not a business. I just thought I had to report any activity to the irs.

And does ebay send you a tax form or something at the end of the year or how can they report the activity without a ssn?

:faint: Is there a penetration expert on the forum?

lol GreenBean

I so feel your pain,Justme. You got caught in a sorry situation.
Leave the shill account well alone. Never put that item on ebay again. And try never to do business with a friend again: it can break friendship. ebay ain't worth the damage to a good friendship. :ranger:

Taxes are between you & Uncle Sam. I use a tax specialist for my tax. That way everything is worked out (to my advantage;)) Consider the same for yourself.

I guess I shouldnt have to worry, or report it. $600 isnt alot, and I've probably only made $300 in profits since I bought so much of goods off out ebay lol

Justme23,

Saving the current account thinking it will facilitate making another legit account later is fallacious thinking. Forget that.

Turn your ass on the whole damned thing. Quit wasting your time trying to solve a ruined pile of garbage. You've spent hours on this problem already. How much did you get paid braining this out? Somebody give you a check in the amount of $200 for every 60 minutes of your brain? Then phuck it and move the hell on.

Make stealth. Only bend or break rules when absolutely life-critical. Pushing the limits trying to squeeze one extra penny is a waste of time. Trying to save anything that got ruined is a waste of time. Connecting to your friends or any of your other accounts is fatal.

Lessons learned. Now, stop wasting your time. Accept the answers you've been given - instead of thinking like a crackhead and believing you might still figure out a way to cheat your way back into good graces. You are now at the point of wasting the time of nice people who already evaluated your statements as you asked.

Do yourself (and us) a favor: Accept reality. You screwed up. It's not worth fixing. You've already wasted 19.32 times more effort than this deserves. Perpetuating what has already failed is a futile and counterproductive course of action. It is time to give this one up. Take notes, study it, and consider the experience to be educational. You just paid for a class in how cheating the system in this manner only ends up with you cheating yourself in the end.

Really, if your original intent had worked, how much more money could you have gained? If your total time watching and shill bidding was 1 hour, then it's only cost effective if the price were driven up by $200 bucks. If you spent all night and hypothetically jacked the price by $25, that means you only place your own value at about $2/hr. Flipping french fries and grilling milkshakes pays better than that.

Good point. My only concern is the tax situation. I was just wondering how do I go about that if i ditch the account since i'm not a business or anything like that, just an individual who has a self employeed job, and works at a coffee shop as well.

If you don't claim the income of $600, they won't know about it. The law states that you are only required to file the income if it exceeds $599.99, and it would be up to you to point that out. PP doesn't report that at the present time.

Do us a favor, and use the above as a guideline and example. Do NOT report back to us that you had $701.28 and ask our advice. For tax questions, you should trust the advice of your own paid accountant, not a faceless person from the internet.

Thanks for all the help. Really helped me out with everything.

^^^ebay advice is within our parameters. tax is for your accountant & Uncle Sam. Good Luck,Justme23. It's been an interesting thread :peace::cheer:

No auctions, either. Just "Buy It Now" listings. Brings all the $$$, IMHO.