eBay scam? What say you?

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Twice in the last month I bid on items on eBay only to discover the dreaded “private listing” bidders. Each time I placed my top bid seconds before the end but was outbid. Each time there was only one other bidder. So I checked the seller’s 100% feedback for details. Every single listing had no information available because they had been removed. This led me to Google this type of transaction and it confirmed my suspicions, to wit, 99% of sellers who list their items with the private listing option are scammers utilizing that option to drive the price up to their minimum without listing it with a reserve. The seller pays a fee for a reserve listing whether it sells or not, so it’s a legal but unethical workaround.

I’ll never bid on a private listing item again, but I’m curious if anyone else has encountered this and, if so, your thoughts.

[Jim Koepke]

You might report this to ebay. Even if this is a common scam, they may not know if no one has reported it. Scummy scammers are working harder to come up with new scams than they would have to work if they got a real job.

My weirdest situation was a seller not knowing who won the bid on an item she listed. My last minute bid may have out sniped a sniper. The other bidders was trying to claim they had won. My reply was that my payment was already recorded (my payment is usually as soon as the auction closes). If the other bidder hasn't paid yet, then it is pretty clear. The ebay bid history also showed me as the winner. A few days later the item was in my mail.

jtk

[Bill Dufour]

I think this is similar to companies listing a $20 item for say $1,000. The photos have a picture of their business card with contact info. Or the item is missing some critical info. Like a picture of a drill bit with no indication of size.
They just want people to contact them outside of ebay and make the sale with no ebay fees.
Bill D

[Edward Weber]

I'm with Jim, I would report them to ebay

[Andrew More]

I think this is similar to companies listing a $20 item for say $1,000.

That, or money laundering. Same with some of the goofier listings on Craigslist that sometimes get posted. Perfectly normal to pay cash for some of these things, and boom, paper trail.

[Brian Elfert]

EBay charges the higher of $5 or 7.5% of the final selling price to set a reserve price. That is highway robbery. No wonder sellers will do things to circumvent the reserve fee. I wonder if sellers find that a reserve is better than setting a higher starting price?

[Jim Koepke]

EBay charges the higher of $5 or 7.5% of the final selling price to set a reserve price. That is highway robbery. No wonder sellers will do things to circumvent the reserve fee. I wonder if sellers find that a reserve is better than setting a higher starting price?

Having not sold anything on ebay in a long time my knowledge of their fees is not up to date.

Do they charge as high a percentage on "Buy It Now" listings?

Many of the BIN listings have a "Make Offer" option.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

Having not sold anything on ebay in a long time my knowledge of their fees is not up to date.

Do they charge as high a percentage on "Buy It Now" listings?


My understanding is the reserve fee is in addition to the final value fee. Buy it now is just the final value fee from what I recall from selling something in late 2020.