Has anyone ever come across, ghost bidding etc, I'm relatively new to ebay , less than year, can't say I've come across it but then I'm mainly on the lookout for bargins rather than fighting it out for the rare pieces, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't any of it going on at all.
RH, eBay call it 'Shill Bidding', here's their spiel on it:
Shill Bidding is bidding that artificially increases an item’s price or apparent desirability, or bidding by individuals with a level of access to the seller’s item information not available to the general Community. Shill Bidding is prohibited on eBay.
Because family members, roommates and employees of sellers have a level of access to item information which is not available to the general Community, they are not permitted to bid on items offered by the seller – even if their sole intent is to purchase the item. Family members, roommates or employees may purchase items from a seller without violating this policy simply by using purchase options – such as Buy It Now – which do not involve bidding.
eBay strongly encourages sellers with employees to ensure that their employees are aware of this policy and the possible consequences of violation.
Breaches of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:
* Listing cancellation
* Limits on account privileges
* Account suspension
* Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
* Loss of PowerSeller status
* Referral to Law Enforcement
Spend a few minutes taking eBay's tutorial on Shill bidding.
If you believe that another member is artificially raising the price or desirability of an item by shill bidding please report it to eBay. Please be sure to provide the user IDs and the item numbers in question.