do sellers create bogus accounts so they can bid on their items?
i ask this cause for the few items that i put a bid on, a buyer with no or 1 feedback score bids up until my max bid. this is kinda frustrating cause no one was bidding on that item for the past few days until i put my bid.
What funding source are you going to use to set up this bogus account? They require some sort of financial info if I remember right.
And yes ppl do it all the time.
I hope Mike chimes in. He sells quite extensively on Ebay and could show ppl a thing or two. One thing I go by is not the amount of customers but the feedback rating. 99% and up is what I trust. Also check shipping. You can get that $5 sub but it will cost you another $40 in "shipping and handling".
I remember buying and selling all those Wii's during Xmas. It got to be like clockwork. Absolutely no action until the last 1/2hr. Then bang, bang, bang. Sure I was tempted to get the ball rolling by lowering the reserve but that can hurt you. Most buyers beware of reserves like the plague. They could bid until the cows come home and never know if they have a shot.
In the end I abandoned Ebay due to all the fees. Theirs and Paypal's. I just couldn't sell a $5 knife for $20 cause that's what I needed to break just above even. Or going through all the effort of listing, contacting buyers, verifying addresses, packing and shipping for a couple dollars profit.
I'd rather haul it all to the mart and sell everything under the sun on the weekend.
i hear that Paul. I just sold a cool shirt on ebay, Sold for $4.20 + shipping of $4.99. After mailing, $5.99, PP and Ebay fees, it was like .25 cents. Anyway, some one very large will be happy.