posted on December 20, 2000 06:36:06 AM new
Email addys and IDs here are fictional.
Bidder A registered 3 days ago. Since then she's "won" 2 dozen auctions, and she's high bidder on another 2 dozen that end within the next week. All are in the same collectible "niche" (let's call it "Peruvian gold-plated widgets".
She has just bid on one of my auctions in the same niche - an auction I had to relist after Bidder B, the high bidder. deadbeated.
Bidders A and B have a number of similarities. Their email addresses are oddly similar - "[email protected]" vs. "[email protected]". Both bid in only this one niche. Like Bidder A, Bidder B was high bidder on several dozen of these items within a few days of registering. Bidder B lasted a whole month...after which she was NARU'd for nonpayment.
I am beginning to think that Bidder A is the new incarnation of Bidder B.
I don't want to cancel the bid of an honest bidder, but if I can avoid it, I don't want to be hung out to dry again by somebody who's already burned me once to the tune of nearly $50.
posted on December 20, 2000 07:18:28 AM new
Did you request bidder's contact information from ebay? There is one being tossed around among people who sell products like mine...she has had 4 bidder names that I know of so far, and hopefully is not still going. Perhaps also a very diplomatically worded email to bidder x might be in order.
posted on December 20, 2000 07:18:49 AM new
What Meya said!
It does put you in an awkward position re: cancelling the bid, but if youare certain she is one and the same, then cancel her bid and ask her not to bid on any of your auctions in the future (in any incarnation) and cc SafeHarbor.
There must be something going around this week, because I've got a repeat bidder who has bid on something under a different id than in the past. Not only has she not disclosed her identity (which I accidentally uncovered myself), she has corresponded extensively with me about the item under both ids. In fact, as each person, she claims to be friends with the other (yep, two personalities living in one body would be rather chummy). I must be naive, because I can't figure out the angle she is working here. Especially because I offer a 10% discount to repeat buyers, but since she is bidding with the new (to me) id, she'll not get the discount.
Oh well, as long as I get paid, I suppose it doesn't matter. I am just puzzled by the behavior.
posted on December 20, 2000 07:58:35 AM new
I'm not sure if it's worse to be crooked or stupid, but I don't know that it matters since a combination of the two qualities seems to be so common.
posted on December 20, 2000 08:45:14 AM newpickersangel.
It's coooooold here today, so I've got a good excuse to sit here and do nothing, so I did a bit of research, which I passed on to Safeharbor (dates and amounts have been slightly altered to protect our "friend":
Bidder B registered 11/1. During the first 10 of the 18 days she actively bid on ebay, she was high bidder on 32 auctions, all on Peruvian widgets.
Bidder A registered 12/17. In 3 days she's bid on 58 auctions, of which she's won a whopping 27; she's presently high bidder on another 15. All are on...Peruvian widgets.
Bidder A gave her name as Mary Smith in Smalltown, OH. Bidder B's contact information lists her as JANE Smith....in Smalltown, OH. Smalltown, BTW, is REALLY small. Only a handful of Smiths of either gender. Amazing that two Smalltown Smiths would have identical yet esoteric tastes and bidding habits AND similar email addresses.
Bidder A was, interestingly, high bidder on an auction Bidder B had originally won and that appears to have been relisted. (YES, I've emailed the seller.)
Quack quack quack is right, Meya. Cancelling as we speak, noting that "She was high bidder on this item before, didn't pay; NARU'd, now using new ID"
.
pickersangel.