MYSTERY BOX BONUS $$ SCAMS - How to Spot a FAKE BIDDER!

The eBay philosophy is people are basically good, but Mystery Auctions have been bringing out a number of bidders who are not what they appear to be. Recently, I've had three Mystery boxes on which have risen to astronomical heights only to find out the bidders had no intention of paying and the bid resting at a near normal location. This makes seller's of Mystery Box Auctions frustrated and weary from trying to catch these fake bidders at their game.

I LEARNED THE HARD WAY

My listings had bonus money in them which was payable upon successful completion of the auction which means the winning bidder must pay. Clearly stated - no pay, no bonus. Normal and fair practice. Several bidders tried to run the bidding up and make money on the bonus trying to pass the buck to the high bidder. It was like a hot potato nobody wanted but they wanted to watch the other guy win and get something for doing nothing. These people were put on a list and they went right into my Blocked Bidders and also to a report filed with eBay.

I've learned several things along the way which I hope will be helpful to you in our endeavor to run clean and fair Mystery Auctions.

PROTECT YOURSELF

PRE-APPROVED BIDDER'S LIST

Protection is key so one option is to have a Pre-Approved Bidders list which is found under Site Map in the middle column.  You can add bidders to your list and make sure they really want to bid on your item before they run it up for no reason. Click on the link and follow the instructions to add your item and your approved bidders to the list.

Many people don't understand the Pre-Approved Bidder's list so you'll want to explain this in your listing. Next, look at the person's feedback, see if they've had any bid retractions in the last 6 months, check their bidding history under Advanced Search and then Items By Bidder and check the box that says Include completed listings and the box that says As high bidder only. When you do this, you'll see if that person has won anything substantial. It will not include any auctions they bid on under a Private Listing. This will help you determine if the bidder is serious about your auction.

DO THE RESEARCH

Another good way to research your bidders is to go to the Search bar and put in Mystery Auction and then sort by highest first. This will tell you a number of things. First, what are the highest auctions and secondly, if they are public auctions and not private, you'll be able to see a list of bidders. You'll click on BID HISTORY and there is a list of all bids including cancellations and retractions.

NO BONUS MONEY

Don't offer bonus money for bidding. I wish I had never even done this! It is completely ridiculous. At first glance, it seems like this is a good way to encourage bidding and go for the gold, but it's not. What happens is it brings out all the FAKE BIDDERS and they bid to raise the pot so they can get the bonus money. They are hoping the first person is really a legitimate bidder and they will receive bonus money once the auction is paid.

DON'T BE A LOSER

This scam has literally taken thousands of dollars out of my pocket and the pockets of other good sellers out there. Be forewarned if they get mad at you, they will bombard you with a thousand excuses as to why you're the bad guy and not them. They will accuse you of shill bidding, they will email your bidders, they will try to pump you for information about placement so they can monitor how close they are to getting stuck on top. But as soon as they are on top - they will retract their bids. It has happened multiple times on Mystery Auctions.

Do not fall into this trap. Respond to the emails if you choose with the fact you're collecting their names, you've got proof of bidding times, bid history, emails through My Messages and anything else you can turn over to eBay.

TALK TO OTHER SELLERS

Talking to other sellers who have Mystery Auctions and helping everyone monitor this ring of thieves will help maintain those who are trying to run a good clean fun auction.  Keeping others informed helps the Mystery Auction community fun for all.

You may notice along the way most of the high bidders have very low feedback scores or JUST registered their IDs. This is suspicious. We can't say for sure if they've got more than one ID but it appears as if they do since the same offenders keep bidding on items, then all of a sudden are NO LONGER A REGISTERED USER and then the next annoyance happens. It's almost like a credit card fraud ring.

Reporting fake bidders when you suspect they are running up bids and have multiple IDs and reporting them immediately is essential.

Once you identify a FAKE BIDDER keep all email between you and the other party. This is a track record for eBay to check and for you to prove your suspicions. Everything is recorded by eBay clear down to the second a bid is placed or retracted.

Make sure you BLOCK these FAKE BIDDERs from bidding on your items and hopefully, by working together we can clean this FAKE BIDDER RING UP!

WHY DO THEY DO IT

THREE BASIC REASONS

There are three main reasons I've noticed these FAKE BIDDERS are running up the bids

1. The Bonus Money
2. The Pulse
3. Advertising

BONUS MONEY

What better way can you think of to make some extra cash but to bid on something you can't afford which promises outlandish bonus money should the winning bidder pay? A quick $50,000 for doing nothing? That's a good deal to a FAKE BIDDER. If you really got away with that once a year - you'd make  a person's salary at a decent job wouldn't you? So what's a little bid to a crook?

THE EBAY PULSE

Although I wasn't even thinking about being on the Pulse with my auction or any kind of OUTRAGEOUS EBAY AUCTIONS site, it happened. Then the FAKE BIDDERS were poised and ready to strike. Now think about the benefit on being boosted through no effort of your own, into a spotlight where all of a sudden - the focus is on you. People are curious and start looking at your items for sale - which brings me to reason number three.