E-bay system change?

cutiebunny · Post by **cutiebunny** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:50 pm

Searching all things acetate on E-bay today, I noticed some auctions are now hiding bidder IDs and instead replacing them with "Bidder 1", "Bidder 2", and so forth.

Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Anime-Cel-Eternal-S ... dZViewItem

In the past, I've noticed auctions(especially high-ended items or things for charities) featured a hidden list, but, I've never seen them referred to as "bidder 1" and so forth.

Is this a new E-bay policy? What does everyone think of it? I'm still rather adverse to it - if I see a friend's ID bidding on the item, then, it's an item I'll stay away from. Sometimes I'm not always around to ask if they're bidding on the item. I'd rather have the old system and I think it might be complicated for a bidder to remember their bidder number when refreshing the screen to see if they've been outbidded.

EternityOfPain · Post by **EternityOfPain** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:53 pm

Interesting, I know on private auctions the bidders ID is hidden. I have noticed that on some occasions that ebay will try something and then 9/10 end up not using it. Because I see that not all auctions have changed to the "bidder 1" etc I would say its still in test phase and they are simply playing around. I would be against it mainly because I like to know who i am bidding again'st.

HotIce · Post by **HotIce** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:56 pm

I do remember reading on ebay about this new thing they are trying... buy putting in people's names as "bidder 1" and such - it's something to try and keep 3rd parties from messaging loosing bidders and doing off ebay transactions.

RalphVboy · Post by **RalphVboy** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:03 pm

I'm not too thrilled about this new system either. Just seem like they're making E-bay even more impersonal with this. Besides, I rather enjoy seeing the ID's of my competition. Some of their names are "memorable" for lack of a better term

cutiebunny wrote:I'm still rather adverse to it - if I see a friend's ID bidding on the item, then, it's an item I'll stay away from.

I can definently see them trying to stop this, since it ends up lowering the ending price of an auction (ie. the less they get to collect in fees

). I'm with you on that one though, it's nice to know right away if a friend is bidding instead of outright having to ask them.

Ah well, I guess we all have to just wait and see if E-bay decides to keep up with this new system.

- RalphVboy

kymaera · Post by **kymaera** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:15 pm

Here's the announcement:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200701081004422.html

It affects all auctions that end at $200 or more.

RoboFlonne · Post by **RoboFlonne** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:15 pm

I see shill bidding as becoming a problem with this!!

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:53 pm

I guess it makes sense, but it's annoying though...just a shame these spammers have again ruined it for everyone else.

Thanks for the link too Kymaera!

aernath · Post by **aernath** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:31 pm

What's threatening about a fake 2nd chance bid thing?
I've only used that twice, for the same seller when I wanted it RTFN, but didn't bid high enough.
And wouldn't that be just like a fake auction? How is one threatened by that?
Annoyed. Pissed if it's a big ticket item, which would lead to lawsuits.
Meh.
Yeah, I will really miss knowing who's bidding. Unless it's a Gotta Have It, I won't bid if I see someone I know already bidding.

Bleah.

One more vote for "don't like it".

Ralph wrote:Some of their names are "memorable" for lack of a better term

Are you thinking of Klet's id too?

Moop · Post by **Moop** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:18 pm

RoboFlonne wrote:I see shill bidding as becoming a problem with this!!

Didn't you read the article? It clearly states, "First, let me make it very clear that shill bidding is not tolerated on eBay."

Now don't you feel silly for worrying?

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:39 pm

As the internet evolves, eBay continues to strike a balance between preserving transparency and protecting our Community of members. eBay has decided to change how bid history information is displayed so bad guys cannot target bidders with fake offers using this information. In certain cases, some bidders will no longer be able to view Bidder User IDs on the Bid History page. Your User ID will be shown only to you and the seller of the item you're bidding on. Other members will see an anonymous name, such as Bidder 1, applied consistently to the Bid History page.

How strange. It doesn't really bother me tho. If you see something you really want, go for it. Who's winning or losing shouldn't matter.

klet · Post by **klet** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:55 pm

aernath wrote:
Ralph wrote:Some of their names are "memorable" for lack of a better term
Are you thinking of Klet's id too?

Hey now! The story's much more memorable than the id itself.

Personally, I've never received a "fake" second chance offer from something that I've bid on. I don't think that the phishers have that much time on their hands.

ginga123 · Post by **ginga123** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:03 pm

it bothers me a bit too because i would like to make sure that i am aware of those who are bidding alongside and see which auctions to avoid. it's complicating.

i think it's a nice idea to keep things private; but, if your a registered ebayer--i think you should be able to see the bidders names. if your visiting, i think using this would be safer.

RoboFlonne · Post by **RoboFlonne** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:35 pm

It's a ploy to increase ebay fees since shill bidding will be harder for us to detect!

Ebay actually is really really bad at detecting anything. Pretty much all listings and prohibited activities are reported by the ebay sellers and buyers!

This is just a way so Ebay can get higher fees, when shill bidding starts up again!

duotrouble · Post by **duotrouble** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:41 pm

I'm going against the grain here and saying I like it. I've been a victim of someone maliciously bidding against me because they saw I was bidding. Now, it's more like Mandarake. You don't know who you're bidding against unless someone tells you. And let's face it, if you're friends are bidding on it too, you'll know.

Only the seller can see who's bidding. Ebay has my vote for this.

SME · Post by **SME** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:14 am

duotrouble wrote:I'm going against the grain here and saying I like it. I've been a victim of someone maliciously bidding against me because they saw I was bidding. Now, it's more like Mandarake. You don't know who you're bidding against unless someone tells you. And let's face it, if you're friends are bidding on it too, you'll know. Only the seller can see who's bidding. Ebay has my vote for this.

I actually agree with you 100%. Same has happened to me, being maliciously bid against since they knew my account name. I think it's a great way to decrease this from happening again, and you are right. It's similar to Mandarake!

Some people mentioned not going after cels friends want. But there are other forms of communication if a friend should go for something. If you know someone that might have interest in that cel, you could e-mail or IM them and find out. I already do that with a few people that I trust, so we stay away from the auctions that the others are going for. Yes, it might decrease the price of the winning auction, but if one of my friends says they really want that cel, I'm really not going to put in a bid just so they can keep increasing the price.

Anime-Beta TNG

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