It's not permitted to use secondary User IDs or other eChinabid members to artificially raise the level of bidding and/or price of an item.
To avoid the appearance of being involved in this activity, family members as well as individuals living together, working together, or sharing a computer may not bid on each other's items.
Shill bidding undermines trust in our community and is not permitted on eChinabid. In addition, shill bidding is considered a felony with severe consequences.
We want all eChinabid users to understand what shill bidding is, why eChinabid treats it so seriously, and what can happen if one engages in shill bidding, in order to ensure that users don't unknowingly engage in the practice.
What is shill bidding?
| Shill bidding is the deliberate placing of bids to artificially raise the price of an item and is not allowed. To avoid the appearance of being involved in this activity, certain people should avoid bidding on each other's items: for example, individuals living together, working together, or sharing a computer, or family members. |
Can my friends bid on my item?
| If your friends sincerely intend to purchase your item, then their bids are certainly allowed. However, bidding on your item for the sole purpose of inflating the final bid amount is forbidden. |
If I turn someone in for shill bidding, will they be suspended?
| It depends on the situation. eChinabid considers and carefully weighs many factors when determining whether shill bidding has occurred. In the end, only accounts determined to be shills (based on sufficient evidence) are suspended. |
Why are some reports of shill bidding not acted upon? Why are reported shill bidders allowed to continue to do business on eChinabid?
| eChinabid thoroughly investigates the shill bidding reports it receives. Sometimes, what appears to be shill bidding may actually be a legitimate bidding activity. This can occur for a number of reasons: for example, a bidder may bid almost exclusively on the listings of one or two sellers whom they have come to trust. |
I only bid on items listed by one specific seller. Will I be considered a shill bidder?
| Bidding exclusively on the listings of a single seller may raise suspicions about whether or not you are a shill bidder (insincere bidder). However, this would not be the only factor that eChinabid would use to make a determination about shill bidding. |
Why isn't a seller suspended permanently the first time shill bidding is discovered?
| eChinabid recognizes that some people might not understand that shill bidding is wrong and believes in educating members and providing them with a second chance. This is why a temporary suspension is made. A temporary suspension is serious. |
What happens if the seller shill bids again after the temporary suspension?
| If the shill bidding continues at any time after the temporary suspension has ended, the shill bidder may be suspended from eChinabid indefinitely. |
What happens if the seller sets up new accounts after the other accounts are suspended?
| Use of secondary registrations (new accounts) to avoid suspension is cause for indefinite suspension of all participating registrants. |
Can sellers bid on their own listings?
| No. Bidding on your own item is considered shill bidding and is not allowed. |
How exactly do the Bid History and Bidder Search pages help?
| The Bid History page provides a moment-by-moment view of the bidding that take place in a sale. This makes it possible to view bidding patterns. Patterns that suggest no advantage to the bidder but significantly increase the bidding price of the listing may suggest shill bidding. Questionable patterns include multiple bids by a bidder in short, deliberate intervals and bidding several times in small amounts even if not having been outbid. |
Related Help topics
|