As if we didn't know... BTW, I'm angry about eBay's new policy of hiding the identities of bidders in certain auctions.
You can view clips of the interview if you follow this link, but the story from The Sunday Times is below.
www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2570050,00.html
Revealed: How eBay Sellers Fix Auctions
Recorded excerpts of meetings with Paraskevaides: Clip 1 | Clip 2
CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by
unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to
boost profits.
An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of
artificially driving up prices known as shill bidding is widespread
across the site.
Last week one of the UKs biggest eBay sellers admitted in a taped
conversation with an undercover reporter that he was prepared to use
business associates to bid on his goods for him.
Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses ranging from
overseas property agencies to car dealerships have placed bids on
their own items using fake identities.
The cases raise questions about whether eBay, the worlds biggest
auction site, is doing enough to protect consumers.
Shill bidding is against eBay rules and is illegal under the 2006 Fraud
Act. However, the resulting higher prices on the site boost the value of
eBays share of the sales.
Last November eBay changed its rules to conceal bidders identity
making it even more difficult for customers to see whether sellers are
bidding on their own lots. Since its launch seven years ago, eBays UK
website has attracted more than 15m customers. It sells more than 10m
items at any given time.
One of the beneficiaries of the boom is Eftis Paraskevaides, a former
gynaecologist, from Cambridgeshire. He has become a Titanium
PowerSeller one of eBays handful of top earners selling more than
£1.4m worth of antiquities a year on the site.
In a conversation with an undercover reporter last week, Paraskevaides
claimed shill bidding was commonplace on eBay.
When the reporter asked whether he arranged for associates to bid on his
own items, he replied: Well, if I put something really expensive (up
for sale) and I was concerned that it was going for nothing, I would
phone a friend of mine, even a client of mine who buys from me, and say:
For Christs sake, I sell you 100 quids worth of items a week . . .
just put two grand on it, will you? The reporter was posing as a seller
of valuable antiquities. He inquired whether Paraskevaides could sell
them on eBay and guarantee a minimum price.
He replied: Leave it to me (laughs). Dont call it shill bidding. Then
I wont be accused of shill bidding. Yes. I mean Ive got people.
Ive got some of my big clients who buy big items off me, I look after
them. So I can get on the phone to America and say: Mr XXXX . . . youre
a multi- millionaire. You buy a hundred grands worth off me a year. Do
me a favour would you. Just put yeah. Exactly.
He claimed eBay would never follow up a complaint against him for shill
bidding because he generated about £15,000 a month in commission for the
company. Are they going to ban somebody whos making them the best part
of 15 grand a month? No, he said.
After being told that he had been talking to an undercover reporter,
Paraskevaides denied that he had ever shill bidded on eBay and claimed
he was talking about clients who sometimes bid on expensive items if
they wished to protect the price.
However The Sunday Times discovered businesses that have been bidding on
their own items. One leading dealer from London admitted last week that
that he had shill bidded in the past.
A spokesman for eBay said he expected that the company would now launch
an investigation into Paraskevaides. Anyone caught shill bidding risks a
permanent ban.
The spokesman added: The change to the way bidder IDs are shown has
already resulted in a safer environment for users.
You can view clips of the interview if you follow this link, but the story from The Sunday Times is below.
www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2570050,00.html
Revealed: How eBay Sellers Fix Auctions
Recorded excerpts of meetings with Paraskevaides: Clip 1 | Clip 2
CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by
unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to
boost profits.
An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of
artificially driving up prices known as shill bidding is widespread
across the site.
Last week one of the UKs biggest eBay sellers admitted in a taped
conversation with an undercover reporter that he was prepared to use
business associates to bid on his goods for him.
Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses ranging from
overseas property agencies to car dealerships have placed bids on
their own items using fake identities.
The cases raise questions about whether eBay, the worlds biggest
auction site, is doing enough to protect consumers.
Shill bidding is against eBay rules and is illegal under the 2006 Fraud
Act. However, the resulting higher prices on the site boost the value of
eBays share of the sales.
Last November eBay changed its rules to conceal bidders identity
making it even more difficult for customers to see whether sellers are
bidding on their own lots. Since its launch seven years ago, eBays UK
website has attracted more than 15m customers. It sells more than 10m
items at any given time.
One of the beneficiaries of the boom is Eftis Paraskevaides, a former
gynaecologist, from Cambridgeshire. He has become a Titanium
PowerSeller one of eBays handful of top earners selling more than
£1.4m worth of antiquities a year on the site.
In a conversation with an undercover reporter last week, Paraskevaides
claimed shill bidding was commonplace on eBay.
When the reporter asked whether he arranged for associates to bid on his
own items, he replied: Well, if I put something really expensive (up
for sale) and I was concerned that it was going for nothing, I would
phone a friend of mine, even a client of mine who buys from me, and say:
For Christs sake, I sell you 100 quids worth of items a week . . .
just put two grand on it, will you? The reporter was posing as a seller
of valuable antiquities. He inquired whether Paraskevaides could sell
them on eBay and guarantee a minimum price.
He replied: Leave it to me (laughs). Dont call it shill bidding. Then
I wont be accused of shill bidding. Yes. I mean Ive got people.
Ive got some of my big clients who buy big items off me, I look after
them. So I can get on the phone to America and say: Mr XXXX . . . youre
a multi- millionaire. You buy a hundred grands worth off me a year. Do
me a favour would you. Just put yeah. Exactly.
He claimed eBay would never follow up a complaint against him for shill
bidding because he generated about £15,000 a month in commission for the
company. Are they going to ban somebody whos making them the best part
of 15 grand a month? No, he said.
After being told that he had been talking to an undercover reporter,
Paraskevaides denied that he had ever shill bidded on eBay and claimed
he was talking about clients who sometimes bid on expensive items if
they wished to protect the price.
However The Sunday Times discovered businesses that have been bidding on
their own items. One leading dealer from London admitted last week that
that he had shill bidded in the past.
A spokesman for eBay said he expected that the company would now launch
an investigation into Paraskevaides. Anyone caught shill bidding risks a
permanent ban.
The spokesman added: The change to the way bidder IDs are shown has
already resulted in a safer environment for users.
GARY L. PRANGE
"Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
"Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
