Over the last three or four weeks, I've used AS on an item, only to lose it by one cent. Nothing unusual about losing this way, except that it's for the same item, and the loss is always a last second outbid, only to have the same item relisted a day or so later. Another part of the general weirdness, is that there are only 9-12 watchers, and no one bids at all, until the last two or three seconds, and always one cent higher than mine, no matter what my bid is. And I do use non-standard amounts.
I've just about torn my hair out over this, because I think that there is something fishy in Denmark here.
This has happened to me four times now, and each time the exact same auction item has been lost by one cent, and every single one of those auctions has been lost at the very last second. On top of the fact that no one is bidding at all, until I get outbid in the last two or three seconds.
I researched similar items from this same seller, and found that on average, his items go for a consistent price level, around $17.00 I've bid slightly above this price level each time, using non-standard bid amounts, such as $17.81, $18.58 and such, and it seems to me that somehow, someone is suspiciously placing a snipe that is one cent higher.
Now, please don't lecture me on Proxy Bidding, because I've read it already. I seriously think that the seller is manipulating the bidding somehow. Problem is, there's no way to prove it. But the pattern is too clear. It is walking like a duck, and quacking like a duck.
The issue is not that I'm being outbid, it is that it's the exact same item each time, and the outbid is within the last three seconds, with no other bidders at all having placed bids, except at the last two or three seconds. And then the same item gets relisted the next day. Too weird.
Any ideas?
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