Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Shill bidding on GB

Here is a classic case

How do you figure? I see he has sold three identical rifles but going by the pictures and description they were not the same rifle.

Sold then relisted… hes done it 2x w same rifle.

Its not bringing enough so he has a buddy bid it up…

These are the three 1894 .218 rifles he's sold. The top rifle sold for $1602 and not relisted and the middle sold for $1110 and not relisted. The bottom one had sold for $1200 and then, as you found, relisted. Why? Shill bidder scheme, non-paying buyer, mistake? Unless someone has personal connections to the seller and/or bidders (I don't), then it's just conjecture. Out of curiosity I sent the seller a message asking why it's relisted. Looking over the sellers past auctions he's sold, and not relisted, some pretty nice Marlins and has good feedback. IMO I'm not feeling shill bidding on this one. YMMV

I agree with you buddy. Now it's possible that it goes on there, I'm not going to argue about that. But some guys here seem to think GB is the devil. Those guys need to get a life. I think those guys are just butt hurt because they were not the high bidder, or can't believe what a particular rifle sells for there. They are paranoid at the least.

Those brought $1600 ish

He claims buyer didnt have the funds
Winning bidder has A+ and he did not leave him any feedback

Another one of his auctions




The winning bidder (NR) and no feedback left either way.

https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/983811744/BidHistory

I handle GunBroker at our gun shop. There are more non-paying bidders than you'd think and I often have to relist. It's pain in the ass. No doubt there is some hanky-panky that goes on, but I'd be willing to bet there are more dishonest bidders than sellers. BTW, if a non-paying bidder claim is filed and the selling fees are refunded to the seller, GunBroker will leave a negative feedback, the seller doesn't have to, though he can edit and add more details.

extraordinary accusations, demand extraordinary proof,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Easiest fix for you is not to bid on his auctions.

Problem solved.

From what I have experienced I think there are an increasing number of anti's signing up, bidding on high dollar stuff and not paying just to upset the process...

Gun broker can be good and bad Follow your gut I’ve picked up several items lately I couldn’t find any where else and priced right (hard to find zeiss scopes and Schmidt and benders ) all have been great transactions

I suspect "shilling" is done occasionally on higher value items. But if the shill winds up winning the auction then he's either got to pay, or else the seller is liable for GB fees. He can claim non-paying bidder, but then his buddy the shill can get negative feedback. Seems like it's a lot of hassle for minimal gain unless it's a valuable item.