I used to be a big time seller on eBay back when their cut was still reasonable. I had few if any competition since I was selling a lot of unique items. And of course I was a big time buyer as well. But that has been many years. Over 12 years to be exact. So today I started looking for magazines for a gun I own that is not common which means OEM magazines are not common either. So for the first time in a long time I placed a bid on some magazines in an eBay auction. There were 3 bids previous to my bid. After placing a large bid of $80.00 the auction went up to $78.03 with 4 bids. I just outbid the previous bidder. Then I upped my bid to over $100 because I really want these mags. I receive another email showing 5 bids and my max bid. I went back to look at the auction and now it says 3 bids and the bid price is down to $43.00.

Can someone explain to me what happened? I’m not complaining. Are bidders now allowed to pull out of an auction if they are not the highest bidder? Something weird happened and I am curious as to what it is?

I forgot to mention, there have only been two bidders total including me even though there were 5 bids previously and now there are only 3 bids.

I started to get confused when eBay first began the "max bid" feature.  Before that, you had to play  "eBay sniper" to make a bid at the last second to keep from being over-bid.

With the max bid feature, it seemed like the amounts the system bids on your behalf are random.  I've seen where my bids kept increasing as others bid, but my increments were higher than the minimums.  Seemed like a sneaky way for sellers to get more than they would had you just manually bid the minimum close to the end.

Also, max bids run from whenever you put in your bid.  That gives plenty of time for others to force your bids up as well as time for them to exceed your max.

In short, I think the max bid thing sucks.  If someone puts a really high max in at the last second, they'll win unless another max bid is higher.  If there are two high max bids set, the system increments both back and forth until both are maxed out.  The higher max should win.  Seems like a ruse to help the seller (and eBay) take more of your money, because a normal auction will just end, and the highest bid at that time wins.  Any incremental bidding to remain the high bidder would require buyers to manually outbid the latest high bid.  If the auction ends before you get your bid in, the other guy wins, but the price wasn't run up by the system.  The buyer probably got it for less than his max would have been.

I do like the Buy-It-Now ads.  But for auctions, what's to stop a seller from using another account to post bids just to max out people's max bids?  If I bid $100 on something that's sitting at $50, the seller could put in a few new bids until my max stops being the highest bid.  Then he knows I'm maxed out at around $100.  If he then removes the bogus bids, my $50+ bid becomes the highest one so far.  Near the end, he can bid $90 to force the max bid system to again jump mine up, but without his bid exceeding mine.  I still win, but he's gotten more of my money using a bogus account to force me to pay more.

Sounds like this might be what you're experiencing.  I've seen my bids miraculously increased to my max, yet still won the auction.  I'd expect to see some of the other bidders win by exceeding my max, but seems like that's not as common as I expected.

This sounds like it might have happened to you. 

Yes, sellers can cancel bids on open items.  Bidders can also retract bids they made under certain circumstances.

eBay posts instructions for sellers and buyers on how to retract or cancel bids.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/selling-auctions/cancelling-bid?id=4140

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/retracting-bid?id=4013

I started to get confused when eBay first began the "max bid" feature.  Before that, you had to play  "eBay sniper" to make a bid at the last second to keep from being over-bid.

With the max bid feature, it seemed like the amounts the system bids on your behalf are random.  I've seen where my bids kept increasing as others bid, but my increments were higher than the minimums.  Seemed like a sneaky way for sellers to get more than they would had you just manually bid the minimum close to the end.

Also, max bids run from whenever you put in your bid.  That gives plenty of time for others to force your bids up as well as time for them to exceed your max.

In short, I think the max bid thing sucks.  If someone puts a really high max in at the last second, they'll win unless another max bid is higher.  If there are two high max bids set, the system increments both back and forth until both are maxed out.  The higher max should win.  Seems like a ruse to help the seller (and eBay) take more of your money, because a normal auction will just end, and the highest bid at that time wins.  Any incremental bidding to remain the high bidder would require buyers to manually outbid the latest high bid.  If the auction ends before you get your bid in, the other guy wins, but the price wasn't run up by the system.  The buyer probably got it for less than his max would have been.

I do like the Buy-It-Now ads.  But for auctions, what's to stop a seller from using another account to post bids just to max out people's max bids?  If I bid $100 on something that's sitting at $50, the seller could put in a few new bids until my max stops being the highest bid.  Then he knows I'm maxed out at around $100.  If he then removes the bogus bids, my $50+ bid becomes the highest one so far.  Near the end, he can bid $90 to force the max bid system to again jump mine up, but without his bid exceeding mine.  I still win, but he's gotten more of my money using a bogus account to force me to pay more.

Sounds like this might be what you're experiencing.  I've seen my bids miraculously increased to my max, yet still won the auction.  I'd expect to see some of the other bidders win by exceeding my max, but seems like that's not as common as I expected.

This sounds like it might have happened to you. 

Yes, sellers can cancel bids on open items.  Bidders can also retract bids they made under certain circumstances.

eBay posts instructions for sellers and buyers on how to retract or cancel bids.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/selling-auctions/cancelling-bid?id=4140

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/retracting-bid?id=4013

I believe you are correct about the seller having another account. The other bidder is hiding their identity. Which I guess is something else new. I have the email showing 2 bidders, 5 bids (2 are mine) and that the max bid was at $78.07. Now 2 bidders and 3 bids with my high bid of $43.00. Here is the thing, I want original mags. This auction has original mags. I am willing to pay up for them but I am not willing the seller to shill this auction.

I believe you are correct about the seller having another account. The other bidder is hiding their identity. Which I guess is something else new. I have the email showing 2 bidders, 5 bids (2 are mine) and that the max bid was at $78.07. Now 2 bidders and 3 bids with my high bid of $43.00. Here is the thing, I want original mags. This auction has original mags. I am willing to pay up for them but I am not willing the seller to shill this auction.

I'd put in my max bid amount in about 10-15 seconds before the auction ends.  That ought to be enough time for the bid to register, but no time left to be out-bid by a real bidder, or to have the price driven up by a shill account.  Of course, sometimes the auctions end at times when we just can't be online watching the timer and placing bids.

You know, it's also possible the bidder who ran you up before really did make a mistake (or found them cheaper), then retracted his bids.  Nothing unethical on the part of the seller.

If you want, you could always email the seller and ask what happened.  He might lie, but at least he knows you're paying attention.  Being reported to eBay and having his account suspended might be something he wishes to avoid?

Good luck!

I do the sniper max bid.  Sometimes I don't get the item because the hidden max bid was higher than mine.  I don't leave enough time to increase my max because I normally snipe in around 5 seconds or so.  I find it suspicious when I get a second chance message regarding the item I didn't win.   I normally ignore those cuz they sure sound like Shill Bidding to me...


Sent from my XQ-AT51 using Tapatalk

I'd put in my max bid amount in about 10-15 seconds before the auction ends.  That ought to be enough time for the bid to register, but no time left to be out-bid by a real bidder, or to have the price driven up by a shill account.  Of course, sometimes the auctions end at times when we just can't be online watching the timer and placing bids.

You know, it's also possible the bidder who ran you up before really did make a mistake (or found them cheaper), then retracted his bids.  Nothing unethical on the part of the seller.

If you want, you could always email the seller and ask what happened.  He might lie, but at least he knows you're paying attention.  Being reported to eBay and having his account suspended might be something he wishes to avoid?

Good luck!

I emailed the seller yesterday. Still have not heard from him. I presented my question to him in such a way that he needs to provide an explanation or just say he doesn’t know what happened. If I don’t hear from him by today I will probably retract my bid. Or, if possible, lower it below the max bid I had earlier.

I emailed the seller yesterday. Still have not heard from him. I presented my question to him in such a way that he needs to provide an explanation or just say he doesn’t know what happened. If I don’t hear from him by today I will probably retract my bid. Or, if possible, lower it below the max bid I had earlier.

Personally, if it was me, I'd retract my bid, put in a new one at the minimum bid amount only, and screenshot everything.  Wait to put the bid in close to end time. 

If you're sitting at your max right now, and no legit bidders bid you up to that amount, it definitely looks like the seller is gaming the system and scamming you.

I'd try to find the item elsewhere if possible just to avoid dealing with this guy.  If these mags are not easy to find, then it's up to you. 

Personally, if it was me, I'd retract my bid, put in a new one at the minimum bid amount only, and screenshot everything.  Wait to put the bid in close to end time. 

If you're sitting at your max right now, and no legit bidders bid you up to that amount, it definitely looks like the seller is gaming the system and scamming you.

I'd try to find the item elsewhere if possible just to avoid dealing with this guy.  If these mags are not easy to find, then it's up to you.

I checked out the seller. They are a gun shop in the mid west. I get the feeling they are not very Internet savvy. The wife answered my inquiry and she didn’t know nor saw what happened. Maybe they are playing the game but I don’t think so.

The same hidden bidder has started to up their bid today. My highest bid I would not mind paying as it would come to around $35/mag x 3 mags. I can find an occasional mag at $40-$60 on eBay sometimes. So if someone outbids me so be it. If I get them at $35 per I’ll be happy. But if I have to continue to search I’ll just buy one at a time as I find them.

Thanks for your help.

It could be someone else got banned from ebay and lost all his bids. But if its unicorn mags , then imma go with scammers. If possible, can you lower your max bid? Then if he snipes it at last minute, he will win and have to put the item back up for auction lol.

I dont like the auction feature due to how flapp explained. Too shady. But if i do the auction thing its like how you want something really bad and rare to find. I only do it on disney pins. Yes, i collect vintage and pre 1980s disney pins. Lol. Kinda weird but i think its the child in me. Only twice have i ever did the auction. But its so lil (maybe 20-25 bucks i paid each) that it never really bothered me.

Anyways, since its a gun shop somewhere, do they have a normal website you can purchase these mags? What kind of mags are they, if i may ask.

It could be someone else got banned from ebay and lost all his bids. But if its unicorn mags , then imma go with scammers. If possible, can you lower your max bid? Then if he snipes it at last minute, he will win and have to put the item back up for auction lol.

I dont like the auction feature due to how flapp explained. Too shady. But if i do the auction thing its like how you want something really bad and rare to find. I only do it on disney pins. Yes, i collect vintage and pre 1980s disney pins. Lol. Kinda weird but i think its the child in me. Only twice have i ever did the auction. But its so lil (maybe 20-25 bucks i paid each) that it never really bothered me.

Anyways, since its a gun shop somewhere, do they have a normal website you can purchase these mags? What kind of mags are they, if i may ask.

I agree I don’t care for the bidding features and rules that eBay has changed since I was buying and selling there.

I have decided to let this play out as I do want these mags and if I can get them for around $35 each I will be happy. Otherwise I’ll let the other bidder outbid me. These are not unicorns but close. There are others for sale but the sellers are asking between $40-$60 for them. So I am just trying to get them a little cheaper. I have decided if I lose this auction for 3 the mags then I will just pay up for one mag from another seller and leave it at that.

Funny how quickly things change....

I have been checking the Sarco website for the last few months for these magazines. They had some last time I checked about 6-8 months ago. This is the only company that I have found that regularly carries and sells the original manufacturer magazines I want for my pistol. After market mags are available but I don’t like after market mags for older pistols. The two companies that make them have bad reputations and I have had bad luck with their magazines in the past for other firearms. They are ProMag and Triple K. That’s why these original manufacturer mags are a bit of a unicorn. I called them and asked if they were going to get any more in and they said probably not but you never know.

This morning right after I wrote the previous post I received an email stating that the mags I want are back in stock. I quickly cancelled my bid on the eBay auction. Verified I was no longer a part of the auction and then ordered the original mags from Sarco. And I got them for $35 each which is what I wanted to pay.

Here is the link to Sarco, Inc in case someone else wants some original manufacture magazines for their older firearms.

https://www.sarcoinc.com/original-star-model-b-magazine/

The pistol is a Star Model B that was made in 1943 during Nazi Germany occupation of Spain. It has all the Nazi Germany Waffen Marks. It is in very nice arsenal refurbished shape. The pistol, as typical, was captured by the Russians late in the war and was actually arsenal refurbished by them. The key to how I know it was captured and refurbished by the Russians is the extractor is the weak point of the pistol and the Russians made a replacement extractor and finished it in their typical plum color bluing. It sticks out like a sore thumb from the nice bluing the pistol has. The pistol shoots okay. It is not the most accurate pistol I own. It is a 1911 look alike in 9mm with no interchangeable parts with the 1911. Also, it breaks down just like a real 1911 does as well. I have to shoot FMJ bullets in it otherwise it is not reliable.

Added a few pics.

Thats a nice looking pistol there .. sometimes its the story behind the pistol which makes it worth having than its performance. Especially if you have other shooters for shtf.  Which i know you do. Sorry idk you irl, although we may have met at kokohead or crosspaths but i seen your knowledge on this website lol. But hell id rather have that star b than nothing when shtf lol.

Congrats on finding them from a better source than ebay. I wouldve done the same in half a heartbeat lol.

And i agree with you. Original always seem to work best. In most cases. I had c products 6.8spc mags that sucked back then. Then i bought barret 6.8 mags and that shit worked flawlessly.  But 50 bucks a mag killed me lol.

Thats a nice looking pistol there .. sometimes its the story behind the pistol which makes it worth having than its performance. Especially if you have other shooters for shtf.  Which i know you do. Sorry idk you irl, although we may have met at kokohead or crosspaths but i seen your knowledge on this website lol. But hell id rather have that star b than nothing when shtf lol.

Congrats on finding them from a better source than ebay. I wouldve done the same in half a heartbeat lol.

And i agree with you. Original always seem to work best. In most cases. I had c products 6.8spc mags that sucked back then. Then i bought barret 6.8 mags and that shit worked flawlessly.  But 50 bucks a mag killed me lol.

Thanks! I got lucky when I found it. I found it on a website that did very little C&R guns. They do a little more now. But still low volume stuff. I got the last one I think. The guy on the phone told me it was a nice one. And the price was right. I do have more modern and reliable guns for SHTF. Some of which I am using for CCW.

I am sure we have met at some time. I was at the range every Sunday and some Saturdays for the 9 years I lived on Oahu. I volunteered both days for the HRA SSF every year but the last 2 or 3. And I was at every Gun Show except for the last one for the 9 years I lived there. I did a bunch of other stuff too. A lot of people know me. And I have met a lot of people whose names I have long forgotten. And there is one whose initials are OF who I wish I could forget.   

Sarco, Samco, Bob’s Bill’s and a lot of now defunct companies were always good sources for hard to find parts, accessories and especially mags. I used to get Shotgun News and dig thru their for sale ads. You can find all kinds of neat stuff. Especially hard to find mags. You have to buy ‘em when you see ‘em. And I didn’t buy them that last time. I figured how many people are out looking for them? Apparently a lot. Anyway, I got lucky today.

Some Triple K mags I have work okay. Most don’t. Never had a ProMag work right out of the box. Some I had to modify to get to work.

I am sure we have met at some time. I was at the range every Sunday and some Saturdays for the 9 years I lived on Oahu. I volunteered both days for the HRA SSF every year but the last 2 or 3. And I was at every Gun Show except for the last one for the 9 years I lived there. I did a bunch of other stuff too. A lot of people know me. And I have met a lot of people whose names I have long forgotten. And there is one whose initials are OF who I wish I could forget. 

 

Interesting note.

After I retracted my bid eBay allowed me to see the bidding and bid retraction history. About 5 hours after I placed my first bid, the private bidder retracted their bid. So now they know I was willing to bid up to their maximum of $77.07. My bid was around $80. That is why my high bid went from $77.07 to $43. But now there are 10 bids totaling $62 all by private listing bidders, No identities shown.

Interesting note.

After I retracted my bid eBay allowed me to see the bidding and bid retraction history. About 5 hours after I placed my first bid, the private bidder retracted their bid. So now they know I was willing to bid up to their maximum of $77.07. My bid was around $80. That is why my high bid went from $77.07 to $43. But now there are 10 bids totaling $62 all by private listing bidders, No identities shown.

Really seems like shills or just stupid bidders jacking up prices for gun-related auctions (anti-gunners?).

This kind of crap is why I avoid auctions if possible.  I'll pay $5-$20 more for something to avoid these games.

Last thing I bought on eBay was an LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9200-8i ... it's a disk controller for my unRAID server to control 8 SATA disk drives.  I paid $39.88 with free shipping. 

No waiting for the auction to end, and no "max bid" game-playing.  Just "Buy It Now" pricing.  MUCH cheaper and a more recent version than on Amazon.

eBay auctions are at the very bottom of my buying preferences.   

Really seems like shills or just stupid bidders jacking up prices for gun-related auctions (anti-gunners?).

This kind of crap is why I avoid auctions if possible.  I'll pay $5-$20 more for something to avoid these games.

Last thing I bought on eBay was an LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA LSI 9200-8i ... it's a disk controller for my unRAID server to control 8 SATA disk drives.  I paid $39.88 with free shipping. 

No waiting for the auction to end, and no "max bid" game-playing.  Just "Buy It Now" pricing.  MUCH cheaper and a more recent version than on Amazon.

eBay auctions are at the very bottom of my buying preferences.   

The reason I went with the auction after many many years of not buying/selling on eBay is pretty much what you said. I just couldn’t find any where that had the mags I wanted even on eBay. So when that auction came up I jumped on it. I really lucked out that Sarco got them back in stock so I could retract my bid.

BTW, I worked for Qlogic and Emulex and did DVT on their Fibre Channel HBA’s and Fibre Channel Switches. They have been bought out by other companies after HBA’s became commodities and they could no longer sell them for $1,500 each. I remember when the illegal Chinese knockoffs came out, panic set in. I left right about that time. That’s not the reason I left but remember panic at the upper management level. That was late 2008. I moved to the Big Island right after that.

The reason I went with the auction after many many years of not buying/selling on eBay is pretty much what you said. I just couldn’t find any where that had the mags I wanted even on eBay. So when that auction came up I jumped on it. I really lucked out that Sarco got them back in stock so I could retract my bid.

BTW, I worked for Qlogic and Emulex and did DVT on their Fibre Channel HBA’s and Fibre Channel Switches. They have been bought out by other companies after HBA’s became commodities and they could no longer sell them for $1,500 each. I remember when the illegal Chinese knockoffs came out, panic set in. I left right about that time. That’s not the reason I left but remember panic at the upper management level. That was late 2008. I moved to the Big Island right after that.

The new LSI controllers are still priced so mostly businesses can afford them.  Many on ebay are "pulls" from servers that probably cost over a grand or two in the 2008 time period.

If I remember from when I bought it last year, 2008 was like the magic year everything changed.  I wiped the firmware when I got mine and only installed the basic hardware code.  The RAID firmware isn't needed for my application, and it speeds up boot time by skipping initialization of the hardware RAID.

The trick is doing enough research to be 100% sure you have the latest instructions, utility software and firmware to flash the card.  You also have to research the "good" boards' chips and how they are positioned, so you don't wind up with an inferior one that either doesn't work right or will fail in a year.

Non-RAID HBA cards have become very popular with the advent of Linux-based software-controlled RAID servers.  The performance of SATA or SAS drives connected to a non-hardware-RAID controller isn't as much of a relative performance problem as it once was.

I started my RAID initiation in the SCSI world with Adaptec controllers.  It took a long time for SAS, and then SATA, to meet or exceed SCSI performance.  I doubt many people are using the old SCSI standards now -- just Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)  for high-end performance and SATA for almost everything else.

Pretty soon, all storage will be non-mechanical Solid State devices.

The new LSI controllers are still priced so mostly businesses can afford them.  Many on ebay are "pulls" from servers that probably cost over a grand or two in the 2008 time period.

If I remember from when I bought it last year, 2008 was like the magic year everything changed.  I wiped the firmware when I got mine and only installed the basic hardware code.  The RAID firmware isn't needed for my application, and it speeds up boot time by skipping initialization of the hardware RAID.

The trick is doing enough research to be 100% sure you have the latest instructions, utility software and firmware to flash the card.  You also have to research the "good" boards' chips and how they are positioned, so you don't wind up with an inferior one that either doesn't work right or will fail in a year.

Non-RAID HBA cards have become very popular with the advent of Linux-based software-controlled RAID servers.  The performance of SATA or SAS drives connected to a non-hardware-RAID controller isn't as much of a relative performance problem as it once was.

I started my RAID initiation in the SCSI world with Adaptec controllers.  It took a long time for SAS, and then SATA, to meet or exceed SCSI performance.  I doubt many people are using the old SCSI standards now -- just Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)  for high-end performance and SATA for almost everything else.

Pretty soon, all storage will be non-mechanical Solid State devices.

I was very happy to leave the tech world after 12 years. The company I last worked for (Qlogic) was demanding project leads, meaning the senior engineers, work a lot of extra hours. I didn’t mind at all putting in 50 hours a week, 5 days a week. But when demand was 6 days then 7 days I couldn’t take it any more. Especially when I had been training my replacement for the prior 6 months. Even though the replacements left for better jobs/pay either right after training or before training was completed, I figured the writing was on the wall. Even if their idea for out sourcing DVT and the test department to their newly built and failing overseas department was not going the way they had hoped. I figured if they didn’t want senior level engineers to test their products any more I didn’t need to be there any more. I was the last senior level DVT engineer to leave. A lot of my friends and upper managers all got laid off just a few months after I left. Most of my friends took a while before they all landed back on their feet. Some moved to the east coast for jobs. Others moved to Silicon Valley. I am happy I missed that having to move to either of those places. My boss on the other hand got fired. And from what I remember from some that kept in touch with him is that he couldn’t find a job for several years. I guess it ruined his marriage and family. Could not have happened to a nicer guy. He was a micro manager.

SCSI was the big thing back during Fibre Channel development. Faster than SATA drives. And much more reliable. Also, hot swappable. Early SATA drives had lots of failures when trying to hot swap them. It was terrible when you try to hot swap a drive in a RAID set and it fails and makes the RAID unstable or worse, fail. We didn’t make the RAID closets but we had a mutual agreement with the manufacturers that if we experienced a failure they could come out or log in and debug the issue. We always got untested firmware that would occasionally crash our RAIDs. IBM was infamous for doing this to us. Of course it would set us back because we had to stop testing our HBA’s with their RAIDS until they figured things out. The worst was Microsoft. We would get untested upgrade and service packs that would crash our servers or no longer support our products. 

I've always hated MS Windows Servers.  I've tried to always spec UNIX/Linux/Sun systems for servers.  Even Apple jumped on the Linux-based OS.

Something's wrong when MS releases major security fixes monthly, yet they still have more known security holes in Windows than in every other OS combined.