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Buyer's first steps to the Auction Block

You have been eyeing an item on the auction block and notice that the bids are flying fast and furious. You decide that you want to enter the fray. But before you place your bid, take a few moments and think about taking some or all of the following steps.

Know the Value

Ensure that you know something about the item's value. There is nothing worse than bidding on an item, getting caught up in the process and ending up paying much more than what it is worth. Remember one of the advantages of an auction is to purchase an item at a discounted amount.

Check under the Hood

Given that auction fraud is probably the number one fraud committed online, it is a good idea to check the seller's feedback rating. Ask yourself:

• Are the ratings consistent? Be mindful that a seller can engage in feedback padding by either posting himself or having partners post positive comments to the feedback system. Look for negative comments and any general themes that emerge. Don't ignore complaints just because you really want the item that is being auctioned.

• What is the seller's ratings relative to the type of item he or she is selling? Is he rude with small low price items and helpful with higher priced items?

• Is the seller new and without a rating yet? If the seller is new, there are 3 possibilities. First the seller is new and is trustworthy. Second the seller is new and untrustworthy. Third, the seller is using a different user name and can't be trusted or has a poor track record. The odds as you can see are not in your favour. Send the seller an email asking him about the item he or she is auctioning. Is it a friendly and timely response? If the response is not friendly, you will not want to deal with this type of person if there is a problem down the road with the item. If you have any doubts, stay away and only deal with sellers who have a rating.

• Does the seller know what he is talking about? If the item is an antique, it is extremely important that the seller knows what he is talking about to ensure that you are buying an authentic antique and not a fake. While there are some sellers who will try to pass off reproductions as originals, some unknowledgeable sellers simply will not know the difference. Such sellers might have been duped into buying a fake when they thought they were buying originals.

Further tips when joining auctions

Reports of internet fraud are on the rise and online auctions are targets for unscrupulous sellers. Even though many online auction sites are legitimate and popular, the sellers of wares at these sites might be fraudsters preying on buyers looking for a good deal.

Here are some tips to bear in mind before you buy anything from an online auction site:

• Read the rules of the auction. Each auction has its own rules of operation which you should know before use. Improper use can result in your agreeing to buy something you don't want.
  
  
• Beware that most auctions are simply sites where sellers post items they want to sell. The sites don't verify the existence or state of items or the advertisement in respect of such items. Items could be described inaccurately or deceptively. It is possible do a search on your seller on this site or at the local consumer protection agency and Better Business Bureau where the seller is located.
  
  
• Some online auction sites contain feedback or ratings of sellers. However, any glowing report could be a plant by the seller or his friend. As well, new sellers will not have any past record to search.
  
  
• Learn more about your seller like the seller's name, street address and telephone number. This information is important in case there is a problem. Beware of any sellers who won't give you that information.
  
  
• Also check to see if that information is correct. Check the phone book to see if the name, address and telephone number match.
  
  
• When you buy items from businesses, there is consumer legislation which guarantees the condition of the goods to be sold. Such consumer legislation does not extend to sales between private individuals. Accordingly, any problem you might have with purchased goods will have to be resolved between you and your seller based on the written agreement between you and the seller.

How to Spot and Avoid a shill

You are bidding on an item and notice that the bid goes higher and higher. In the fever of the moment you keep outbidding the next bid until the end when you finally win the auction. You have won the auction, but there is one problem: you have ended up paying more for the item than you originally wanted to and in fact thought wise to. But where did all these bids come in when there was so little activity during the bidding process until the final moments. Answer: Shills

Shilling is the practice of the sellers and their partners bidding the price of an item higher so that the ultimate buyer ends up paying for the item at a higher price than he or she would otherwise have but for the actions of the partners. It is an unscrupulous practice that should have no place in the auction world but in fact is a small part of the very fabric of auctions. To assist you in possibly spotting the shill and to avoid being a victim we have set out below some suggestions.

Research the Seller

In preparing yourself to safeguard yourself against a shill, understand that a seller can either through the use of friends or by himself can engage in shilling. Using friends is self-explanatory. The seller can also create multiple user names and post competing bids to inflate the bid and create the impression that separate buyers are doing the bidding. To obtain multiple user names, sellers can create multiple accounts with their internet service providers (ISP) and then obtain different user names from an online auction.

To determine whether a seller could be using multiple user names, ascertain whether the seller's and the shills are from the same ISP domain. To do this look at their email addresses. Look at the seller's and the shill's auction listings to see if the same style of description is being used. Are their policies of sale the same? Are the images used to advertise an item being hosted at the same ISP? To determine the ISP hosting the photo, right-click on the image itself and select Properties if you are using Internet Explorer or select View Image if you are using Netscape Navigator. In either case a window will open displaying the host URL of the image. This will not provide definitive proof but at least you can start adding the pieces to the puzzle to form an impression of whether or not shilling is being done.