New eBay information display on bidders

[blue jammer]

As online shopping evolves, eBay continues to focus on preserving our marketplace's open and level playingfield whilst protecting our Community of members. We have decided to change how bid history information is displayed so unscrupulous people cannot target bidders with fake offers using this information. In certain cases, some bidders will no longer be able to see other bidder's User IDs on the listing page. Your User ID will be shown only to you and the seller of the item you're bidding on. Other members will see an anonymous name, such as Bidder 1, Bidder 2 etc.

So, what are your thoughts on this, good or bad?

Bid information for both live and ended listings is shown in the bid history and summary sections.
To keep eBay a safe place for buyers and sellers, member-specific information is not displayed in the bid history.

See the 3 attached images below for how the new info is shown on the site:

Not sure what to make of it yet, will take some getting used to like!

[anthonyf218]

i can see the pro's of doing it this way, but a significant part of ebay for me (and I know is the same for others) is about being nosey lol in terms of what other peeps are buying! This is even more the case too for tunes and OSA members I think, cos im sure a lot of members know what other members IDs are and its always good to see who buys what and at what prices, being the nosey bastard i am

Obviously there are pro's for the bidders ie. if you have two tunes and you want to make a second chance offer to someone, you can be confident that someone hasnt snook in and offered the bidder one of their copies for a bit cheaper. But to me, this is all part of the ebay experience !!

EDIT:

Scott, ive just checked a random ebay (oldskool 12") auction but the bidders ID is still visible. Are you sure this new rule applies to all types of sales? (or maybe the new system hasnt gone live yet? )

[blue jammer]

Not sure, it wasn't showing like that ealier today, but tonight when I checked it, it had changed

I've not yet bidded on the item, it is in my watched items, it's not a tune, but the problem I have is "bidder 3" on there has been regged for 2 years or so and has only bought 2 items, now, I'm sure I saw he was located near the guy who is selling the item, and to me it seemed like some bidding up was taking place as the item in question usually sells for 75 quid or thereabouts, and soon into the bidding it was rocketing price wise, with bidder 3 making loads of bids...

It's put me off bidding so far I must admit, shall see how it pans out like

[anthonyf218]

Originally Posted by blue jammer

Not sure, it wasn't showing like that ealier today, but tonight when I checked it, it had changed

I've not yet bidded on the item, it is in my watched items, it's not a tune, but the problem I have is "bidder 3" on there has been regged for 2 years or so and has only bought 2 items, now, I'm sure I saw he was located near the guy who is selling the item, and to me it seemed like some bidding up was taking place as the item in question usually sells for 75 quid or thereabouts, and soon into the bidding it was rocketing price wise, with bidder 3 making loads of bids...

It's put me off bidding so far I must admit, shall see how it pans out like

ive just had a spam mail from email advertising a 15p listing day, and in teh same advert it mentions it, but says that its for items of £100 an over. So that means no-ones gonna know who wins the next Q words lol.

Quote :
"To protect the privacy of our community, the way we display bidding information is changing. Listings with a high bid of £100 or more will be affected. Find out more...."

[blue jammer]

Ahh it's slowly clearing things up then.

That's strange as when I logged in early, the item was only on £70 or sommat, it's now rocketed again to £133 (18 bids with 3 days left, mad bastards!) it's only a mini keys Synth that isn't worth more than 75 quid tops, so that's me out of the game for that.

So at the time when I logged in earlier it was showing the new format yet the item was only £70.

Won't affect tune buyers (much) then as not many go over a ton...

You'd think they'd do their usual email to all users letting you know lol

Reminds me of work, they roll out new things, let the customers know before the staff who have to sell stuff

[anthonyf218]

Originally Posted by blue jammer

Reminds me of work, they roll out new things, let the customers know before the staff who have to sell stuff

yep, i know the feeling lol.

i dont agree with it doing it for even over £100 though, for me its meaning some of the transparency of ebay is been lost.

[blue jammer]

Originally Posted by anthonyf218

yep, i know the feeling lol.

i dont agree with it doing it for even over £100 though, for me its meaning some of the transparency of ebay is been lost.

Just what I thought as well, I think I'm gonna call an end to buying on eBay from now on, just concentrate on selling on it instead...

[dodgymix]

Originally Posted by anthonyf218

i can see the pro's of doing it this way, but a significant part of ebay for me (and I know is the same for others) is about being nosey lol in terms of what other peeps are buying! This is even more the case too for tunes and OSA members I think, cos im sure a lot of members know what other members IDs are and its always good to see who buys what and at what prices, being the nosey bastard i am

Obviously there are pro's for the bidders ie. if you have two tunes and you want to make a second chance offer to someone, you can be confident that someone hasnt snook in and offered the bidder one of their copies for a bit cheaper. But to me, this is all part of the ebay experience !!

EDIT:

Scott, ive just checked a random ebay (oldskool 12") auction but the bidders ID is still visible. Are you sure this new rule applies to all types of sales? (or maybe the new system hasnt gone live yet? )

Its only for £100+ items at the moment so only Anthony's record will have Bidder 1 and 2 & 3 etc lol


Ps Will you give me some of that magic fairy dust that you seem to put on your records to make everyone want to buy them????

FFS I listed

MBG "this is paradise" & systematic "dancin the whole night" for 99p and didn't get a bid!!!

[blue jammer]

Here's the full info:

Safeguarding Member IDs: FAQs

Safeguarding Member IDs is a new approach to auction-style listings that offers more privacy for our members through changing how bidding information is displayed.

Below you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding this change.

What is Safeguarding Member IDs all about?

The Safeguarding Member IDs project is a new approach to auction-style listings that offers more privacy for our members through changing how bidding information is displayed. We believe that this change will help to balance the need for openness and transparency in the marketplace with the need to protect our Community of members from the threats that have appeared as the Internet has flourished.

We also believe the Safeguarding Member IDs project provides the Community with enough information about the bidders involved in an auction-style listing for them to feel confident in placing a bid -- without revealing actual User IDs. We're implementing this new system on listings where the high bid is £100 or greater, which is where we believe it can have the greatest positive impact. The bid information for listings where the bid is lower than £100 will display as it does today. However, we will continue to monitor the situation, and this threshold may change in future.

Here's What Will Change:

1.

On the bid history page for each listing we’ll replace User IDs with aliases (such as Bidder 1, Bidder 2 and Bidder 3) in the order that bidders place their first bid. For each bidder involved in a listing, we’ll display the number of bids that they've placed in unique categories, a range that their feedback score falls within (eg: 10-49), their percentage of positive feedback, their length of time as an eBay member, and the number of bids they’ve placed on the item. At the end of a listing, the winning bidder’s User ID will be displayed on the item page.

Please note: Sellers will still be able to access bidder information on their listings through the bid history page and the My eBay selling table.
2.

In My eBay, members will no longer have access to the high-bidder column from bid and watch tables.
3.

On the item page, you’ll only be able to see the high-bidder ID if you are the signed-in seller of the item or the signed-in high bidder.
4.

Through the Advanced Search by Bidder link, we’ll only show items that the bidder has won within the last 30 days.

Why is eBay making this change?

Since eBay began, it's been our job to balance the need for openness and transparency in the marketplace, with the need to protect our Community of members from the threats that have appeared as the internet has flourished. As the Community has grown, we've had to take measures to protect our members that also reduce transparency.

In the past, any member of the Community could request the contact details of any other member and the bidding process was very transparent. As we grew, we limited communication to members involved in transactions with each other. We then eliminated the public display of email addresses from the site, and therefore required thousands of people to set up new User IDs. Naturally, as we've stepped up education and other efforts to improve safety, potential fraudsters continued their efforts to try to exploit our members.

The User IDs of members -- plus their member information such as feedback and previous bidding and/or buying activity -- have always been freely available to anyone visiting the site. Members have been able to access this information from the item page, bid history page, and Advanced Search by Bidder feature. Unfortunately -- while bid history and contact information about trading colleagues is helpful to evaluate a transaction and provides a level of trust within the transaction, potential fraudsters can use this information to defraud other members.

The spam, spoof, and fake Second Chance Offer emails have not gone away. In fact, despite industry-leading efforts to educate the Community about online safety (eBay Toolbar, tutorials and safety messaging), partnering with law enforcement and industry groups, and investments in technology that make the site safer, we've seen this problem grow. Increasingly, sellers and buyers have turned to us for a solution.

We believe the Safeguarding Member IDs project provides the Community with enough information about the bidders involved in an auction-style listing in order for them to feel confident in placing a bid, without revealing User IDs.

Will eBay lose the trust of buyers by hiding bidder information?

It's very important that eBay buyers trust our buying process. That's why we are developing an approach that will give members information about relevant transaction activity for the members involved in an auction-style listing without revealing specific User IDs.
How will eBay continue to detect shill bidding?

It's important to remember that, while the public will not have access to User IDs in some circumstances, eBay will continue to have the same access to information that we have today.

eBay takes the issue of shill bidding (the use of a secondary bidding account to increase the level of bidding and the apparent value of an item) very seriously. Shill bidding is a breach of policy and, when detected, we take action against offenders.

In the last several years, we've invested heavily in shill detection systems that enable us to proactively detect and investigate possible shill bidding scenarios with a higher rate of accuracy than ever before. Our systems collect more information on selling and bidding activity than our Community has access to, so we can detect patterns and identify members much more accurately.

With the information provided the Safeguarding Member ID project, we believe that members will still be able to detect and report suspicious activity. While we proactively search the site for shill bidding, we do appreciate the reports from the Community of suspicious activity and will continue to investigate them and take action where appropriate.
If I can't see the User ID of the member who outbid me, how do I know that the bid was legitimate?

While specific User IDs will not be visible, individual bidders will be identified by an alias (such as Bidder1, Bidder2, etc.). For each bidder involved in a listing, we'll display the number of bids that they've placed in unique categories, a range that their feedback score falls within (eg: 10- 49), their percentage of positive feedback, their length of time as an eBay member, and the number of bids they've placed on the item.

Naturally, if you ever suspect any suspicious activity, you can report it as you do today through the eBay Toolbar or through Help on the site.

Future enhancements are being designed that will provide even more transaction information about the bidders and seller involved in a transaction. We’ll continue to update the Community on these changes as these plans become finalised.
If I'm a seller, can I see the bid history on my own listings?

Yes. If you are the seller you will continue to have access to the User IDs for the bidders on your active listing through the bid history page and the My eBay selling table.
How will this impact 3rd-party tools?

Some 3rd-party tool providers will need to make adjustments. Please work directly with these service providers for more details.
How will members spot malicious bidding or attempts by others to interfere with the site?

Malicious bidding is an action perpetrated against a seller. In this case, the logged-in seller will still be able to see the member User IDs on the bid history page. Sellers will also be able to check feedback, and see a bidder's most recent items where there has been feedback exchanged.
Can members search for one another using the "Items by Bidder" option under Advanced Search?

A member can search for another member using Advanced Search, "Items by Bidder". However, only items that the bidder won in the last 30 days will be displayed. (Previously, all the items the member had bid on or won in the last 30 days were displayed.)
I use Advanced Search "Items by Bidder" to find other sellers with listings I might want to bid on. Will I still be able to do this?

You will no longer be able to see active listings that a member has bid on.

[turpieaj]

I think this is ebays way of protecting shill bidders-thats only why they have done this - the more an item sells the more of a final sales fee they get. IMHO it stinks.

Im getting really peed off with ebay, their PR hasn't been to good recently, ie the shop sellers withdrawing their business in protest, selling of geldofs concert tickets and their latest crime is turning a blind eye to the selling of animal livestock online in china (well I don't need to explain that one do I?)

GOOGLE AUCTION ANYONE?

[nathan]

Originally Posted by turpieaj

I think this is ebays way of protecting shill bidders-thats only why they have done this - the more an item sells the more of a final sales fee they get. IMHO it stinks.

Im getting really peed off with ebay, their PR hasn't been to good recently, ie the shop sellers withdrawing their business in protest, selling of geldofs concert tickets and their latest crime is turning a blind eye to the selling of animal livestock online in china (well I don't need to explain that one do I?)

GOOGLE AUCTION ANYONE?

this is just them making more money cause if I have something and someone else has sold it I can't genuinely approach the losing bidders without making ebay even richer. Gits lol

[anthonyf218]

Originally Posted by dodgymix

Its only for £100+ items at the moment so only Anthony's record will have Bidder 1 and 2 & 3 etc lol


Ps Will you give me some of that magic fairy dust that you seem to put on your records to make everyone want to buy them????

FFS I listed

MBG "this is paradise" & systematic "dancin the whole night" for 99p and didn't get a bid!!!

LOL. The worst thing is ive never sold a tune for £100 or above (though i was one of the gullibles who paid £120 for Denise Lopez 3 yrs ago lol).

I still get stung big time though with a load of tunes. ie Alpha bloody DY went for £33 the other day, im just glad you bid and it upped it an extra £3 in the end Rob. My only tactics are to make sure some big guns are in the auctions with the not so big uns so it grabs peeps attention. In some cases that means either sacrificing some of my cherished tunes (ie Dreamscape ) or buying a big un for the full price and stickin it on ebay with the others, knowing full well that im gonna make nothin on the big un. My whole intention of selling at the mo is to get rid of the tunes I personally dont really use anymore, but they dont usually sell unless they are in with stand-out tunes. Plus its then about stickin samples up, that samples page i do has worked really well, had 3,500 hits in a couple of months

The down side is im up til all hours doing samples an packing tunes (4am the other night lol, was up and doin a presentation at work at 9am which i badly jibbered through). it really does take up full evenings, 5-6 nights a week. (the Violin's out here eh! ).

[anthonyf218]

Originally Posted by nathan

this is just them making more money cause if I have something and someone else has sold it I can't genuinely approach the losing bidders without making ebay even richer. Gits lol

Exactly Nathan, its all about them protecting their income. They dont get a listing or final value fee if private sales are done. I can see their point obviously but they must make so much anyway it must be neglible. I suppose its like the record industry trying to stop bootlegging lol.

[nathan]

Originally Posted by anthonyf218

Exactly Nathan, its all about them protecting their income. They dont get a listing or final value fee if private sales are done. I can see their point obviously but they must make so much anyway it must be neglible. I suppose its like the record industry trying to stop bootlegging lol.

promoting bank transfer as a means of paying me the amount I am losing on paypal, ebay listing fees and final sale price fees. I've lost about
£200 this months

[anthonyf218]

Originally Posted by nathan

promoting bank transfer as a means of paying me the amount I am losing on paypal, ebay listing fees and final sale price fees. I've lost about
£200 this months

yep, im scared of lookin at my ebay invoice too. Im not sure how it works really actually, i just know that they try to keep things hidden a little so its a case of ignorance is bliss for the user etc. I think, if you take ebay listing fees, final value fees, and paypal fees, it takes away something like 10%+ of ur income. (Does anyone know any different?).

I would love it if the monopolies / government people took control and stopped them taking the piss. They even bought out tradera, which is a swedish ebay type thing, which had some little beauts on at one point. Maybe its about time someone brought along a rival which might give them some competition and make them push their prices down a little. They are so loaded they've even spending their money on prime-time advertising on the TV now. (But it wouldnt be so bad if they used it to advertise my tunes in between corrie though!)