[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

Can anyone tell me, when they started off using anonymous features for the bidder, please?

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0067252384

[Guest]

I've never seen this before !

[smurfwish]

I saw this last night on a couple of auctions and was trying to work out what was going on as I was being out bid by a Bidder 2 and 3. So thanks for pointing it out Dominique...I thought I was going mad


Maxine x

[eggie smurf]

I haven't seen that before either, Dom

[SMURFYSTEVE1]

That is totally strange, I've not seen that at all before..



Smurfy regards
Steve

[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

Thanks for any of your replies. To be honest, I don't get the point. This is like legalizing shill bidding.

[Smurfysmurf]

I am sorry, I don't see any sense in that.....when you click on bidding details you will see everything, including the bidder's history but not the name....

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... etailsLink

[Rachel]

Hi guys, yes I also noticed this a day or two ago. Not the best idea in my mind.

[Bunno Smurf]

There was ann ebay notice about it a while back..a couple of weeks ago. It says its only for auctions over $250AU on this notice I think.

Heres the link to the aussie ebay notice and what it says:

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/au/200611.shtml ... 1-20172516

Hello, this is Alastair MacGibbon, Trust & Safety Director for eBay Australia and New Zealand.
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 emerged as the internet has grown. The success of the Community shows we?ve had that balance right.

Member IDs ? and member information such as feedback and previous bidding and/or buying activity ? have always been freely available to anyone visiting the site. Unfortunately, while bid history and contact information is helpful when evaluating a transaction, criminals can use this information for potentially harmful purposes.

One way they use this information is to send unwanted commercial spam, spoof emails, and fake Second Chance Offer emails.

Despite industry leading efforts to educate the Community about online safety partnering with law enforcement and industry groups, and behind the scenes investments in technology that make the site safer, the problem has not gone away.

Increasingly, sellers and buyers have turned to us for a solution.

Introducing the Safeguarding Member IDs project
This change offers more privacy for our members by displaying enough information about the other bidders involved in an auction-style listing for them to feel confident in placing a bid, without revealing actual User IDs.

The bidder information for listings where the bid is lower than AUD$250 will remain the same, however when the high bid of an auction-style listing exceeds AUD$250 or greater here?s what will change:

1. Bid History Page
We?ll replace bidders' Member IDs with aliases (such as Bidder 1, Bidder 2 and Bidder 3, etc) in the order of their bids placed.

For each bidder there will be a link to a new Bidding Details page where we will display:

The number of bids in unique categories that they?ve placed
A range that their feedback score falls within (i.e. 10-49, for instance)
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.
Note: Sellers will still be able to access standard bidder information on their listings through the Bid History page and the My eBay selling table.

2. My eBay
Members will no longer have access to the high-bidder column from bid and watch tables.

3. Item page
You will 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. Advanced Search by Bidder link
We will only show completed listings within the last 30 days.

Future enhancements are being designed that will provide even more transaction data about the bidders and seller involved in a transaction. We?ll continue to update the community on these changes as these plans become finalised.

To learn more, please read our Frequently Asked Questions.

Sincerely,
Alastair MacGibbon
Trust & Safety Director, eBay Australia & New Zealand

[SuperJen]

Thanks for any of your replies. To be honest, I don't get the point. This is like legalizing shill bidding.

I agree. I guess most people wouldn't look to see all the information on each bidder either.

[Syd Smurf]

Not the best idea in my mind.

Yeah I agree Rach.....not sure why they would choose to do this.....who are they protecting by doing this? ....the shill bidders

Dyar

[eggie smurf]

My dad has an item on ebay right now and all the bidders are anonymous AND there is a little blurb at the top of the bid history page now. I thought it was an interesting explanation (especially the technical term "bad guys" )

As the internet evolves, eBay continues to strike a balance between preserving transparency and protecting our Community of members. eBay has decided to change how bid history information is displayed so bad guys cannot target bidders with fake offers using this information. If you are not the seller, you will no longer be able to view Bidder's User IDs on the Bid History page. If you are the seller of this item and logged in, you will still be able to see the bidder details. Other members will see anonymous names, such as Bidder 1, applied consistently to the Bid History page.

[Rachel]

Thanks for the update Stace.

I don't what everyone else thinks but I certainly don't like this new rule Ebay has brought in. It makes it much harder to spot "suspicious" activities ourselves and it isn't so much fun to be able to see who is buying what.

[Smurfysmurf]

I agree totally, Rachel...

I have noticed though, that sometimes we can still see the bidders no matter how high the bids go...I just wonder if ebay picks and chooses it right now...or if US bidders can see the bids of overseas (I have been able to see the bidders names when somebody from Europe couldn't) and vice versa

[DrunkSmurf]

eBay has decided to change how bid history information is displayed so bad guys cannot target bidders with fake offers using this information.

Wow, if they're bonafide bad guys, ebay should send the lone ranger after them.

If ebay really wanted to be fair, for each auction, every bidder would make one undisclosed bid. At auction's end, all bids are disclosed and whoever's bid was highest wins (I think this is called a blind auction).

With the "blind auction", shill bidding and the mad race in the last 30 seconds would disappear. You see your item, make your bid, and walk away.

The reason ebay would never do this, of course, is because it would also kill bidding wars and likely lower the average sale prices.

I can't stand hovering over an auction for the last 10 minutes of its run.