The signs

Each is a pattern anyone can see on eBay’s public pages. None proves anything on its own, and each has innocent explanations, which the report shows beside it.

Checked from a single listing

• Strong

  Bids concentrated with this seller

  A bidder whose recent bidding is almost all on this one seller’s items.

• Strong

  Bid retractions

  Bids taken back, especially by a bidder who was leading at the time.

• Moderate

  Small consecutive bids under the leader

  Three or more small bids in a row that each fall just short of the leader’s maximum.

Patterns that need many auctions

These only appear across a store’s auctions over time. Store reports check the first two once enough people have checked a store; each page explains how to look for them yourself.

• Moderate

  Same bidder across the store’s auctions

  The same masked bidder appearing in many of one store’s auctions.

• Moderate

  Pushes prices up but rarely wins

  A bidder active in many of one store’s auctions who never wins any.

• Moderate

  Relisted soon after “selling”

  An item that sold at auction reappearing for sale within two weeks.

• Weak alone

  Final price above comparable sales

  Auctions that end well above what comparable items sell for.

Thresholds and base rates are on the methodology page.