someone got taken for a ride here: '60 Ford Galaxie Country Squire - Magnolia, TX

Agreed, t***t bid $65k from the get-go on March 30 (at 14:27:41 PDT to be specific) and then i***b followed up two hours later, submitting ever-higher bids to discover t***t's high bid.

Then j***d (with the very high eBay feedback of "1") came in another two hours later, still on March 30, to out-bid t***t and drive the price up to $65,100. The eBay bidding history is a lot of fun to look at.

Looks like a shill bidding scam.

 

I wouldn't go assuming shill bidding without proof. Not terribly fair no matter what price is being asked. I would agree that this is seriously overpriced. Even if you go $30k on body and paint, another $25k on brightwork, $30k in the miscellaneous costs for labor, wheels and tires, suspension, engine, trans, and mechanicals and finally $10k for the initial purchase, that's still shy of the $100k mark. You can see rust in one of the rear seams and, while original, the interior is not to the standards of a $150k build in my opinion. I wonder if they have receipts to substantiate the cost of the build? I guess it really doesn't matter. In the end, it's only worth what someone is willing to pay. I guess we will find out...

 

Low bidders aren't always shill bidders. I've sold a lot on eBay over the years and big items tend to draw "sport" bidders. People with very low feedback who really like something. They bid to see if they can win or figure out what a winning bid would be.

It might also be someone fishing for a reserve amount. They bid to see if it is worth their time. If they come in above the reserve, they cancel their bid and wait for the end of the auction to bid with their "real" account.

It used to be easier to identify who bidders were and ferret out sport bidders and people messing with your auction because you could see who they were, when they created their account and what else they've purchased. eBay opted to protect bidders over sellers and hid this information. As a seller, it's frustrating, but I get why they did it. If I just bought a $100k car, I wouldn't want someone to be able to use eBay as a shopping list to steal my car.

Again, I've sold a fair amount on eBay including several vehicles. If you get a bid from a low feedback bidder, I ask them to verify they are a real bidder. If they are, they will respond. If not, you never hear from them in which case you cancel their bid. I don't know how this seller operates, but asking low feedback bidders to verify who they are cut down on the number of bad bids I would get dramatically, especially when posted in my ads.

 

I don't know ... if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck, chances are ... it's a duck. An opening bid of $65k when the starting price is $15k and the buy-it-now price is $125k is like buying a wet suit for a duck. Sort of useless. It doesn't even come close to a likely reserve price, which should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $125k.

Anyway, for $125k I'd expect the car to be absolutely perfect. As you can see, the headliner in this car isn't original and doesn't even attempt to replicate the original.

$125k? Crazy!

 

It all goes to strategy. What good is a shill bid of $65k unless someone is willing to bid more? I personally don't see value to $65k on this let alone $125k. But for arguments sake, let's assume market value $85k and that I'm a shrewd bidder. I see this listed for $120k, but I know it's only worth about $85k, but I'm bargain shopping. I don't want to pay $85k, and I want to scare off tire kickers, but I don't want to hit reserve because then everybody knows. So, I find a price close, but not too close, to the reserve and bid where I still get a bargain if it doesn't advance past that point. So, I go large on my first bid. $65k is all I'm willing to pay, so I go all in. I don't hit reserve, so I wait it out. Maybe I'm willing to go a little higher if bidding gets close, or maybe I wait for the end of the auction to negotiate a better price if I'm high bidder and the reserve hasn't been hit.

This isn't really a hypothetical situation. I have purchased both parts and cars using this same tactic to negotiate a better price. The last car I bought I actually backed into. It actually sold once, but the high bidder didn't pay, so it went up for auction a second time. The second time it listed, I put in a bid thinking, if it goes higher, so be it. I went all in (well below the first auction) and watched. I was out bid by two bidders by a significant amount, but with about a day and a half left in the auction, someone asked a question and the seller did a poor job of answering. The two high bidders spooked and cancelled their bids. I won the auction for roughly 60% of the previous sale price. Sometimes you just throw it at the wall to see what sticks.

This is the first time this has been listed and the seller has 95 positive feedback and has been on eBay since 1999. While it's possible they are using a shill bidder, it doesn't add up to me.

 

Also on C/L. No price given on the C/L ad.

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/6065041896.html

 

To the surprise of almost no one, the reserve was not met on this auction. Top bid was $70,100.

 

Back on eBay with a Buy-it-now price of $75k. Still think it's over-priced. But very nice.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960-Ford-C...ash=item238bda44ba:g:-0oAAOSwe09ZmJXY&vxp=mtr

 

Yes it's a great looking over built wagon priced too high yet.
Besides it'll take $2000 for decent wheels and tires.
Someone who won't drive it any farther than off a closed trailer will buy it and store it in a garage until the next big show then try to sell it for more.
All the while telling stunned viewers how he built it in his one car garage using Harbor Freight tools.

 

This '63 (posted before, if I remember correctly) is a relative bargain at only $39,900.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/1963-Ford-O...ash=item5b3d16bcb9:g:axwAAOSwcUBYQbyy&vxp=mtr

 

And some of us thought THAT one was a bit overpriced (and over-done).

 

Considering today's parts and restoration costs both are not overpriced. It's just that many of us are living in the past and remember when a new car was well under $10,000. And under $2000.