schill bidding

[jojac]

Re: schill bidding

I think the idea is a little far fetched. You guys understand MLB does run the MLB Auctions right? I think they control a lot more than you think too.
I'm guessing the auctions work a lot like EBay with the people in NY in the middle. I bought something that included a free hat and I was contacted by the MLB Auctions Coordinator for my hat size...not the Brewers. Seems like one of the things teams don't get is your contact info like email.
Just like EBay they see your username till you win that is it. Then they will get your address and so on.

I wish I could tell you whats going on with these auctions and who's running what but I don't know and I joined this form to kind of get educated. I'm pretty sure that the teams have more info then you think. I was looking for a certain item and I inquired thru an email to a team store. The employee responded that they didn't have the item I was looking for and then he mentioned some of the items I recently bought in auction. All he had was my name and email address and then he came up with that info on my previous auction purchases.

[johnsontravis@ymail.com]

Re: schill bidding

I think the idea is a little far fetched. You guys understand MLB does run the MLB Auctions right? I think they control a lot more than you think too.

I'm guessing the auctions work a lot like EBay with the people in NY in the middle. I bought something that included a free hat and I was contacted by the MLB Auctions Coordinator for my hat size...not the Brewers. Seems like one of the things teams don't get is your contact info like email.

Just like EBay they see your username till you win that is it. Then they will get your address and so on.

[jojac]

Re: schill bidding

I based my reply on some notion that the selling of jerseys is done for the purpose of some charity as people have claimed. I'm not gonna guess how they or who ever shows this money as income and then try to guess where it gets dispersed. Theres room to play with the numbers if you take into account the cost to prep, advertise and sell these jerseys not to mention the initial cost of the jersey. Theres room to play with the numbers at tax time if the charity thing is what their doing. The whole charity thing is insignificant either way when you talk about possible shill bidding.
The bottom line is someone is getting paid to sell these jerseys and show a profit so how and who is doing this for the teams. If they're being paid a commission to move these items then no one would be surprised by possible shill bidding. Teams that have their own team store have thousands of people moving thru there on game day. If an item doesn't meet expectations at auction could they high bid it and later offer it to one of the store regulars at a set price then turning a profit??? I think its very possible.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Re: schill bidding

If its true that the majority of money did go to charities then theres still the incentive to get as much $$$ as possible in an auction setting for an item due to the tax break on contributions. The more they make then the more they can donate and the more they can write off. That's a great deal for them because then they look good donating your money that you've spent on an item and their money stays in their pocket. MLB, ebay and auction house are all doing this for no other reason then to make money......they're all businesses.

This makes no sense logically. If the organization donates 100% of the proceeds of the auction, what is being written off? The donated amount comes in and goes out. The "write off" is against "profits" that were immediately donated.

Best way I can explain it:

Team A makes $45mm net of expenses and decides to donate their jerseys, etc to a charity. The auctioned items sell for $500k. The team then gives the $500k to the charity.

Team B makes $45mm net of expenses and also decides to donate their jerseys, etc to a charity. The auctioned items sell for $300k. The team then gives the $300k to the charity.

Both Team A and Team B made $45mm in taxable net revenue after the auction. The assumed shilling would serve no purpose for the teams in question, from a taxable event standpoint. The teams don't get to write off the donated cash AND the value of the bats. They only get the write off the amount that was donated, which also counts as additional revenue from outside sources.

Yes, Team A donated $200k more than Team B, but Team A also has to show that as $200k extra in revenue, which then got donated. The net result for both teams is $0.

[sportsnbikes]

Re: schill bidding

This hobby is pretty sad sometimes. The greed and selfishness involved is disheartening at best. I still love the hobby but it doesn't come without it's frustrations, that's for sure.

[jojac]

Re: schill bidding

If it was an "inside job" they would have access to bidding data, and it sure would be easy to shill bid...

Then that could explain the knack for matching bids.
I bid a jersey at $1201.00, he ran me up some until he matched me at that price and he quits.
Shortly after on a separate item some one bid $1250 for a jersey, he matched their price and quit.
If an item stalls in bidding he bids up the current high bidder and either matches the current bid or he'll bid $1,199 if the max bid is $1200. Always quits when he max's someone out, never to bid on that item again and then changes his name between the close and start of each auction.
I sometimes wonder if his bidding isn't set to the bottom dollar a seller would expect for their item.

[Mark17]

Re: schill bidding

Would it be plausible to think that the people who run these stores for the teams work on a commission as well? I wouldn't put anything past anyone.

If it was an "inside job" they would have access to bidding data, and it sure would be easy to shill bid...

[johnsontravis@ymail.com]

Re: schill bidding

Ive also found Reds auctions to be a little fishy. Those items have crazy bidding action at end time and items will ballon 2-3 times the prior amount. Its just a little strange if you ask me when items are going for insane prices. The Brewers charge $400 for a Jean Segura bat and when the Reds had one(broken in two full pieces) up for action it hit $450 before I backed out. It had nice use, but two pieces over even the Brewers crazy price is insane.

Then again they sold a Choo bat in the same auction for over $1,250 so maybe Reds fans are just not very bright bidders.

[jojac]

Re: schill bidding

Would it be plausible to think that the people who run these stores for the teams work on a commission as well? I wouldn't put anything past anyone.

I think in this case what you're saying is very possible. This doesn't seem like an idiot just messing with people. Maybe I'm wrong but this seems like someone who has something at stake in the item up for bid.

[sportsnbikes]

Re: schill bidding

I can understand shill bidding from an auction house or ebay: the point is to drive up the price on an item you own.

But I'm mystified why someone would shill bid on MLB or NFL auctions. Nobody out there owns this stuff, except the teams. Are we implying the teams are shill bidding? Or that some jackass is just out there bidding people up because he has nothing better to do?

Ken

Would it be plausible to think that the people who run these stores for the teams work on a commission as well? I wouldn't put anything past anyone.

[jojac]

Re: schill bidding

I pretty much just bid on the things that mean something to me so then its hard to even think about retracting your bid. You know how it is with this stuff, if that item finally comes up that you really wanted then you'll fight for it because it may be your only chance. Theres no forecast that I know of with MLB that lets you know what might be coming down the line so you tend to jump at opportunities.
Yes, its the same guy using different names. Seems like he changes between auction postings. So like I said before, he'll bid you up under one bidder name and then when the auction ends he'll change his bidder name and start bidding people up again. I don't think people realize they're being bid up by the same guy using a different name that he recently changed.

[10thMan]

Re: schill bidding

MLB *is not any different. Here's one for you. I see Stadium employees grab HR balls on a regular basis, not sure, but I think they have them authenticated. I'd be willing to bet they keep the "actual" baseball & the other one goes to market.

[Mark17]

Re: schill bidding

What are the rules about retracting a bid? Can you trap him that way - you bid, he matches, you retract at the last minute?

I realize auction companies don't like bid retractions but maybe if you could find an example where you could claim a legitimate reason...

Just a thought.

[10thMan]

Re: schill bidding

"Changing" bidder name & bidding with different names are two different things. Shill bidding happens, are you saying the different names are the same person? MLB is any different than the rest of the world, specially when it comes to money.

[jojac]

Re: schill bidding

This guy has a knack for matching bids dollar for dollar. Another thing I noticed he likes to do is that he'll jump in on a auction item with days left when the bidding stalls. He'll max people out at that point and quit. He bids like a shill that has an interest in the items presented and that's what get me because this isn't a private auction its a MLB auction.
I bid an odd number as suggested when he got me and he matched my bid and quit.