Be carefull bidding up your buddy's auctions for them...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...y_phony_bidding

ALBANY, N.Y. - Eight eBay sellers were ordered to pay nearly $90,000 in restitution and fines after admitting they bid up products online to inflate the prices.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said more than 120 people will receive restitution in the settlement of the three cases, which wrapped up last week in state courts.

Spokesman Darren Dopp said the cases stemmed from specific complaints, but the office has not conducted a broad investigation of the online auction industry and doesn't know how widespread the practice of phony bidding is.

One buyer, Brad Clarke, 48, of Peachtree City, Ga., already has received a check for $3,089 after overpaying for a 1999 Jeep Cherokee sport utility vehicle he bought on eBay from a New York seller in 2002.

"I'd always been suspicious because it seems like an easy thing to do, to just keep bidding up," Clarke said. "But I was still just completely shocked and very surprised."

Three sellers were accused of making 610 bids on 106 of their car auctions under the user name "Mother's Custom Automotive NY Dealer." They are paying more than $28,000 in penalties and restitution, Spitzer said. Their lawyers declined to comment.

In another case, the operator of an art auction house and two former employees were accused of bidding on more than 1,100 of each others' eBay items for more than five years to drive up the prices. Some paintings sold for thousands more than they were worth.

Spitzer said one of the sellers pleaded guilty to a felony charge, the other two to misdemeanors. They were ordered to pay more than $50,000 in restitution and fines.

The other two defendants were accused of making 170 phony bids on their sports memorabilia items. They agreed to pay $10,000 in penalties and restitution.

whoever got busted for that poopy is ignorant as a mutherfucker. there's no way a competent lawyer couldn't have gotten them all off scott free. How could they prove that the other person wouldn't have purchased the item? That fool who copped to the felony must be one dumb, stupid cracker.

Ebay should just stay out of it and collect the fees. Like they're not making enough money as it is.

They probably gave up their right to remain silent, and talked when they shouldn't have.

Anybody that overpays for something on E-bay had it coming anyway... how stupid do you have to be to pay $3000 too much for a car? If they're smart enough to find E-bay, wouldn't you think they'd be smart enough to find Kelly Blue Book and NADA too? If you don't want to pay that much, DON'T BID!!

Exactly. I tried looking for an RX-7 on e-bay while I was hunting for one. All of them were about 5k over blue book. I wasn't that desperate (or rich enough) to overpay.

KBB and NADA are worthless when it comes to rare/enthusiasts cars generally

but yeah:
If you don't want to pay that much, DON'T BID!!

I totally agree... but the example was a 99 Jeep Cherrokee. Even with some basic internet skills one should be able to find out "about" what any car should be "worth".

yeah, my guess is about 50 bucks