ebat scam?

[bednobs]

i recently won an auction for an item from china. It went for my top bid, which was an odd figure, so i looked to see the other bids and they are all "private - bidders identity hidden" and the last bid was exactly one penny below my top bid (which was not a round number).
This leads me to believe the seller has some software that can see what your top bid is, then use other identities to bid up to your maximum. Does this sound possible?
By the way, i don't need any cautions about buying from china - my top bid was 78 pence (free delivery) so even if it doesn't arrive it doesn't matter too much

[TheWinner]

I don't think so. If I ever enter a top bid in advance, I usually bid +13p and leave it to run. So, for example, if I wanted to bid up to £5, I would put in that my maximum bid would be £5.13p.
The other bidders, DO, remain private to you, but not to the seller, he can see who is bidding on the item.
The other identities would be other people on ebay, as shill bidding is not allowed.
I have bought from China before and have had very good service.

[smurfchops]

bednobs I am intrigued ... what can you buy from China for 78p with free delivery??

[TheWinner]

I have bought a few items under £1 from china. Great service too.

[MASS1961]

It sounds as though your winning bid was automatically entered on your behalf after the losing bidder entered a bid. Your winning bid, which was below your maximum, outbid it with the minimum increment.

Does that make sense?

[TheWinner]

Makes sense to me.

[MASS1961]

Hoorah lol ;-D

[bednobs]

but what i don't really get is how/why the next lowest bidder bid 77p than stopped - it seems an odd amount unless you know the other persons max bid is 78 p

[MASS1961]

It depends on what the increments were. I suspect on items under £1 the increment was 1p, which is why you won by 1p.
Don't know, just guessing?

[RATTER15]

I believe the software is called "viper"