CPAP Auction: Flipping should not be allowed?

[Ann Nonymous]

It appears there are people on cpapauction.com that either by from a seller or have supplementary accounts and buy from "themselves" and then sell under a different name, while at other times it's just someone, say a DME that's buying and then flipping the cpap unit.

I don't know, perhaps it's just me, but there seems to be something wrong with flipping medical equipment.

Your thoughts?

[LoQ]

I don't understand what your objection is. You seem to be saying that someone is buying equipment, then turning around and selling it for a higher price. Is that right? Who does this practice hurt?

[CollegeGirl]

Buying from another seller and then reselling for higher - nothing wrong with that, IMHO. But bidding on your own auctions under other accounts created for that purpose in order to drive up price is known as "shilling," and is not allowed on other auction sites. If you have evidence of someone doing this, I would definitely report that.

[tuna]

I don't understand what your objection is. You seem to be saying that someone is buying equipment, then turning around and selling it for a higher price. Is that right? Who does this practice hurt?

Yup it's called "MARKETING", retailers do it all the time!

[nobody]

I'm sure it's against the rules there to bid on your own auctions for the purpose of driving the price higher. But as for buying something and reselling it (whether you get a higher price or not), IMO that is the main purpose of the auction site. That site has saved me a lot of money on masks. I was able to try it then resell it if it didn't work out. I did lose a bit of money on each mask, but not too much. And definitely not nearly as much as I would have if I'd just bought it and then not been able to resell it. If someone makes a bit more on something than what they paid, so what. Just don't bid on it if you think the price is too high. If there are no bidders, they'll probably lower the price eventually.

[MrSandman]

Why would someone buy from themselves and then sell under different names. The fees would kill any profit one would make.

Give exact details please if you want us to believe you.

[Bearded_One]

Why would someone buy from themselves and then sell under different names.

It could be a result of a practice called 'shilling'. The intention is not to sell to themselves, the intention is to drive up the bids. They didn't intend to buy the item and they had hoped that somebody else would raise the bid. Shilling is prohibited on most auction sites.

[J Neutron]

It is a very common practice for an active buyer/seller to have two different IDs.

I do that on eBay for a couple of reasons (although changes in the way eBay works have diminished the necessity to do so). I used to follow one particular category of items and would look for incorrectly or inadequately described auctions. I would get them cheap, and then sell them for more later. People used to be able to research previous bids, purchases and sales so it was easy to see what people were up to and what their sense of bidding limits were. That's an advantage if you know your competition and they don't know it. So it was necessary to use two IDs to separate the buying and selling. Now, the info that is available is much more limited, so using only one ID isn't quite such a disadvantage. Also, buyers and sellers could each leave comments about the transaction. Sometimes someone would purposely buy from a seller just so they could leave a negative comment as retribution for loss of a sale or bidding issues on previous transactions. Or as a buyer I could leave an honest negative comment and not fear that the person would trash my seller ID ratings in return.

There's a lot that goes on in auctions that are behind the scenes and there is no reason to tell other participants all of your secrets. Two IDs help a lot.

Jim

[nobody]

I think the cpapauction site should change like Ebay did and prohibit sellers from leaving feedback on buyers. Because you can't leave an honest feedback without some sort of retaliation rating. I don't even leave a rating for anyone anymore until they leave one on mine.

It is a very common practice for an active buyer/seller to have two different IDs.

I do that on eBay for a couple of reasons (although changes in the way eBay works have diminished the necessity to do so). I used to follow one particular category of items and would look for incorrectly or inadequately described auctions. I would get them cheap, and then sell them for more later. People used to be able to research previous bids, purchases and sales so it was easy to see what people were up to and what their sense of bidding limits were. That's an advantage if you know your competition and they don't know it. So it was necessary to use two IDs to separate the buying and selling. Now, the info that is available is much more limited, so using only one ID isn't quite such a disadvantage. Also, buyers and sellers could each leave comments about the transaction. Sometimes someone would purposely buy from a seller just so they could leave a negative comment as retribution for loss of a sale or bidding issues on previous transactions. Or as a buyer I could leave an honest negative comment and not fear that the person would trash my seller ID ratings in return.

There's a lot that goes on in auctions that are behind the scenes and there is no reason to tell other participants all of your secrets. Two IDs help a lot.

Jim

[J Neutron]

I think the cpapauction site should change like Ebay did and prohibit sellers from leaving feedback on buyers. Because you can't leave an honest feedback without some sort of retaliation rating. I don't even leave a rating for anyone anymore until they leave one on mine.

Yeah, unless things are extraordinary in one direction or the other, I don't comment. Life is too short to keep saying "that was OK" over and over again and trying to make it sound meaningful.

Jim

[Ann Nonymous]

I think the cpapauction site should change like Ebay did and prohibit sellers from leaving feedback on buyers. Because you can't leave an honest feedback without some sort of retaliation rating. I don't even leave a rating for anyone anymore until they leave one on mine.

The good thing about Ebay is that buyers can change their rating or amend their comments about the seller. Unfortunately, as with Cpapauction.com, one can't leave comments about poor or no communication about a seller unless you have won an item.

In addition, I view cpapauction.com a place where those who normally cannot afford to buy a xPAP machine can buy one without the worry of getting ripped off by unscrupulous sellers who view transactions on cpapauction.com as another way to supplement their income as opposed to actually help people out. The morals of this country and the world are going down the drain, this thread, with the very few responses, seem to prove it is.

AFAIK, it's against the rules of cpapauction.com and maybe even ebay to have more than one account.

[J Neutron]

The morals of this country and the world are going down the drain, this thread, with the very few responses, seem to prove it is.

Sorry, lack of responses does not prove anything.

AFAIK, it's against the rules of cpapauction.com and maybe even ebay to have more than one account.

It certainly is NOT against the rules on eBay. Where do you get this stuff?

Jim