Shill Bidding

• What is shill bidding?
• Can my friends bid on my items?
• If I turn someone in for shill bidding, will they be suspended?
• I only bid on items listed by one specific seller; will I be considered a shill bidder?
• Why isn't a seller suspended the first time shill bidding is discovered?
• What happens if the seller shill bids again after the temporary suspension?
• What happens if the seller sets up new accounts after the others are suspended?
• Is a seller allowed to have more than one registered BeautyCare.com account?
• Can sellers bid on their own auctions?
• What if I need to end an auction early and the auction already has bids?

A. Shill bidding is the deliberate placing of bids to artificially drive up the price of an item. This is also known as "bid padding" and is not allowed.

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A. If your friend sincerely intends to purchase your item, then her bids are certainly allowed. Bidding on your item for the sole purpose of inflating the final bid amount is forbidden.
Q. If I turn someone in for shill bidding, will they be suspended?

A. It depends on the situation. Many factors will be considered when determining whether shill bidding has occurred. These factors are carefully weighed. In the end, only bidders determined to be shills (based on the evidence) are suspended.

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A. In some cases, placing bids in only one seller's auctions might raise suspicions about whether or not you are a shill bidder (insincere bidder). However, bidding on only one seller's auctions is not the sole factor that BeautyCare.com would use to make a determination about the possibility of shill bidding.

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A. Temporary suspension is serious, and sellers should take it as such. But BeautyCare.com believes people deserve a second chance.

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A. If the shill bidding continues at any time after the temporary suspension has ended, the shill bidder will be suspended from BeautyCare.com indefinitely.

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A. Use of secondary registrations (new accounts) to avoid suspensions is cause for indefinite suspension of all participating registrants.

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A. Yes, a seller is permitted more than one BeautyCare.com registration as long as their reasons are legitimate. However, there can NEVER be any interaction (especially in the areas of bidding or feedback) between the accounts, and all user information MUST be accurate and consistent.

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Can sellers bid on their own auctions? A. BeautyCare.com allows sellers to bid on their own auctions only on the initial bid. After the initial bid, sellelrs can not bid on their own auctions.

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A. You can delete your auction only if there are no bids. This is fair to every participant so if you are not usre please do not post your item. If you post an item and there are bids which meet your reserve price, you will be required to sell the item to the high bidder when the auction closes.

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